Flavourful Saskatoon, June 13, 2016

June 18 may be your last chance to purchase these gorgeous dahlias from Mistik Acres

Market Scoops
I visited the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market twice this week (blame my addiction to BC cherries!). It was great to see so many customers and so many producers selling fabulous local products.

Here are just a few of my finds:
First zucchini of the season from Kaleidoscope Gardens (planted in the ground with high plastic tunnels to retain the sun’s heat)

First outdoor-grown spinach from Belle Plaine

Peasant's Pick is back: Tim's vegetable displays are a work of art

First BC cherries (from Sukh and Sonu Singh’s orchard in Oliver) - so good and Sukh says the next ripening variety tastes even better

Cinnamon-glazed sunflower seeds from Name Your Nuts

Fit Fuel In A Jar, a new vendor, selling breakfasts and salads in a jar that will keep for up to a week in a refrigerator

Kaleidoscope Gardens

Coming soon!
Clare Pearson, Prairie Sun Orchard, says they should have field-ripened strawberries in 1-2 weeks.

Stay informed:
The Market has a monthly newsletter with monthly updates, new vendor announcements, and upcoming events. To sign up, email eventsandmarketing@saskatoonfarmersmarket.com.

Provide feedback:
I was invited to join an advisory committee to the Market’s board of directors. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, let me know. I’ll be happy to pass them along.

BC Cherries

Wine Events around Saskatchewan
Doug Reichel Wine Marketing is hosting wine events in Luseland, North Battleford, Prince Albert, Saskatoon, and Waskesiu over the next few weeks. In Waskesiu, participants will have an opportunity to taste a 1985 Riesling from the private cellar of Johannes Selbach.

Vertical Farms
A Regina woman is growing vegetables in row upon row of large milk jugs. She plans to donate most of the produce to her neighbours to show them how easy it can be to grow your own vegetables.

The Opaskwayak Cree First Nation in northern Manitoba is hoping to supply its community with fresh, affordable fruit and vegetables through an indoor vertical farm.

If you want to try your hand at vertical gardening, check out the City of Saskatoon’s publication: Small Space Gardening: A How-To Guide.

Prairie Farming’s Future
The Prairie Climate Centre is predicting hotter, drier weather on the Prairies over the next 50 to 60 years with over 7 times as many days with 30-degree temperatures. Changes in the weather could lead to more pests and diseases, with a possible 50% drop in crop yields.

“The Dirty Thirties, a time of depression and drought, were shattering. Eighty years later, we have the data to foresee a recurrence of such devastation, and a clear vision for what can happen to our agrifood systems. We need to take action now….”

Cinnamon-glazed sunflower seeds, Name Your Nuts

Bude’s New Supermarket
Bude, Cornwall, has a new supermarket. It’s 100% local with almost all the food harvested on the day or the day before. It’s zero waste and pays its producers over 80% of the price paid by consumers (compared to 15-30% at supermarkets and 30-50% at shops).

Master Tea Taster’s Tongue is Insured for £1 Million
Sebastian Michaelis is Tetley’s master tea blender. “Michaelis says he has tasted between 300,000 and 400,000 teas during his career and can recognize hundreds of different flavors and characteristics with his tongue, which allows him to grade any tea in the world in just a few seconds. A rare tea, however, might require him to linger on the grade for about a minute. . . . Michaelis has been tasting (and spitting) tea for a decade. His bosses at Tetley think so much of his taste buds that they insured them for £1 million.”

Flavourful Saskatoon is a weekly Monday feature. I also post articles about food that is good, clean and fair; travel; and books. You may also enjoy EcoFriendly Sask profiling Saskatchewan environmental initiatives and events. 

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