Month: March 2015

Local Blogger, Jamie from Styling the Inside wrote all about her experience shopping the market with her family. She shared it on her site, and now we’re sharing it here, it’s just too good not to.

Do you like to support local businesses, farmers and vendors? Shop for organic, local produce, and reduce carbon footprint? Well, I do. Which is why, on Sunday, our family and my friend’s son,  paid a visit to the Port Moody Farmers Market!

It was a partly cloudy day, and we made it just before the rain. When we arrived, the first stand that caught our eye was the  Cravings kettle corn! Our feet lead us directly to the stand where we were kindly asked if we wanted to try some. Naturally, all of us were eager for a taste, and after a few bites… we couldn’t resist. Needless to say, we bought a large bag! As we walked around checking out the rest of the stands, our mouths were full of popcorn. It was sooo good!!!

The next stand we stopped at was a stand with pies, and desserts. We all tasted a piece of cookie, and then my lack of resistance kicked in once again and… I bought the kids a giant oatmeal, chocolate chip one. I’m a sucker for those taste tests, I tell ya. I really wanted to buy a pie, but because this was only the second stand we looked at, I wanted to have a look at my other options before buying the giant pie. But man, the apple pie looked delicious. I love warm apple pie and vanilla ice-cream. O.k, I need to stop writing about it. I’m craving pie now.

As we walked around the stands, taste testing, and browsing everything the market has to offer, live music was being played.  In addition, Participaction was situated directly in the middle of the market, with a ton of outdoor play equipment for the kids to enjoy, which included hula hoops, skip ropes, balls, and best of all, two child-sized wheel chairs, for the children to practice cruising around on. My youngest daughter, did not want to get off!

Perhaps, our breakfast wasn’t large enough that morning before we left the house, because we seriously tasted everything! Tea, desserts, jams, humus, salsa,  chips and even…vodka! Yes, I had a taste of vodka!

The girls were drawn to a hair accessory stand because the table was scattered with beautiful  handmade hair bands, clips, and accessories in all sorts of lovely colors. Both my girls purchased  a set of clips, and my friend’s son, browsed the table, thoughtfully thinking of the girls in his life that might like the clips (someone’s going to be a lady’s man).

Before we left, we let the kids play in the outdoor area with all the play equipment one last time.  While I watched them, I gobbled up kettle corn, while my daughter hollered, ” Don’t eat it all!”  And,  on our way out, I remembered why I came…to grab a bit of fresh produce. So, I grabbed two heads of fresh, local organic kale (I love using kale in my daily green smoothies) and we were off.

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed the Port Moody Farmers Market and we can’t wait to go back! The next time we go, the girls would love to try one of the workshops, like the Mason Bee Jar one that was going on while were there.

Do you have a local farmers market you enjoy going too? I’m so happy we’ve discovered ours!

//Two heads of Kale from Langley Organic Growers, Kettle Corn from Cravings Kettle Corn, Humus from Bobali, fresh Salsa from Lupita, Smoked Cumin Powder from Amazing Foods, Sugar Free Jam from JJ’s Country Cookin’, and a Ukranian pastry from Solodko! We also bought a cookie, (but the evidence is gone) , and the girls got pretty handmade hair clips.//

Local Blogger, Tairalyn from Little Miss Mama wrote all about our Mason Bee workshop that her husband Sammy and daughter Sofia attended. See all about their experience, including great tips about making your very own Mason Bee House and the best way to find a forever home in your yard for them:

This past Sunday was epic, because I said so! Now with me working Friday and Saturday our Sundays are extra special, it’s our time as a family to connect, explore, have fun but most importantly, be together. This last Sunday we hit our local Farmers Market, the Port Moody Winter’s Farmers Market, and not only shopped our list of weekly necessities, but also got our craft on. Sammy and Sofia were registered in a Mason Bee Workshop that was put out by the Farmer’s Market and hosted by Dr. Veronica Wahl, from the Institute of Urban Ecology at Douglas College, where she taught them all about Mason Bee’s, including walking them through making a Mason Bee House. We left the market that day with not only our usual, freshly baked pretzels from Gesundheit Bakery, Popcorn from Cravings Kettle Corn, and Tuna from Wild West Coast Seafoods, but we also left with 10 new buzzing family members via Backyard Bird.

Here are some of the main points that Dr. Veronica Wahl taught us about Mason Bee Homes:

1. Hang your mason bee home against a wall in a sunny location that has morning light
2. Placing it about 5′ to 6′ off the ground; eye level is best
3. Timing is everything; choose a warm sunny day with little wind, and place your cocoons out on the nest in early March

I found that her site, unibug, is a great resource for anything and everything Mason Bees, including year round care. We’re so excited to get started however we put our grand release on hold just another week. We chose to keep our cocoons in the fridge for another week, we will hit the nursery next weekend and find some appropriate plants that we know they can feed off of and be confident they will have what they need near. We really hope we can encourage them to stick around, coming back to stay in our little home we made for them all year round. It will help so greatly not only in our beautiful garden but the overall health of our neighborhood eco-system.

