Riverdale Meadow Community Garden
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Most of this website's content is current as of 21 May 2010
Garden Activities
Eating Raspberries
Treasured pleasures: the organic raspberry patch is a shared area in the centre of the garden.
We also share jerusalem artichokes, a strawberry bed, and we are developing a catnip patch. As well, Mothers' Garden, a hillside of berries is in development, containing blueberries, Nanking cherries, saskatoon serviceberries, currants, and blackcap raspberries. Shares in the produce from these areas are relative to the work invested in maintaining them.
Members rent individual plots, as well, in which to grow other fruits and vegetables for themselves and their families.
A medicinal herb garden is currently in development. An area of the garden is now being sheet-mulched to plant Ontario Native Species wildflowers which are growing in a nursery plot on-site. These will attract birds, bees, and butterflies to enhance the natural eco-system of the garden.
A plot is also maintained for donating foods to a local mental-health crisis centre's kitchen. Under inspiration of the national Plant A Row ~ Grow A Row program, we are pleased to be able to share some of our fresh organic produce.
photo by Zora Ignatovic
Composting food scraps from home, 28 February 2007
The compost bins for fruit and vegetable peelings, coffee grounds and tea bags, stale baked goods, and other kitchen scraps are maintained all year round. The garden's member-volunteers and neighbourhood folks living in apartment buildings can bring their kitchen scraps to our bins. The resulting green gold eventually gets screened to be used in community plots to nourish new growth.
We also maintain a large, open, Hot Compost Pile (foreground, under fencing) that reduces the garden's larger vegetation matter (tomato plants; potato tops; jerusalem artichoke stalks; swiss chard roots; and pea, cucumber, or squash vines) into a nutrient-rich humus to add to the clay-like soil in garden plots, creating better tilth in which to grow.
photo by Kyla Dixon-Muir
George turns a bin, 28 February 2007
The interdependent cycles of growing, uprooting for decomposition, and eventual re-using are elemental, essential, complimentary aspects of gardening.
All our gardeners are required to participate fully: we have neither facilites, staff, nor funding for trucking waste away from our site - and that is as it should be - composting is a natural and effective practice that is part and parcel of organic growing.
photo by Kyla Dixon-Muir
RMCG goes to Withrow Park's first Farmers' Market, fall 2006
Fall 2006: Garden members share information with Withrow Park visitors about community gardens, organic growing practices, saving seeds, and season-extension techniques.
Participating in events outside the garden, such as teaching gardening classes, hosting plant sales and fund raising activities, donating perennial food plants to other gardens, and donating fresh organic produce to a local crisis centre are regular practices in which our members participate.
photo by James Kuhns
President, American Community Gardening Association
Phil, Kyla, and Stephen at Seedy Saturday, 17 March 2007
photo by Zora Ignatovic
Garden members staff a table at Toronto's Seedy Saturday in support of Seeds of Diversity. Representing community gardens; sharing information on growing and preserving foods; arranging trades with other gardeners; demonstrating Season Extension Techniques; and marketing Solar Ovens: our gardeners have a wealth of experience to share.
Seedy Saturday is a nation-wide grassroots event focusing on organic, heritage, and heirloom plants, in support of Seeds of Diversity.
The content of every page of this website is (c) Copyrighted,\\ 2006-2009 and beyond, under Canadian Copyright Law.
The pictures are property of the individual photographers, as credited by each image.
We deeply appreciate their generosity.
All text is (c) copyright by Kyla Z. A. Dixon-Muir.
Written permission is required for any use other than viewing on your computer screen.
Contact: cgwebsite (at) sympatico (dot) ca -- Sorry, address spelled out for anti-spam purposes
Please make an individual query only; do not add this address to any mass-communication lists. Thank you.
As we spend more time in the garden than on the internet, replies are generally made once weekly. Thank you for your patience.
Serious enquiries will include your name and phone number.
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Content last modified on May 21, 2010, at 10:31 AM EST