<![CDATA[Grass Roots Family Farm - News From The Farm]]>Sat, 14 May 2016 14:23:51 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Free Tour Of Grass Roots Family Farm June 18th, 2016]]>Thu, 12 May 2016 22:59:49 GMThttp://www.grassrootsfamilyfarm.ca/news-from-the-farm/free-tour-of-grass-roots-family-farm-june-18th-2016Grass Roots Family Farm

Permaculturally Designed. Holistically Managed. 27 Years Organic
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​When:
At 1:00PM on Saturday June 18th we'd like to invite you to come for a tour of our 250 acre farm and research site.

Where:
Grass Roots Family Farm/Deep Roots Design research site near Ferintosh, Alberta.
1.5 hours from Edmonton and Red Deer. 2.5 hours from Calgary.
(Please sign up for our newsletter below for more details and directions.)

Details:
This 2 hour tour led by Takota Coen will be a combination of walking and bale ride.

Wondering What You Will See?

Forest Garden Chickens - Grass Fed Beef  -  Milk Fed Pork 

    Hardneck Garlic   -    Root Vegetables  -   Main Crop Garden

Forest Gardens - Orchards

                          Treatment Free Honeybees

Solar Water Pumping - Budding Aquaculture Systems

3km Of Swales & 6 Million Gallons Of Earthen Water Storage

Permaculture Hand Tools 

Deep Roots Design's hand tool selection will be on display and available for purchase.

Interested In Coming Out For The Tour?

Sign up to our newsletter for tour details.

* indicates required

We Hope To See You There!

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]]><![CDATA[A Big Thanks to Slow Food]]>Tue, 24 Mar 2015 18:53:13 GMThttp://www.grassrootsfamilyfarm.ca/news-from-the-farm/big-thanks-to-slow-foods
Photo's credit above: Jens Gerbitz and Slow Food Edmonton
Last fall on October 4th, we had the privilege of co-hosting a celebration on our farm with Slow Food Edmonton that was nothing short of incredible! We started the day off with guided tours of the farm, a honey tasting workshop led by Patty Milligan and an informative session about native pollinators by ecologist Mark Wonneck. Then, the team of chefs from Get Cooking Edmonton topped off the evening with an unbelievable feast made from local sourced ingredients.

It was our first experience working with Slow Foods Edmonton and we were amazed and inspired by their commitment to preserving and promoting a food culture that values diversity, sustainability and flavour. Not only did a group of 20 plus Slow Food volunteers help coordinate the entire event, but they also raised $1100 dollars which they graciously donated to our farm to be used for some much needed infrastructure.
Since we moved to our new yard site in 2008, we have been without an automatic watering system during the winter. With the money that Slow Food Edmonton raised we were able to purchase and install an automatic frost free watering system which can be used in our integrated cattle and hog wintering site (more on this system later!). This simple piece of energy efficient technology has greatly reduced our work load during the harsh winter months and improved our livestocks quality of life, as now they have free choice of fresh water even when it is -40˙C! Our previous method of winter watering was to give them as much water as they could drink twice a day. Something which took a great deal of time! 
So from all of us here on the farm (especially the pigs and cows!), we want to say a BIG thank you to Slow Food Edmonton, Get Cooking Edmonton, all of the wonderful volunteers and of course our guests that day! You all made our first Fall Celebration a day to remember and we just can't wait to see what happens next year!

]]><![CDATA[EVENT:                                                                    Celebrating the bounty of Autumn at Grass Roots Family Farm]]>Sat, 06 Sep 2014 04:18:28 GMThttp://www.grassrootsfamilyfarm.ca/news-from-the-farm/event-celebrating-the-bounty-of-autumn-at-grass-roots-family-farmDate: October 4, 2014

Time: Starts at 1:00 PM- End 8:00 PM (Approximately)
Price: $90/person ($10 discount for Slow Foods Members and GRFF CSA Members)

Register At: Slow Foods Edmonton

Details: The Coen Family are the stewards of the Grass Roots Family Farm.  Their rolling landscape borders the North Eastern shores of Red Deer Lake near Ferintosh, Alberta.  The Coen family has a strong tradition of using organic farming principles.  The range of old and new endeavours on the farm, including bee keeping, cattle, pigs, grains, market garden, fruit trees, and their food forest makes it an ideal location for teaching Albertans about farming and food culture.  It is also the idyllic setting for our next farm-to-table dinner that celebrate the fall bounty, and you are all invited!

Your day will start at 1pm.  Two activities will occur concurrently for 90 minutes, and then you will switch.  The first activity is  a farm tour hosted by Takota Coen.  Embedded in this activity is a forest garden tour, where you will learn about how the Coen family gardens by working with natural succession to grow food, fibre, fuel, “farmaceuiticals”, and most importantly fun!The second activity celebrates honey, and highlights the unique process of honey production on the farm.  You will learn about the finer details of the bees and pollination from ecologist Mark Wonneck, view their top bar hive system, and then be guided through a honey tasting by local expert Patty Milligan.

