The Prairie Farmer

In the months after the purchase of our agricultural land we began to pay attention to agricultural issues as presented in social media and main stream media as they pertain to our future in Manitoba. There really seemed to be a vacancy in clear, concise, coverage of agricultural issues that presented the issues and concerns while remaining professional in nature. Rather than simply complain about this lack of journalistic coverage I decided to do something about it and The Prairie Farmer was born.

The Prairie Farmer is an annual print journal that discusses innovative agricultural ideas and techniques for backyard producers, market gardeners and mid-scale farmers through a balanced journalistic approach that focuses on prairie agricultural issues and is written by women of the Canadian prairies.

The Prairie Farmer accepts submissions from women (cisgender and transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit and non-binary people of all backgrounds and identities. We prioritise submissions about experiences relating to the Canadian Prairie Provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba). Submissions of an academic, experimental, instructive, personal and/or artistic nature are welcome.

Please check out theprairiefarmer.blogspot.ca for more information!

Indoor Worm Composting: Lessons From the First Year

I have been exploring the wonderful world of vermicompost for the last year (see Indoor Worm Composting and Indoor Worm Composting: Update!)

Record Keeping
About half way through the year I started keeping detailed notes on my worm bins. I note the amount and type of food fed, vermicompost and worm harvest, and problems as they arise and resolve. This helped me see why my second bin developed a fruit fly infestation - I was basically overfeeding them which was apparent when reviewing the records. Accurate and detailed record keeping is a vital skill and habit to develop.   

Learning Curve
Any new skill set comes with challenges and the learning curve for composting worms was a bit steep for me - but I think I have a handle on it currently. Understanding that every practical, homestead, and livestock related skill will have a steep learning curve will allow me to set up future projects for success from the start by implementing changes slowly and scaling production at a reasonable rate. Recognising  that livestock projects have steep learning curves will also help me avoid disappointment when it's not all easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy and hopefully help keep livestock safe during that initial learning phase.

Hive Mind
I have two favourite Facebook groups (Vermicomposting and Red Worm Composting) and I love pursuing the posts there for personal education (for example, someone was experimenting with an all cardboard worm bin) as well as adding my 0.02 cents when it comes to helping out newbies. There is always more to learn and my favourite Facebook groups encourage that type of open communication, learning and polite discourse. 

Hopefully these skills will allow me to scale up production in the near future. My system has to get larger to fully incorporate the food scrapes that we produce. Additionally I have some ideas to allow for a small stream of income to emerge. To that end I recently made a Beginner's Guide to Worm Composting zine.