One thing that seems utterly amazing in a day and age when almost everyone seems to be on prescription medication, is that there are many medicines that grow right outside our door. And so many more we can grow ourselves as well.
That’s why we were thrilled when David Neufeld of Room to Grow offered to bring his expertise to the fest so he can teach you exactly what it takes to grow your very own medicine garden.
David shared that he plans to begin the workshop by asking what you want from a medicine garden and bringing some traditional aboriginal insight to the subject.
The session will then move into a more hands or ‘eyes on’ mode as you go for a walk to identify some medicinal plants and to discuss some important things you need to know to plant a garden that thrives. For example, how to space your plants, what kind of soil they need, transplanting and shelter.
We also love that David usually brings along written resources that you can reference later although we are encourafing everyne to bring a notebook. There are so many great workshops, we are sure you will want to take notes!
Why learn from David?
David and his family (along with friends and interns) have romanced a woodland farm on Turtle Mountain (called Room To Grow) for about 25 years. They built it up from scratch to nourish family and guests, incorporating as many food and medicine plants they could find that would thrive in their growing zone. They’ve built a sizable three-season greenhouse with straw bales, grown and sold for the Farmers’ Market and experimented with using cover crops, composted horse manure and compost tea for their nutrient needs – in both greenhouse and garden
David’s Pro Tip:
Research one plant you can grow or gather to improve your health. Most of us learn about one plant at a time for one condition at a time. Which one would you start with?
One of David’s favourite books or websites on the matter:
Laura Reeves from southeast Manitoba has a helpful website: http://www.psbotanicals.com/ and she sells a book that’s great for identifying plants to gather for medicine – Laura’s Guide to Useful Plants.
