The Sunflower Revolution (Part Three)

What a day! Seedy Sunday was back again this year, and in full force. The event moved to the University of Toronto Hart House, a bigger space than the Wychwood Barns location it has been at for the past years. It was clear that the extra space was needed for new and bigger displays and tables. The buzz of ideas exchanging between seed swappers, food sellers, community groups and gardening gurus filled the hall with excitement and body heat.

I dropped off the seed bomb dispenser early in the morning prior to the sneak preview. I was unable to get the "Sunflower Your City" seed bombing info blog up-and-running last night... bah. The dispenser, sign and envelopes were strategically set-up at the end of the TCGN display, close to the event reception desk. As I took photos of my mini display, a few people approached me to give me props, one of whom was Lara. She was at the event promoting a campaign to have her book, An Illustrated Guide to Growing Food on Your Balcony, sent to the printer. Big up yourself!

I left the hall shortly after, feeling anxious about splitting so quickly. When I returned a couple hours later, it looked like a good chunk of balls were missing. Hurray! TCGN volunteers were doing a great job of manning the display and explaining what it was to curious onlookers. Garden Jane's seed bomb making kits were also set-up beside the dispenser... a perfect combination. I was able to chat with Jane a little later on, and she explained to me that she sourced a special food-safe clay for her kit. She suggested that we join forces in the near future. High five!

At the end of the day, about half of the bombs had been dispensed, and a little envelope of coins was collected for the TCGN. The seed bomb machine garnered much attention and appreciation, though coins kept getting stuck and the balls didn't come out all the time. I ended up lending the entire display to the Seedy Sunday organizers, who wanted to use it for their North York event next month. Though I would be out of the country by that time, I was happy to oblige. Hopefully I'll be able to connect them with Evergreen, who was keen on taking the dispenser for the rest of the year.

Now, we wait and watch. Go forth, bomb throwers and sunflower minions, and spread your roots of colour and life into our city.

The Sunflower Revolution (Part Two)

Seedy Sunday is less than 24 hours away, and I'm scrambling to get my seed bomb dispenser completed. I also found out that there's a TCGN-member sneak preview of the event, meaning we start 1.5 hrs earlier than I thought. The good news is that I've made all 229-ish seed bombs, using up all of the sunflower seeds and clay. And the dispenser isn't even full! It could probably take 300 bombs. About 30 seed bomb envelopes are also ready to go, each of which fit 3 bombs snug.

I put a good handful of bombs into the dispenser as a test run, and it works like a charm. But with all 200+ bombs, it doesn't work so nice. Hm, that makes me a little nervous. I've found that giving the dispenser a good shake will help move the bombs along.

I've mentioned this project to a few friends, most of whom have no clue about seed bombing. I struggle with a good explanation to explain why anyone would want to deposit these balls around the city for fun. After some thought, I think this might describe it best: seed bombing is like graffiti for gardeners.

The dispenser is as much of an interactive art installation as it is a community activist weapon. The sign I've started to sketch will probably be more of the 'art' part. I also wanted it all to be accompanied by a blog with more information about seed bombs, sunflowers and guerrilla gardening, but I'm not sure I have time to do a good job of it. I've set-up an email account (thesunflowerrevolution@gmail.com) and reserved the blog name (sunflower-your-city.blogspot.com), just in case.

With markers in one hand and a beer in the other, I hope the next 12 hours will be good to me.

The Sunflower Revolution (Part One)

Sometime last summer, I was at a local burrito shop grabbing a quick bite before a movie. A business card tacked on the bulletin board caught my eye. It read: "Soiled and Seeded - cultivating a garden culture". I took a photo with my camera phone to look it up later. When I did, I learned that Soiled and Seeded was a Toronto-based, soon-to-be online urban gardening magazine. I loved the concept, loved the arsty photos, and signed-up for their newsletter.

When I received their first newsletter, there was an article that caught my eye. A company in Los Angeles, Greenaid, was renting out seed bomb dispensers that looked like gumball machines in major American cities. The idea impressed me a great deal, but I wasn't so keen with the seemingly for-profit nature of it. To me, seed bombs are a tool for freedom of expression and community ownershipurban gardening in its most basic, raw form. Profit just doesn't fit into the picture.

