A Proud Father watching his Kids Grow Up...

Finally the weather has stopped kicking the gardens ass!! I'm pretty sure it isn't going to snow and destroy it once again...

The Oil Field winds try to do a number on it daily...but they are all fighting back and winning.

So everything is starting to thrive...and I hope it keeps doing so for the next few months. I have multiple batches of Heirloom Tomatoes, various Herbs, Wala Wala Onions, Eggplants and Beans from a friends farm in BC. Long Beans from China. Bush Beans, Greens and Herbs from Italy. Okra and about a dozen other oddities from India. Tomatoes from across Canada. I even have some Watermelons growin.  Plus alot of stuff from around the area here...I am sure I have forgotten alot of things...but you will get to see it all as it starts to mature on the Roof. My Grand Father would be sooo proud...I wish he was still around to see it.

Tomorrow night I have a dinner for a few Exec's from each of the Sawridge Inn's around Alberta. Each team includes the Exec Chef from each property....so I figure this is an excellent time to start harvesting for the first time. So I will bring the cam to work tomorrow and shoot some pics of the results of the "First Harvest". From Seed to Plate is becoming a reality...and all in the middle of the worlds largest oil development. A little patch of new life.
I find the time spent building ... and rebuilding the garden to be well worth the effort. When life in the kitchen is getting too hectic...I just go for a lil walk up those stairs and open the trap door to Tranquility. Five minutes of watering and weeding does wonders to recharge the batteries. They are my babies and I am doing my best to nurture and help them thrive daily... 

Again I want to thank all the people that have sent me seeds....they are still arriving in the mail. I am still planting what I think will actually make it to maturity in time before the end of the Season.

I think the experiment is a success...even the ones that don't grow are not a failure..they just aren't meant to grow in an Oil Field.
It's been a busy summer...but I will keep everyone updated as often as possible...
Enjoy the sun...

 So I got the go ahead from Chef. My Mission...to build Fort McMurray's first rooftop garden this Spring. How am I going to do this...with anything free I can get my hands on. Luckily the Hotel is going to foot the cost for anything I cannot scavenge.

 We work for a hotel that is Eco Friendly....so why not enhance our Environment and our Menu at the same time. Everyone likes to know that what they just ate was grown locally...even more so when it's nourished by the very cooks that made the meal. The current plan is to grow a variety of Herbs...the stuff you cant normally get off suppliers, Heirloom Tomatoes ( I harvested my own sees in British Columbia all last summer), Swiss Chard, a variety of Leafy Greens, a bunch of Edible Flowers...and anything else anyone comes up with that is practical.
 We will use the harvest on the restaurant menu only...not like I can plant enough to use throughout our kitchen. Anything we have an over abundance of we will donate to local Soup Kitchens or other deserving causes. I plan to enlist the help of the odd cook at the hotel..but would also like to get the local community involved in parts of it. Our Nations kids need to know where their food comes from. What better way to teach them.
 So the process is going to begin today. I will start stashing away all of the buckets our Salt Beef for Jigg's Dinner arrive in. Why you ask? That is what our rooftop garden is going to be built out of. Each growing unit is going to be constructed from 2 recycled buckets, a piece of PVC piping, some flexible tubing and a bar glass. The system will be self watering and self fertilizing...as little work as possible once the initial setup is built. You dont get cheaper than that. The only things I will have to purchase are the PVC piping(watering tube), flexible tubing(creating a siphon irrigation system from a master barrel) and the dirt. I know your wondering why I would have to purchase the dirt when we live in the Wilds of Alberta. We live smack dab in the middle of the Oil Sands.

All soil in the area contains Bitumen ...