From time to time I go to work on the neighbouring conventional seed potato farms. At this time of year, the growers are starting to dig into their piles of spuds and fill truckloads for delivery to potato farms all over the western states and provinces. It begins in January with the California trucks and … Continue reading Roothouse helper wanted? Call Anna.
The weather. The most memorable aspect of the 2015 growing season must be the weather. Although to be honest, at this point it’s little more than a remote impression consisting mainly of heat, flies and forest fire smoke. As always, it seems the minute the snow flies and the kale freezes I have trouble recalling … Continue reading An organic farmer wades into the muck of the legality of on-farm weddings, because ultimately it’s about food
After 3 years of writing weekly articles for the local paper I feel confident in my ability to make a 600 word article out of just about anything. The first step is to sit down and begin typing. A lot can happen in a short amount of time - usually within 15 minutes my interest … Continue reading Handling crop-flops with aplomb
Well here it is: the annual sinking feeling that the overly-worshipped scales of work-life balance are tilted heavily to the side of stress, over-work, and bone-tiredness. Pretty certain the situation is not unique to farming and no-one requires elaboration on the actual sensations? If by some chance you don’t know what I am talking about, … Continue reading Pemberton’s favourite farmer strikes again: Anna Helmer wants you to whack some weeds, by hand, even if you’re worn out. Even then.
She doesn't have a column in the Question anymore, but Anna Helmer keeps getting voted one of Pemberton's favourite writers, so I offered her some space on the Wellness Almanac. Knowing that so many people appreciate her witty wordcraft, I'm stoked that 1. she agreed, 2. she whipped off this piece on the forthcoming Slow … Continue reading Guest post: Slow Food Cycle’s retiring co-founder Anna Helmer gets excited about actually riding this year
This May, at the Women’s Institute Plant Sale, I picked up one of Anna Helmer’s marigold starts. I have managed to keep it alive, despite the toddler’s attempts to eat it, deluge-water it, and dig it up. And it is now a monster of blooms and vigour – nothing like the tragic little marigolds one … Continue reading Seasonal Observations: a monster Marigold with seeds worth saving
I’ve been thinking about the Doomsday Seed Vault lately. Officially known as the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, it was started in 2008 and now contains upwards of 1.5 million distinct seed samples, serving as a kind of safety deposit box of plant diversity.I wonder who it’s beneficiaries will be. Aliens? The handful of survivors of … Continue reading Column: Save the Seeds
This is the quote that started the project: Vitality. What is it? I fired off an email to a handful of people who, when I tried to think of the top 20 people in this community who practice or manifest wellness, came to my mind - because of their enviably radiant skin, yoga practice, … Continue reading The Vitality Project: Anna Helmer
Pemberton celebrity farmer and newspaper columnist Anna Helmer will be the guest speaker this Tuesday at the Museum's summer Tea and Tales. taking time out from shepherding fields of potatoes into life to chat about modern farming. Tea & Tales runs every Tuesday from July 10th, 2012 through until August 21st, 2012 from 2pm to … Continue reading Event: Anna Helmer features at Museum’s Tea and Tales
The Wellness Almanac 