At 5pm, we will gather at nearby Ferintosh Recreation Hall for a celebratory dinner that highlights the bounty of fall harvest.  The chefs from Get Cooking Edmonton are developing a delectable menu that involves Forest Finished Berkshire Pork and produce grown on Grass Roots Family Farm. At the hall, you will also have the opportunity to enjoy local art


Visit www.GrassRootsFamilyFarm.ca for more information about the farm.

To register visit Slow Foods Edmonton's website.

Directions
From Highway 21 turn west onto Township Road 434. Travel west 4 kms to the T intersection at Range Road 215. Turn south on Range Road 215 and we are the second farm on the west side. Yard number 43358 RGE RD 215.

See Map
]]><![CDATA[Farm Tour Sunday August 24th]]>Tue, 19 Aug 2014 17:03:06 GMThttp://www.grassrootsfamilyfarm.ca/news-from-the-farm/farm-tour-sunday-august-24thDATE: Sunday, August 24, 2014

Time: Tours start at 9:30 AM and 1:30 PM (Approximately 2 hours each)

Details: 
Come out and tour a farm being revitalized with permaculture design. Grass Roots Family Farm, the headquarters of Deep Roots Design, is well on its path to natural abundance and we want to show others what is possible. This tour will focus on the important connections and relationships we have established between the various elements on our farm. See how our grass fed beef, forest gardens, swales, TBH honeybees, chicken tractors, pig tilled gardens, forest finished hogs and community supported agriculture all come together to form a synergistic farm system that harmonizes with the land and surrounding environment. Everyone is welcome to attend one of the tours happening on August 24th so come on out and bring your friends!

Bathrooms and Hayrides Available.

Directions
From Highway 21 turn west onto Township Road 434. Travel west 4 kms to the T intersection at Range Road 215. Turn south on Range Road 215 and we are the second farm on the west side. Yard number 43358 RGE RD 215.

See Map

]]><![CDATA[Forest Garden CSA Presentation Video]]>Fri, 18 Apr 2014 04:24:43 GMThttp://www.grassrootsfamilyfarm.ca/news-from-the-farm/forest-garden-csa-presentation-videoWe just recently had the opportunity to share our vision for our Forest Garden CSA at a presentation at Augustana in Camrose, AB. If you were unable to make it to the presentation or you would like to find out more about what it all means feel free to check out the videos below to view the presentation in its entirety. These video focus on the overall design of our Forest Garden as well as our reasons for using the Community Supported Agriculture model to make this concept a reality. We feel that the second video not only explains our vision for the Forest Garden but our overall intent.
A big thanks to Craig Wentland, Hans Asfeldt, Ryan Lindsay, Erin Specht and the rest of the Augustan Chaplaincy for all your help!

]]><![CDATA[The True Cost of Cheap Food]]>Thu, 27 Mar 2014 00:37:18 GMThttp://www.grassrootsfamilyfarm.ca/news-from-the-farm/the-true-cost-of-cheap-foodIt has long been obvious that things don't "add up" when looking at the cost of "cheap food". Well, here is an article that proves it.



]]><![CDATA[Forest Garden CSA Presentation In Camrose]]>Wed, 26 Mar 2014 21:07:59 GMThttp://www.grassrootsfamilyfarm.ca/news-from-the-farm/forest-garden-csa-presentation-in-camroseCome to the Augustana Chapel at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, April 1 2014 to learn more about the Forest Garden CSA Grass Roots Family Farm is starting this spring! The presentation will coincide with The Augustan Soup Supper which will start at 5:00PM. The  Forest Garden CSA presentation will start around 5:20PM.  Everyone is welcome to come to the soup supper!
The presentation will focus on:

  • Watching a short video.
  • What Forest Gardening is and why it makes sense.
  • Delicious fruits and nuts we can grow here. 
  • A few key points on Forest Gardening. 
  • Grass Roots Family Farm's Forest Garden CSA details.
  • And a Q and A period.

All students and community members are welcome to come for the soup supper and stay for the presentation which should be over by 6:30 PM. At which point people who are interested in taking part in the share can receive additional information. 
Feel free to pass this on to anyone else who might be interested.

Hope to see you there!]]><![CDATA[A Cultural Revivalist Manifesto]]>Sun, 19 Jan 2014 23:27:52 GMThttp://www.grassrootsfamilyfarm.ca/news-from-the-farm/a-cultural-revivalist-manifestoThis is the epilogue from Sandor Katz latest book,The Art of Fermentation. His words resonate strongly with us and I just want to spread his wisdom.

