2008 Projects

The Harvest Of 2008

Click on any picture to enlarge it.

	The garden in the Symington Avenue Park was started by the City Councillor Adam Giambrone in 2005. The parks supervisor at the time, Brian Green, handed out garden plots to people in the neighbourhood. We didn't know each other, but we quietly did our gardening and had a good harvest. The following year, we became a Community Garden. You can read about it in the site folder "Creation of the Garden 2006".
	It is now two years later, we have become a thriving community garden and are able to help other gardens that are just starting up...just as we were helped in the beginning as well. Read about the things we are doing this summer in "Projects 2008".

The New Horizons Community Garden comes to visit us

On September 21, 2008, we had our Fall Harvest Festival. It is a time to share our garden with our neighbours and our other community garden friends. I was delighted when I found out that the members of the New Horizons Community Garden had accepted our invitation to visit our garden for our fall event.

The new Bosnian garden, named "New Horizons Community Garden" was initiated by the members of the "Multicultural Association of Bosnian Seniors and their Friends", a not-for profit organization. Their main goal is to reduce the isolation of seniors through various activities, educational workshops, social gatherings, and community sharing initiatives.

Another guest that accepted our invitation was John Slack. A very interesting person. He is an 'Agro-mineral Prospector', an organic farmer, a Bee Keeper, and he has a really good recipe for super compost!

A special surprise, was when John brought out some of his organic heirloom potatoes for every one. he brought 140 pounds of Shepherding Potatoes, and Gold Rush Potatoes. I had just received a stack of produce baskets from FoodShare- the kind you get fruit in, and it worked out wonderfully so that every one could take a basket of potatoes home!

Read More >>

posted September 11, 2008

The Great Canadian Garlic Collection

In the Fall of 2007, we joined Seeds of Diversity and started to work on their project called the Great Canadian Garlic Collection

Seeds of Diversity Canada www.seeds.ca

There are well over 100 varieties of garlic that are suited to Canadian growing conditions. Their goal is to grow as many varieties as possible in all of Canada's major agricultural areas and to record their success and characteristics. The collected information will be posted to their website for use by all.

The three varieties that they sent us are: Sweet Haven, Mountain Top, and Music. They sent us 3 whole garlic of each variety.

All that they requested of us, for the fall, is to document how we planted them and record the date and soil type. So, some of the interested gardeners joined me in planting these garlic. As well, a friend from a near-by community garden joined us to find out how to plant the garlic, and, she brought along a sample of garlic called Russian. to add to our project. We followed the institutions provided and all took turns planting one of the variety's. To add to this, I had some garlic that I grew the previously, and second year bulbils. I never knew the name of it, but just that it came from a health food store.

We used straw for covering it with mulch. Little did we know how interesting it would make our project in the following summer! ...

On the left, you can see some scapes growing with their beautiful curves, and the wheat that grew as a companion with the garlic

On the right are the tiny bulbils that appear on the tops of the scapes

Read More >>

posted September 02, 2008

August Potluck report:

As summer is starting to come to a close, we realized that we should have a get together and have some fun. We started by inviting the neighbours and the volunteers along with the gardeners.

Many of the gardeners are vegetarian, so we had to keep that in mind, so with our barbecue we got veggie dogs and some squash and other large vegetables for roasting. Tony, one of our new gardeners was kind enough to run the barbecue and cook all the nice veggies and the burgers. Later, he brought out his accordion, and played.

Read More >>

Big On Bloor-June 21 Report

Big On Bloor Event!

On Saturday June 21, The BIG Festival came to Bloor Street. From Christie to Lansdowne, along historic Bloor Street, the street was closed so that local businesses, community groups, and the arts and culture scene could celebrate a unique street fair that featured hundreds of events, activities and exhibitions.

The theme of the inaugural BIG Festival is what we as individuals, as members of community and as citizens bring to the table. The theme was inspired by a small story about one of the many Bloor Street communities who started a Sunday night potluck picnic in a park deemed to dangerous to visit during the day. Read More >>

Companion Plants and The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters is a method of companion planting - specifically the practice of planting corn, squash and beans together. This practice is believed to have originated with the Haudenosaunee or "People of the Longhouse." These companion plants grow well together for several reasons. The corn stalks support the bean vines, and the squash vines shade out weeds and help to keep the soil moist. As well, the bean roots capture nitrogen from the air, which is then released into the soil to nourish the nitrogen-hungry corn. I did some reading, and a bit of research, and decided on one of the several different ways I found to grow this combination.

