The Food Policy Council for Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington is seeking up to four individuals to join the Council.

“The Food Policy Council (FPC) for KFL&A is working to create a healthy, food-secure region with sustainable local agriculture and equitable access to adequate, healthy food,” says Susan Belyea, co-chair of the FPC.

“We are eager to welcome new Council members who are passionate about creating a healthier food system through policy,” says Nan Hudson, FPC co-chair.  “People who are able to commit to the time it requires to review and develop good food policy are invited to apply now, to join the council in September, 2017.”

The Council’s work is guided by the KFL&A Food Charter which envisions a secure and sustainable food system for our region. Its main activities include serving as a forum to discuss food issues, assessing the food system in KFL&A, and informing and influencing food and food-related policies and programs.  

Membership is open to individuals, 18 years of age and older, who live or work in KFL&A area, and  who share a passion for the vision of the KFL&A Food Charter, and have expertise or other resources that would be assets in working on FPC activities.
For more information about the FPC and to fill out an application, go to: www.foodpolicykfla.ca

The deadline to apply is Friday, July 7, 2017 at 8:00 pm.  Those selected for the Council will be asked to commit to a two-year renewable term. The selection committee will review all the applications, and complete interviews in late July and early August 2017.

Info – Dianne Dowling, 613-546-0869 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Daryl Kennedy said that he has nothing against the K&P Trail, but as a cattle farmer working land that the trail bisects, he wants a fence put up to block access to some of his pasture land. And since the trail is located on former railway lands and is a continuous stretch, he feels that the Ontario Line Fences Act, as amended in 2006, stipulates that the current owner of the trail must put up a fence if he asks them to.

“What I am asking for is a fence along 1750 feet of pasture land, only on one side since that is all I need. I requested on April 6/2016 to Anne Marie Young, who was dealing with the trail for Frontenac County at the time, that the work be done. I was expecting it would be done last summer.”

Kennedy also asked that a gate on his property that had been severely damaged while the trail was being constructed, be repaired by the contractor working on the trail. He also wants the county to pay for some of the work involved in lining up crossing gates on the trail near the north end of his property, for him to use as a cattle crossing. But none of that happened last summer, although Young remained in contact.

On July 19th, Young sent him and email, saying “Thanks Daryl … the act [Ontario Line Fences Act] also says the farmer must be the one to request and provide a Farm Registration Number …  This can happen...we just need to have the information as requested.” The next morning, Kenedy emailed back, providing his farm registration number.

On October 11th, Kennedy received another email from Young with an attached drawing marking off the section of land that required fencing.

“Please take a look at the attached and verify that what I have marked is what you want fenced. I have estimated the length to be approximately 1750 feet. I want to make sure before I send it to the contractor,” said Young in the email.

Nothing happened last fall, and after Anne Marie Young retired in December, Kennedy has been corresponding with Frontenac County though Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender.

On March 15th Frontenac County Council met and discussed the matter. According to a letter to Kennedy from Pender after that meeting, the council, based on a legal opinion, now feels it is only responsible for half the cost of the fence.
They took this position because even though the Line Fences Act says that the owner of an uninterrupted section of former rail line that is purchased from a railway company is subject to pay 100% of fencing costs for farmland that abuts the fence, the county did not purchase the former rail line from a railway company. CP rail sold the line to Bell Canada, and the county purchased it from Bell Canada, which is not a railway.  This new position is being taken by the county on the basis of a legal opinion from the county solicitor, Pender said, in a letter to Daryl Kennedy on March 16/2017.

The key item in the letter is item 2, which reads, “where a land owner provides proof of farming activities and where trail lands were purchased from a person or entity other than a railway company, that the county will be 50% responsible for the construction and maintenance of fencing along the property line, with the property owner having the choice of sharing equally in the construction and installation or the fence or having the county supply the fence.”

