Winnipeg
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Author: Colleen Zacharias Published: 2:01 AM CST, Saturday, November 20, 2021
By purchasing gifts that tell stories, fulfill promises, and support local craftsmen and businesses, you will inspire foodies, gardeners, and nature lovers on your shopping list this holiday season.
By purchasing gifts that tell stories, fulfill promises, and support local craftsmen and businesses, you will inspire foodies, gardeners, and nature lovers on your shopping list this holiday season.
The mushroom growing kit allows you to grow your own edible mushrooms at home. Tom Nagy is a gourmet and medicinal mushroom strain producer, consultant, and educator at River City Mushrooms, a small company based in Winnipeg that specializes in hand-made ready-to-eat mushroom growing kits.
River City Mushrooms offers handmade mushroom growing kits. Pictured: Fresh blue oyster mushrooms.
"For those who want to continue growing their own food throughout the year, growing mushrooms indoors is a good choice," Najib said. The number of hand-made mushroom growing kits is limited, each bag is 5.5 pounds, and the price is $25.00. Each kit consists of hardwood sawdust, supplemented with bran from locally grown certified organic spelt grains, and inoculated with the mushroom species or strain of your choice. Choose Shiitake, Lion's Mane, Black Pearl King Oyster, Pearl Oyster and Blue Oyster Mushroom. Provide detailed planting instructions.
Nagy says shiitake mushrooms have a longer maturity period—usually ranging from 1.5 to two months—but most species and strains should be ready for use within two to three weeks after the date included in your planting kit. "If you don't plan to use fully mature planting kits right away, they can be safely stored in the refrigerator for weeks or months and still survive," he said, "but be sure to check them regularly."
River City Mushrooms is located in the West Broadway neighborhood. To order your mushroom kit, please visit www.rivercitymushrooms.ca. All orders are for pickup only. Nagy said that River City Mushrooms is working on introducing some new strains and mushroom species, which will be released in early 2022. Follow their Instagram page @rivercityfungi to learn about planting techniques, species profile, cultivation techniques, wild foraging discoveries, etc.
Kozy-Coats are water-filled teepees that will give you a step ahead in harvesting fresh produce. Made here in Winnipeg.
Brook Drabot is a glass artist who hand-crafts blown glass pieces inspired by nature in her home studio in Warren, Manitoba. Drabot started with pottery, then studied stained glass in high school and at the Sheridan Institute of Technology. She has been creating for nearly 25 years, and today her beautiful lighting glass works can be seen in many galleries and boutiques in Canada.
Drabot uses three different sizes of oxygen and propane fuel torches to melt and blow glass. “I buy solid rod-shaped glass and hollow tubular glass of different sizes,” Drabot said, “and then I melt it and blow-mold it.” Her different glass works include flower bud vases for displaying fresh cut flowers, vanilla or green plants. , And hanging glass tube vases that are very suitable for plant cuttings-perfect for decorating windowsills, shelves or walls in winter. Just add water.
Choose from a range of unique candle holders, potion bottles (flat, round and square), glass containers, etc., including clear glass and stained glass. Drabot's online store www.brookdrabot.com has stocks for holiday shopping. Drabot will also participate in Petit Magasin, an online event that will be held from December 4th to 5th. There will be a group of local artists and a limited number of unique items.
Brook Drabot Glass decorates the winter window sill with a hand-blown glass vase from Brook Drabot Glass.
In early September, this column briefly introduced the metal plant stand designed by Birtle gardener Val Thomson and handcrafted by Bill Wright, a retired teacher who is proficient in manufacturing and innovation. Demand for attractive and powerful factory support far exceeded supply, so Thomson and Wright accelerated production to provide more products in time before Christmas.
The plant stand comes in three sizes, made of 1/4 inch hot-rolled round steel, the top ring is 19 inches in diameter, and the top has elegant curling details. I have a tall plant stand (48 inches) in my garden, and I plan to add two more. In addition to supporting peonies and other plants, metal plant supports also provide an elegant architectural interest. Birds like them too. In winter, they perch on rolled steel, investigating their snow-covered fields.
Orders for factory brackets must be placed before Saturday, November 27th. The pickup will take place at a location in River Heights during the week of December 13. To order, please visit https://birtlearts.ca/events-fundraisers/.
These metal plant supports were designed by Birtle gardener Val Thomson and handmade by Bill Wright. There are three sizes.
The net proceeds from the sale of plant supports will be used to support the planning and operation of the Birtle Art Center, an art organization that focuses on the manufacture of classic garden structures and accessories. Horticulture plays a key role in supporting the financial viability of BCA. Wright has worked in manufacturing and taught welding during his tenure. He developed store plans for several schools. Today, he works as a volunteer at BCA and instructs local youth to learn how to make plant supports and other objects.
Wright also designed advanced pottery flutter tools, which can be found on www.artisanpotterytools.com.
A weekly review of the Winnipeg art world published every Thursday.
With the prospect of rising food prices in 2022, many gardeners are planning a food garden next year. Seed-packed gifts are always popular, but how about a warm coat? For tomatoes, that’s the cucumbers and peppers you plant next spring. Kozy-Coats are reusable water-filled teepees that protect your vegetable crops from frost and allow you to start harvesting fresh produce at least one month in advance.
Kozy-Coats is manufactured by HJS Wholesale in Winnipeg and is a registered trademark of Bonadea Gardens. "We acquired this company from Brian Gory (aka Mr. Tomato) in 2004," said Keith Dupuis, financial director of HJS Wholesale. HJS packages and distributes Kozy-Coats throughout North America. Dupuis said that since the beginning of the pandemic, as more and more people stay at home and spend time gardening, Kozy-Coats is a popular product every spring, and demand has soared.
Dupuis grows tomatoes in pots on his terrace. "My Kozy-Coats are 8 years old, and I use them again and again," he said. He started planting tomatoes in April. "By the end of June, when I removed Kozy-Coats from my plants, the water in the teepee was as warm as bathing water. This is the energy they collect from the sun. At temperatures close to 12 degrees Celsius At night, Kozy-Coats keeps the interior warm and the plants continue to grow.” Sometimes, Dupuis stuffs small petunias in Kozy-Coats. By late June or early July, in addition to ripe tomatoes, he still has a lot of Petunia.
HJS just completed a huge order for T&T Seeds & Garden Center in order to give Christmas gifts in time. Kozy-Coats will also be available in many local garden centers.
Many gift cards will change hands this holiday season. How can you make it special? Cultivate your sense of community and have a positive impact on the environment with a gift that inspires someone to plant a tree next spring. Pick up your gift card at your friendly neighborhood garden center and stuff it into the plantable note card from Botanical PaperWorks at 111 Pacific Avenue. They provide many eco-friendly, seed-embedded holiday cards for you to choose from without leaving any waste. There is a seeded paper tree on the wheelbarrow depicting a rustic woodland scene. When you remove the tree and plant it in a pot of soil, it will grow wild flowers.
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