As I was chatting with Heather about urban agriculture is that she reminded me that this whole topic is part of the zeitgeist right now…
It seems that the way to make it happen in a big way is to weave a new local food system from many small steps and instead of writing an over arching manifesto (many more eloquent than I that live in Toronto) are doing it almost daily….
So we will just start posting snippets as they come to the surface of possibility….
Today while I was getting myself a bowl of cereal, I was thinking about how we at greengardeners.ca can start the ball rolling. So I will propose that we start a local food guild that will share the journey of food in the following ways
- harvesting from home community garden - sharing the community garden tending duties
- preparing meals
- taking turns going to market
- sharing in bulk buys of storable food items
- brainstorming on a company business model on how we as a green landscaper can modify our offering of services and help acting as a catalyst in this regard.
After a few months of gardening inactivity, I am happy to say that I am planning some special gardening projects that involve growing food in Toronto.
Continuing with planning Green Oasis on Broadview as well as developing a regular Saturday Volunteer Experience in the West End of Toronto with abundant land and existing infrastructure to grow significant yields.
Learning from History: Collapse & Kitchen/Victory Gardens
Urban agriculture is not a new movement. Though it had been already been adopted throughout the world, it was brought to North American with its first settlers. The kitchen garden plot - a field of cultivated land yielding a reliable supply of food for the family - was central as a way to achieve household food security and economic independence.
The United States shift from an agrarian republic to an industrialized society in the 19th century slowed the use, and construction of kitchen gardens. There was, however a revitalization of kitchen gardens - which took on the name “victory gardens” - during the First and Second World War. The United States government asked its citizens to plant gardens in order to support the war effort. In 1943, Americans planted over 20 million victory gardens, and the harvest accounted for nearly a third of all the vegetables consumed in the country that year (revivevictorygarden.org).
There are many examples highlighting the success of kitchen gardens, especially during difficult times. Check out Harvest Freedom for other examples of Gardening in Hard Times.
We have launched this site today to celebrate growing food in the City of Toronto.
Welcome, we hope that you enjoy our news views and tips, as well as links to resources across the City.