We divided the garden into 1 yard x 1 yard squares - 3 squares wide and 5 squares long, to fill the garden area. We used old straw from the previous year to mark out the pathways between the squares. And we made each square into a bit of a hill.

At the very end of May we started to plant the garden. In a checker board pattern, we planted the corn in every other square. Using the "square foot gardener" calculation we decided to plant 25 kernels of corn in each of the designated squares. Planting and watering done, we waited a week before we planted our squash seeds in the alternating squares. Again, with the "square foot gardener" calculations, we decided that there could be 3 to 4 squash plants in each designated hill. We planted a few extra seeds, so that we could use the the healthiest plants for our garden. We then waited for the corn to be 6" high before planting our beans. The beans were soaked overnight, so that they would have a good start. There was one bean planted next to each corn on the outside perimeter of the squares of corn.

Read More >>

posted June 20, 2008

Guest Visiting the Garden - John Slack

Certified Organic Fertilizer

Notes form John Slack's visit June 14.

John Slack came to Toronto, Saturday June 14th. He delivered some Certified Organic Fertilizer call Carbonatite to the Perth Dupont Community Garden. He also brought some of his special recipe Compost. Is local peat moss, mixed with horse manure, sheep manure and 10% Carbonatite.

Carbonatite is a Agro-mineral that is naturally found in northern Ont. It contains all of the essential minerals needed for crops, and contains the most extensive suite of trace minerals of any organic or chemical fertilizer that he has ever tested. John is also a organic farmer and makes his own compost.

After John Arrived and dropped off the Carbonatite and compost, John answered some gardening questions. He was also very interested in talking with the other local community garden, gardener-Audrey, from the "Garden Party" at the Lutheran Church about urban agriculture, and the issues we have to face.

He wasn't able to discuss how he gets this mineral from the north, and protects the Nature reserve in the Spanish River Forest, near his mine, but he will be sending that information to me shortly.

We took a tour of the Perth Dupont Community Garden, I pointed out the Butterfly Garden and that we are trying to get a water feature going for our little pollinators. He told me that he is also a bee keeper and what he has found useful is to have some compost and Carbonatite saturated with water in a tray. It isn't like standing water, so it won't attract mosquitos. He finds that the bees will go for the moist mixture first, before standing water. Read More >>

posted June 11, 2008

Garden Upgrade for 2008

Perth-Dupont Community Garden Accessibility Upgrade.

We are happy with our garden, but we know that we can be much more. We think it is important to invest in this garden because residents have noticed how much it has increased activity and a sense of safety in the park. In a phenomenally short stretch of time, the gardeners have grown from learning how to run their own garden to supporting the start-up of new community gardens through the Toronto Community Garden Network.

A big concern is safety and accessibility for the gardeners and visitors. There are two of us that use scooters, and others that have difficulty in walking. Currently we have watering hoses lying on the ground, which are a tripping hazard. It is difficult for some of our members to bend over to reach the garden beds. There are lights in the park, but there is no electrical outlet to use for installing our own lighting under the shed. Using solar panels with a battery will be a more environment-friendly method of powering the lights.

We also want to care for the wildlife that comes to the garden. The Butterfly Garden we have installed needs additional plants and a water feature.

We have begun to involve local schools in our garden and hope to expand our capacity.

1) Garden Hoses.

The problem right now is that the hoses are on the ground and they are a tripping hazard. I would like to have a post next to each water tap, so that we can we can mount a hose hanger onto them. I don't know how practical it is but I would like to have a plant hanger to decorate the top of the posts.

This first picture is of 4"x4" posts next to the water taps. We would attach hose hangers on them to keep the hosed off the ground. Two reasons:

1)first, as they are now, they are a tripping hazard, the taps are right at the ends of the pathways, and the hoses are in the middle of the way.

Read More >>

posted April 29, 2008

Community Clean Up Report

COMMUNITY CLEAN UP DAY: APRIL 19 2008

Every year, just before Environment Day, the Mayor holds 2 events.

The first one is the 20 Minute Make-over, which was on Friday April 18th. Please see the story about the school kids visit, to learn more about what we did that day.

The second event was the next day, Saturday April 19th. We decided that this would be a good opportunity to start on cleaning the Community Garden, and get the neighbourhood involved in caring for the park area. The City Councillor's office helped me out, by printing up some flyers. We also put up some posters. As well, we received some free plastic bags and gloves, that the City provides, we got ours from the community centre.