The letter concludes: We have confirmed with our solicitor that the trail lands adjacent to your property were purchased from Bell Canada, not a rail company and as such option #2 above is applicable ... I trust this clarifies the county’s position.”
Kennedy does not accept this. In his view, the obligation does not end with the first purchaser of a former rail line. His position is supported by the Christian Farmers Organization, with which his farm is registered. Kennedy has also been in touch with the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the body which over-sees municipal governments.

In a recent email, (June 15) Carol Church, Municipal Advisor MMAH, said she “would encourage the owner of the farming business to continue to bring his request for a fence to the County of Frontenac” and she attached the decision from a landmark court ruling in southwestern Ontario which ordered the municipality of Tilsonburgh to pay the full cost of a fence for a farm located on either side of a former rail-line which had been converted into a recreational trail.

“I talked just last night to Peter Sizov from the ministry, who said he has never heard of a case where the fact that a rail line had been sold twice was used as a reason not to pay for a fence,”  Daryl Kennedy told the News on Tuesday, June 20.

The News called Mr. Sizov’s office on Tuesday afternoon, but got his voice mail and did not hear back in time to confirm he had made the statement that Mr. Kennedy attributed to him.

In fact, however there is a precedence for Frontenac County to pay the full cost of a fence along the K&P trail, a recent one.

On July 20/2016, Council passed a motion authorising the construction of 850 feet of fence to separate the trail from farm property owned by Frank Goodfellow, at a cost of up to $10,000.

The motion came about as the result of a staff recommendation by Anne Marie Young that was submitted to council by CAO Pender himself.

It included the following explanation: “Fencing is a concern of some landowners. The costs involved in the installation or repair of fences along a right-of-way can be significant and fencing can be required for pasture and farmland registered with the Ontario Farm Business Registration. In the development of the Cataraqui Trail, the Cataraqui Regional Conservation Authority split the cost of fencing 50/50 with the landowner, supplying the materials while the landowner installed the fencing where required.”

But in the Goodfellow case, the cost was not split. The County paid for it.

When contacted on Tuesday evening (June 20) Frank Goodfellow said it took him three years to get the county to construct the fence, and “they did offer to pay half, but I held my ground since I had the Line Fences Act supporting my claim. Eventually they came through.” When asked, Goodfellow said that not once in the three years was the fact that the former rail line was purchased from Bell Canada raised as a reason for not doing the fencing.

“I own or rent quite a bit of farmland along the trail, near Godfrey and up by Tichborne as well, but I only asked for fencing where I pasture cattle, not along hay fields, even though I could according to the Act,” said Goodfellow

“I don’t want to go to court, but I think it is very clear the county, by the terms of the line fenced act, and their own actions in the past, need to pay for this fence,” said Darryl Kennedy, “I don’t want to add legal fees to all of this, but if I go to court I will certainly do that.”

The estimated cost of the Kennedy fence is about $19,000. A further three landowners, who are registered farmers, are located within the vicinity of the Kennedy farm.

Kennedy’s property is located about 5km north east from the point where the K&P crosses Road 38 at Cole Lake, 10 km from Tichborne. The section between Tichborne and Sharbot Lake is not county owned, and has required individual arrangements with numerous landowners.

Looking further north, the trail from Sharbot Lake to the township border is owned by Central Frontenac Township. The township purchased the former K&P lands directly from CP, and  has paid the full cost of fencing on several stretches of the trail, at significant cost.

The build out of the trail continues to be a complicated, and expensive process, and one way or another all the fencing issues between the county and farmers with land abutting the trail will need to be sorted out, at further expense, both Goodfellow and Kennedy said that the section of trail between Godfrey and Tichborne has turned out to be very popular among cyclists, hikers, and ATV’s since it was built.

The High Land Waters Metis Community Council is settling in to their new home at North Point Square near Northbrook. They held their grand opening on May 10 and have office hours on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8am to 2pm and by appointment.

As one of their first projects in the new location, they have started a community vegetable Garden. On Saturday May 27th at North Point Square the Metis council and a few volunteers came out and planted the garden. Not only did they work hard all day in the sun, but Addington Highlands Township Councillor, Bill Cox stopped by and payed them a visit in support of their efforts. He stopped for a photo op with Chair Marlon Lloyd, Senator Robert Lloyd and Youth Representative Ashley Lloyd-Gomez.