A Cultural Revivalist Manifesto

]]><![CDATA[A Farm Disguised As A Forest Ecosystem]]>Fri, 17 Jan 2014 16:51:43 GMThttp://www.grassrootsfamilyfarm.ca/news-from-the-farm/a-farm-disguised-as-a-forest-ecosystem
Here in Central Alberta Canada we live in the Aspen Parkland Biome. This means that our natural ecosystem consists of groves of poplars and spruce trees with a variety of understory perennial shrubs, vines and ground cover species. These clusters of trees would be interspersed with areas of prairie grasslands that were historically home to massive herds of grazing bison. This biome is extremely resilient, very productive and perfect for our climate. Seeing as this is what our landscape naturally wants to become; why not work with it to achieve its true potential instead of fighting natural succession, expending huge amounts of time and resources in the process! Why not set up a farm that mimics our native biome?

By using the Aspen Parkland Biome as our template we can create a farm that is beyond organic and beyond sustainable. A farm that is regenerative and resilient because it functions as nature intended. What if we swap poplar, birch and box elder for apples, pears, cherries, plums and apricots? Change our native conifers for Korean Pine and we've got pine nuts as big as pistachios! Throw in some walnuts, chestnuts and oaks from the Oak Savannah Biome just south of us and we have our canopy species! The mid story and understory is a little easier as hazelnuts, raspberries, cherries, saskatoons, cranberries, gooseberries and currants are already native here. However, we could add a few extras like mulberries, haskaps/honeyberries and hardy kiwis just to mix things up a bit. As for the ground layer, well we can just stick to strawberries and an incredible variety of medicinal plants that already call this place home! That covers our wooded areas, now what about the interspersed areas of grasslands? We can simply plant some native grasses and some legumes in between our groves of fruit and nut trees and we are almost done! The last step is integrating animals into our farm system to manage the grassland and contribute to the fertility cycle. Seeing as bison are a little hard to manage and the fact we already have cattle, pigs and some chickens why not let them roam around keeping the trees and lush grass in check! Now add in all the native birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects and mammals that are desperately looking for a place to call their own, and there you have it! A farm cleverly disguised as a thriving ecosystem.

But how do we harvest these 25 plus edible trees, shrubs and perennials along with the hundreds of other culinary and medicinal herbs that would undoubtedly love to call this place home? Well by dividing our summer growing season, from about June to October, into 3 harvest periods per month we would get a total of 15 harvest times. Then, by simply grouping all of our desired edible crops into one or possibly two of these harvest periods our harvesting suddenly becomes less daunting and incredibly efficient. Now, if we dig a shallow swale that follows the natural contour or Keyline of the land we can plant our trees, shrubs and perennials on the lower side of these swales. This will allow any and all water that falls on the landscape to be be spread out evenly and absorbed into the ground above the plant's roots. Then, as the subsurface water plumes towards the awaiting roots it will be safe from the evaporative effects of the Sun! Plant these rows in pairs at regular intervals across the land, fence them off and bring in the animals! This farm is ready to roll!

So there you have it, a farm that can create and manage its own fertility, build soil, passively manage water and sequester carbon all while provide carbohydrates, proteins and oils for human or animal consumption, fruits that contain hundreds of nutraceutical properties, trees for timber, fuel and forage among many, many other things! We already have two small examples of this systems on our farm near Ferintosh, Alberta. With over 80 fruit and nut trees and 200 plus support plants in the ground, it covers just over one acre. In the summer of 2014 we have plans to expand this to a larger 25 acre parcel. This expansion is going to be in partnership with our local community in the form of Community Supported Agriculture Forest Garden Shares. By working with our community we are adding a whole other level of diversity and resilience to our plan that we feel will get people back on the land to actually see where there food comes from. For more information about our farm and to see a video we made about our vision. Just visit our website GrassRootsFamilyFarm.ca, it should help you get a better picture of how it will all come together.

There is a Greek Proverb that reads “societies become great when old men and women plant trees who's shade they know they will never enjoy”. I believe this adage is extremely relevant given our current state of affairs on our planet. Our current Agricultural system is largely responsible for the degradation of our Air, Soil, Water and diversity. We are literally eating our planet to death, but this doesn't have to be the case! By paying attention to our local biomes around the world we can tailor our farming practices to flow with the natural patterns that best suit the land were we live. Many people all around the world have been practicing this new kind of farming for years now! People like Martin Crawford, Mark Shepard, Sepp Holzer, Geoff Lawton, Bill Molison, Stefan Sobkowiak and many other greats! They all saw that Mother nature is here ready to help, and they all reached out and took her hand!

These kinds of natural farms will take years to establish but once in production it will provide nourishment for decades and with a little care even longer! Now is the time to start implementing farms like this en mass. Just think, some day our children's children will have a place to sit in the shade and marvel at this wondrous world we call home.
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