Our celebration of local eating and the harvest, BowFEAST 2011, is coming Aug. 15 to 21. And one of the best things about it is meeting island farmers face to face.
Kim Howden is one who will be selling produce at the BowFEAST community farmers' market Sat., Aug. 20, 9 a.m. to noon, on the library lawn. Kim manages the Ruddy Garden, a small-scale market garden on Sunset Road, which sells to the Ruddy Potato grocer (the garden is owned by Daniel Heald). She works with Karen Shea and Leah Serna.
Here are some Q&A with Kim.
How did you first get into farming?
When I was as a little girl. Growing up, we never had a veggie garden of our own, but we had a greenhouse off of our living room that was my Dad's place of relaxation. He didn't grow food, but grew houseplants and flowers. I'd sit on the steps in the humid moist air of the greenhouse. I loved the smell and the way he'd tell me about what he was doing. I helped with potting up plants and watering all that was growing. It was my first inspiration!
My first experience of growing my own food was in the summer of 1997. I was pregnant with my daughter Emera, and we rented a sweet little house in Southern Alberta with a HUGE garden of raised beds and a greenhouse. I was in heaven! So I spent my days in my bathing suit with my big pregnant belly, planting and growing and watering and harvesting. On the day Emera was born (Sept. 30 - right in time for harvest), my mother-in-law was canning bazillions of tomatoes. I was still learning about how much to plant for one family. From then on, almost every summer, we grew our own veggie garden. We moved to many different houses throughout the kids growing older, and let's just say that almost each house was left with a brand new veggie patch upon our leaving.
What's your biggest challenge?
It is at the same time the biggest strength, and that is... the power of Mother Nature! She will do what she does, and if it calls for rain it can come in sheets as we know, or snow in April, or hail on new plants, or move quickly into cold nights in the fall and bring on the powdery mildew or blight. We follow the cycles, and step into the unknown - keep on growing for the love of it, as a way to contribute, stay connected and take responsibility for what we eat.
And?
Another challenge is that it's pretty hard to make a living growing food. I have a lot more respect for farmers now than I ever have, as I've experienced the intense physicality of this work, and also understand the non-monetary rewards of it!
What do you love about it?
I love the wonder of it, and that it has nothing to do with me at all! I love that you can take a seed the size of a pinhead, plant it with love, and it manages to grow into a whole plant producing many more seeds than you started with! I love the feel of the soil and the ground under my feet. I LOVE getting dirty and mucky. I love the beauty of life buzzing in the garden - the hummingbirds whizzing by your head, the bees in the kale flowers, the satisfactions of pulling jewels of multi-coloured beets and carrots out of the dark earth.
What's your favourite fruit/veg to pick and eat right in the garden?
Take a new fresh kale leaf, walk over to the perennial arugula and pick a leaf, walk over to the spearmint and pick a leaf. Wrap it all together and pop it in your mouth! If the raspberries are ready, roll it up in the middle. Yum!
BowFEAST is a project of the Bowen Agricultural Alliance (BAA), in partnership with Bowen Island Municipality, Bowen Island Community School and Bowen Island Community Recreation, made possible by a grant from the Municipality. BAA is a registered non-profit society supporting small-scale agriculture, promoting local eating and advancing food security on Bowen. Info: www.bowenagalliance.ca.
ELLE GLAVE
BowFEAST