The Metis Council is still looking for volunteers to help take care of the new garden.

Starting about six weeks ago, on Thursday mornings at about 11 o’clock its been salad bar time at Loughborough Public School. Students and parent volunteers from Alan Macdonald’s grade 7 class fill the small salad bar with ice, as the students from a food class from Sydenham High School arrive, along with some other grade 7 students, with a rack full of bowls of food.

Last week (May 25) there were bowls full of mixed greens, grape tomatoes, chopped cucumbers, and diced chicken. The salad bar, located in the middle of the foyer, was quickly filled and students and staff from throughout the school began to arrive, metal camping type plates in hand, to get their Thursday lunch. About 100 people have signed up for Thursday lunches at $4 a week, and they purchased the metal lunch containers at cost as part of the program. They heap the food on the plates, as grade 7 students and parent volunteers make sure they aren’t skipping out on their greens. The food varies from week to week based on what is available and which items are proving to be the most popular.

It looks like a healthy alternative to the old standbys of hot dog and pizza day, which provide parents with a day off from preparing lunches but doesn’t exactly jive with messages about healthy eating and exercise that are promoted by the Ministry of Education and local school boards.

But this lunch program is a lot more than that. With a two year, $20,000 grant from the Farm to School program, which is a division of farmtocafeteriacanada.ca, the Thursday lunch program is one piece of an integrated puzzle that Macdonald, along with gardener and writer Janette Hasse, Sydenham High School, and Southern Frontenac Community Services, have been building over several years.

The grant is being used to set up the program, which involves growing food at the school in raised beds  located just outside of the classroom, sourcing all the food that is not being grown as part of the program locally (through Wendy’s Mobile Market and other sources) preparing food at Sydenham High School, dealing with waste through composting, and much more.

The idea is to capture the entire chain of food production to food waste, from soil preparation and seeding, to preparing fresh produce, learning about how animals are raised for meat, and on and on.

“We think that once this program is fully up and running we will be able to feed everyone in the school who wants to participate, with no waste and all food grown and prepared by our students or local farmers,” said Macdonald.

And the program is being designed for sustainability.

“The grant is helping us get started. It enabled us to purchase the salad bar, build raised beds and create a model for the project, but this project is meant to become a permanent part of life at the school, and will be expected to be self financing,” Macdonald said.

Macdonald’s classes have been involved since 2014 in a greenhouse garden project at the nearby Grace Centre in conjunction with a project run by Janette Hasse, which provides food to augment the offerings of the South Fronenac Food bank, and he also had a personal interest in gardening, and all of the science that goes along with it.

The Farm to School program provides an opportunity to make a difference for students at both schools. Madonald has been using food production, including the science of soil development through composting and other means, growing Shiitake mushrooms, raising ducks, etc as a way of developing what he calls ‘food literacy’ among his own students and the entire school.

“It also fits in with the agriculture that is developing in the region, new market garden businesses are springing up all the time, and this puts the school in contact with all of those businesses,” he said.

And the students in his class, as well as parent volunteers, are learning each week about the kinds of foods people will eat if they are exposed to them.

It’s still a struggle to convince some of the students that the mixed greens, which include beet greens, Arugula, along with differentvarieties of lettuce, are as tasty as iceberg lettuce. There is no such problem, however,  with sweet grape tomatoes and crisp cucumbers, as they found out on Thursday.

With the kindergarten kids still to come, the tomatoes were all gone, and at least one very young salad bar enthusiast was sent back to his class for a few minutes while more tomatoes and cucumbers were found and put out.

When the salad bar was fully stocked, back came the kindergarten kids, led by the one who had been sent back to his class.

As he was filling his plate, he grabbed a couple of tomatoes with his hands while no one was looking and bit into them.

He smiled when the sweet juice filled his mouth and chewed away while spooning chicken onto his plate.

