"Lausy" Smarch Weather... (and the expanding economic viability of growing food for profit)

Two great things happened today:  The first being that it was warm out (20 degrees on March 13th) and the second being that I went to talk to my new friend Phil Collins who is the Co-Founder of Fresh City Farms in Downsview Park in Toronto. 

While helping to flag off garden beds for the coming season on their 1.5 acre plot of land, the two of us got talking about the expanding economic viability of growing food in the city.  Most CSA's are no more than 10 years old.  Also, we got talking about the increase in seasonal share holders that a lot of CSA farmers are benefiting from.  Last year was the first year that Fresh City Farms was in business and they had 30 share holders.  So far for this coming season they have 140 share holders.  Each of them will receive a box of vegetables once a week.  Most of vegetables will be grown on their plot and in backyards throughout Toronto.  

This increase is being seen at CSA's across the country and means for some good business prospects!

Anywho, I stumbled upon growingyourgreens.com (which is completely unrelated to Fresh City) a while ago when looking for cool recipes for smoothies and was really amused by the enthusiasm and character involved in this guy's videos.  He grows most of his greens in raised beds in his front yard and is proud of it!  This video of his is about a company in the States which now owns the patents to a few terms associated with urban farming.

The Case for Separated Bike Lanes

This Street Films video about NYC's need for separated bike lanes summarizes a discussion that I bet is happening in many North American cities.  If there is enough room on the street, separated bike lanes are practical, convenient - whether on a bike or in a car.

But what about where there is not enough room on the street?  Since Rob Ford became Mayor of Toronto in 2010 he has been at war with cyclists.  While Ford (and many others) believe that the city's non-separated bike lanes should be ripped out for reasons of safety and efficiency, cyclists believe there must be another option.

Goats. Then emus. And then ostriches. (HAVANA)

I've had an obsession with Latin culture ever since traveling a bit of South America two years ago.  That and escaping portions of the Canadian winter (though it's January 29th and hasn't really arrived yet to Hamilton...?) to go to warm places where there is good music, a different language, cheap food and beer, and a lively growing season.   I spent a bit of time in Cuba this month where I was able to experience all of that, though perhaps the most interesting thing I experienced was a Cuban approach to issues of food security.

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There are 87,000 acres of land used for growing food in the city of Havana.  90% of all fruits and vegetables consumed in Havana are grown in Havana.  

Cuba's imports almost completely disappeared after the fall of the Soviet Union and the tightening of the US Trade Embargo in the early 1990s.  The country was forced to become as self-sufficient as possible in as little time as possible.  This period of time in the 1990s is known to Cubans as the Special Period.

While in Cuba, I was able to see a decent portion of the country.  I spent my time volunteering on a couple of urban farms (called Organoponicos) and talking with locals about the Special Period, Cuban food security, and the future of Cuba.

Imported food by % (1989)

Cereals:                            79%

Beans:                               90%

Rice:                                 50%

Total calories in diet:        57%

Change in imports by %

(1989 - 1992)

Petroleum:                      -53%

Fertilizer:                        -77%

Pesticides:                        -63%

Animal feed:                    -70%

The State had created the Organoponico system in the early 1990s as a way to combat the huge decrease of food imported from the Soviet Union.  Today, there are more than 7,000 Organoponicos in Cuba.  Many of them are found in cities.  They are cooperative in structure and local in distribution.  Everything grown is also organic.

The drastic decrease of imported petroleum, pesticides and chemical fertilizers during the early 1990s has lead to local innovation.  The ideas and structure associated with the Organoponico system are not seen on a national level in many other countries. Many Organoponicos in Cuba produce their own organic fertilizers.  Larger Organoponicos also produce their own humus as soil quality in urban environments is poor.  Oxen are used to till soil rather than tractors, eliminating the need for petroleum and decreasing the amount of soil that would be eroded by the use of tractors.
Although the Organoponico system in Cuba is extremely efficient and is a good model of a local food system - which as North Americans we could learn from -  food security in Cuba remains a huge issue 20 years after the Special Period.  While I was there, it was obvious that food security is very poor.  (*Note that if you have ever heard friends or family return from an All-Inclusive resort in Cuba to say that "the beach was nice but the food was terrible", this is why)

Since the imports of animal feed (or wheat, corn or cereals to produce animal feed) almost disappeared 20 years ago, there are very few cows in Cuba.  Buying beef in Cuba is either impossible or very expensive.  Pigs are more able to digest compost or household organic waste and so most meat you will find in Cuba is either ham or sausage.

Likewise, the fruits and vegetables that are available in Havana are almost entirely grown in the city, and therefore only certain crops are available at any given time of year.  Although it is possible to grow year-round in Cuba, the cooler, drier weather from October - March is better for growing most vegetables:  The plants don't get waterlogged (as they can in the summer) and it is easier to grow varieties of lettuce in 25 degrees Celsius rather than 35.  As a result, there are often shortages of fruits and vegetables during summer.

This is one reason why it has taken a long time for average daily protein levels and caloric intake levels to match those of the Soviet era.  In 1992, average daily protein and caloric intakes were 35% - 40% lower than 1989 levels.

