Time to Stock Up & Preserve!

Time to Stock Up & Preserve!

It’s the season of bounty here in the Kawarthas and it is time to preserve all that goodness for the colder seasons to come.

Learn more about what is in season when, so you can help get prepared!

If you are a gardener, you may have lots of home grown goodness coming out of your garden, but if you want to purchase some locally, visit local Farmers’ Markets and farm stands to stock up! Follow us on social media @localfoodptbo for constantly updated suggestions on where to source!

There are lots of great ways to preserve the abundance of harvest season. Most do not require much special equipment or extreme skills.

One of the simplest ways to preserve fresh food is to freeze it. This can be done with most fruits & vegetables quite easily. Here are some great resources from Peterborough Public Health to easily freeze your harvests and purchased local goods!

Another simple way to preserve fresh harvests is drying. This works great for herbs, and if you have a dehydrater (or oven on very low heat for 12 hours plus!) you can also dry fruit and vegetables for the winter! Here are some great tips from Earth Easy.

Another way to preserve fresh local foods is canning. This does require some basic skills and equipment, but well worth taking the time to learn, here are some basic steps and recipes from Nourish Project, they often offer canning classes during preserving season too!
Other great resources include Bernardin and Ball for both canning techniques and recipes!

What are your favourite ways to can & preserve? Currently as we write this, tomatoes are in abundance, learn some great ways to preserve tomatoes in many ways from our friends at Nourish project

Where do you source local produce for preserving?
Do you have any favourite recipes?

Adapting in Challenging Times

Adapting in Challenging Times

Veggies

Farmers have always been adaptable and resilient. Facing fluctuating weather, markets and diets, they have always found a way to continue their important work, and keep our communities fed.

This season, has brought new challenges that many would’ve never expected, not only has there been a massive drought, but a global pandemic hit right at the beginning of the season, forcing farmers to adapt on the fly and pivot into new ways of distributing and selling their products. Here in the Kawartha region, we are lucky to have so many amazing farmers (learn more about some of them in these great videos!)

It is no surprise to anyone that knows these farmers that they were able to come up with creative solutions quickly, and continue to provide our region with fresh, healthy, amazing locally grown goods throughout it all.

Although most of our local Farmers’ Markets have been able to re-open safely, at the beginning of the season there were a lot of unknowns including whether many of the places where farmers sold their food would be available. Restaurants were shutting their doors, farmers markets scrambling to figure out ways to safely open, and many other avenues for sales seemingly drying up over night.

Many farms worked hard to come up with great solutions, they opened up or expanded hours of their farm stands and CSA’s (Community Shared Agriculture), they partnered with stores that were doing curb side pick up (e.g Peterborough Food Shop) and like they always do, farmers got creative.

Some amazing local examples include:
Three Forks Farms expanded their on-line order & delivery services
Riel Acres built a beautiful farm stand and opened up shop Wednesdays and Saturdays
McLeans Berry Farm set-up an on-line ordering shop to customers could pre-order to pick up at market & adapted their U-pick protocols often to keep the public safe.
These are just a few of many amazing examples!

Now more than ever, it is important to support these farms. Not only are you helping farmers weather this storm, but you are contributing to our local economy and getting incredible fresh, local food in return!

Be sure to explore this website and our social media to find ways to support these farmers locally, learn where to purchase their great food direct, or from those that are helping distribute products.

Tell us about how you accessed local food during Covid-19, what farmers went above and beyond, are you having trouble finding local food? Check us out on social media @localfoodptbo and use #localfoodptbo to showcase your story, farmers & customers, we want to hear from you.

It’s harvest time, now is the time to stock up, preserve and enjoy all the bounty that our region has to offer!

Help us Promote Local Food!

Hello Local Food Supporters! 

As you may already know, this website along with an accompanying social media campaign aims to showcase and promote the many facets of our local food systems.