Mike Mckenzie of Seed to Sausage took a risk when he decided to move the popular Day of the Pig event to the Sharbot Lake beach.

The event started back in 2012 as a party at the site of the Seed to Sausage factory and retail store on the May long weekend. Chefs from Ottawa and Kingston were invited, as were local and regional craft vendors and some musicians, and more people came than any one could have expected.

“What just happened?” Mike McKenzie posted on the Seed to Sausage twitter feed on the day of the first Day of the Pig event after the crowds had left and all the meat that had been prepared for sale was long gone.

Four years later, in 2016, it was more than clear that the Day of the Pig had outgrown the Seed to Sausage site.

McKenzie started talking with members of the District 3 Recreation Committee of Central Frontenac about moving the event to the beach at Sharbot Lake, which hosts the Farmers Market and Canada Day each year.

In early February, Central Frontenac Council came on board and the move was official.

Then came the tricky part. In order to turn The Day of the Pig into a real festival, a carnival atmosphere was the concept that was developed. And to make that happen, magician Eric Leclerc, the Blue Mushroom Psyshow circus act and musicians Tom Savage, Marc Charron and the Foley Mountain Playboys were brought in to supplement the restaurants, brewers and find food producers at the event. All of this cost money and instead of being a free event the Day of the Pig cost $15 in advance and $20 at the door.

That, combined with a forecast calling for rain all afternoon made things a bit dicey.

The weather held, and the people came. By noon the beach was full, the food was being eaten, the entertainment was getting underway and it was clear the move to the beach was a success.

“The beach is a good venue for all sorts of events, and once this event happens the site setup will be available to anyone who wants it”, he said

Tents were put  up to block the sun or rain while still leaving some open space in front of the bandshell. A second stage was set up facing in from the lake for musical acts and vendors were set up around the perimeter of the park, creating  a spacious, well defined space.

Local food vendors reported their sales were up or at least on par with previous years, and several sold out. Ten pigs, prepared by Seed to Sausage cooks, were served up, along with gallons of beans, cole slaw and roasted corn.

Members of the Rec Committee provided friendly security and the Day went off rather smoothly for a first time event at a new site.

The Seed to Sausage store is set to open in early June, and other local events are getting ready to ramp up for the Summer of 150 in Frontenac County. On June 3rd, it’s Anchors Aweigh Fish Fry Day at the Verona Lion’s Centre. On June 14 the Strawberry Moon Festival will be on at the Frontenac Arena, and two days later the focus will be on the Village of Arden’s weekend festival.  Up in Mississippi Station Back Forty Cheese is holding its second annual Open House and Food Festival on June 24th, and then its back to Sharbot Lake Beach for Canada Day.

For a complete slate of events in Frontenac County, Addington Highlands and Western Lanark, read your Northern Happenings or look to the events guide on our new website www.frontenac-live.ca, which includes maps and details about everything there is to see and do this summer.

The Sharbot Lake Farmers Market returned to the beach in Sharbot Lake last Saturday and despite some at times threatening weather, enjoyed one of its better openings ever.

“I think this was my best opening day and probably one of my best ever days,” said long-time market veteran Darlene Conboy of Conboy’s Maple Syrup.

“It’s a good market, a lovely venue,” said Isaac Hale of Learning Curve Gardens.

“Actually it was pretty good,” said Ken Howes. “I sold a number of chairs and some asparagus.”

“We’ll be here for the summer,” said Cari Tryon of Tryon Farm.

New market co-ordinator Dean Wedden said they have 15 full-time vendors this year, several of whom are new.

“I have no idea how many people we’ve had through here today, I’ve been too busy with a number of things to count people,” he said. “But it’s a beautiful day with no flies and most people seem to be happy about things.”

Conboy said she’d counted 167 visitors but “I probably missed quite a few when I was dealing with customers.”

As has been the custom, the Market will feature theme and special guest days throughout the summer until the last market of the year on Oct. 7.

