Restore Earth Connections

Tulsi, also known as Holy Basil, is an annual herb in this area (Fraser Valley, BC). By mid-summer it gets quite bushy and can be harvested many times until late Fall. Add it to dishes, salads or dry it for teas. It has many health benefits! I'm still enjoying my stash of Tulsi tea dried last summer! And the bees love it too! One of the many herbs available to pre-order right now!... Check out the list of starter plants and order form with the link in my profile. #stewartcreekfoodforest #yecfarm #organicfarming #permaculture #foodforest #yarrowbc #tulsitea #herbalteas #growingfood #farmtofork #foodsecuritybc #zerofoodmiles #smallfarmer #foodresilience #chilliwackbc #fraservalley #sardis #chilliwacklife #cityofchilliwack #chilliwackcommunity #whatlocalsdo #wlcchilliwack #togetherapart #chilliwacksmallbusiness @cfsouthfraser; @_culture_co

Watching tomato seedlings grow before my very eyes!! The green of the plant babies is so life giving! It's frosty in the mornings and we are having a slow spring, but all the baby seedlings are getting ready to go into your gardens in May.... Place your order NOW for plant starts -- ~9 varieties of Tomatoes ~6 varieties of Peppers ~Cucumbers, Melons, Squashes, Artichokes, and more! ~19 types of Culinary and Medicinal Herbs ~ a number of perennial favorites ~And first year BLACK ELDERBERRY plants!! (They will go fast!) List of all the starter plants on my website (see link in profile). Order form is at the end of the listing of plants. Looking forward to sharing the green abundance with you! Also pleased to be selling at Yarrow Farm Market and at the new Downtown Chilliwack Community Market through the Yarrow Ecovillage Community Farm booth. #yecfarm #organicfarming #permaculture #foodforest #yarrowbc #stewartcreekfoodforest #growingfood #farmtofork #foodsecuritybc #zerofoodmiles #smallfarmer #foodresilience #chilliwackbc #fraservalley #sardis #chilliwacklife #cityofchilliwack #chilliwackcommunity #whatlocalsdo #wlcchilliwack #togetherapart #chilliwacksmallbusiness # @cfsouthfraser; @_culture_co

Seed play nature art

Super excited to be part of this venture with https://www.facebook.com/chwkbowlsofhope Bowls of Hope Chilliwack and Community Futures South Fraser https://www.facebook.com/CFSouthFraser! This is such a great opportunity for families! Please share to anyone you know who would be interested.

Prune Blueberry bushes in Winter when the plants are dormant (usually mid-January through mid-late February here in the Fraser Valley, BC @yecfarm. ~Aim to prune on a dry or sunny day (keep an eye on the sky!) ~Prune out dead or damaged branches ~Prune crossing branches and ones clogging up the center of the plant.... ~Aim to increase light and air -- imagine what the plant will look like in full leaf. ~Let the plant teach you!* Watch its growth habit. ~Walk around and take a good look from all angles. ~Less is more! Aim for removal of less than 1/3 of branches in a pruning season. ~Watch as many youtube videos as you want, but don't forget to go out and stand by a bush and observe. ~You will learn by doing! ~Take a deep breath and go for it! *a blueberry plant taught me this winter that it hadn't been pruned properly--it was sending out small weak branches from stems that were cut too high. When pruning out dead, damaged, or crossing stems and branches, cut them down as close to the ground as you can. This will promote stronger new growth. #stewartcreekfoodforest #yecfarm #yarrowecovillagecommunityfarm #growingblueberries #organicfarming #permaculture #foodforest #yarrowbc #fraservalley #chilliwacksmallbusiness #growingfood @cfsouthfraser; @_culture_co

Lots of good reads!

