By Art Bomke, Breagha Zakaib, and Jasmine Shi
To give some background, the Little Mountain Neighbourhood House (LMNH) Food Hub aims to reduce food insecurity in our community and it runs three programs: the Riley Park Community Garden, the Food Distribution, and the Yard Garden Harvest program. The yard garden program grows food in our neighbour’s front and backyards to support the food distribution program, which provides food for food insecure neighbours.
An ongoing challenge for our Yard Garden Coordinator has been the lack of greenhouse space for starting seeds. This has placed a limit on the productivity of our yard gardens. Through the generosity of Kevington Corporation and their staff, LMNH has been given access to the District Main Building’s greenhouse (@ 29th and Main). This helps our program to start a lot more seeds and grow more food. Access to this space also allows us to grow strong, healthy transplants which will set us up for success!
Additionally, this gives LMNH a connection with owners and residents in an apartment building complementary to what has already existed with the homeowners who make land available for LMNH yard gardens. Through this connection, Breagha, our yard garden coordinator, has made contact with District Main residents and Kevington staff are setting up space at District Main for cold storage, another constraint to our food security program.
Some of the crops we have been growing in the greenhouse include: Bok Choy, Gai Lan, Green Onion, Peas, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Cabbage, Basil, Lettuce, and Flowers (nasturtiums, lupin, sweet peas, marigolds, cosmos, coreopsis).
Fan in the greenhouse to help with circulation and heat control
Gai Lan transplants growing in the greenhouse
Plants hardening off outside getting ready for transplanting!
Breagha watering the seedlings
volunteer potting up tomatoes