In December, I was at an indie craft show with a friend, when an art installation caught my eye. It was a giant junk food dispenser, only instead of candy, it dispensed poems. I remembered the seed bomb dispenser, and mentioned it to my pal. She suggested that instead of renting out a machine from Greenaid, that I make my own dispenser from a vintage gumball machine. I was impressed with my friend's ingenuity.

Last week, I was surfing on Craigslist, and saw a vintage gumball machine for sale. It was perfect: counter-top sized, and set-up for a pay-what-you-can system, where someone would not have to insert coins in order to retrieve the goodies inside. I did some quick research and learned how easy making seed bombs was. I quickly sourced the clay from an art store, the compost from my worm bin, and the seeds from Urban Harvest. The seeds, I decided, would have to be from the sunflower plant; for their fiery beauty, their toughness, and their amazing powers in removing toxins from the soil. Exactly what this city needs.

A quick email to one of the organizers of Seedy Sunday sealed the deal. They were more than happy to set-up my repurposed sunflower seed bomb dispenser at one of their tables. We agreed that all bomb proceeds would go to The Toronto Community Garden Network, a committed group of urban gardeners that fuels the garden movement through engagement and involvement.

I guess it's a very long winded way of telling you some exciting news, but I really love the way all of these small events came together so nicely. Each event became a catalyst for the next, and I think it poetically illustrates the symbiotic relationship of a community.

Let's Get Seedy

Words heard just before entering this past weekend's much anticipated "Seedy Saturday on a Sunday" event at Toronto's Wychwood Barns.

The usual suspects were present: Urban Harvest, Greta's, The Cottage Gardener, and the like, selling their organic, rare, heirloom and mostly edible plant seeds. But there were quite a number of small seed vendors, a welcome change from last year. I bought dill seeds for my balcony from Wall Flower Studio, and 'merveille de quatre saisons lettuce' seeds from Wildsome Gardens and mache seeds from the Riverdale Meadow Community Garden for a gardener pal. I also picked up greenheaded coneflower and cup plant seeds from the seed exchange tables, for a guerilla gardening experiment. Most artful seed packet prize goes to Urban Tomato Seeds, and photography prize to the person who always forgets their camera goes to moi.

Not to be overlooked were the community and activist groups also present at the event. These organizations work with fire in their hearts and sweat on their brows to build and maintain local and global food security systems. I now know that USC Canada created an animated film called "The Story of Food" to teach the public about our food system, the Riverdale Meadow Community Garden has plots available, and Not Far From The Tree taps maple syrup in the city. Seeds for your brain.

Pay-What-You-Can was also a clear theme, making the event and its information and wares accessible to all cash-brackets.

Let's all get seedy.

Year One: What I Learned

My first year of balcony gardening was TOUGH. I feel like I invested a lot of time and energy into a garden that didn't give much in return. I feel much doubt on the suitability of my balcony and of my abilities to grow food. I feel like Apollo Creed after 1 round in the ring with The Russian. But I know I can't let one bad year kick my *ss just like that. Now that I'm armed with a year of knowledge and experience, this upcoming year is sure to be an improvement.

To help you avoid the same growing pains I went through, use these learnings and tips to get started on a healthy garden.

• Growing from seed and starting indoors is challenging, especially in low-light conditions. Start some of your plants from seedlings, and don't think of it as cheating.


• Be sure to FILL your containers with potting soil. Over time, the soil will pack down considerably.


• Container soil will run out of nutrients. Add nutrients every 2 weeks or so --- compost, manure, kelp powder and fertilizer teas are your friends.


• Be realistic, but experiment. Grow what is best suited for your conditions (e.g. sun, etc), but if there's a plant you really want to grow, give it a go.


• Talk to fellow gardeners, seed exchangers and farmers to collect tricks of the trade.
  
  
• Diversify! Choose plants that do well in different conditions, and plants that mature at different times in the season. That way, you'll always have food to eat.
  
  
• If the edible part of the plant is ready to eat, harvest it now. You could wait to see if it'll get bigger, but it'll probably also get more bitter and tougher.
  