Yesterday I shared a story post of hitting a COVID pandemic fatigue wall. I was listless and felt vague, vulnerable and sad. It felt risky to share that story post -- but also important. I know I'm not the only one with pandemic fatigue! I took myself outside (my restorative place). It was good to be in the sun, slowly pruning blueberry bushes; hugging tree friends & being under the wide blue sky. It was good, but didn't touch the core of what I was feeling. Yet the eart...h offered me solidity to lean into & some solace. Later in the evening at a choice point I chose to journal rather than numb out watching something. There I discovered loss & grief. I wrote: "I am recognizing loss; this fatigue is a weariness of spirit calling for attention." I needed to tend myself by turning towards my fatigue, not trying to fix it; or to fear it by pushing it away. As part of my tending this sense of loss, I also turned to a trusted resource, Francis Weller's book, The Wild Edge of Sorrow, Rituals of Renewal and The Sacred Work of Grief (quote from p. 75). Weller invites us to embrace, release, & transform our sorrows, loss, & grief. The work of a lifetime! The work of practice & patience & no hurry. After reading, writing more, & sleeping I woke today knowing that I needed to do a ritual to truly embrace, release, & transform these feelings. Ritual as symbolic actions simply enacted are part of our human story. Doing ritual is part of my being -- but I also needed Weller's gentle reminders & invitation. If you haven't read Weller's book, I encourage you to discover it! And if you have, you probably reread it, as I do. Now I invite you to be gentle with yourself and tend your sorrows and find your own ways to embrace, release, and transform them. #togetherapart #chilliwackhospicesociety #griefsupport #griefjourney #griefandloss #healingjourney #chilliwacktogether #pandemicfatigue #sorrow #selfcare @cfsouthfraser; @_culture_co

While we enjoy a taste of Winter, I'm excited to let you know that the next outdoor workshop is coming your way in mid-February! Keep an eye out for dates & details -- I'll be posting on Instagram, Facebook, and my website. Looking forward to you joining me outdoors wildcrafting again soon!

Restore Earth Connections emerges from a vision to share the abundance of Stewart Creek Food Forest! It is the heart & soul of this place-based business. Yet, how to describe the work and love of nearly a decade in a short post? Stewart Creek Food Forest (SCFF) is:... ~ a Home for Many Beings ~3/4 acre certified organic farm on ALR (Agricultural Land Reserve) ~part of @yecfarm ~permaculture in action ~an ever evolving co-creation between land and beings ~ 10 heritage apple trees, young Persimmon & Heartnut trees ~Blueberry, Black Elderberry, Haskap, Rose, & Serviceberry bushes ~Alder, Hazelnut, Mulberry, Larch, Cottonwood, & Willow trees ~Bush cherries, Choke cherries and Pin cherries ~over 35 different varieties of culinary and medicinal herbs ~edible flowers and weeds ~strawberries sweetgrass and heather ~persistent reed canary grass, buttercup and blackberry -- learning opportunities :) ~annual veggies, cover crops of oat & buckwheat, borage & clover ~Beauty and Bounty ~home base for Restore Earth Connections Each season is its own unfolding wonder! Sign up for a workshop and see for yourself! Go to link in profile: linktr.ee/restorearthconnections #stewartcreekfoodforest #yecfarm #yarrowecovillagecommunityfarm #yarrowbc #aroundchilliwack #permaculture #foodforest #permaculturewomen #growyourownfood #selfcare #chilliwacktogether #chilliwacksmallbusiness #herbalteas #thefraservalley #yarrowecovillage #togetherapart @cfsouthfraser; @_culture_co

A 44 inch broken branch of Rosemary -- sudden abundance this gift of the Earth: ~ adds flavour to roasted veggies and chicken dinner... ~ dries well for future uses ~ an invitation to pause and remember my Mom (Rosemary for remembrance) ~ potential new plants (propagating woody cuttings) ~ an ingredient in Winter Tonic! ~ opportunity to share with neighbours ~ so much more!! Much gratitude for this unexpected abundance. What abundance came your way this weekend? #Rosemary #rosemaryforremembrance #abundancenow #stewartcreekfoodforest #foodforest #yarrowecovillagecommunityfarm #yarrowbc #gratitude @cfsouthfraser; @_culture_co ~