The website and social media are getting lots of traction, and now that harvest season is in full swing, we would love your help in spreading the word further, our goal is to reach 2000 followers by October 1st, and help local businesses thrive while communities learn more about accessing local food.  

Here’s how you can help: 
1) Explore the website www.localfoodptbo.ca for loads of great links and information!  

2) Follow us on Facebook, instagram and twitter @localfoodptbo, if you haven’t already and be sure to tag #localfoodptbo in any of your related social media posts (We will share them on your behalf and help everyone reach a wider audience!) 

3) Do a specific social media post promoting the website, social and #localfoodptbo 

4) Do you have a newsletter that you could include the website and social media promotions in? We are happy to share some copy or write a short blurb to be shared if of interest. 

We are happy to hear your ideas on how we can work together to get more people learning about our local food systems and purchasing more locally grown goodness! 

localfoodptbo@gmail.com

Good to Grow

Join Nourish, and local gardening experts for our upcoming Ask A Grower sessions!

Every two weeks, we will host an on-line garden check-in. We will focus on a seasonal topic, invite special guest experts & leave lots of time for trouble shooting & questions!

Bring your gardening challenges, wins and quandaries!

Potential topics are as follows, but are subject to change based on our Guest Gardener Experts and seasonal challenges gardeners are facing! If you are a gardening expert with knowledge to share, know of someone who you think would be a great workshop guest,  or have a topic you would like to see us discuss, let us know!

*Workshops are on-line, once registered at https://nourishproject.ca/good-grow  you will receive the zoom link on the day of the workshop.

Good to Grow

Join Nourish, and local gardening experts for our upcoming Ask A Grower sessions!

Every two weeks, we will host an on-line garden check-in. We will focus on a seasonal topic, invite special guest experts & leave lots of time for trouble shooting & questions!

Bring your gardening challenges, wins and quandaries!

Potential topics are as follows, but are subject to change based on our Guest Gardener Experts and seasonal challenges gardeners are facing! If you are a gardening expert with knowledge to share, know of someone who you think would be a great workshop guest,  or have a topic you would like to see us discuss, let us know!

*Workshops are on-line, once registered at https://nourishproject.ca/good-grow  you will receive the zoom link on the day of the workshop.

Good to Grow

Join Nourish, and local gardening experts for our upcoming Ask A Grower sessions!

Every two weeks, we will host an on-line garden check-in. We will focus on a seasonal topic, invite special guest experts & leave lots of time for trouble shooting & questions!

Bring your gardening challenges, wins and quandaries!

Potential topics are as follows, but are subject to change based on our Guest Gardener Experts and seasonal challenges gardeners are facing! If you are a gardening expert with knowledge to share, know of someone who you think would be a great workshop guest,  or have a topic you would like to see us discuss, let us know!

*Workshops are on-line, once registered at https://nourishproject.ca/good-grow  you will receive the zoom link on the day of the workshop.

Growing Resilience: Garden Planning for a Changing Climate

Growing Resilience: Garden Planning for a Changing Climate

This 5-part online workshop series will help you reap abundant harvests today (no matter your garden size) while planting for a more sustainable tomorrow!

Thursdays 6:30-8pm

June 4th – Soil Building

Learn tips for composing successfully, growing pulses and grains, perennial plants, and integrating cover crops into your gardens to grow great soil, and reap abundant harvests!

All workshops are FREE!

Register at: www.nourishproject.ca/events

705.745.3526 x115

Growing Resilience: Garden Planning for a Changing Climate

Growing Resilience: Garden Planning for a Changing Climate

This 5-part online workshop series will help you reap abundant harvests today (no matter your garden size) while planting for a more sustainable tomorrow!

Thursdays 6:30-8pm

May 28th – Seed Saving

Plan to integrate seed saving into your garden plan! Learn tips for planting, growing, harvesting, cleaning and storing your own seeds.

All workshops are FREE!

Register at: www.nourishproject.ca/events

705.745.3526 x115