  
• Don't get discouraged. Pests, weather and other destructive conditions are sure to arise and work against you, and get even the best gardeners.
  
  
• And most of all: Spend time enjoying your garden. Bring positive energy to your green space. We garden because we love.

Aspire to Something Higher

I was counting on growing all plants from seed this year, figuring it wouldn't be too difficult: sow, water and harvest, right? But after many weeks of very slow progress, with the realization that I might not be able to eat anything from the garden this year except sprouts, I decided to try planting seedlings.

Last weekend, my partner's mother brought over some tomato plants from her own stash: 2 Beefsteaks and 1 Tiny Tom. And just yesterday, I went to FoodShare's Plant Give-Away event, where I picked up 5 healthy looking plants: 2 Golden Cherry Tomato, 1 Ruby Red Chard, 1 Cinnamon Basil and 1 King of the North Sweet Pepper.

All these babies are now replanted into containers on my balcony. With half a bag of mushroom compost mixed into the soil, and sunnier skies in the forecast, the plants should all be a happier bunch. Now that the little seedlings have bigger, stronger plants in their crew, they're sure to be more motivated to grow.

Outdoor Planting: Round 1

This weekend, we spent a few hours setting up the balcony for the first set of seeds to be planted outdoors this year. We:

• Soaked the tougher seeds overnight to help them germinate
  
• Cleaned the used containers with a diluted bleach solution
  
• Lined some containers (knaf liners for the milk crates, clear plastic garbage bags for the cedar planters)
• Hydrated the coir bricks
• Mixed the coir with potting mix, and added fish emulsion fertilizer where needed
• Created a plan of where to set-up the containers and which plants would go where, based on the plant's sun needs
  
• Filled the containers with the new potting mix
  
• Planted seeds: arugula, swiss chard, beets (2 kinds) and mustard greens (2 kinds)
  
• Drank beer

We ended up being 2 bags short of potting mix; very annoying since I took 2 separate trips to buy the potting mix and had to take a taxi home since the load would have been way too heavy to bring on the streetcar.

The indoor seeds are doing quite well, except for mint (which still continues to be M.I.A.). Kale is the newest addition to the indoor team, and are sprouting up nicely.

On The Come Up

Oh boy..... oh boy. Sweet and hot peppers have started sprouting a couple of weeks ago. Last week up came the cherry tomatoes... though I had them in a dark place and wasn't watching, and now they're leggy. And this morning: tiny basil leaves were peeping from the soil. But the mint pot remains barren. I thought mint was supposed to be hardy?

Not all the seeds sprouted. Good thing I planted several seeds to fall back on. But now I wish I planted more.

For the past few weeks, I've been searching for second-hand containers. So far, I bought 2 Wild Turkey whiskey half-barrels, found 1 cracked terracotta pot on the curb, and had 3 clay pots donated from a generous Craigslister. But I still need lots more... at least 6 medium/large containers, mostly for planting greens (kale, mustard, chard).

Top photo, from L-R: tomato (Riesentraube), tomato (Yellow Currant and Black Cherry), pepper (Hot Fish), mint, pepper (sweet Purple Beauty).
Bottom photo: basil (Spicy Globe) --- barely visible sprouts.

Making Babies

So now you have seeds and the basic seed starting equipment. Next step: SEED STARTING. Finally....oh joy!

But wait. Don't be too eager: be sure to start your seeds at the right time, to ensure the seed is ready when the weather is. The description on your seed packet should help.

Add seed starting mix (or potting mix, if no ss mix available) to the containers you're using for seed starting. Embed seeds, about 1-2" apart (if there's room), depending on size of seed. Plant more seeds than you actually want to grow, since some might go to heaven. Not sure how deep to plant the seeds... I just added a light cover of mix.

If you're starting seeds indoors: add water to the tray and wait for 1 hour. Discard any water left in the tray that hasn't been soaked up by the pot. This method will ensure you're not drowning the seeds. Place in a very sunny spot, or a few inches under your fluorescent light for most of the day.

I started hot fish peppers, sweet purple peppers and mint seeds last weekend. No sign of life yet.

