Stuff

November 21, 2007

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You Grow Girl 2008 Calendar

Yay! After an unexpectedly long production schedule the You Grow Girl 2008 Calendar is finally here. I’m really proud of this one. Once again my goal was to produce a calendar that is a nice balance between rich imagery and inspiring information that I hope will keep you excited about turning each page through all 12 months. Here are the details:

Get inspired through 12 months in the garden. This full color calendar features 30 rich garden and botanical images along with a selection of organic gardening tips, growing techniques, and creative ideas. Learn about pretty heirloom pepper varieties, growing orchids, deciduous citrus trees and more.

All photography and text is by me with the exception of the cover and August. Those photos were taken by Davin Risk.

Copies are now available directly through the printer. However, I have ordered a batch of copies and am selling those directly through our store. You can reserve your copy through me now but these copies have not yet arrived at my door so shipping will be delayed slightly until they do. I will sign these copies and shipping should be cheaper, especially for Canadians who usually get hit by heavy International Shipping Fees through Lulu.

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November 7, 2007

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Kokopelli Seed Foundation

I want this book! We took a week off last month, staying at the home of an avid tomato gardener whose name I have not sought permission to reveal (and therefore will not). While there she introduced me to the Kokopelli Seed Foundation, a non-profit organization based in France who are working to actively address issues of food security and preserve biodiversity by producing organic open-pollinated seeds as well as educating and promoting these issues globally.

One of their projects is the book, “The Seeds of Kokopelli” by Dominique Guillet is a massive 440 page, hardcover tome introducing Kokopelli’s work and farms, as well as proper pollination, seed production and saving techniques for an assortment of vegetables. The bulk of the book functions as a food plant directory introducing thousands of open-pollinated and heirloom herb and vegetable varieties. My host had the French version of the book at her home
(“Les Semences de Kokopelli“) which proved to be a bit of a tease given that I could only gaze at the photos, picking up a line or two of French here and there. Even still, on quick glance the book introduced me to a few interesting varieties that I’ve got on my list for next year including:

Cucumis myriocarpus – Non-edible, but highly decorative and weird cucumber relative.
‘Kaiser Alexander’ Cucumber – Another freaky, but edible cucumber with a strange brownish, ridged skin reminiscent of cantaloupe.

What I saw has absolutely convinced me to order a English edition for myself. $46 (includes shipping to Canada) is an excellent price for such a massive encyclopedia of plants. The price including shipping to the US is a deal at $34-38.

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October 18, 2007

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Lavender Rose Moisturizer

Now that the colder, dryer weather is upon us and the further-drying baseboard heaters have been turned on I’ve been loving my new bottle of Earthly Paradise’s Lavender Rose Moisturizer. This yummy-smelling moisturizer is made here in Toronto by Colette Murphy using organic and fair trade ingredients, all of which are simple (no crazy chemicals) and listed right on the jar.

I used to buy the Calendula Moisturizer for it’s powerful skin-healing properties but was taken in by the delicious combination of lavender and roses added to many of the same nourishing ingredients including organic calendula oil.

I bought my jar directly from Colette at the Dufferin Grove Farmer’s Market here in Toronto and it looks like she is only selling this particular type in-person. However the equally-yummy Calendula Moisturizer is sold both in-store and online at Grassroots Environmental Store.

Cost: $17.99

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October 4, 2007

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Inside My Tool Bag – October 2007

My favourite tool bag at my community garden plot, October 4, 2007. I forgot to bring a harvest bag and had to cram everything into the top of the tool bag. I’m currently harvesting lots of dandelion greens for boiling and herbs for drying but the weather has been so mild even the summer crops like tomatoes, peppers, and ‘Mexican sour gherkins’ are continuing to produce. It was so peaceful and fresh there yesterday evening — for a moment I wished I had a sleeping bag to curl up into.

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September 27, 2007

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Edible Toronto Magazine

There’s a new magazine in town, and I mean that quite literally. Edible Toronto is the Toronto edition of a group of locally-relevant edible cities world-wide. There’s an edible Brooklyn, an edible Seattle, and there’s even an edible Hawaiian Islands. Supported by Edible Communities, a member-driven organization, the locally-centred magazines aim to create relationships around good, local food between consumers, local growers, and chefs. Many of the articles are about farmers, farms, growers, markets, community events and restaurants but there are also recipes and gardening articles.

The title of the Toronto edition is a little misleading since it is actually meant to serve the surrounding Golden Horseshoe area. I love the purple broccoli cover photo by FoodShare’s Laura Berman. Their “Where to Get It” page has not been updated as of yet but I can tell you that I picked my copy up in the lobby of The Gladstone Hotel but I have also been told that they’re available at the Dufferin Grove Farmer’s Market (I think they were gone by the time I checked last week).

And did I mention it’s free!

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