I was really pleased with the turn up from the gardeners, and with the neighbours as well. Every one worked hard for several hours to get the garden started, cleaned around the garden area and in the garden shed, and we got the compost sorted out. We had a chance to test out the new wheel barrow that Amar donated to the Community Garden.

Read More >>

School Children Visit

CHILDREN’S VISIT TO THE GARDEN (April 2008)

On a very fine day in mid April, 21 degrees, that felt more like summer!, the grades 3 and 4 children from St. Luigi school came to visit our community garden.

We were unsure of how the event would play out. It was a real struggle to get the tent up with strong winds and just two people to set it up. However, we managed, and Susan prepared some refreshments that were provided by FoodShare and the City Councilors office. Along with the books, a display of collected seeds, and a poster board with photographs of the garden, produce, and community folks, we were finally ready.

Meredith Hayes from Food Share was the first to arrive. As the children came excitedly, she invited them for a discussion in front of the garden before entering. That way we could all learn something about gardening and our habitat. We were delighted to find that the children knew a lot about gardening practices. The discussion covered the importance of growing a wide variety of plants and vegetables, using all organic materials for composting, and how the insects and creatures play their part in the ecosystem. Read More >>

Big Brick with a door, our new Cement Bunker

At the end of the season in 2007, we received a donation of a tent, and a barbeque! It was very exciting to think of the possibilities in presenting nice events with these new items. Reality, of course sets in, at the end of the day, when you realize that you can't get into the shed any more! The garden shed was pretty full to start with, but this just pushed the limit.

Over the winter, I pondered the question of -what can we do about more storage. By February I decided to hold a community garden meeting, and ask the gardeners. It was a small group that came to the bakery, but it was the first discussion of what sort of storage unit we should have, and where to put it. And, how can we aford it? We talked about it, and came to the conclusion that we could put an extra garden shed in the south east corner of the garden. But we still didn't have any money.

Read More >>

Notes From April, 2008 Meeting

Notes taken by Katia de Pena

04 April 2008 – 6:30 pm
Caladense Bakery

Meeting chaired by Garden co-ordinator Susan Berman in attendance: Phung, Ywette, Kevin, Alison, Nello, Kanthialal, Amar, Katia, James H., Tim, Marcel, Anik, May, Jamie C. Jordan, Kristin, Afroza, Indra.

1) Tennis court repairs Tennis court repairs may endanger the plantings closest to the asphalt pad. Plants may need to be moved. There is a clump of daffodils and scilla planted at the western end of the fence run that surrounds the tennis court and the perennial herbs planted in a row along the north edge of the tennis court. Susan has pointed out our plants to the contractors. However there are limits to what they can avoid due to their heavy equipment. Group agrees that each of us should take a look at the present state of work and voice their opinions to Susan. Agreed that daffodil/scilla clump may have to endure it’s damage this year, sustaining a year setback.

2) April 19, Saturday, from 12 – 2 is Community clean up day. Recommended we turn out to clean up area and to strengthen our profile and connections with the community,

Read More >>

Community Garden Meeting, April 4, 2008

To start the season off, it is good to get together and come out of hibernation. My experience in attending committee meetings for the Toronto Community Garden network (TCGN) is helping me prepare better meetings.

The Agenda is simplified, and I only have one "Speech", the rest of the meeting was an open discussion. I still had points in mind that I wanted to touch on, but I was better able to engage the group.

AGENDA FOR GARDEN MEETING

Friday April 4th 2008

• 6:30pm : Welcome and introductions
• 6:45pm : What's the Urgency?

1. The impact of the Tennis Court Repairs
2. Community Clean Up April 19th
3. Spring Start Up in the garden – plot assignments for new gardeners
4. We have to prepare the area for a new Garden Shed or Cement Bunker

• 7:15pm : The Importantance of Community particpation
  How would you like to participate?
• 7:35pm : Seedy Saturday Report and up coming Events

Upon request, I will arrive earlier, and stay later, if you have time constraints. Read More >>

posted April 04, 2008

Tennis Court Repair March 2008

Part of the park that the community garden is located in, has a Tennis Court. In the past, the there were very few people that came to play tennis each summer. In 2006, the story changed. I would see line-ups for the court. And harvested many tennis ball from my garden too. It was great to see how the community garden just brought people to the park. In 2007, there were still a lot of tennis players, but I noticed that there weren't as many, so I asked them what had changed?

