Organic Gardening Course at Little City Farm - 6 part series starting Jan 17!

Dates: 6 Wednesday evenings, Jan 17, 24, 31, Feb 14, 21, 28 (NO CLASS on Feb 7)
Time: 6:30-8:30 pm on each evening
Facilitator: Angie Koch, from Fertile Ground Farm
Class Location: Little City Farm, 508 Duke St W, Kitchener

REGISTER HERE NOW!

Are you serious about gaining more knowledge for developing a productive organic garden? Join us this winter for this very exciting 6 part intensive organic gardening course. 10 participants will have the opportunity to take part in this series, which will include 6 guided workshops, with opportunity for each participant to develop and complete an individual garden plan.


These classes will be facilitated by local organic farmer Angie Koch, from Fertile Ground Farm (located just west of Waterloo, near St. Agatha).  Angie has operated a market garden, CSA (community supported agriculture), for the past 10 years.  Her farm has grown to include a number of seasonal staff, interns, volunteers, as well as chickens, herb gardens, pollinator gardens, beehives, seed saving gardens, a greenhouse for seedlings, and more!  Angie is involved in Canadian Organic Growers, and the Ecological Farmers Association, as well as a part-time staff member at Seeds of Diversity.  This is a unique opportunity to learn first-hand from Angie's 10 years of organic farming experience!  Bring your notebook, your garden ideas, and your questions. 

View this short video to see Angie's beautiful organic farm!

Organic Gardening Course Outline:
Week 1: Seed and Seedling Starting - including basic plant botany
Week 2: Garden Planning Part One - succession planting for continuous harvest
Week 3: Garden Planning Part Two - using space effectively
Week 4: Soil Biology & Fertility - using organic methods
Week 5: Pest Management, Seed Saving, and Attracting Beneficial Insects
Week 6: Overflow, Q&A & Individual Garden Plans Wrap-Up - final developing, feedback and completion of individual garden plans

Please note: we need a minimum of 7 participants in order to offer this course.  We will notify you one week prior to the first class, to confirm details and what to bring along.

For more information about this course, and to register visit our course page here.

Annual Seedling Sale May 20

We recently had Angie from Fertile Ground Farm here to lead the annual workshop on Starting Seedlings.  Participants learned about soil mixes, seed sourcing, seed germination, transplanting, and lots of tips for keeping seedlings healthy until they get planted out.

Angie has been leading this Seedling Starting workshop here at Little City Farm for many years.  She has also been our partner in the annual Organic Seedling Sale on the May long weekend.  This year will be the 15th year that this sale takes place. 

For the first time in 15 years, the sale will not be held at Little City Farm.  It has simply outgrown our location!  Thank you to all the customers and volunteers from all the previous years who came to take part in this sale here!  It was so much fun to host it.  However, there is so much demand for the seedlings, that our little homestead yard cannot hold all the vendors, seedlings, and customers for the day.  The sale is going to take place in a nearby location - at the parking lot of Extend-a-family off of Moore St in Kitchener - on May 20 from 11-2.  Angie is taking the lead in the sale this year - we are so happy to pass this on to her and wish her well with the seedlings!  This allows us to focus our attention onto other homestead projects, including our own gardens and classes.  Come join us for a workshop to tour this spring instead!

Find out more about the 15th Annual Organic Seedling sale - go to Fertile Ground Farm or their facebook link to read more updates.  Thousands of seedlings to be had - many heirloom tomato varieties, plus other garden veggies (everything you need!), herbs, perennials, flowers, and more!

NEW Fall 2016 Workshops Posted!

Wow!  The new line-up of classes at Little City Farm for the Fall 2016 (and some Winter 2017) is now posted. Loads of new topics and intensive series of classes, to gain hands-on skills for more self-reliant living!  Check out our workshop page here.

We are excited by a whole series of great Herbal Medicine Making classes this fall, including Autumn Wellness Remedies (immune boosting tinctures & fire cider); Winter Health Remedies (cough syrups and more); DIY herbal shampoos; herbal gift-making near the holiday season (felted wool soap, herbal salves and balms, herbal bath bombs & soaks).

There are a number of Soap Making workshop dates (sign up soon to claim your spot, these workshops fill up quickly!), as well as Goats Milk Soap Making - all favourite workshops around here.

Also our usual popular classes on Wild Edibles Foraging and Lacto-Fermented Foods are back for the fall season, with a focus on autumn plants and harvest.

NEW! And new this fall, a series of Waldorf-inspired Art Classes for both children (10 Thursday afternoons from Sept-Dec), and adults (6 Wednesday evenings in Oct-Nov)!  To bring mindfulness, appreciation of nature, joy and calm into our homes through the creative use of natural art materials.  Read our facilitator bios here, and more details to register for these exciting art classes.