After spending time on these farms and witnessing what food is and is not available in Cuba I concluded that North American's have a lot to learn from.  The organic methods (organic fertilizer, humus production) and social infrastructure (distribution networks, stakeholders) used by the Organoponicos did not spring up overnight.  With the drastic decrease in imports to Cuba and an economic situation (which, generally, mimics what peak oil may look like to North Americans) Cuba is well on a path toward a sustainable food system.

Canada and the US cannot say the same.  By the time the cost of oil increases drastically and therefore everything that we depend on as imports (keeping in mind the average Canadian meal travels 2500 km before arriving on our dinner plate) either disappear from store shelves or triple in price, how prepared will we be?

When I arrived back home to Hamilton the other day my Mom told me all about the new buzz at City Hall.  I'd consider her and my Step-Dad to be fairly politically engaged in Hamilton and so they usually have some pretty interesting things to say about municipal politics.  City Council is now reviewing the prospects of making it legal for people in the city to have chicken coops in their backyards.   Though it is a good move (and some Councillor's are for while some are against [see below]), we have a long way to go.  Bring on the birds.

“I tell you what is going to come next: goats. Then emus. And then ostriches” 
- Councillor Scott Duvall

Going to Cuba to learn from the experts

Tomorrow I leave for Cuba and will be there for a month!  Any city that can supply 90% of its food from land found within city limits is an intelligent city.  I hope to spend much of my time in Havana learning from the experts.

Enjoy the dead of winter, Canada.

Growing 144 spinach plants on 16 square feet

Someday I'd like to have a garden consisting of a small number of square-foot container gardens.  They are an extremely efficient and practical way of growing food in the city.  Putting this into perspective, six 4'X4' container gardens (amounting to a total of 96 square feet - small enough to fit into any city backyard), provide enough space to grow 864 spinach plants.

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The beginning

There is a large greenhouse at the farm I just moved from a few days ago.  When I first moved out to Huron County in early September I figured the best way to use the greenhouse would be to build a container garden - extending the growing season and allowing me to put my agricultural curiosities to work.  After seeing the success of the square-foot garden I planted at the Hamilton Katimavik house last June I figured I would take the square-foot concept to the next level.

After finding used wood buried in the barn I began to draw out how the square-foot container would look. I had never built a container garden before but the practicality and efficiency of the square-foot gardening method makes a lot of sense when dealing the limited resources to construct the container - wood, geotextile, gravel and soil.

Square-foot gardening has an entire methodology behind it which can easily be gleaned from the internet.  For a few good online resources for square-foot gardening click here and here.

I read on a few of these sites that on a 1 square-foot piece of soil it is possible to grow 9 spinach plants.  9 X 16' (the standard number of feet used in square-foot gardens) = 144.

I almost didn't have enough seeds!

An experiment in community and human-scale food production

 There is an apple orchard 20 minutes west of the farm that I am currently living on.   For the last couple of years, only a few select species of apples had been harvested.  The rest had been going to waste.  This year we organized our efforts and created an apple gleaning event that saw approximately 19,000 apples harvested and divided between a group of 45 friends and family members.  About half of the harvest was then processed into cider – making approximately 1000 litres.

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The purposes of the event were to understand the production process, create a fully cooperative event, enjoy food which would otherwise be going to waste and to have a good time.  And we did.  Friends and friends of friends all packed in cars came from London, Hamilton, Toronto, Guelph, Peterborough and Ottawa.  Most arrived Friday night and stayed until Sunday afternoon. 

6 crates picked, 3 used for apple cider

While Friday night was spent relaxing and preparing, Saturday was production day.  Within 3 hours we had the majority of the apples picked and on their way back to the farm where they were later processed.  While some people bottled cider, some were boiling apples for apple sauce while others made dinner for everyone at the event.  All the while a few good glasses of cider and whiskey were joyfully passed around.

The production line included 4 stations:  People at Station 1 moved apples from the large crates into the 'pulper'.  Once a full bucket of apples was pulped (about 1 minute) others would move the bucket into the greenhouse where there were 3 different cider presses set up (station 2).  The person who brought the pulped bucket of apples from the pulper would hand off the bucket to those at the cider press and within 3 minutes the entire bucket would be pressed into a large pot.  Once the entire pot of cider was filled from those at Station 2, the pot would be poured into a large barrel (Station 3).  Here, as people from Station 2 were pouring their newly pressed cider into barrels, people at Station 3 would siphen the cider from the barrel into a small 1 - 2 litre jug.  Anyone at Station 4 would put a cap on the jug, and thus concluded our cooperative assembly line!  It was definitely the sweetest assembly line I've ever been apart of.

People left on Sunday with cars full of apples, cider and lists of drop off locations to those who couldn’t make it.  

Community Apple Cider Production Facility - Seaforth, Ontario

Niagara Grape Glean!

Have you ever considered how much locally produced fruit must go to waste every season? The landscaping company I’m currently working for has a client who owns a grape vineyard in Niagara. Due to major construction, the grapes weren’t being harvested this year.

What a perfect opportunity!

Although I was too busy with work to head down to the vineyard and see the glory for my own eyes (endless grapes) we processed the last of the grape supply into grape juice just last week.

From the amount of grapes in the picture we produced grape juice, grape jelly, grape jam, raisins, fruit leather, and had a bunch of grapes leftover.

If you’re in the Hamilton area let me know if you want concord jam.  I can hook you up.