Container Gardening - Equipment

Here's my list of things to acquire for the balcony garden. If you have the time and interest, try sourcing items second-hand from a thrift store or on Craigslist. I scored these great whisky barrel planters for $40. Especially with containers, you can get really creative... rain boots, kiddie pools, old bathtubs ... the sky's the limit.

• Containers.
  Be sure to add drainage holes if there aren't any; plants don't like to be sitting in water for too long. If you don't want to drill holes, the next best thing is to add a layer of lil' rocks to the bottom of your pot.
  Keep in mind that different materials hold water differently: plastic, ceramic and tin holds water for longer; terracotta and wood less.
  Consider the plant when thinking about pot size. Better to go big than too small.


• Potting mix.
  I had to do a little searching before I found organic potting mix; $5 for 15L bag at Grassroots, also sold in bulk. Though it has peat moss in it, which I heard is sourced in an environmentally-destructive way. Boo.
  Don't use garden soil; you'll need a sterile mix.
  


• Fertilizer.
  I'm hoping my worm composter will provide all the fertilizer I need. Plus I have a little sample bag of organic fish compost from a nice man at the Royal Winter Agricultural Fair, so I figure I'm good to go. But in case you're looking, check out the organic fertilizers at Grassroots, all under the Urban Harvest brand.


• Pruning scissors.
  Much more kind to the plant than twisting, pulling, etc.


• Gardening gloves.


• Trowel.
  


• Watering can.
  Not essential, but makes it easier to sprinkle your plants with water and avoid flooding them with a sudden, hard downpour.


• Resources.
  Books, internet sites (like this one!), people.


• A PLAN!
  Lots can be said for trial-and-error, but you'll probably have more success from the start if you're armed with a little knowledge and some ideas of where to put your plants, considering sun/temperature.

And, if you're starting from seed, you'll also need:

• Seeds.
  Seed exchanges are great - I think YouGrowGirl.com has a forum for this. Otherwise, you can buy from a garden store, or order directly from a specialized seed seller. Some popular organic seed sellers from Ontario: Urban Harvest, The Cottage Gardener, and Greta's.
  


• Seed starting mix.
  Where's the organic seed starting mix in Toronto at? Since I couldn't find any, I'll try potting mix. A lady at Grassroots suggested this, since she had some success with it. Plus I like the idea of buying less things, and using what you already have.


• Cells or small containers (if starting indoors).
  You could buy seed cells, or use containers you have on-hand. I cut up some empty tetrapak cartons and plastic bottles, added some holes in the bottom, and placed them on styrofoam take-out trays.


• Very sunny spot, or a fluorescent light (if starting indoors).
  If you don't have a south-facing window or balcony, get a fluorescent light from a thrift shop.
  

Seed Booty

Hoooo-rah! Having just moved into a bigger apartment with a large balcony (100+ sq ft), I've been having dreams of container gardening. So last Saturday, I attended Seedy Saturday, Toronto's annual community seed exchange event. It was the perfect place to grab seeds if you're looking for rare, organic, heirloom and/or local seeds, and talk 1-on-1 with growing experts. It was held at the Wychwood Barns, a restored TTC (public transit) repair barn which now serves as a community and art space.

The event had a great turn-out; though a little breathing room and some more face time with seed sellers would have been nice. I went armed with a short list of seeds:

3 herbs - mint, coriander, basil
4 vegetables - kale, swiss chard, beets, hot peppers
1 edible flower - nasturtium

But seed mania got the best of me, and I ended up with 6 more seeds, including 5 donated by a container-gardener friend. So now I have seeds for mustard greens, cherry tomatoes, arugula and bell peppers too. Grand total: 15. Yikes.

I spent the rest of my seedy day peeping into thrift shops looking for planters (none yet), reading 2 gardening books from the library ("You Grow Girl" and "The Moosewood Restaurant Kitchen Garden", both really good references for beginners), and setting up a comprehensive gardening schedule and balcony layout based on sunlight requirements and companion planting. I've transformed into a garden geek, when did that happen. If it so tickles your fancy, you can check out my gardening schedule and layout, I welcome any and all comments!

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p0083wFSfTpO5XF7yYFvtAQ