With fall in the air, both the community garden and the Rossland Mountain Market are preparing to bunker up for the winter.
There are only two more markets left for the season, this Thursday and the next.
Rachael Roussin, a member of Rossland Real Food, said the market is still bustling in its last weeks, with 20 vendors there last week.
“I think a lot of people thought the market ended at the end of summer, but this is harvest season for a lot of farmers,” Roussin said. “So their best stuff is coming out right now.”
Roussin suggests loading your freezer with fruits and vegetables or making sauces.
Some of her highlights from last week were Kootenay Natural Meats, Mad Dog Farms and Centre Road Farms. Mad Dog Farms, from Castlegar, sold fresh honey and squash, while Centre Road Farms from Grand Forks sold freshly harvested celery and peppers.
There are also baked goods to be had.
“We still have two breadmakers coming out,” she added.
On the community garden side, they will be having a work party on Oct. 6, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the garden.
Roussin said they would like to expand the community garden committee.
“We want more input, more involvement from the community,” she said. “If anybody’s interested in getting a garden bed for next year, this is a really good opportunity to come and put your name down and show that you have a genuine interest.”
The committee has been run through Rossland Real Foods, along with the farmer’s market. Roussin said there are now plans to have two separate committees for the garden and the market.
“They’re both such different initiatives,” she said, so they will have advisory committees for each. “This is just so you have the gardeners on the garden committee and the vendors on the market committee.”
She said each group has grown so much since its beginning that it’s becoming too much work to cover both in one committee.
Roussin said they would love to see more people involved with the community garden. The garden has 16 beds, used this year by families and community groups.
Hanne Smith, who is also involved in the community garden, was also enthused about the final work party.
“We will put the garden to bed,” Smith said. “Cleaning up the beds and weeding and those other things that you do at the end of the year.”
Rossland Real Food usually offers programs over the fall. Smith said it’s still too early to say what those will be.
“Normally, we offer a series of educational programs, so workshops, films, seed swaps and those kind of things over the course of the fall, winter and spring,” she said. “Then, in the summer we have the community garden, the farmer’s market and the edible garden tours. That’s kind of the seasonal flow for us.
If have any suggestions or recommendations for the Rossland Mountain Market or are interested in becoming a vendor, contact Rachael Roussin at 362-5452.
For info about joining the committee, contact Hanne Smith at 362-7767.
For general info on Rossland Real Food visit rosslandfood.com.