Here are the few basics steps they did to make our Mason Bee House:

1. Find a 2 liter pop bottle or milk carton and paint the outside {providing shade to the interior}
2. Roll brown ink-less paper on a #2 pencil and wrap with white tape
3. Make 25 to 50 tubes and elastic band them together is a cluster
4. Cover the one end with paper to block out the light and put them inside the carton

EXCITED to update you via Instagram on how these 10 little bees manage in their new accommodations. I’m sure with the service we are planning to provide, it will be just fine. Stay tuned!

If it needs flavor, I’m pretty certain The Salt Dispensary has a salt for that. More specifically over 35 kinds of smoked and flavored salts, meat rubs, 8 kinds of salted caramels and a variety of specialty smoked condiments. We’re feeling pretty lucky that they’ve given us their time to answer some of our questions.

Q. Why smoked salts, what’s the passion behind it?
We were looking for something to replace working for someone else and when we found out about everything you can do with salt and how very few people were taking advantage of it we knew we had found something to pursue and share at the markets.

Q. You have so many different and exotic salt blends, how do you come up with the different flavors?
Some are traditional from different areas and some are experiments. Customer requests for things they either think up or can’t find also play a role. The farm markets are a great place to get direct feedback from customers and ideas for product development.

Q. What would you say to someone about using your salt blends who has only ever used regular salt?
Try it you will be amazed at the flavor experience you can have with just a little of a good quality flavored or smoked sea salt. People are amazed when they try them.

Q. What reaction do you get from a first time smoked salt user?
Usually it’s WOW, people can be speechless and amazed. There are some people who do not enjoy smoked flavors but its usually a smile and a flood of ideas about what they want to try it on.

Q. What is your favorite blend of salt?
It depends on what I’m eating, I really like applewood smoke on tomatoes right now. The Spicy ones are great as well. The new Hickory Garlic is a great combo I’m trying on lots of things.

Q. What’s one of the most popular ways to use your smoked salts, and what’s one of the most creative ways to use your salts?
Many people think of meat immediately for smokes but they work well on sweet things like Ice Cream also. A couple of grains in coffee can really change it also. Spicy salt on fruit is something new for me that some cultures do and is quite good.

Q. What goes into making a smoked, flavored salt blend?
It’s cold smoked until it’s perfect, usually the flavor blends are about getting a nice texture in the end, that’s usually the challenge.

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THIS WEEKS INSTAGRAM WINNER

Thank you to everyone who played along in this week’s Instagram giveaway for a chance to win a $10 credit to the Port Moody Farmers Market. This weeks winner is Kelly Krol. Congratulations and please send an e-mail to admin@makebakegrow.com to claim your prize. Another giveaway will go live on our Instagram account starting Monday, come back and play along for your next chance at winning!

The Port Moody Farmers Market is happy to have Dr. Veronica Wahl, from the Institute of Urban Ecology (IUE)at Douglas College, leading a workshop on Mason Bees on March 22^nd (sign up at Eventbrite). Veronica is the UNIBUG project coordinator at the Institute of Urban Ecology at Douglas College. The overall goal of UNIBUG is to engage community volunteers in learning about the ecology of urban gardens, with a particular focus on beneficial garden insects.

Last year during the 3rd-annual UNIBUG (User Network for Insect Biology in the Urban Garden) forum, Douglas College launched its UNIBUG project on improving the understanding of wild pollinator populations in the region. The project initially began with monitoring bugs (such as beetles) that hunt pests and has grown to include monitoring pollinators, from hummingbirds to butterflies to the many types of bees. UNIBUG has grown to over 300 volunteers since its inception.

With various bee populations in danger of extinction, a major part of this workshop will be learning how to make small nests for bees or “bee houses” to safely lay and hatch eggs. Unlike honey bees, Mason bees are solitary creatures that don’t congregate in hives and are not used for commercial pollination. It’s important to make their homes as welcoming as possible and ensure  they are well maintained.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture the common Blue Orchard Mason Bee is well adapted to the northern ranges of blooming fruit trees found in B.C.’s southern Interior and coastal areas. The Orchard Mason Bee is dark metallic green/blue in color, ranging in size from the females that are approximately 14 mm in length to the smaller males that are 11-12 mm. Their hairiness enables them to carry pollen grains from flower to flower, causing pollination to take place.

West Coast Seeds offers advice on how to attract Mason Bees and other pollinators by planting a diversity of flowers including a different heights, types and blossoming times. They suggest planting a bed of wildflowers and “you will be rewarded by the presence of all kinds of pollinators throughout the growing months, from bumblebees to hummingbirds and butterflies.”

Lindsay Coulter is a Public Engagement Specialist at the David Suzuki Foundation. Lindsay blogs as the Queen of Green and has written several articles on the care of Mason Bees. Find out how to care for your Mason Bees and when the time and temperature is just right to release them in the spring.

If you get an opportunity, you should view Douglas College’s rooftop garden and green house from the Aboriginal Gathering Place at the New Westminster campus. This hive of activity is a living laboratory for students and volunteers who want to learn about sustainable agricultural practices that use biological control of insect pests.

Douglas College is hosting an event that explores the links between sustainable energy and the agricultural sector, at their New Westminster campus on March 27th and 31st. You can learn more about the Institute of Urban Ecology at their information display from noon until 4:30 on the 31^st and stick around for a panel discussion that afternoon.

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