Wild apple bounty

The past few days have seen baskets and bins of apples piling up on our counters.  The wild apple harvest is on, and this year is proving to be an bountiful one.  We've taken to carrying extra bags with us everywhere we go, just in case we need to do some spontaneous foraging.  We, as a family, have gathered fruit from at least 10 different types of apple trees in various locations around town, all which are walkable or bikeable from our place.  There is such abundance hidden in the city, and I love sharing this experience with our daughter.  We often meet others who are also wild foraging, including a group yesterday who was picking wild apples for their annual cider-making event. 

I just love the different colours, textures and tastes - the red and white striped markings on the apples held in the hand below is especially pretty.  Our own big old apple tree is in it's fullest year yet.  Most of these apples we use for sauce, since they do have blemishes and are not long-keeping varieties - and occasionally there is a pie.  Mmmmmm, pie.   That makes today an exceptional day.

Mulberries and urban fruit foraging

Our mulberry tree is finally producing - we have both a male and female tree in our yard, both planted not by us but by birds dropping seeds.  It's one of the nice surprises we got when we started tending our overgrown part of the yard (former driveway) that was behind our strawbale house addition after the building project was done. The male doesn't produce fruit, but the female tree is loaded with berries this year.  This tree is already high enough that the top branches need to be harvested by ladder, but luckily the low branches droop down and many higher berries fall to the ground when ripe.  There is certainly more than enough for us to gather.

It reminds us of the many forgotten fruit trees, berries and other wild edibles all around our city, left over from old orchards or planted in parks, boulevards or yards.  Just in walking distance right in our own neighbourhood, the service berries lining the boulevard of the next street over are in full swing with delicious berries just low enough to reach when you walk by on the sidewalk; there are several large mulberries in a park nearby; wild grapes and raspberries are growing all along the old railway line; and an old apple orchard with 4 well-producing trees is behind an older factory.  This is not even considering all the fruit trees that may be forgotten in yards where homeowners no longer tend them.  Our cities are full of food, and we could be much more organized in planting, tending and harvesting it.  In many cities there are urban harvesting groups that are banding together to collect these delicious resources - Not Far From the Tree in Toronto is a wonderful example.

New Homesteading / Self-Reliance Skills Workshops open for registration!

We are excited to let you know that the new HOMESTEADING / SELF-RELIANCE SKILLS WORKSHOPS for this summer-fall 2013 at Little City Farm are now posted. 

We are taking registrations through our website via paypay here.

If you prefer not to pay using paypal please contact us directly to arrange another registration method. 

The Topics!

As usual, these down-to-earth, practical hands-on workshops are led by local facilitators (enthusiasts, not experts) - and are designed to help you "reskill" yourself in the arts of homesteading, organic gardening, permaculture and urban sustainability.  Topics this summer-fall include: building a cob oven; preserving sugar-free jams; edible landscaping & fruit tree care; DIY non-toxic household cleaners; fall wild edibles; bread baking; growing mushrooms; herbal winter remedies; soap making, and more!

Homesteading Skills Symposium - Sat, August 24

We are also very happy to announce the first ever "HOMESTEADING SKILLS SYMPOSIUM" at Little City Farm, Sat August 24 from 9 am - 4 pm.  This day-long skills & info sharing event features 10 mini workshops to choose from, a wood-fired organic pizza lunch, and lots of informal time to socialize with other urban homesteaders.  Topics for this day could include: making herbal salves; building a strawbale home; rainwater ponds; permaculture; chicken keeping; sprouting; wet felting; cob ovens; beekeeping; and more...

We are only taking 25 participants for this day, so register early to ensure your place.  The cost is $60, including workshops and lunch.  Registration is also here on our website.  Any questions please contact Karin at info@littlecityfarm.ca

New spring chicks coming

Our new baby chicks are arriving next week...there is a lot of anticipation around here (and artwork to celebrate the new arrivals).  Spring is definitely in the air now!

New Workshops for 2011 Now Posted - urban homesteading, sustainability, city farming, and new workshops for kids!!

Happy new year to all you urban homesteaders, organic gardeners, city farmers and eco advocates!

We had the unexpected gift of a quiet internet-free holiday, as our computer crashed just before Christmas.  Now we are back online, and getting organizing for the new year ahead!

We've just posted the new Little City Farm workshop series for 2011.  Here is a list of the topics, and please check this link for workshop descriptions and registration info.

New this year:
- online registration and payment (on our website here )
- 4 exciting workshops for kids!  (ages 3-6 years) to spark wonder in gardening and the natural world!

Workshops 2011:

WOOL DIAPER COVERS AND LONGIES FOR KIDS
Cost: $35/person (all supplies provided)
Sat, January 15, 1-3 pm. With Amaryah deGroot, of Sew Oiseau.

INTRO TO SOAP MAKING
Cost: $50/person (all supplies provided)
Sat, January 22, 1-4 pm.  With Karin Kliewer, of Little City Farm.

HERBAL SALVES & LIPBALMS
Cost: $25/person (all supplies provided)
Sat, February 5, 1-3 pm.  With Karin Kliewer, of Little City Farm.

