First Day Back at the Farm

What a thrill to be with the wonderful women of Hleketani again, and to see the results of restored drip irrigation. The southern summer brought an excellent crop of maize from saved seed, selected for heat tolerance. 'Traditional' beans produced well but pumpkin leaves, butternut, and tomatoes were less successful in the extreme heat. The autumn crop, just starting, includes tomatoes, spinach, Swiss chard, mustard, green beans, peppers, onions, and more pumpkin leaves.

The cookbooks Basani and I put together for fundraising (see here)
are a hit with the farmers. Most can't read but they appreciate the photos, taken over several seasons at the farm.

Mthavini hoes chard
A new crop: tomatoes, onions, spinach, mustard, pumpkin
Cookbooks: Daina and colleagues

“The Thinking Garden” In the News

Ahead of our March 1 official film launch (free, public event at 7 pm, David Lam Auditorium, UVic),  we’ve been in the news:

Elizabeth Vibert was interviewed about the garden and film by host Gregor Craigie on CBC Radio’s ‘On the Island’, Feb. 28;

Elizabeth was interviewed by Jen Blythe of Oak Bay News here,

by Dan Ebenal of Saanich News here,

and by Kendra Wong of Victoria News here - for articles about the garden and the film;

UVic’s The Ring  magazine did a feature story about the garden and film: Ring story

Salt Spring Island’s ‘The Grapevine’ published a story about the garden ahead of the community screening on Salt Spring  – Thurs. April 6 @ 7 pm at the Fritz Theater