Click on the picture to enlarge it.

The reply was simple: One side of the court was no longer usable. "You would hit the ball in that direction, and it would bounce into a pot hole and would go flying off in a different drection!" "Pot holes?" I inquired. "Well, not really visable holes, but deep spots, and high ridges." and as the tennis players took me for a tour of the surface of the court I could see that this was a real problem, and a safty concern as well, one player mentioned that her son has scrapes and bruises from trippping on them. Read More >>

posted April 04, 2008

Seedy Saturday March 15 2008

This was a great event. As you can tell by the event calendar, it took a lot of preparation. On February 20th , and march 3rd we got together with other members of the TCGN to clean and pack the seeds we had saved from last year. `

Read More >>

BEAT THE WINTER BLUES PART 2: A BIG SUCCSESS

Friday February 15 2008 was very cold, but people's hearts were very warm. The fundraiser for the families of the January fire were deeply touched and overwhelmed by the amount of support shown by their neighbours and the community.

To find out about the Success of the community fundraiser please see the news letter artical that the City Councillor sent out. It doucments the fun events, and the people who participated in making this such a wonderful evening. A big round of thanks for all the people who worked hard to make the event a succsess, and helped the neighbourhood pull together and grow into stronger community!

Notes For The February 8th 2008 Meeting

Held at the caldenes bakery

Five people Attended the meeting. Four current gardeners and a new person that will be joining us this year. Eight people contacted Susan to say that they couldn't come that night. That was very much appreciated.

Announcements: Seeds cleaning and packaging sessions will be held on Feb. 20 at the Scadding court kitchen, 707 Dundas St. W. (at Bathurst) from 6pm to 9pm. And at the Stop Community Food Bank on March 3rd at 1884 Davenport Rd, (at Perth.) From 5pm to 9pm.

Susan has a collection of Seeds from last year, more that we can use in the garden. We are participating in this, so we can have seeds to trade with others at the Seedy Saturday Event. There is a description of this on our web site. If you have collected your own seeds you are welcome to bring them. I would like to have as many volunteers as possible, we will be joined by other community gardeners at these events.

Seedy Saturday: March 15 from 10am to 3pm, at Scadding Court. Great Seed exchange and an opportunity to get rare heirloom seeds. Read More >>

Meeting Agenda for February 8th, 2008

• 6:30 Welcome and introductions.
• 6:45 Announcements: Seed cleaning and packaging event, Seedy Saturday.
• Tennis court repairs and how it will affect our garden.
• 7:00 Why the garden needs money, Discussion of different types of fundraising.

Why the garden needs money

The Perth Dupont Community Garden is totally run by volunteers. The City Councillor Adam Giambrone installed the garden in 2005. In 2006 I took the initiate to organize this random group of gardeners in a community garden. By default, I have become the coordinator...the job is always open if someone else would like to give it a try! I also recived a scholership for the Community Garden Leadership class that FoodShare and TCGN provided.

We have become a very sucessful community garden. The Toronto Community Garden Network is very pleased with the work we have done in providing food security to the neighbourhood. In 2006 the Stop gave us a letter of reconition for the food we donated to their food bank program. By the end of the season, we had donated almost 350 pounds of produce to them. Most of it can from the "charity plot" now renamed "The Sharing Garden", but through-out the summer some of you gardeners also donated things. In 2007 the combined amount of donated produce was over 475 pounds! Read More >>

Davenport Unites

On January 5th 2008, the Davenport community was devastated by a horrific fire which left several families on Franklin Avenue homeless. This was a shocking blow to our community.

Franklin Ave. is the next street over from the garden. We were shocked by the news of the fire, affecting our neighbours. We wanted to get into action to help these people, but were not sure what or how to help. Then the City Councilor's office contacted me, and together we were able to gather a community group to make a plan to help these people. The first thing that the councilors office did was to send out this letter.

Our office, along with the community, has been working very hard to assist these families. We were overwhelmed with joy to see the kindness of the community. I would like to take this moment to thank everyone for all the donations made. While we are no longer accepting clothing or small household items, the Franklin Fire Trust is still active and any donation will greatly assist these families.

Monetary Donations can be made at any TD Canada Trust to the "Franklin Avenue Fire Trust Fund":
- Account Number 5220430
- Transit Number 01216

The Trust Fund is no longer active, but check the news letter regarding the Fund Raiser for the amount of money raised.

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