Market Produce -- Glamour Shots

Beet Bouquets - Merlin, Chioggia & Touchstone varieties

Carrot Bunches - Nelson, White Satin & Purple Haze varieties

Bright Lights Chard & French Breakfast Radishes

French Filet Beans -- Red Rocket, Islander & Tiburon Peppers -- unlabeled eggplant
from the World Crops Project

Costata Romanesco & a last minute addition
yellow zucchini variety that I didn't write down (it happens).

cultivating + collinear hoes

cultivating basil beds at sole food, 2012.

We try to reduce weed pressure at the farm by using the stale seed bed technique. Rather than plant directly into a prepped bed, we allow a bed to sit for a week or two after being turned/amended so that any weed seeds germinate. We then cultivate the bed just before seeding using a collinear hoe. The short bladed tool has one sharp edge - that edge passes just below the surface of the soil and slices through all the germinated seeds when the roots are in the white thread stage. We cultivate before seeding/transplating and then try to cultivate again every few weeks in between the plants. This works with plants that have 4" (or more) in row spacing or between rows (beans, kale, chard, collards, summer squash, tomatoes, etc.) The hoe doesn't work for crops that are more densely planted, especially those done with a pinpoint seeder or that are broadcasted. Those got a good old fashioned hand weed once the first leaves came up. This method also doesn't work for weeds that are deep rooted - like our seemingly indestructible bindweed. Bindweed usually just takes constant hand weeding to try an keep it under control. 

The students really love using the collinear hoes. Any detailed task that requires a specific tool yet is easy to master works really well with students. During the summer, there was no shortage of students who wanted to cultivate. 

A student's collinear hoe - crafted in welding class.

This spring I worked a lot with a grade nine student that was struggling with a recent move to the school. It was a challenge to connect and we were trying different ways to engage him in his classes. He showed an interest in welding and so the horticulture teacher gave him the project of designing and welding his own garden tool. One morning I was working with the senior class starting trays of summer squash in the greenhouse and this student came in to the class beaming from ear to ear holding his creation. A grade twelve student recognized it as a collinear hoe and asked him where it came from. "I made it, " he said. The senior students were completely impressed. They gathered around the tool and checked out the design and welding. One said he couldn't believe it, "it looked like it came from a store." This student doesn't get a lot of praise in school, and most attention he usually receives from both teachers and students is negative. And here he was, on the receiving end of some genuine admiration and respect from these senior students. A perfect moment. For the rest of the season, whenever we would take the tools outside to work, this hoe was always the first to be claimed - it was the students' favourite tool. 

Works real good, too.

We've Been Busy - An Update on our School Farm

Sungold and washington tomatoes.

December has been nice.

I have spent the past month catching up from the growing season - catching up on sleep, catching up with friends, spending more time cooking and relaxing, more time with family.   

The break also means looking back on what we've accomplished this season. 

Some highlights: 

- Our 6,000 square foot garden grossed $14,500 in sales this season (up from last year's $1,300). A substantial jump that I am super proud of. 

- We grew 2,800 lbs of food which is deceptive since most of it was cut greens (hence the higher sales).

- We donated $1,600 worth of fresh produce to student volunteers, school cafeteria kitchens and drop in meal programs. 

- My most favourite: we hired ten high school students who worked full time summer jobs farming and they were absolutely incredible. In July we had a massive heat wave and so started our days at 7 am. I'd roll up to the school at 6:30 in the morning to find a group of high school students ready to work. They did not miss a single day. They were committed to each other and to the project. They would talk to market shoppers about the flavour of patty pan squash and offer samples of sweet sungolds. They held each other accountable in community meetings and they shared what was going on in their lives. They supported each other and made each other laugh - making repetitive farm tasks fun to do. We sat down to weekly meals prepped from scratch in their cooking classes. They were absolutely remarkable. 

- Our students also helped to establish a school rooftop garden at one of the high schools we work at this year. This incredible project was mainly accomplished by the other staff on my team - from designing the space, securing funding, building all the pieces and bringing it all together on site. I was in a real put-your-head-down-focus-on-production zone so wasn't much help with the installations. It's a 16,000 square foot space which now includes raised planters for vegetable production, a small fruiting orchard, 92 blueberry plants, shittake mushroom logs, a covered learning area and a classroom right off of the space. The students were a huge support in getting this project done this summer and I'm looking forward to growing lots more food next season as our production space increases.

Our story's been shared a few times too. You can read more here: 

"School Grown by the Numbers" - FoodShare Blog

"Schoolyard Farming Project Growing Food Security" - Social Enterprise Canada

"Success of Schoolyard Farming Enterprise Built on Collaboration" - Axiom News

"Eastdale Collegiate opens its roof to urban agriculture" - The Toronto Star

"Q&A with Katie German" - NOW Toronto