The Kootenay Society for Sustainable Living
2371 Thomason Dr. V1A 3L5 Kimberley, BC, Canada

Calling all backyard gardeners and mini-farmers! We're looking for locally grown, locally acclimatized open-pollinated seeds to add to our by donation seed bank in time for the spring demand and void left from a lack of local seed sharing events. Please let us know if you have any seeds you've grown in the East or West Kootenays that you are willing to share with the seed bank! We will reimburse you for postage if you're not in the Kimberley area, and we'll make your seeds a...vailable to all Kootenay growers by donation/free. Our only requirements are that the seeds are open-pollinated, and that you can identify the variety. If possible it would be beneficial to know the origin, number of years you've been saving the variety, and any known traits or growing patterns. Hit us with an email [email protected] if you can contribute and help us share locally acclimatized seeds this spring!

We are excited to announce our annual Spring 3-Day GB Workshop will be held online via Zoom, over three Saturdays: April 3, 10, and 17, 2021. Register at growbi...ointensive.org/workshop.html and start a new chapter in your sustainable life today. Registration closes March 12, 2021. We hope to see your smiling faces in April! Our 3-Day Workshops have usually been held over a single weekend and required travel and more of a time commitment from participants. This year, everyone with an internet connection can participate from the comfort of their own homes and gardens, while still enjoying the same informative curriculum as in workshops past, over a relaxed 3-Saturday time frame. The workshop format is largely unchanged from previous years of in-person teaching. In place of live demonstrations on topics like double-digging and bed preparation, we will show demonstration videos detailing these methods, with a question and answer session after we watch together as a group. Many of us use Zoom to connect with friends, family and work; for those new to the program, Zoom is about as simple to use as YouTube. GROW BIOINTENSIVE Sustainable Mini-Farming (GB) is the original regenerative, sustainable, organic agriculture, rooted in heritage farm-craft and proven with science. John Jeavons and Ecology Action developed GB over almost 50 years of field research and teaching, based on centuries-old agricultural principles that enable you to feed yourself by feeding your soil with healthy, nutrient-rich compost grown right in your garden. John wrote the best-selling book on the subject: How to Grow More Vegetables, Fruits, Nuts, Berries and Other Crops Than You Ever Thought Possible with Less Water On Less Land Than You Can Imagine! Jeavons leads the workshops, assisted by Matt Drewno, the manager of Ecology Action’s Biointensive research and demonstration site Victory Gardens for Peace on the Mendocino Coast. Both are Certified Master-Level GROW BIOINTENSIVE Teachers. If you're interested in learning proven ways to grow a great soil and abundant harvests in less space with less water, energy, and fertilizer not new fads but time-tested approaches we would love to see you this spring. Over 3 Saturdays in April, you'll learn how to use up to 66% less water, save up to 94% in energy, and grow soil up to 60 times faster than nature - all while increasing your garden yields - plus much more. This is an introductory course where we discuss a range of topics, from seed-starting and compost- building to harvesting crops and saving seeds. The program provides a strong introduction to Ecology Action and the GROW BIOINTENSIVE method of sustainable and regenerative gardening and farming. Many workshop participants enjoy the program so much they move on to our 9-Saturdays Courses or even take an Internship with us after completing the 3-Saturdays Workshop. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn simple yet powerful techniques that will keep you growing food for a lifetime, right where you are! Cost is $285 per person and includes a workshop manual. Other required publications need to be purchased if you do not already own them.

Sangaste, we can't say enough about this monster Rye! We're currently harvesting the 2019 fall planted beds; selecting from the best individuals to save seed for our fall 2020 planting, and to stock up the Future Heirlooms seed bank! Our standout plants this year reached just over 9 feet tall, had 15 tillers and sported 7" long grain heads! Intermediate Grow Biointensive yields for Rye is 10lbs per 100sqft; we expect close to 15lbs per bed, stay tuned for yield data!... We've sown 6oz of seed in our nursery bed, next week we'll transplant in to a 300sqft bed and continue to acclimatize and bake sourdough bread with this fantastic heirloom Rye! #rye #sangaste #grain #sourdough #growbiointensive #growsustainability #futureheirlooms @ The Kootenay Society for Sustainable Living

What a day! Many thanks to everyone who took the time to visit with us at the Future Heirlooms garden! We met a lot of really awesome people and were stoked to see many familiar faces we've come to call friends! We really appreciated the enthusiasm and questions you all shared with us, so much so we're thinking of hosting one more event in September! Stay tuned!... #growsustainability #growbiointensive #futureheirlooms #growfood

Big thanks to @bigmagicdesign for getting these schedule/info bookmarks ready for tomorrow's tour! They'll be available at the gate so you'll know what's happening when. They also make a great bookmark, especially for your fresh copy of How to Grow More Vegetables, also available to purchase on site! See you tomorrow! @ The Kootenay Society for Sustainable Living

You're never too young to start double digging! #growbiointensive #kids #growsustainability ... #growing #growyourownveggies See more