NEW! Finally, coming this January 2017 - a 6-Part Organic Gardening Intensive, led by our famous local organic farmer Angie Koch from Fertile Ground Farm.  We are really looking forward to this session, which is limited to 10 participants so that this small group can work through individual garden plans and take 6 weeks to gain intensive organic gardening knowledge.  Sign up here!

Organic Non-GMO Seeds (Soil & Gardening Books) Now Available at Little City Farm

SEEDS! SEEDS! SEEDS! PURCHASE ORGANIC NON-GMO SEEDS AT LITTLE CITY FARM!

 Seeds have arrived!

We are proud to now be able to offer our local customers a wonderful selection of organic non-GMO seeds. Seeds we carry come from High Mowing, a small family-owned ethical organic seed company. We have a selection of 48+ different seeds, with many heirloom varieties.


Including zucchini, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, turnip, radishes, kale, chard, lettuces, pok choy, beans, peas, spinach, sweet corn, carrots, herbs, flowers.  Feel free to contact us for more details.

Also available limited quantities of:

•  gift seed pack collections (Kids Garden Collection; Bee Garden Collection; Easy Salad Greens Collection); 
• and bags of certified organic starter soil to get your seedlings started at home;
• as well as gardening and permaculture books!

TO PURCHASE SEEDS:
Drop by Little City Farm on Saturdays between 10-1 pm (from February through May, and also at our May 21, 2016 annual seedling sale), or contact Karin directly at: info (at) littlecityfarm.ca.


LEARN MORE: ORGANIC SEED STARTING WORKSHOP - April 2!
To learn more about starting seeds at home consider taking part in our great annual spring workshop on Starting Organic Seedlings coming on Saturday April 2, led by Angie Koch from the popular local Fertile Ground Organic Farm.

Gratitude Sunday

This week we are grateful for so many things!  Here are a few that come to mind.  What are you grateful for?

- local certified organic non-GMO sweet corn (first of the season for us!) from Organic Oasis Farm Store (it's so hard to find organic corn that this was such a treat, and we brought home dozens and dozens to put in the freezer)

- freshly harvested organic edamame (yummm) dropped off as a gift from our favourite farmer Angie at Fertile Ground CSA  (thank you Angie!)

-  fresh berries in our yard, containers filled every day, especially with loganberries (here is a link to local Whiffletree Nursery where there are numerous kinds of hardy berries, fruit and nut trees available perfect for our growing zone)

- a hummingbird that has visited our yard three nights in a row now (loving Maya's pink zinnias - she is thrilled!) - to attract hummingbirds try planting zinnias, salvia, morning glory, snapdragon, cleome, nasturtium, petunias, trumpet vine...

- bees, bees, bees on goldenrod (I have such a new appreciation for goldenrod and it's many benefits to us, and for fall forage for the pollinators)

- apples, apples, apples - we hope to press our own apple cider this year at Rolling Acres farm and cider mill (the old fashioned way)

Gratitude Sunday

We are grateful for so many things.  Here is what comes to mind from this past week:

~ peas and more peas as we near the final harvest (and purple ones that we love to grow each year!)

~ a "cupcake and flower stand" in our front yard that our young entrepreneurial daughter decided to set up  with her friends on the weekend (and the friends and neighbours who dropped by to support our young entrepreneurs)

~ one dozen delicious Seed of Life bars that I was happy to barter in exchange for plants from our garden!  (if you have not tried these amazing high-quality handmade energy bars yet then by all means check them out!  They are now available at the Kitchener market, and various local health food stores - made locally by our friend Theresa)

~ a gifting of organic bokchoy and (my favourite) hakurai turnips from our friend Angie at Fertile Ground CSA - gorgeous produce that we just can't seem to grow here like she does on her farm!

~ a sweet baby in our house that now sleeps for more than two hours at a time!

~ the season of fresh local berries!  red currants, service berries, mulberries, raspberries and blackberries and soon to be ready cherries and blueberries

~ Tulsi (or Sacred/Holy Basil) that we grow in abundance in our herb garden, with it's many health benefits - for gifting to friends, drying for winter tea blends, and making into this refreshing Holy Basil Sipping Vinegar

What are you grateful for this week?

Barn reno update!

It's coming along...wood siding is now on, we are working on the interior!  There's still a lot to do, but we hope to have it ready in some capacity for hosting our first workshop in the new space - the Seedling Starting Workshop at the end of February (Feb 21) with our guest facilitator Angie Koch from Fertile Ground CSA and the greenhouse ready for the annual Little City Farm Seedling Sale coming on May 23!

Little City Farm May Sales!

Local folks!  We are happy to invite you to come see us for two occasions in May!

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Fri, May 9 - SOAP & HERBALS SALE 
Homestead Herbals at Bailey's Local Foods 

3:30-6:30 pm, at First United Church, uptown Waterloo

Interested in locally handmade natural soaps and herbal products?  Our Homestead Herbals products are made with locally grown organic and/or wildharvested herbs, local goatsmilk, local honey, local beeswax!  We have natural soaps, shampoo bars, shaving soap, bug spray, herbal first aid kits, pregnancy & post-partum herbals, and more!  Come check out our items during the Bailey's Local Foods pick-up in uptown Waterloo (16 William St W, Waterloo).  Everyone is welcome to come by.   Special discounts for this day only!  Cash payment.  Preview our Homestead Herbals products here.

