York Services Community Garden Potluck

Bell Manor Community Garden Workshop

on sept. 10th I was invited by the Stonegate Community Healthcare Centre to give a workshop about seed saving in Bell Manor Community Garden. It was a beautiful fall night. People from all over came to participate in the workshop. Many of the folks were from the community garden, but some had come all the way from Australia!!


There were lots of things going to seed in the garden, and we had a chance to collect many flowers, herbs, and other veggie for planting next year. We talked about other how-to's and why's of seed saving. thanks Julia for inviting me to this fabulous garden. It is over 15 years old and right in the middle of a park that serves 70 low rise apartment buildings in the area.

North York Harvest Food Bank- Garden Party

After my lovely morning at Withrow, I headed North West to a garden party. The folks at North York Harvest Food Bank had tonnes of amazing food available, free seeds, and produce to take home. Beyond being an amazing food bank that provides fresh produce to its clients, they are well into their second year of having a fabulous community garden!!



I was asked to come and talk to the folks about how to collect and save seed from the garden. There were plenty of seeds ripe and ready, and with lots of great questions, I think we all learned a lot. Thanks Fatima for inviting me to the fabulous garden!!

Heirloom Festival - Withrow Park

On Sept. 6th, I attended the Withrow Park Heirloom Festival. The Seeds of Diversity booth was stocked with information. I was lucky enough to have Joseph there to talk about Pollinators, and Dagmar, who brought her amazing collection of heirloom potatoes, as well as her vast knowledge of seeds. There was beautiful and diverse vegetables available. brought in from farms all over the region.
Despite the threat of rain there were many shoppers from the neighbourhood wanting to talk veggies, seeds, gardens, pollination and everything in between. Live music, children's events, and Wayne Roberts talking about his new book made this a wonderful event. Thanks to Roberta and the Withrow folks for having us.

Adanac Garden

The lovely folks at Adanac garden were kind enough to have me to a community garden potluck on Sept. 2nd There was lots of good food and conversation to be had. After eating, we walked through the garden, talked about seed saving and, together we collected next years crop of lettuce, herbs, peas and bean seed. thanks to katrina and all the gardeners for sharing your evening, stories and lovely garden with me!!

Oriole Peanut Garden

I had the honour of doing a seed saving workshop for the lovely folks at the Oriole Peanut Community Garden on Aug. 20th. The garden which started out with 40 plots, has now grown to 120!!! The garden is located on an island between busy roads. When you are in the garden you are at peace, and barely notice or hear the traffic. There are gardeners who speak at least ten different languages and many wonderful things growing in the gardens. You can look at www.osca-toronto for more info on the garden or contact me . . . . Thanks to Marian and Kate and everyone for having me!! the garden is truly amazing. here are some pictures of some the produce ripening into seed.

collecting tomato seeds: expert method

saving bean and pea seeds