Planned for this year are:

• June 3: Blue Skies Fiddle Orchestra
• June 10: Kingston-Frontenac Public Library puppet show
• June 24: Frontenac Blades tomahawk/knife throwing
• July 1: Canada Day Parade
• July 15: Burger Day showcasing local vendors meats
• August 3: Maple Day
• August 19: Frontenac Blades
• September 2: Butter Tart Challenge
• September 9: Five Woodwind Quintet and KFPL story walk

There’s also a craft day for kids in the works.

Nine-year-old Fynn Collins has a plan: grow seedlings, sell them at the Market and put away enough money to buy herself a car when she’s 16.

“It will be my car, so mom and dad shouldn’t have to pay for it,” she said last Saturday as the Frontenac Farmers Market opened for its 13th season. “I may save up for my own TV before that.”

About two years ago, Collins got interested in gardening. She particularly liked growing seedlings and this year when her mom Amanda told her the Farmers Market was opening soon, she knew exactly what she wanted to do.

“I decided I wanted a stand,” she said.

So, she got busy starting her seedlings, even to the point of growing some under artificial lights. For the opening day, she had a variety of pepper strains for sale, along with some mini-cheesecakes, but this is just the beginning. She plans on expanding her inventory as other seedlings reach the transplanting stage.

She said she loves all sorts of plants but Kale seems to be her favourite.

“I pick it out of the garden and eat it,” she said.

For now, Collins is looking at this venture as “a good summer job” but the idea of making a living as a market gardener some day does appeal to her.

“I love gardening,” she said.

Collins is a welcome addition to the Market this year, said self-described “chief go-fer/manager Debbie Harris.

“We have a full house this year with some new vendors like Fynn,” Harris said. “And it’s good that we have a variety of farm vendors.”

For example, she said, besides Collins they have people selling vegetables, including hydroponically grown varieties, prepared foods like pirogues, a couple of vendors selling meats, baked goods and “old favourites like jams, jellies and herbs and of course having coffee available is very important.”

The Market is open every Saturday in the parking lot of Prince Charles Public School from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. right through until Halloween.

They like to have ‘special’ days, like the annual Tomato Day, but those things tend to be dependent on things like weather, growing conditions and fate.

“We seem to like to fly by the seat of our pants,” Harris said. “But people can check our Facebook page for special events.”

The market goes every Saturday, regardless of weather. They’ve been rained on, snowed on, and lived through some pretty good windstorms.

Even this year, a little rain didn’t dampen their enthusiasm.

“We’re never very sure about the weather,” Harris said. “I’ve been doing my sun dance all week.”

But as long as people keep coming, they’ll keep doing it, she said.

“We appreciate the support the community has shown us,” she said. “If they’re not here, we’re not here.”

Geof and Amanda Hall are looking to their past to plan their future.

Married for three years, the couple has been quietly building an apple orchard in Battersea with the trees of their ancestors.

Often found working late into the night at their kitchen table or outside early in the morning with headlamps to guide them, the friendly pair dreamed big as they spent the last two years planting 500 trees of 37 varieties of heritage apples.

“It’s been an interesting experience for us,” says Amanda over a cup of tea on a wet spring afternoon in early May. “We learned of different varieties (of apples) we had never heard of before.”

“A lot of these are cherished varieties,” adds Geof.

Named Harvest Mill Farm after milestones in the couple’s life, the orchard started with a tree from Geof’s great grandfather’s farm located near Rideau Ferry.

“I started to get into this because I wanted to save the last tree that blew down (on the family farm) during a storm,” says Geog about his ancestor, a horticulturalist from Scotland.

“We started a nursery there to keep the line,” he notes. “That line was able to produce small trees.”

Using dwarf roots from British Columbia, the couple attached a branch to each root and placed it carefully in the ground.

“Each branch just needs a few buds,” explains Geof about the grafting process of attaching a branch to the root with tape, wax and a label.

Spread over approximately six acres, the trees are from Geof’s ancestor and fruit trees not commonly found anymore. The orchard is a mix of nature and nurture.

Last year, the trees were subjected to drought-like conditions. This year, they are enduring a historically wet spring. Through it all, the roots are mapped with precision, subjected to organic practices, and documented as they progress.

