A Seeding Conversation

There is a season turn turn turn... and just like that Fall is in the air. It’s a difficult shift for many but Mother Nature waits for no one.

Recently, I had the chance to catch up with Corey Ceccolini, farmer and CSA owner/operator extraordinaire. I have been so impressed with the produce that she and her partner Justin have been growing; a visit to check out their acreage was long over due.

After a large welcome from their Great Pyrenees, Moose, we toured the gardens and got to chatting about her season and what was in store in the coming weeks. RACHAEL: What does CSA stand for? COREY: CSA means Community Supported or Shared Agriculture. With a CSA model, shares are purchased by the community ahead of the growing season, allowing the farmer to plan and plant accordingly. Every week for about 17 weeks in the growing season, the customer receives a basket of a variety of vegetables. Often there is information and recipes included to help you cook what you get. CSA’s provide local food security, employment, community building and benefits to the environment! Wins all round. RACHAEL: How has your season been so far? COREY: Really great! I’m always amazed at what these plots of land can produce. We grow fresh produce baskets for about 40 families every week. Once everything has been harvested, cleaned and packed, the sheer volume on pickup day is very satisfying. This Spring we dug a pond and added a well for some much needed irrigation which has made a big difference in our crop. RACHAEL: 40 families! Wow! That is impressive Corey. Can you share some of your secrets that set you up for success and such a great haul? COREY: It comes down to planning and hard work. You really have to have a love for it. We are in the midst of our growing and harvesting but are already setting ourselves up for next Spring. RACHAEL: You had me at planning and design! Most would think that this is a Winter time activity, curled up by the fire with a seed catalog. What are you doing now to plan for next season? COREY: Now is when we get to see the planning from last year in action. It’s when we decide what will make the cut for next season. Starting with some of our earliest varieties right through to frost, we allow some of the plants to flower and then produce seed. It’s great for our honey

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bees and is the basis for our planting next Spring. Right now, broccoli is flowering, beans, peas and tomatoes are all ready to be picked for seed saving. We also have a great crop of buckwheat in flower as a cover crop. Our garlic is drying and 1/3 of that will be planted again for the next growing season. RACHAEL: Would you have some tips for people trying this for the first time and perhaps not on this scale? COREY: I would start with vegetables that are easy to dry, collect and store. Beans are perfect and produce beautiful seed. Plant extra to grow just for seed so you don’t cut into your fresh bean supply. Allow the plants to do their thing, they know what to do. The pod will eventually shrink and the seeds within the beans will bulge. Pick the beans when dry (no dew etc.) and lay them out flat in an area with good air circulation so that mould doesn’t form. The pods will become brittle. That’s when you know they are ready to be shelled. Load them into a basket and some night with a relaxing drink and Netflix you can make great headway! RACHAEL: Multitasking at its best, I love it. You are involved in a local seed collective, what is that all about? COREY: Pictou County Seed Collective is a group of people who love seeds! The power of the seed is amazing. We collect and save seed to trade, build community and to be a resource to one and another. Seed collection is just one piece of the sustainable chain that we all have a role to play in. We have a FaceBook group and hold a Seedy Saturday in the Spring that is open to all.

Corey shows Rachael a few vegetables that are ready to be harvested.

Seeds that will be dried and shared.

Rachael and Corey in conversation in a field of flowering buckwheat.

JOAN BAXTER is a Nova Scotian journalist, development researcher and science writer, communications specialist and an awardwinning author, who has lived and worked in Africa for more than thirty years. Back home now to stay (she hopes!), she and her husband live near Tatamagouche, where they (try to) grow lots of vegetables and fruit, and hope to nurture a small woodlot back to healthy Acadian forest. Her book on African food was published in the spring, and her new one about the Pictou pulp mill will be published in October.

DEELLE HINES AND CAMILLA MACDONALD We love what we do! As creators of Dream Candy, we are passionate about helping children understand their true potential and believe that self-care and self-development are the keys to a happy and healthy life. We enjoyed collaborating on Back to School, Let’s make it a dream year and discuss daily practices that families can incorporate this school year to help students be better friends to their classmates, to their community and, most importantly, to themselves.

STEVE SMITH At Home shoots are always interesting. The variety of outstanding people in our area is sometimes taken for granted, but we regularly meet them. From authentic African cooking to a built-fromscratch, world-class distillery, or an amazing rural seed farm to the wonderful Smith family and their home in King’s Head. It’s real local folks sharing their lives with us. They’re always interesting.

TRACY STUART It’s apple time, no better time of the year to bring the bounty of the orchard into you kitchen. Tracy shares her favourite Amped up Apple Crisp to fuel your day and your workouts. Tracy is busy harvesting her fields of rye, corn and barley in River John where she shares a life full of love and laughter with her husband Jarret and daughters Brooklyn and Oliva. Tracy holds a Masters of Science in Sports Medicine, Bachelor of Physical Education and a Chef’s Diploma from the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts. She is also a two-time World Champion and Olympic Bronze Medalist in rowing.

PHOTO: STEVE SMITH,VISIONFIRE STUDIOS

BEN MURRAY One Beam at a Time was my first official photo shoot. It was great to work with people that you know when you are just getting your feet wet. There were so many interesting angles and activities on the build site. Take a look on the At Home on the North Shore Facebook page for a few of my aerial shots from our day with Andrew Parsons and Shauna Heighton. LORI BYRNE “Fall is a personal favourite – rich colours, warm layers and a good reason to snuggle in! Exploring the Stewiacke Valley Barn Quilt tour has already been a highlight of my Fall since learning more about the history of barn quilts. If you need me, I’ll be planning decorating projects or painting more barn quilts in the studio!

PHOTO: STEVE SMITH,VISIONFIRE STUDIOS RACHAEL MACLEAN is a landscape architect from the back woods of Lovat and has a love/hate relationship with Fall. School starts – LOVE. Change of air – LOVE, harvest – LOVE, colour – LOVE... wait! maybe Fall isn’t that bad after all. This issue she was reminded that beauty is in every detail and it all starts with a seed. Join me for a “Seedy Conversation” and pick up some tips to get a jump on your next growing season.

SARAH BUTLAND With kids back in school and the weather changing, writing about Elwood Pens just seemed fitting to Sarah Butland. Meeting Dylan Thompson-Mackay was both exhausting and motivating to her, reminding her of her own age and how wonderful people of the next generation can be. Sarah was also humbled in reading the collection of notes by Sara Jewell in her book Field Notes as it brought Sarah home and reminded her of the power and talent of our local communities. Here’s to a great season of letting go and finding new beauty in changes.

HEATHER LAURA CLARKE is an award-winning journalist and columnist living in Truro, and in this issue she’s explored the growing trend of collecting vinyl. Never far from a sewing machine, glue-gun or mitre saw, she shares stories about living, working and parenting creatively on her blog, HeathersHandmadeLife.com

JENNIFER HATT is an author, publisher, communications consultant and music mom to three children and their dozen or so instruments. In between rehearsals, laundry, and hanging up kilts after another season of piping and drumming, she took a welcome break to chat with Thomas Steinhart in Arisaig for our At Home with… feature.