Ready for another delivery to the Kanata Food Bank

Here is the latest bounty from my vegetable garden ready for delivery to the Kanata Food Bank. Because of the drought coupled with heavy watering periods, the large tomatoes are somewhat rough skinned. They are still very tasty. The cucumbers are a heritage variety and are white skinned. The beans are much less in production this year, another byproduct of the drought.

The vegetable gardens in late June

 The first sowing of lettuces is now ready for harvesting. Already a dozen of these, from the raised garden, were taken to the local food bank where they were received enthusiastically.

 The next crop of lettuce is through, and I will sow a third crop soon.

 The rows of potatoes are doing well. I might add more compost to the rows to stimulate more production.

 The tomato plants are very healthy and now beginning to set their fruit. A bountiful harvest is promised.

 The green peppers are thriving too between the tomatoes and the beets.

 This is the first year in many that I have  planted beets. They look promising too.

 Carrots always do well, particularly if I neglect them.

 The cucumbers have not done as well as in the past, but we will have enough for our own home.

 The beans are beginning to flower.

And the peas and onions look good. Usually we harvest enough peas for our own use since they die off quite quickly as the summer heat mounts.

Overall, it looks as if I will be making many trips to the local food bank to share the harvest this year.

The joys of gardening

Today, Anne and I were able to spend perhaps an hour in the gardens. Anne is keeping up with the never-ending weeding and dead-heading.






There is evidence that other animals love our garden too. The hole here is too small for the huge Ground Hog or Gopher that waddled by earlier in the day, sampling some tasty leaves as it passed.






Anne's trail of weeded materials is easy to follow.








My self-appointed task was to harvest the first ripened tomatoes and cucumbers ready to take to the Kanata Food Cupboard on Wednesday morning, the local food bank.







There will be lots more of the same before the season ends.

Rain barrels etc.

We really needed the gentle rain that came overnight and lasted most of the morning. The onion sets appreciate this rain as do the potato plants that self set among them from last year.

For this morning's run, the light rain and a temperature of 19C were ideal for a longer jog today. I ran for almost an hour.



The tomato plants are perking up with this rain. The Food Bank will get a huge surplus as usual if the good rain and sun combination return.






On the deck, the green peppers are doing well too. This is one of four huge planters from IKEA we have on the deck as well as other smaller planters. For several years we have watered these planters using a watering can we filled at ground level. Now we can use the water from the rain barrel, and not have to pay for it nor climb the steps to the deck carrying that can!





This is the rain barrel we purchased last week. It is fed from the drain spout of our roof. With the overnight rain it is now full, with the excess draining via its overflow pipe (the black pipe in the photo). We can now fill the watering can on the deck and water all the planters with ease.

Delivering Christmas Hampers for the Food Bank

Later today, Anne and I will join the many volunteers to deliver Christmas Hampers to those in need. The local food bank, the Kanata Food Bank, is one of several in the City of Ottawa. While this will be the first time we have helped in Ottawa, it is not the first time of being involved with food banks.

For several years I have delivered fresh vegetables (tomatoes, cucumers etc) to the Kanata Food Bank as my garden's harvest exceeds what our family can eat. I am usually welcomed there as "The Veggie Man."

When we lived in Red Lake in NW Ontario, our church was the site for the collection and then distribution of Christmas hampers for the Chukuni Christmas Cheer Board. Along with many other volunteers I would go to the local super market and help load food from there as well as help sort out all the other donations of food, clothing and toys. These were then allocated to the various hampers. Delivery day, just before Christmas, was a fun occasion as trucks arrived to help get the hampers to those who were to receive them. That was not too difficult within the local towns of Red Lake, Balmertown and Cochenour. However some deliveries were made to locations in the bush accessible only by snow mobile. Still, all were delivered very year.

One delivery I made stays in my memory. It was to first nations people who lived in a canvas tent with a wood stove for heating. Red Lake's temperature could reach minus 40 celcius (which is the same as minus 40 F). It was an unimaginable situation.

Today's deliveries will be made in a community where poverty is not so obvious. The same need is there however.

Ready for the Food Bank

An hour's work in my vegetable garden resulted in a good selection for the Kanata Food Bank. The first of the zuccini are ready as are the first real crop of tomatoes. The beans are almost done, so these may be the last I take.

Wednesday mornings are when the Kanata Food Bank receives donations. My first visit this year will be today but it will not be the last. Both the zuccini and tomatoes look like there will be bumper crops to share.