Important Notice - 2nd School Food Garden Project (SFGP) Training!

Dear SFGP participants,

Please note that the 2nd SFGP training workshop date has been changed from Wed. April 29 to Friday May 8, 2009. You will be informed about the training details prior to the workshop.

Thank You!

SFGP Workgroup

Early Spring Gardening Workshops

Seedy Saturday
When: Saturday Feb 28th, 2 pm - 6 pm
Location: Artscape Whychwood Barns, 601 Christie at St. Claire.
Entry: ~$2, and workshops are free.
What: One of the biggest events of the year for organic gardeners. Seed exchange, Heirloom seeds for sale, gardening workshops, and kids activities.

For more information visit: http://www.tcgn.ca/wiki/wiki.php?n=CommunityEvents.SeedySaturday2009

Downtown Alternative PS - Harvest

Downtown Alternative PS - Harvest

Did you know that Downtwon Alternative PS had a fabulous Harvest Lunch? Many students helped at the harvest lunch, and made delicious vegetable soup using some of the vegetables they grew in their own school food garden!!

Green Tomatoes!

The question was asked: 

We have a lot of green large tomatoes - when do they turn red and is there something we can do? The garden is quite crowded.

The answer: Green tomatoes are what we are finding in gardens all across Toronto - after a cold and damp summer our tomatoes haven't been getting the sun they love. 

There are two strategies I can think of to try:

1. Check to see if they are ripe enough to harvest - if so take them off the plant and ripen indoors

Click on the title above for more information on how to identify if the tomatoes are ready to harvest and a number of ripening techniques. This could be a great activity for a classroom to adopt - tracking which technique worked best. 

2. Keep them on the plant and wait to see if they'll ripen in a couple of weeks - we can often grow healthy tomatoes into late October without risk of them being lost to frost or cracked with too much moisture. 

Any other suggestions? 

Downtown Alternative School's Food Garden Dragon Bench!

Downtown Alternative School's Food Garden (May)

Downtown Alternative School's Food Garden (June)

"School Food Garden Makes A Difference!" - Annette St. PS

Annette Street Public School Food Garden Start Up (May)

Annette Street Public School Food Garden (June)

Sun Safety in the Garden

Six Sun Safety Recommendations

1. Limit time in the sun between 11 am and 4 pm or whenever UV Index is 3 or more
2. Look for shaded areas to do outdoor activities
3. Wear a hat with a wide brim or with a visor and back flap
4. Wear clothing to protect as much skin as possible
5. Wear UVA and UVB protected sunglasses
6. Use a sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher that gives protection from both UVA and UVB rays

For more information click on the heading above and you will be redirected to Toronto Public Health's sun safety page. 

Controlling Pests and Weeds Naturally - Free workshop Wednesday July 16th 6-8

Where: St. Clair Avenue and Landsdowne Ave Toronto

Directions: The Stop Community Food Centre's garden is located on the east side of Earlscourt Park at Landsdowne and St. Clair. Just walk halfway down the south part of the lane and you will see their garden in the park. For more details, including a map please click on the heading above this will connect you to the Toronto Community Garden Network's calendar. 

This workshop is sure to be quite helpful. 

Question: Tips for bugs and pests

Does anyone have any suggestions for what seems to be a bug problem- the bugs have not been seen as they are probably doing the damage at night but the leaves of the various plants have holes all over them.

Answer: The best thing to do is try and determine which type of pest you have. If there is no sign of the perpetrator during the day then one possibility is that you may have slugs. Slugs are lovely creatures but sure love to feast on all sorts of plants. To rid your garden of slugs there are a few different techniques you can use. 

1. The most humane way to treat slugs is to catch them in the act, hand pick them and relocate to another feeding ground outside of the garden. This can be difficult at a school garden as slugs feed at night and during the early morning hours to avoid the hot sun. If visiting the garden during slug feeding times isn't an option you can also try to find their day time resting place - you'll likely find them tucked away in a damp and shady spot in the garden. If you find their resting space thin out the plant matter to make a less hospitable home
2. Another strategy is to lay down crushed egg shells or diatomaceous earth (fossilized remains of hard shelled algae available at many garden centres) around the plants that are being affected - the sharp edges on both cut the slugs and cause them to dry out
3. A final strategy to employ is to bury a shallow dish or tupperware container in the garden and fill with beer - the slugs are attracted to the yeast and will drown 

If it's not slugs that are your problem some other common leaf eaters include aphids, colorado potato beetle and caterpillars.

• Aphids can often be found feeding on the underside of leaves. There are thousands of varieties of aphids in different colours including green, orange, brown and yellow. A great way to get rid of them is to release lady bugs into your garden. Bags of lady bugs can be order and shipped to your home. As a long term strategy you can plant daisies and other flowers which will attract lady bugs to your garden but as a quick fix you can wash and spray leaves with a solution of garlic, dish soap, and mineral water. There are many different recipes for sprays available online. For two sample recipes click on the heading above and always remember to limit your spray to the infected areas as pesticides will also impact beneficial insects. 
  
• Colorado Potato Beetles love potatoes but they'll also munch on eggplants, tomatoes and peppers - I haven't had much direct experience with CPB's but some strategies that can be used include planting nasturtiums and cilantro in and around the affected plants, using a cayenne pepper spray or go straight to the source and hand picking the beetles and their eggs and larvae. 

rain and sun- what more could you ask for?

Hello to Everyone, from the Marc Garneau Collegiate Team,

We had the "opening" of our vegetable garden this past Tuesday, June 3. The sun came out briefly for the hour that it took to have a small thank- you ceremony with some food and drink for about 12 guests and then the overcast sky and rain came back. I took the rain and the hour of rain-free time as an omen of good things to come. The creation of the veggie garden has been a learning process with several challenges. I'll write more after exams, post some pics and look forward to reading more about others' experiences and shared information. Thanks to Lovelle San Gabrielle, from Public Health, who came to take pics. I'm off to mark the last set of essays.