14 June 2025 TOP LEFT: SITI - ADOBE STOCK | ANNA - ADOBE STOCK | MASITHOH DESIGN - ADOBE STOCK | VIPERAGP - ADOBE STOCK | FRIZIO - ADOBE STOCK | CILEJUG - ADOBE STOCK | RAWPIXEL.COM - ADOBE STOCK | ARUN168 - ADOBE STOCK WATERCOLOR IDEAS - ADOBE STOCK | TOP RIGHT: VITALII - ADOBE STOCK A LITE LOOK AT PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND ARTICLE BY JULIE HARLOW NEW MENTAL HEALTH DAY The government of PEI officially named May 5th as Mental Health in Agriculture Day. “May is particularly stressful for our agriculture industry – the physical, emotional and monetary costs of starting another planting season can get the best of us all – but my hope is that we can all use this day to recognize the importance of keeping our mental health strong,” said Bloyce Thompson, Deputy Premier and Minister of Agriculture. The Department of Agriculture and the PEI Federation of Agriculture established FarmersTalk.ca in 2019 to provide a centralized portal of free mental health resources for farmers and family members to access during times of struggle and stress. Source: FruitandVeggie.com FERMENTATION PARTIES OFFER VALUE FOR ALL The “party” is one of the fermentation workshops launched through Heart Beet Organics and the PEI Food Exchange. These ferments have become a staple for Heart Beet’s business, but preparation is labour- intensive. An exchange of knowledge of fermentation for peeling, chopping and cutting is the perfect pickling partnership. BETTER LATE THAN NEVER Kensington Country Store told Small Farm Canada on May 9th that they secured chicks for their meat bird orders this spring. They had told a CBC in early April that they were concerned their customers would be out of luck this year. Charlene Profitt of Kensington Country Store said they had orders from small and hobby farms for almost 1,300 chicks at the time, so she was hoping for a source by May. With no hatcheries on PEI, most eggs and chicks come from either New Brunswick, Nova Scotia or the U.S. Ironically it is the only province with zero cases of avian influenza confirmed. Update - sadly PEI’s first case of AI a was confirmed by CFIA on May 16th. PEI SEED ALLIANCE The Prince Edward Island Seed Alliance is a network of small farmers committed to growing Island-adapted, Open Pollinated (OP) seeds for our community of Island farmers and gardeners. Organized in 2015 through the generous assistance of the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security, they offered our first cooperatively produced collection of seeds for the 2016 growing season. Their goal is to continue to expand our collection by trialing open-pollinated, open-source vegetable varieties, as well as pollinator flower varieties to continue to build our living collection of Island adapted seed. They hope to grow their organization by tapping into the PEI community to collect other open pollinated varieties of seeds that have been grown and saved by other Island gardeners and farmers, as well as supporting new seed growers in their efforts to select, save and clean their own seed. Source: Prince Edward Island Seed Alliance VESEY’S CANADIAN SAFFRON CROCUS In 1939 at a very young age, Mr. Arthur Vesey operated a market garden in the rural community of York, PEI. During his market garden years, he was keenly interested in securing and testing seeds that were suitable for the cool, short growing seasons of Atlantic Canada. From those days to now, seed varieties, staff and sales are at their highest levels in company history with Crocus sativus, a wonderful example. Crocus sativus produces the most expensive spice in the world, saffron! Exclusively Canadian, these bulbs are produced in Quebec. The different and indescribable taste of saffron is one that is not forgotten once tried. Once the herb is dried, you can enjoy such dishes as Risotto alla Milanese, Paella and Saffron Chicken at home!
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