Swooning for Spring

February 26, 2010

Radishes peeking out of the ground in the Community Garden at Eva's Place (Photo: Evergreen)

Royal Burgundy beans, atomic red carrots, bull’s blood beets and dinosaur kale are among the scrumptious seeds our community gardens will plant this spring thanks to a successful Seedy Saturday (on a Sunday) this past weekend. We purchased an assortment of heritage varieties including strawberry spinach and Callalloo – a leaf vegetable used for a popular Caribbean dish and a favorite among many of our community gardeners.
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Posted by Mel from Development

Seedy Saturday Sunday

February 17, 2010

Come join us at Toronto’s Seedy Saturday this Sunday, February 21 from 12:30pm to 6pm at the Artscape Wychwood Barns!

This event, organized by the Toronto Community Garden Network, will include gardening workshops, delicious food and activities for youth. You’ll also have the opportunity to buy and trade heirloom seeds in preparation for the spring!

Evergreen will join some great organizations including Seeds of Diversity Canada, The North American Native Plant Society and FoodShare.

The Artscape Wychwood Barns is located at 601 Christie Street, just south of St. Clair. For more information, please visit the Toronto Community Green Network website.

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Posted by Mel from Development

Sweet Harvest

November 19, 2009

The average worker bee will make only one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in their lifetime, according to the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association. So it’s no surprise that it takes more than 550 worker bees to gather just one pound of honey. Last month, it took five Evergreen staff members three hours to fill more than 125 jars of honey.

Michelle and Nicola jarring honey. (Photo: Melissa Yu)

This summer, the Toronto Beekeepers Co-operative kept 22 beehives on a rooftop at Evergreen Brick Works, and each hive contained an average of 50,000 bees. The resulting honey is shared between Evergreen, the Beekeepers, FoodShare and, of course, the bees. With expertise from beekeeper Cathy Kozma, we used the FoodShare kitchen to bottle the Evergreen share.

Our bees travelled far and wide along through the Don Valley to collect nectar from various wildflowers and blossoms, and you can really taste the difference. We jarred two different harvests, and each had a distinct flavor and texture: one was fluid with a musky floral scent, and the other was rich and more grainy on the tongue. And both were absolutely delicious.

All lined up and ready to be sealed! (Photo: Melissa Yu)

Urban beekeeping is an important part of creating a sustainable city. As urban centres get larger and larger, cities will have to find ways to make up for the agricultural land they overtake. Honeybees make use of all the space in a hive. The question of the day: how can we take a tip from them and maximize the spaces we live and work to produce the food we need to survive?

1 Comment | Evergreen Brick Works, Food, Staff | Permalink
Posted by Mel from Development

Lunch Club

September 24, 2009

The Evergreen office is a busy place, and unfortunately, we sometimes we find ourselves glued to the computer and working right through lunch. It’s really no way to eat.

So when the nice weather hit late this summer, my co-worker Matthew and I decided to entice our colleagues away from their desks by reviving the long-lost Evergreen Lunch Club.

Lunch club. Photo: Melissa Yu

This week's lunch club feast. (Photo: Melissa Yu)

The rules are simple: Each week two people bring enough food for a crowd. Everyone else simply shows up with a dish, and we spend the hour together enjoying fabulous food.

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Posted by Mel from Development

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