Autumn is just around the corner friends and now is the time to get your October and November vegetables into the ground. Start looking for broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower starts. Get your lettuce, greens, and spinach seeds ready to go. Plan space in the garden for kale, garlic, and a cold-frame if you are looking to extend the season into the winter hours.
As you begin to remove spent and finished items out of the garden keep in mind that the soil benefits from a mulch of some kind. If you will not replant the space be sure to mulch the soil with three inches of leaves, compost, or another mulch of your choice.
If replanting the area remember to dedicate space that is easy to get to and convenient for maintaining and harvesting. As the autumn season begins our gardening urge tends to wane and the crops that are left for the late autumn days tend to suffer. Plan ahead for ease of maintenance, usefulness, and liklihood that you will use the crop promptly so that it will not rot in the garden and create pest and disease issues the following season.
Vancouver Food Cooperative
There is a long and tumultuous history with the VFC and after many years, a change of board members, and the implementation of several business men as a “store implementation” committee, the VFC has announced September 1 as the opening date of the storefront located at 215 W. 4th Street, Vancouver. The beginnings will be an on-line catalog as well as produce provided by several local vendors available on-line as well as in the storefront on pick up days. Open to Members as well as the general public it is a breath of fresh air to see the VFC taking steps forward as well as providing a storefront in the downtown Vancouver area where groceries are had at convenience stores or are a bus ride away. The website is in flux through August but check out the goings on at http://www.vancouverfood.org.
