Going to Seed

We had our annual Seed Saving Workshop here on the weekend.  Our guest facilitator Taarini Chopra from Seeds of Diversity was here to lead the group through all the details to know about saving seeds from the home garden - first of all why to save seeds! Then basic plant botany; distances between varieties to avoid cross-pollination; when to harvest; how to harvest; how to dry (and which seeds dry on the plant); specifically saving lettuce, beans, peas and tomatoes; and lots of interesting hands-on activities like shelling dried beans, and opening soaked fava beans to find the little sprout inside ready to burst out.

There is lots of seed saving information on Seeds of Diversity's website here and below are photos of some of the plants in our garden that have gone to seed - such beautiful and diverse seeds they are (we are very good at letting things go to seed around here - partly unintentional as this time of year is just so busy, and partly intentional as we want to save seeds and let seeds stand for winter food for wildlife.)

Urban Wild Workshops for Kids at Little City Farm

 
Join us for one or all of these exciting kids workshops this fall!
Family rate $25/per class, or single child $15/per class.
For kids aged 6+, accompanied by an adult
Thursday afternoons from 1-3 pm at Little City Farm.

Sept 17 - Wild Edibles/Wild Smoothies
Oct 1 - Make a Medicine Pouch (materials cost $10/per project)
Oct 8 - Birch Bark Containers
Oct 15 - Burn a Wooden Bowl
Oct 22 - Make a Dream Catcher
Oct 29 - Friction Fire

Limited space.  Please pre-register with Karin at: info {at} littlecityfarm.ca
 

Fall Schedule for Little City Farm Workshops

Join us for one or more events this fall!  Pre-registration required for classes.

 
Sept 12 from 1-3 pm - Seed Saving, with Taarini Chopra
Sept 17 from 1-3 pm - Wild Edibles/Wild Smoothies (kids class)
Sept 19 from 1-3 pm - Fall Wild Edibles Foraging Class, with Jackie McMillan
Sept 26 from 1-4 pm - Intro to Soap Making, with Karin Kliewer

Oct 1 from 1-3 pm - Make a Medicine Pouch (kids class)
Oct 8 from 1-3 pm - Birch Bark Containers (kids class)
Oct 10 from 11 am-1 pm - POP UP PIE & PIZZA SHOP at Little City Farm!
Oct 15 from 1-3 pm - Burn a Wooden Bowl (kids class)
Oct 17 from 1-3 pm - Waldorf Doll Making Class, with Amaryah deGroot
Oct 22 from 1-3 pm - Make a Dream Catcher (kids class)
Oct 29 from 1-3 pm - Friction Fire (kids class)
Oct 31 from 1-4 pm - Intro to Soap Making, with Karin Kliewer

Nov 7 from 1-4 pm - Intro to Soap Making, with Karin Kliewer
Nov 21 from 1-4 pm - Goat Milk Soap Making, with Karin Kliewer

Dec 5 - A Little Bird Told Me Handmade Holiday Sale at LCF!
Dec 12 from 1-3 pm - Herbal Bath Bombs & Scrubs, with Karin Kliewer

More workshops coming in January 2016!  Please check our website for details.

Pop Up Pie & Pizza Shop, Sat Oct 10 at Little City Farm

Mark your calendars!  One day only!
It's a Pop Up Pie &Pizza Shop at Little City Farm!

Sat, Oct 10 from 11 am-1 pm

Get one of our delicious homemade pies just in time for thanksgiving, featuring local organic ingredients.  Vegan options.  Varieties include: pumpkin, apple-salted caramel, chocolate pecan, and plumble (mixed fruit crumble).  First come first served.

AND Wood-fired vegetarian pizzas served from 11 am-1 pm (made in our outdoor wood-fired oven), first come first served.  Cash only.  For more info contact Karin at: info {at} littlecityfarm.ca

Yellow in the early September garden

In the past few days I noticed all the yellow in our early September garden.  What are the colours abundant in your garden right now?

Beer Brewing Workshop

We had our second beer brewing workshop here this past weekend.  Jon Spee (check out his great local food blog The Local Kitchener) was here to lead this full fledged class, where he walked participants through all stages of home beer brewing from scratch - making the mash with organic grains, using hops fresh from our vine, brewing, fermenting, testing, bottling, tasting...

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)

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.

Lavender first aid oil

NOW! NEW on our Homestead Herbals etsy shop - a new certified organic Lavender First Aid Oil made with certified organic pure lavender essential oil!  Lavender oil is such an important, multi-purpose healer, and versatile oil, that every home remedy cabinet should not be without it.  If you are only going to have one essential oil in your first aid kit it would be lavender oil.

To use, dilute a few drops of the lavender essential oil in a carrier oil (e.g. a light oil that absorbs well into the skin such as apricot oil, sesame oil, almond oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil) and apply as needed.

Lavender is an excellent essential oil for children and babies, as well as adults.  It can make a beautiful aromatic massage oil that soothes a tired, fussing baby.  It can be sprinkled on a pillow at night to help ease congestion and coughs, as well as insomnia and restlessness.  In Ayurvedic tradition lavender oil is thought to be a balancing oil for all constitutions, and helps with congestion of all types (both physical and mental).

Here are just some of the many wonderful benefits of lavender oil (Lavandula angustifolia):

• soothes minor burns (both kitchen stove, or sun burns, or heat rashes)
• aids infections and inflammation
• disinfects and helps heal cuts and scrapes
• eases headaches and migraines
• soothes stress and anxiety
• aids sore tired feet
• helps insomnia, restlessness, sleeplessness
• takes itch out of mosquito bites
• massage for tired sore muscles
• gentle and soothing for infants and children
• eases congestion, coughs and bronchitis 
• eases cold and flu symptoms

(Lavender oil should only be used for external use only.  Information here is based on historical use and for your interest only.)