Breaking Ground: 2nd Farm Work Gig Revs Up

by Sunny on July 3, 2009

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Ashlee Cooper (FoodCycles board member) and Louis Fliss (one of FoodCycle’s finest volunteers) work on direct planting cucumbers. We may be late in the game this year, next year we’ll be ready to rock!

Looking for some exercise and stress relief? Need something extra to do while vacationing close to home? Or looking to kill time between gigs? Well there’s plenty to do right here at the FoodCycles farm (map http://bit.ly/ATb3G and directions http://bit.ly/YDDfp). Five to six volunteers can have their chance at staking out beds, marking them with twine, raking the raised beds one last time, planting them and the outdoor beds. A lot for one day – we’re continuing tomorrow (Thursday) and will be at this rain or shine throughout the week (hey it’s a farm for a reason (Friday, Saturday, Sunday…). Bring rain gear, closed toe boots or shoes and lighter layers in case of a surprise heat wave. If possible let us know ahead of time if you can make it.

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Louis Fliss skillfully plants the cucumbers, making use of his previous gardening experience. (Photo via Sunny Lam)

Tons of chances for relaxation breaks as well.

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Summary

What: Farm Work Session to Plant the Outdoor and Raised Beds
When: Thursday, July 2, 2009 – Sunday, July 5, 2009 (Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun)
Where: FoodCycles farm (map http://bit.ly/ATb3G and directions http://bit.ly/YDDfp). The directions are for the TTC (scroll midway down the page)
How: RSVP ahead of time if possible else just drop in

Recent Happenings

Ashlee attacking the clumps in the bed, she’s one lean mean machine #FoodCycles #urban #farm #ag http://twitpic.com/95f9z

Sunny Lam Ash and Loius planting squash and pumpkin #foodcycles #urban #farming #ag http://twitpic.com/960ng

Finally the cucumbers r going into the land! #foodcycles #urban #farm http://twitpic.com/92ee6 – need to hyper speed this up – who’s in?

Staked out 4 series if beds – more to come #FoodCycles #urban #farm http://twitpic.com/8zfw7

David sawing up some stakes for the beds #foodcycled #urban #farm http://twitpic.com/8ytsz

For the Facebook event go to: http://bit.ly/DutYF

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Crops Turn Poisonous In Warming World

by Sunny on June 29, 2009

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A farm worker collects cassava at the expropriated and now redistributed farm of El Charcote in the central state of Cojedes March 25, 2009.

Photo: REUTERS/Jorge Silva

THE DOSE MAKES THE POISON

Australian scientists have found that in a warming world, food like cassava (which makes tapioca) and sorghum (kind of like rice) produce more cyanide poison (a paralyzing poison). Apparently it’s a higher risk of poisoning especially during a drought.

HAVING LESS TO EAT

The biggest issue was that you can only grow half the amount. That’s bad news for over 750,000,000 (75 million) people in Africa, Asia and Latin America who eat cassava every day in flour. Cassava also grows really well in dry climates.

Originally From

Crops face toxic timebomb in warmer world: study: “SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Staples such as cassava on which millions of people depend become more toxic and produce much smaller yields in a world with higher carbon dioxide levels and more drought, Australian scientists say.”

(Via Reuters UK.)

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Food is Vital for America

June 28, 2009

Will Allen, the inspiration for FoodCycles recently released his Good Food Manifesto for America. Will has expressed interest in coming back to Toronto and we’ll definitely be bringing this up at our meeting with Sandy Houston, President of the Metcalf Foundation. In fact Metcalf sponsored Will Allen’s first visit (that sparked everything) in 2006/2007.

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Respect Farmworker Rights, Chipotle!

June 27, 2009

Last week, leaders of the food justice movement — – including Eric Schlosser and Robert Kenner, producer and director of the hard-hitting new documentary ‘Food, Inc.’ — sent a strongly worded letter to Chipotle, the fastest growing company in fast-food, demanding that they live up to its claims of ‘Food with Integrity’ and ‘work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers as a true partner in the protection of farmworkers’ rights.

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Honey Bread with Cooked Grains

June 25, 2009

I prepared this bread for FoodCycles first early summer farm planting day (http://bit.ly/1a7xAo) – specifically for Saturday and Sunday. Might be preparing some quick breads instead for Sunday. The recipe is a variation of Molasses Bread with Cooked Grains from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (of which I will cite often since there are over 1500 recipes in it).

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Raising the Bed, Breaking the Bread

June 22, 2009

Sunny gives a quick halfway point video report on how the first farm planting work bee (more like construction preparation work stuff) is going so far. A lot of thistle cutting, rock picking, plant hardening and raised bed construction has been going on. There’ll be lots to do on Tuesday and Wednesday in terms of spreading compost, setting up beds and the actual get the ground going actions at that time. Feel free to drop in for some fresh air (seriously), good exercise and a dose of food inspired community.

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Got a Shovel? Put it to Good Use!

June 20, 2009

FoodCycles is getting down to the first of its early summer planting in an outdoor field (half an acre of an acre; event info http://bit.ly/1a7xAo). Can anyone generously spare any shovels, wheel barrows, rakes or trowels to help with transplanting cucumber, eggplant, tomato, lettuce, basil, pepper seedlings and with direct seeding? Or loan these tools to us for a short while?

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Chocolate Almond Butter Cups and Coconut Almond Truffles

June 20, 2009

Camille Labchuk an up and coming law student kindly shared 2 fantastic raw cacao linked recipes that I just had to get and share. After all chocolate is absolutely fantastic stuff! Raw cacao is particularly good for your health – acting as a mild stimulant and chock full of antioxidants. (Try not to eat more than 7 pieces of raw cacao straight up at once or you’ll really feel the effects)

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Rise of the Chickens: An Egg Salvation

June 17, 2009

Urban poultry farmers get a taste of rural life — and a constant supply of eggs — with their own coops. But not every city will run with the idea.

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Water, Fire, Riots and Seedlings

June 17, 2009

A poem on the greenhouse, summer heat waves, Iran, riots and a death in the family.

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