The Litchi tomato… AKA Sticky Nightshade… AKA… Fire and Ice… is an heirloom plant and until recently was used more as an ornamental hedge plant than a food plant.
They taste like cherries or sweet tomatoes with lots of little seeds and WOW those thorns are really sharp!
Nuit Blanche… for those of you who do not live in Toronto (or other participating cities), Nuit Blanche is a sunset to sunrise celebration of art. I have attended Nuit Blanche many times in the past, but this year I was a part of the art!
It was lots of fun! It was a 6 hours commitment and in addition to coffee, tea, water, fruit, and sandwiches, we were also fed bread and “honey”. This will make more sense if you watch the video.
P.S. I make an sleepy, if not trance like appearance… watch for me!
While visting family in Windsor this past weekend, I spied apples!
Apples on the side of the road, backyards, front yards, golf courses, the beach front…Apples, Apples, Apples… everywhere!
I was back a Red Pocket on Friday. It was sunny and a cool 10 degrees Celsius. My fingers froze and I got a little wind burnt on my face. Having said all that, suddenly I am starting to feel like I am keeping a farmer’s almanac.?
So amongst the beautiful green organic Asian vegetables and the garlic and chives was ever so subtle… not really, whiff of Kentucky Fried Chicken from the corner of Keele and Sheppard…. oh it was wrong… oh so wrong.
Farmer Amy and I weeded 300 bed feet (new farming term and is defined as the linear distance of 1 foot measured along a raised, mulched bed. The total number of Bed Feet in a particular planting system that is the cropped area of real-estate). We weeded carrots greens, and kale as well as the crop that we planted 2 weeks ago. Wow! They have have grown so fast.
I have also learned first hand one of the benefits of SPIN farming. SPIN farming using 24″ wide beds and not 40″ or 48″, so when weeding you have the option of standing up over, and straddling the bed. There is not so much bending, squatting or kneeling.
Mustard Greens
Gai Lan (foreground with yellow flower), Bok Choy (center with purple stems) and Soy Chum (far)
On Friday, May 3, 2013 I spend the day of Red Pocket Farm http://www.redpocketfarm.com with farmer Amy Cheng.
Amy has named her farm after the “… small red envelopes usually containing money or a candy treat…. given on special occasions such as Chinese New Year, birthdays and weddings as blessings for happiness, prosperity, health and good luck. In farming, one certainly needs all four for a successful season.”
Amy’s farm is located at Keele and Sheppard in Downsview Park, Toronto. She grows, almost exclusively, organic Asian vegetables such as gai lan, bok choy and choy sum to name a few.
I don’t know where or how to begin to tell you what an amazing time I had on the farm!!! Amy is a great teacher and was very generous with her time and knowledge. My day was also very emotional as it was my first day on a farm since deciding this on taking this adventure, so I found myself smiling, kinda…. but not really, about to break into tears of joy, and giggling a little as I weeded, blended composts, planted, hoed, watered and set beds.
Things I learned…
Gai Lan – Variety “Jade”
Penny and Amy planted Gai Lan
Lunch – Freshly picked asparagus
These are the first vegetables (herb) that I have EVER.. really EVER grown from seed… I think.
I may have planted seeds when I was a kid, and last year I scattered seeds across Toronto parks that I collected from my garden, but these will be the first seeds that I will have watched and cared for with such appreciation.
This past Sunday I transplanted my little seedlings outdoors… fingers crossed that mother nature won’t bring us another frost till the fall.
I am pretty sure that it is butter lettuce and parsley, but it could be cilantro. See I am off to a great start already with my plant identification skills!
ROOFTech – roofing industry types who gathered together for an educational experience. It was “… much more than just a… trade show.”
In addition to the manufacturer and designers commonly pedaling their wares at the International Centre, there was oodles of information available, and roof companies “on the ready” to help developers and building owner’s comply with the City of Toronto Green Roof Bylaw. http://www.toronto.ca/greenroofs/overview.htm#thresholds.
While there I attended a seminar on a rooftop gardens and was able to view common rooftop garden configurations.
Surprisingly, most, if not all, of the information supported green roofs that have nothing to do with growing food. The technology and industry, while going in a good and green direction, are not building green roofs to feed families… communities (or profit), the green roofs are environmental and ornamental in nature.
