I recently had the opportunity to visit the South Riverdale Community Health Centre rooftop garden which includes a number of raised beds and recycled containers growing a variety of vegetables and herbs.  There is even a view of the CN Tower!  The Garden Club was busy seed saving, harvesting and preparing a beautiful fresh salad for lunch.  This approach to health promotion would be a valuable addition to all of our community health centres in Toronto.

It was once discovered that two carrots had become so fond of each other that they grew together underground and formed a heart.

The Bosnian gardeners invite the community to Children’s Day at their New Horizons garden.

This Saturday July 25th from 4-6 p.m.

See flyer for full details.

Come see what happened to the Three Sisters Garden planted in the spring…

“Recognizing the social and environmental value of community gardens, in 1999 City Council endorsed the Community Gardening Action Plan, which seeks to establish a community garden in every ward by 2003.” -City of Toronto, Community Gardens

This ambitious, yet still unrealized, strategic goal is supported by the “How to Start a Community Garden”  two day workshop, presented by the Toronto Community Food Animators Project (The Stop,  Afri-Can FoodBasket and FoodShare) with sponsorship from Toronto Community Garden Network and Toronto Community Housing.  The program provides community members with accessible and practical training to undertake a community garden project.  I would highly recommend this learning opportunity if you are already invested in a community garden and looking to take your site to a new level of community involvement or looking to organize a new garden initiative in the City (or beyond).  Be sure to catch this training next spring.

You may imagine that we spent the two days discussing soil safety, what to grow, how to grow, garden design and the likes, but instead the focus was people, the heart of a successful community garden.  A community garden was defined as a place to grow food and community.  The emphasis was on developing skills as community organizers, understanding the benefits of using gardens as sites for community building.

Shortly after attending this session, I watched The Garden, an Academy Award Nominated documentary by Scott Hamilton Kennedy on a community garden in L.A., that was the largest of its kind in the United States before greed and politics brought about its demise.  It is an extreme case, with devastating consequences for the South Central Farmers, yet it reinforces many of the lessons gained from the “How to Start a Community Garden” training.  The scale of the project, the benefits to the community presented and the ownership felt by the farmers is inspiring.  The challenges to decision making, conflict resolution and conflicting land use claims are also presented in a very real way.  It addresses a significant barrier to community gardening, and that is, that most community gardeners do not own the land in which they invest so much, the possibility of removal is always in the background.

Program Information:

Will your kids go a little CRAZY over March Break?
Need something to do with them?

Join us for activities at the H.O.P.E. Community Garden
Wednesday March 18th & Friday March 20th
2 pm – 4 pm

Kids will make art, listen to stories and plant seeds.
Parents, we need you or a guardian there. But you get to RELAX,
make new friends and join activities if you want.

Dress for the outdoors. Rain or shine. We’ll have yummy snacks.

Who: Children, ages 3-9 and a parent or guardian
Where: Masaryk Park, 220 Cowan Ave. (meet in the garden)
Cost: $5 per child (includes snack for all)

Pre-Registration Required
Call 647.438.0038 (Weekdays 9-6) or Email register@greenestcity.ca

Greenest City

Garden Jane

At this year’s Organic Conference in Guelph, Ontario, Zora introduced me to a fabulous container for growing vegetables on roof top gardens. The product is from Alternatives, an international cooperative network, in Montreal. The special recycling box design uses irrigation by capillary which reduces the amount of watering required.  The design includes the following: a filling top (for watering), submerged soil mixture column, water reservoir and a false bottom (which you plant on top of).  This method was successfully experimented on the Roof Top Garden at the Big Carrot health foods store.  A great idea, just in time to get us excited about the upcoming growing season.

*For more information about the product see:  The Rooftop Garden Project.

I was so inspired after attending a community picnic at the New Horizons Bosnian Garden located in Tom Riley Park (west-end of the city).  I got to take part in the delicious lunch consisting of tables full of homemade Bosnian delights.  Thank you to my friend Zora, who is the Garden Coordinator, for the special invitation.

In only its second growing season, the production of food at this community garden for seniors is incredible.  The main goal of the garden is to reduce the isolation of seniors and from the turnout, picnic tables overflowing, it is evident that a real sense of community pride has been established for all involved.  Funding for the garden comes from Social Development Canada under the New Horizons for Seniors Program and strong support from City of Toronto Parks.

Plant them (beans) with everyone because they will grow overnight and the excitment generated will be contagious.

My gardening neighbor, at the Jubilee Community Garden, back on the road heading home with fresh flowers from our combined plots.

This past Saturday, the Jubilee Community Garden celebrated its 5th Growing Season with a potluck luncheon. The transformation of the space since March is remarkable and everyone was recognized for their individual efforts in growing food. I am very excited to now be able to pick fresh lettuce leafs from my plot.