The trouble with attempting to be progressive is that there are often rules against it, whether written or unwritten. It may be the neighbours who don’t like the fact that you tore out your front lawn and replaced it with potatoes and squash plants, or in Dirk Becker’s case, it is the District of Lantzville’s […]
Tag Archives: agriculture
The Bear
The bear came last night. A sow, a big momma, a big hungry momma. Even though we’d hidden the bin, she tore the critter-proof lid off and devoured the remnants of human meals past. This was the first bear we’d seen in the backyard. There had been signs before, but never a face-to-face encounter. Bang. […]
Gardening Update June 2010
Image by urbanworkbench via Flickr As I sit in my home office looking out across the garden at the lightening playing off the mountain range, I pondered what to write. I know that I have slowed down over the past month or so, adn that the posts have been fairly serious and heavy in nature. […]
Set Up for Failure
As a society, (or a species, take your pick), we are terrible at planning and strategising much further than what we are planning to eat for dinner. while Japanese companies plan for world domination in five generations, we are stuck in a revolving door of problems that need immediate attention. But even when we get […]
The Education of an Urban Farmer
As far as urban farming goes, we’ve got it pretty easy – A large suburban lot, clean soil. Sure, we’ve got our challenges – City Bylaws that prohibit chickens or goats or pretty much anything other than a dog or a cat; a hill that wears you out after a couple of trips back to […]
BC’s Agricultural Plan and Local Food
Image via Wikipedia Flipping through the British Columbia Agriculture Plan, which is a beautifully presented document by the way, I was struck by one paragraph and how little has been achieved on this front, either through policy, or other means… We will also work with community and farm groups and local governments to help facilitation […]
Urban Farming and Zoning Bylaws
Earlier this year, I suggested that the City of Castlegar look into changing the zoning bylaw, which prohibits the growing of crops in residential areas. The feedback I got from a number of people was that I was overstating the law, or questioning whether the law would ever be enforced.
badseed.jpgI believe that a law not enforced is not worth having, or more appropriately, it should not be applied in a discretionary manner. Last week an article in the Kansas City Star caught my attention. This article describes the trials of an Urban Farm called “Bad Seed Farm” in Kansas City.
Urban Grains CSA Harvest
The Lower Mainland’s Grain CSA called “Urban Grains” has begun the harvest thanks to warmer July weather and the threat of late August rains. [ad#468] The Kootenay Grain CSA just posted news about the recent tour and should be readying for harvest soon. We’re heading out through Creston next week, maybe we’ll get some photos! […]