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Sat, May 24 - SEEDLING SALE 
12th Annual Seedling Sale

9 am-12 noon, at Little City Farm

Don't miss our exciting annual seedling sale!  This fun community event features hundreds of seedlings, including 20+ varieties of heirloom tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, brassicas, basil, herbs, perennials, strawberries, flowers and more!  This year we welcome back Fertile Ground CSA with their gorgeous seedlings; the Ever Lovin' Jug Band for lively music on the back porch stage; organic baked goods (pies, breads, and more) and a wood-fired oven; and Pollination Canada with important info about pollinators!  Also tours of our urban homestead...and more!

The seedling sale is held at Little City Farm, here at 508 Duke St W, Kitchener.  Please walk or bike if you can!  Bring your own boxes or baskets to carry home your seedling purchases - and CASH payment only.

See you then!

Seedling Sale May 24 - One Month Away!

Our 12th Annual Seedling Sale is fast approaching - one month away on Saturday May 24!  (please note, it is NOT the Saturday of the long weekend this year).  Even though spring has been very slow in coming this year, it's time to think about gardens.  Our grow racks and green house are filling up with trays and trays of young seedlings, and a daily watering routine is a big part of the morning chores.  Soon comes transplanting! 

Come on our to our Seedling Sale just to experience a fun annual community event for urban gardeners and kick off your garden season - or find heirloom organic varieties of tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, basil, kales, broccoli, other vegetables, herbs, flowers and more.  This year there will also be lettuce seedling mixes available, everbearing strawberry plants (yaa!), many varieties of sunflowers ready to plant (consider planting a cut flower section in your garden for making fresh bouquets all summer long - we plan to this year!); and so much more.

With farmer friend Angie from Fertile Ground CSA joining us as she does each year, with her interns and a huge selection of beautiful organic seedlings!  Plus, back by popular demand, music to keep the sale lively from local musicians the Ever Lovin' Jug Band.  Details on our website here.

Save the date! Organic Seedling Sale at Little City Farm May 24 from 9 am-12 noon

Wood-fired baking!

Each week during the summer months we have a CSA (community supported agriculture) food pick-up here.  Our friend, Angie from Fertile Ground CSA, brings her gorgeous organic produce and her members pick up their bounty.  We offer fresh bread and baked goods, made in our wood-fired oven.  It allows us the joy of baking for a crowd each week, with freedom to experiment and try new recipes out, as well as many favourite repeats that members ask for.  The favourite breads include: Superseed Bread; Walnut-Raisin; and Potato-Roasted Garlic-Rosemary Bread; and treats such as Vegan Pesto Rolls; Gluten-free Brownies (made with quinoa); White-Chocolate Roasted Almond Cookies; and Whole Wheat Sticky Buns.  All our baking is made with organic flour, organic seeds, and healthful whole ingredients (including basil, zucchini, beets and other veggies as they come into season), with our grains mainly sourced from the local organic flour mill at Oak Manor Farms.  Best of all, we get to bake in our outdoor wood-fired cob oven.  We love so many elements of this oven - it was made by us with the help of family; is made of natural materials; it's fun to play around with the wood-firing learning to heat the oven just right for long enough baking time; we often eat a garden-fresh lunch while baking; and we get to be outdoors while we work.  Here are some photos of this week's baking day.

First CSA pick-up

We had our first CSA food pick-up here on Tuesday!  CSA (community supported agriculture) is a great way to support organic farmers - members buy shares in advance of the season and make a commitment to pick up an allotment of produce each week.  They get to live along with the life of the farm, eating what's fresh, abundant and in season.  Learn more about CSA farms here. We are so pleased to be hosting our friend Angie's city member pick-up.  Her farm Fertile Ground CSA is a popular local organic farm, and her produce is outstanding!  The pick-up day becomes a social gathering for the neighbourhood, and also a chance for us to offer our wholegrain baked goods to members.  Our daughter decided to set up a drink stand too, testing out her customer service skills and sharing icy homemade maple-lemonade on our hot and sweltering first pick-up day.  What fun!

Seedling Sale!

We have another exciting seedling sale this past weekend!  This was our 11th annual sale, held on the Saturday of the May long weekend each year.  Thanks to everyone who helped out - without all the great volunteers, vendors and musicians this day would not have been possible.  And what a wonderful crowd who attended - everywhere we looked people were enjoying themselves, meeting old friends, talking gardening, planning other community get-togethers.  It's inspiring to us to see such enthusiasm for gardening, homesteading and community each year when we hold this event. 

Here are a few photos taken of the day (taken by friends Jenn, Angie and Brenda)...