Weeds + Seeds Classes coming in September!

We love Weeds + Seeds!  If you have looked around our yard (and maybe yours too) at this time of year, you will have noticed lots of weeds...and lots of seeds... Yes, we do have a young baby here so the garden has not had the weeding attention it usually gets, and some of these weeds are certainly not growing here by our intention.  However, many of the so-called weeds in our garden are wonderful plants that we welcome, for food and medicine, for wildlife, for pollinators, for ground cover, for nutrients they bring to the soil, for health in our compost pile, and so on.  And many of our plants are let go to seed, so we can save these seeds for planting next season's garden, and to let stand all winter as forage for birds.

How to learn more?  Here at Little City Farm we love weeds + seeds so much that we offer classes on this topic every fall!  If you want to learn more about the benefits of cultivating, using and eating "weeds" - join us on Sept 19 for our Fall Wild Edibles Foraging workshop.  If you want to learn more about how and why to save your own seeds, join us for the annual Seed Saving workshop here on Sept 12.  Join the I Am A Seed Saver campaign organized by USC Canada - learn more here!  More details on these exciting Weeds + Seeds classes at Little City Farm.  Please register in advance for these classes.

Annual Seedling Sale May 23 - Details!

Annual Seedling Sale May 23 from 9-12 noon

Drop by the annual Seedling Sale at Little City Farm, to find all your veggie starts for this year - huge selection of heirloom tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, basils, herbs, flowers, kale, broccoli, cukes, melons, and many others!

This exciting sale also features:

• Organic seedlings from Fertile Ground CSA and Little City Farm
• Live Music on the "back porch stage" by the Ever Lovin' Jug Band
• Nature kids activity area led by Nature Connect KW
• Information from Canadian Biotech Action Network, Seeds of Diversity, and Pollination Canada
• Locally grown snacks donated by Baileys Local Foods
• Freshly baked treats, wood-fired pitas, rhubarb sodas
• Wood-fired baking demo in our outdoor cob oven
• tours of our urban homestead
• and more!

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

Spring Homesteading Workshops Open for Registration!

Our list of Spring 2014 Homesteading Workshops is now posted and open for registration!  Take a peek at our website for full workshop list, workshop descriptions and prices.  We are excited about a few new topics, and also welcome back some old favourites by popular demand!

New this season:
~ a Cultured Kitchen Series - including Sauerkraut & Kimchi; Yogurt Making; Apple Cider Vinegar Making, Sourdough Starters; and (hopefully) Kombucha!  Learn all you want about live cultured foods and making healthful ferments at home in these delicious, hands-on and very practical kitchen workshops.  All these workshops allow tasting and to take home generous amounts of samples.

~ a Felted Soap Workshop - come to this workshop to learn about the wet felting process and make your own bars of felted soap using natural wool, dyed with beautiful vibrant colours!  Participants will take home their own creations.

~ we are now offering Handcrafted Wooden Soap Molds & Soap Cutters for purchase - these are perfect for using during our Intro to Soap Making Workshops, and for further use at home.  Our wooden soap molds are made right here at Little City Farm!  We have been using these types of molds for many years and think they are the best!  These molds & cutters can be bought through the Little City Farm website here (scroll down to Soap Workshops section), and are coming soon to the Homestead Herbals shop.

Back by popular demand:
~ Intro to Permaculture; Wild Spring Edibles, and Intro to Soap Making

Please note the Intro to Soap Making classes are both coming up VERY SOON so register now to ensure your space (March 8 and March 15).

This week...happy seedlings! Don't miss our sale coming up on Saturday May 19

Here's an idea of what our yard and greenhouse look like this week... Hope to see all you local gardeners on Saturday at our annual Seedling Sale!

A little bird told me....craft sale, SAT DEC 11

Mark your calendars for a fabulous local craft sale, "A Little Bird Told Me..." Sat, Dec 11! 

Here at Little City Farm (508 Duke St West, Kitchener) we'll be hosting 7 artists/crafters, showcasing a great selection of unique earth-friendly, handmade, one-of-a-kind items you will be sure to love!  Great holiday gifts, including many children's items.

You'll find...pottery from Kristen at two cent sparrow, fine wood turnings and wooden bowls madeof local & reclaimed wood from Trevor at Once upon a tree, reconstructed wool clothing for children and adults from Amaryah at Sew Oiseau, soaps, teas and natural herbal goods from Karin at Homestead Herbals, plus organic baby quilts, jewelery, garden aprons, beeswax candles, infused oils & vinegars, sock monkeys, baked goods, preserves, and more!

Seedling Sale SUCCESS!!

What an amazing, plant-filled, people-inspired day! We estimate we had more than 300 people come by to purchase seedlings today - more than 1500 seedlings were sold (not a single plant was left by 11:45!), and we wish all the city gardeners a super growing season as they move these seedlings into their new homes. It was great to meet so many wonderful people - many familiar faces and lots of catching up with friends, plus many new introductions and people who we hope to meet again at future seedling sales or other community events. We wished we would have had more time to talk with all of you! We were so inspired by all the enthusiasm for urban agriculture, homesteading, and urban sustainability from so many of you! We really felt like this event was not only about promoting urban gardening and the preservation of heritage varieties, but also about furthering community spirit. Thanks for all the patience everyone showed as they navigated through the crowds on our driveway, self-toured in our garden, and for all the help offered (Steve and Taarini for helping with seedlings, Tanya for taking a few photos for us, Jackie and Shawn for donating plants to the sale, and Mike & Julia for offering to help us run our till next year, and many others who offered to help next time!). Tomorrow we plant a few of our own seedlings into the garden and take a little time for rest...

Upcoming Seedling Sale - May 23! Hundreds of heirloom tomatoes & more

Just a quick reminder here for all you home gardeners who are starting to think about planting...

Consider coming out to our 7th annual seedling sale which is on May 23, from 9 am-12 noon. This year we are excited that there will be 3 vendors selling seedlings. Little City Farmers (Karin & Greg); Fertile Ground CSA Farmers (Angie & Mark), and another friend Sarah. This means:

- upwards of 700 tomato plants (more than 22 varieties - many are heirloom types - see older post under "heirloom tomatoes" for complete list!)
- various kinds of basil (purple, thai, pesto, sweet)
- other nightshade veggies such as hot & sweet peppers and eggplant
- curcubits like zucchini and cucumbers
- brassicas like broccoli, kale and brussel sprouts
- other herbs, culinary and medicinal
- some annual flowers like marigolds, zinnias, snapdragons

We also hope to have baked goods, some used gardening/vegetarian cooking books, and handmade soaps available for sale that day.

Rain or shine! Come early for best selection, and please tell all your friends! We would love to see all the tomatoes we've taken care of for these past months go to great garden homes!

The sale is hosted by Little City Farm.
Contact us for more details - info@littlecityfarm.ca