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…
- If you take the time and do it right, care about what it is that you are doing, you will be rewarded
- Vegetables that are loved taste better
- Asparagus tastes WONDERFUL when picked and 2 minutes later eaten… and that says a lot for a girl who does really like green veg that has not been drowned in butter
- Educate yourself on new planting methods (e.g. SPIN – small plot intensive) http://www.spinfarming.com/whatsSpin/
- Have a plan (e.g. seed, beds, harvest…) and write it down
- Take risks, but plan accordingly and write it down… and cover your plans with plastic inserts
- When hoeing or shoving turn your blade inward toward the bed, so not to spill soil from the bed in to the footpath
- The smell of fish emulsion is very… super, difficult to remove from hands and clothes
- Wear sun block, wear a hat, and clothes that you no longer care about.

Gai Lan – Variety “Jade”

Penny and Amy planted Gai Lan

Lunch – Freshly picked asparagus