“The entire orchard is a grid,” confirms Amanda as she wraps her arms around her 18-month-old daughter, Lily.

Since starting the orchard in 2015, the couple has lost 70 of their 500 trees. The loss was anticipated.

“You always have some loss with brand-new roots,” says Geof, 41, a Water Researcher at Queen’s University.

Bright and kind, Geof is proud of the 143-acre farm he purchased in 2013 from Russell Clark. In time, he will use a flock of sheep to help manage the apple orchard. The animals will help with weed control and fertilization.

For now, he is building the orchard the way he is living his life: on a solid foundation that respects the past and anticipates the future.

Smiling at his young daughter, he notes wisely, “That’s important to us. This really is a family thing we’re doing here.”

“The neat part is, it’s a learning experience for us too,” adds Amanda, an Occupational Therapist at Providence Care in Kingston. “These are apples we have never had experience with. We’ll be trying the apples with everyone else.”

“Some of these varieties have amazing tastes,” she explains about the fruit that will be ready in three to four years. “For us, it’s bringing back our heritage.”

Originally from Barrie, Amanda talks about the farm and the community with the soft tones of a woman in love.

“We were looking for two years to find this farm,” says the 34-year-old. “We’re honoured to live here and carry-on the memories. We love it here. Everyone has been so welcoming. We have not come across someone who has not wanted to help us in one way or another. Battersea is a really special community.”

The couple continues to invest in their future by expanding the farm at a sustainable pace. Working at their kitchen table and investing what they can afford, they plan to add 70 new trees annually to the orchard until they reach 2,500. When the orchard is producing, they will advertise the operation as pick-your-own.

“This year, if we can have a non-drought summer, that would make us happy,” says Geof  about the challenges ahead of them. “Right now, we could also use a week a week of sun and no rain.”

“We’re really encouraged by what we’ve seen this year,” says Amanda  about their fledgling apple trees and small vineyard planted off to the side. A pumpkin patch will be added this summer.

Looking around the farm that is thriving thanks to careful planning, hard work and perseverance, Amanda seems pleased with the results.

“It’s more meaningful for us to do it this way,” she says about the orchard they are building, one branch at-a-time. “There’s something kind of neat about knowing you created that tree.”

To learn more about planting an apple orchard, please join Geof and Amanda Hall at their farm in Battersea on June 10. Details on this one-day course can be found at www.harvestmillfarm.ca or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

What do Hallowe’en, Thanksgiving, Cinderella, Jack-o-lanterns and pumpkin pie have in common? Why pumpkins of course. Pumpkins  originated in Central America and have been grown there for thousands of years. In early times, they were baked or stuffed. Medicinally they were used to treat snake bite, freckles and tape worms.

The Jack-o-lantern , symbol of Hallowe’en, was popularized by Irish immigrants who told a tale of a stingy man, Jack, barred from heaven and hell, condemned to carry a turnip lantern and hot coal and walk the earth until Judgement day. Since pumpkins were so readily available to Americans, they substituted a hollowed pumpkin for the turnip and so the tale became folklore.  

Pumpkins need space in the garden, and a fairly long growing season- from 90 to 130 days. Seeds can be directly sown in the garden when the soil is warm, or seeded indoors two-three weeks earlier and carefully transplanted so the roots aren’t disturbed.  As pumpkin plants are very sensitive to cold wait until the soil temperature is 70 degrees.  Pumpkins are heavy feeders.  Garden soil should be enriched with compost and a slow release fertilizer. Hill up the soil into a mound and plant four or five seeds, and thin to two plants after two weeks. Rows should be about eight feet apart. Miniature and bush type pumpkins need less space. During the growing and fruiting stage, water is very important- at least an inch a week. If you want large pumpkins  fertilize  again at fruiting time . Bees are necessary for pollination so never use insecticides. Cultivate carefully around the plants as pumpkin roots are near the surface. Cucumber beetles and squash bugs sometimes  attack seedlings. Hand picking can control the pests.A floating row cover can prevent damage but it must be removed for pollination.  Powdery mildew on the upper surface of the leaves can be unsightly but rarely kills plants.