WHEATGRASS / SPROUTING
Cost: $25/person
Sat, February 12, 1-3 pm.  With Steve Ohi and Lisa Reh.

INTRO TO CHEESEMAKING
Cost: $30/person (all supplies provided)
Sat, February 19, 1-3 pm.   With Bianca Azzoparde.

FOUR SEASON HARVEST:EXTENDING THE GROWING SEASON
Cost: $10/person
Sat, March 5, 1-3 pm.  With Greg Roberts, of Little City Farm.

STARTING SEEDLINGS AT HOME
Cost: $15/person
Sat, March 19, 1-3 pm.  With Angie Koch, of Fertile Ground CSA.

GARDEN POTIONS: ORGANIC PEST & DISEASE REMEDIES
Cost: $30/person
Sat, April 16, 1-3 pm.  With Sarah Hemingway, of Sarah's Kitchen Gardens.

INTRO TO PERMACULTURE DESIGN
Cost: $25/person
Sat, May 7, 1-3 pm. With Tracie Seedhouse, of Earth Child Designs.

BASIC BICYCLE TUNE UP
Cost: $35/person
Sun, May 8, 1-3 pm. With Jesse Robertson of Recycle Cycles.

WILD FOOD GOURMET: SPRING EDIBLES
Cost: $25/person
Sat, May 14, 1-3 pm. With Jackie McMillan and Bill Clarke.  

ANNUAL LITTLE CITY FARM SEEDLING SALE - SAT MAY 21

Don’t miss it!!!  Annual Little City Farm SEEDLING SALE!
Sat, May 21 from 9 am-noon

COB OVENS AND WOOD-FIRED BAKING
Cost: $20/person
Sat, June 11, 1-3 pm. With Greg Roberts & Karin Kliewer of Little City Farm.

100 MILE JUICING
Cost: $30/person
Sat, June 18, 1-3 pm. With Jenn Lynes.

PRESERVING SWEET SUMMER: MAKING JAMS & JELLIES
Cost: $30/person (all supplied provided). Limited to 7 participants.
Sat, July 9, 1-3 pm. With Karin Kliewer of Little City Farm.

HONEYBEES: LIFE & TIMES OF BEES AND THE BEEKEEPER
Cost: $25/person (adults); $10 for kids 4 and over (kids under 4 free)
Sat, July 16, 1-3 pm. (date to be confirmed) With Sarah Hemingway of Sarah’s Kitchen Gardens.

BACKYARD HERBAL TEAS
Cost: $20/person
Sat, Aug 20, 1-3 pm. With Karin Kliewer of Little City Farm.

DANDELION WINE: INTRO TO HOME WINE MAKING
Cost: $25/person (all supplies provided)
Sat, Sept 10, 1-3 pm. With Alfred Rempel.

SEED SAVING BASICS
Cost: Pay by donation (suggested $5-$10/person)
Sat, Sept 17, 1-3 pm. With Bob Wildfong, Executive Director, Seeds of Diversity Canada.

 
HERBAL WINTER REMEDIES: COUGH SYRUPS & TINCTURES
Cost: $25/person
Sat, Oct 1, 1-3 pm. With Karin Kliewer of Little City Farm.

CELEBRATING APPLES! 3RD ANNUAL APPLE TASTING
Cost: Pay by donation (suggested $5-$10/person)
Sat, Oct 15, 1-3 pm. With Bob Wildfong, Executive Director of Seeds of Diversity Canada

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LITTLE SPROUTS ECO WORKSHOPS FOR KIDS (ages 3-6) 

Cost: $25/workshop (each workshop limited to 6 children)
Price includes one child accompanied by one adult, and organic vegetarian picnic lunch following the workshop! Please inform us of any food allergies at time of registration

FOR KIDS: PAPERMAKING
Fri, July 8, 11-1 pm. With Karin Kliewer, of Little City Farm.

FOR KIDS: PLAY WITH COB & WOODFIRED PIZZA
Fri, July 15, 11-1 pm. With Greg Robers & Karin Kliewer, of Little City Farm. 

FOR KIDS: MICRO GARDEN ADVENTURE (bugs, slugs, worms, roots, seeds, & more)
Fri, Aug 5, 11-1 pm. With Greg Roberts & Karin Kliewer, of Little City Farm. 

 

FOR KIDS: GARDEN SOUP! COOKING CLASS
Fri, Aug 12, 11-1 pm. With Karin Kliewer, of Little City Farm. 

New book: City Farmer, by Lorraine Johnson

Attention city farmers!  An exciting new book on the topic of urban farming in Canada - just published this summer - is now available for purchase.  This book, City Farmer, was written by Lorraine Johnson of Toronto.  It is an inspiring, hopeful testament to the value (social, economic, environmental) of growing food in our cities, and the unique ways that people across our country are doing so!   We had done a brief interview with Lorriane, but were not sure that any of our story would be included - we are very pleased to see a small mention regarding Little City Farm in this book.  Thank you Lorraine.