Posted in Foraged, In Backyards, Spadina Saturdays on Nov 28th, 2008
As we reflect back upon our first full season, it is the volunteers who must be celebrated most of all. Indeed, they are the backbone of this project. Here are a couple of stories they have to tell:
Theresa: “Below is a picture of the pear tart I made for Thanksgiving. I used the uncooked bottled […]
Posted in In Backyards on Oct 17th, 2008
When this project fell into my lap just over a year ago, I had never picked an apple before. This lack of knowledge was, in part, my motivation for the project. Environmental issues like food security require us to be curious, willing, and constantly humbled. While it took me years before I had the pleasure […]
Posted in Foraged, In Backyards on Oct 8th, 2008
A week or two ago we held our very first late-night pick. The timing wasn’t all that different from other evening picks, but the spookiness grows as the days get shorter. We donned headlamps, flashlights, and spotlights to find our way under the thick canopy of this tall golden delicious apple tree.
Heather Ann paired her […]
Posted in In Backyards on Sep 27th, 2008
When a group of friends and community members met around my kitchen table last January, we dreamed up a city-wide fruit picking program but knew we couldn’t encompass the entire GTA in one go. We needed to grow the project sustainably, and so we envisioned a network of neighbourhood-based hubs. First we established our roots […]
Posted in In Backyards on Sep 24th, 2008
A few people (including Andy Barrie) have tried to teach me what a peck is over the last little while. It still doesn’t translate into visuals for me, but I’m sure we picked quite a few yesterday afternoon.
This was a beautiful, tall bosc pear tree in a backyard near High Park. There were only four […]
Posted in In Backyards, Spadina Saturdays on Sep 24th, 2008
LEAF has been supportive of not far from the tree from the very beginning. Last weekend we co-hosted the Edible Tree Tour as part of their Toronto Tree Tours and we’ve swapped even more ideas on how to collaborate in the future. After all, fruit trees make up a significant portion of the urban […]
Posted in Events, In Backyards, Spadina Saturdays on Sep 21st, 2008
Close to 100 tour-goers showed up for today’s tasty jaunt! We took over the grounds of Spadina Museum and surrounding neighbourhood for one of the Toronto Tree Tours.
Some personal highlights:
witnessing the smiles and conversations that erupted when participants got to taste the heritage apple varieties;
learning about the engineering marvel of one particularly massive white oak […]
Posted in Events, In Backyards, Spadina Saturdays on Sep 18th, 2008
We sold over a bushel of Spadina’s heritage apples and several pounds of Ward 21’s backyard pears. Pretty exciting, considering they were bought by Jamie Kennedy Kitchens.
Not part of our normal operations, certainly. But when the last minute invitation arrived, we thought it’d be nice to participate. The fruit was used at the From the Ground […]
Posted in Events, In Backyards, Spadina Saturdays on Sep 17th, 2008
This Saturday, September 20th, not far from the tree is co-hosting one of the Toronto Tree Tours with LEAF and the TPSC.
We’ll be touring the grounds of Spadina Museum, tasting heritage apples grown on-site, spying at ravines and fruit trees in the neighbourhood, then ending up at Casa Loma for a spectacular view over the […]
Posted in Events, In Backyards, Spadina Saturdays on Sep 17th, 2008
The Gladstone’s Harvest Wednesdays invited us to host a table at another one of their tasting events. This is always a great chance to meet great people and taste great food.
We shared a table with Ben of Monforte Dairy, who served up his classic old cheddar with our fresh pears and apples. We couldn’t have […]
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