Pumpkins are ready to harvest when they are completely orange and the vines turn yellow. Cut the stem cleanly leaving about four inches attached. Store in a cool place until Hallowe’en or Thanksgiving.

Seed catalogues offer a wide variety of colours, shapes and sizes- everything from huge Atlantic Giant, to little Baby Boo. There are ones shaped like Cinderella’s coach, white ones (Lumina) , sugar pumpkins for pies and warty ones with bumps all over. The flesh of pumpkins is high in Vitamins A and C an potassium. The seeds are great roasted.

The vegetable of the year for 2017 is more than just one vegetable, it’s an entire family, even an entire category. They used to be called cruciferous vegetables, not because of their crunch but because of their small flowers. The four petal flower looks something like a cross, hence the latin name crucifera referring to the crucifixion. Botanists now call them brassicas and farmers call them cole plants.

They include all of the vegetables in the cabbage and mustard family, a powerhouse of nutrition and strong flavours. As garden plants they are very well suited to cooler climate, and are generally pretty easy to grow.

They include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, collards, bok choy, nappa, kale, kohlrabi, radish, tatsoi, turnip, and rutabaga and more. The easiest one to grow is the garden radish, of which there are many varieties available. Many gardeners use radishes to mark the ends or limits of rows where slower growing direct seeded plants, such as beets and carrots, are planted because they come up within days and can be harvested quickly, in a few weeks.

Brassicas are mostly well suited to our climate and they tend to like well drained soils and prefer wet rather than dry conditions. Some of them can be started indoors but they tend not to like to be disturbed so they are best started in peat pots that can be plugged into the ground when they go out. There are no real issues with frost so seeds can be planted or plants transplanted at any time.

The main concern is bugs (flea beetles, aphids, cabbage worms, cabbage loopers, etc)  and for those who like to do multiple plantings throughout the season the best thing to do is not to plant in the same location twice.

With some brassicas, the leaves are harvested (kale, bok choy, arugula) with some the swollen half above ground roots are harvested (turnips, radishes, kohlrabi) and with some it is the flower head that is eaten (broccoli, cauliflower).  The advantage of growing brassicas, whose leaves or flower heads are the crop we are looking for, is that the plant survives the harvest and keeps growing on to be harvested repeatedly.

We will look at one Brassica that local gardeners might consider growing this year.

Broccoli – It takes more work to bring broccoli plants to maturity than some of the other brassicas, But once the plants are large enough and the central head is harvested, the side shoots develop and the harvest can continue until well after the first frost of the season.

To start broccoli in the spring, many gardeners plant the seeds indoors in April and set out small seedlings in mid May, but they can be direct seeded in May. They can be seeded about 110 days before he first frost, which in our region is between mid-May to early June. They need room so seeds or seedlings need to be between 12 and 24 inches apart.

They do not like the hot weather but they really hate drought conditions so watering is imperative. Their roots are shallow so mulching is a better idea than cultivating or weeding the soil near the plant. The best thing about garden broccoli is the payoff. Whether you have one or ten mature plants in your garden, the taste and texture of garden broccoli puts store bought broccoli to shame. And you can keep eating fresh broccoli until November.

One hint about cooking broccoli. Don’t boil it to the point of mush. In stir fries, peel and cut up the stalk and put it in earlier, and once the stalks soften, toss in the flower heads at the very end, cover and steam just until they turn dark green and start to sweat, then stir into the other hot vegetables.

They can also be cooked in a steamer or in a small amount of boiling water, again stocks first until they soften, then the flowers for a short time. Drain and throw the cooked broccoli in a bowl with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar and sprinkle finely chopped raw garlic over top and toss everything together. Let sit for five minutes for vinegar and garlic to seep into the warm broccoli and start eating. By the time the rest of the dinner is ready and everyone is gathered at the table the broccoli will probably be gone, picked away at by passers by.