Environmental and Food Security Events in Toronto

Now that it’s June and gardening season is in full swing, there are lots of events taking place across the city for the environmentally-minded citizen. Here’s a brief list of things I know are coming up, and some info about where to find more events in the future.

Ongoing: Toronto Farmers’ Markets: Get out and meet your neighbours and your farmers and support sustainable agriculture in Ontario. Visit the Apple Tree Market at Eglinton Park on Thursdays 3-7 or check out other markets in the city at the Toronto Farmers’ Market Network.

Tuesday June 1 to June 31 – Bike Month: Bike-friendly talks, rides, and garden tours! http://bikingtoronto.com/bikemonth/

Wednesday June 9 – Toronto Food Policy Council Meeting: Look back on 10 years of the TFPC and discuss the next 10 based on the new Toronto Food Strategy. 2pm at City Hall, Committee Rm. 1

Saturday June 12 – Toronto Tree Festival: Family-friendly Tree Tour, tree planting, eco-art and more. Come visit TGC at our info booth! http://www.toronto.ca/parks/treefestival.htm

Friday June 18 and Friday June 25 –  West End Food Co-op Community Canning: Learning how to preserve not only jams, but ethnic and low sugar canning techniques as well. http://westendfood.coop/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=27

Saturday June 19 – FoodShare Open House: information about the many food security projects being undertaken by this great Toronto organization, and a discussion of how to increase food literacy in schools. http://www.foodshare.net/upcoming-agm2010.htm

Tuesday June 22-29 – LEAF Tree Tenders Training: Learn how to care for and identify trees in the urban forest in four workshops provided by Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests (LEAF)  http://yourleaf.org/tree-tenders-volunteer-training-and-stewardship

Thursday June 24 – Toronto Green Community AGM and Speakers Series: Annual General Meeting and talk on Transition Towns: Ontario towns that are preparing for Peak Oil through increasing local resilience and production. AGM at 5:30, Speakers at 7. 40 Orchard View Blvd, Rm 200.

Sunday June 27 – Evergreen Brickworks Pollinators Festival: Learning about how to attract pollinators to your garden, making cities bee-friendly, and urban beekeeping info.  http://ebw.evergreen.ca/cal/event/the-pollinators-festival

Event Resources

Good Works event listings: Green event listings from across Canada http://www.planetfriendly.net/calendar/

Toronto Community Garden Network Event listings: Excellent resource of garden and food security events  http://www.tcgn.ca/wiki/wiki.php?n=EventsWorkshopAndCourses.FrontPage

Green GTA: Monthly Green Events Listing http://greengta.ca/greater-toronto-area-environmental-events

Grafting, 4-in-1 apple trees and mint trading

Last week I got a little hasty. I cancelled the workbee since at 3pm it was pouring down rain, only to have it clear up and become a pleasant evening by 5pm. I had two new volunteers who didn’t get the notice come out to help, so we got a little work done alongside a lot of discussing the garden. Timothy, a new volunteer with an agronomy background has put me in contact with a beekeeping expert who has built and cared for many hives in the past, so hopefully I can keep working  away at my beekeeping fantasy! I’m planning to attend the pollinators festival at the Brickworks this month to to find out more. More details about this, and other environmental events this month will appear in my next post. 

Peas and Radishes

Last week showed lots of growth in the garden, the heavy rains have been making everything burst into life, with both our newly planted corn and potatoes putting healthy sprouts up. Once the corn reaches 4 inches we’ll be planting beans and squash, the other two sisters, and including some photos. 

Two interesting plantings of last week were our new 4-in-1 apple tree, and 

4 apples in 1!

 the beginnings of our mint plantation. The apple tree (at right), like all fruit trees these days, is made up of two parts, the rootstock (what we think of as the trunk) and the scions (the fruiting branches) which are grafted onto the tree. Grafting is defined as a technique by which two parts of different plants are joined together in such a way that they will heal, seal, and continue to grow as one plant. This is done by slicing open the rootstock, attaching the scion and securing the pieces together by tying and waxing them. In the case of apple trees, grafting is done because it is much easier than growing a tree from seed and much more reliable. Apple seeds do not produce the same type of apples as the tree they came from, they are just as likely to produce crabapples. Grafting ensures production of the same type of apple produced on the parent tree, so all Red Delicious apples you’ve eaten have been grown on grafts that trace back to an original Red Delicious tree! 

This technique allows trees to be produced which grow more than one variety of apple scion on the same rootstock, as is the case with our 4-in-1. It has Cortland, Melrose, Red McIntosh and Summerred apples on a semi-dwarf rootstock, which means it will be short and easy to pick. The added benefit of these mixed graft types is that they are self pollinating. Often fruit trees, like blueberries, need more than one variety growing in the same place to ensure pollination, but with 4 varieties on one tree that problem is resolved. 

The mint we planted will hopefully be part of a partnership with Chocosol http://chocosol.posterous.com/ a group which sells fairly sourced chocolate at the Apple Tree Market and elsewhere in the city. They have kindly offered to trade mint for giving a workshop for kids about chocolate production, and we will hopefully be incorporating a chocolate-making lesson into our Great Garden Adventure kids program this summer – sure to be a hit!