Sept 26 update

We will be set up at the Wellesley Apple Butter and Cheese Festival on Saturday (in front of the Old Mill) so there won’t be a produce stand at Diversity Gardens for Saturday, Sept 26th.

- If you want produce this week - you can pre-order by contacting us at tschumilas@rogers.com and we will leave your order boxed with your name on it, on the vegetable stand. Please order by Friday am. You can just leave your payment in the container provided there.

Apples are coming now - we have Paula Reds (perfect for apple crisp and sauce) and Macs this week. More varieties to follow. Please let us know if you want a quantity of a particular apple and we’ll try to source organic for you.

Squash, squash and more squash. We are just starting to pick. Right now we have different types of spaghetti squash, pie pumpkins and North Georgia Candy Roaster.

Tomatoes have been hit by late blight everywhere - so they are dwindling now. This is likely the last week for tomatoes.

Leeks are being dug - so its the time for leek and potato soup for sure!

We expect to offer produce until October 31 - and that will be our last day. So - just a few more weeks. (Then I can sleep in on Saturday mornings finally!)

Canadian Heritage Tomatoes

Did you know that there are no longer any garden tomato breeding programs in Canada? All new varieties on the market are bred for American gardens and growing conditions. Most seed companies are importing seeds from other countries and tomatoes that were bred in Canada in decades past are being lost.

Join us at Diversity Gardens on Saturday, September 19th from 10am - 12 noon to explore why we need to save Canadian tomatoes and how we can do that. Taste test many varieties of organic heritage tomatoes, take home seed and stay for an afternoon tomato canning workshop.

Want to do more? Join Seeds of Diversity's Canadian Tomato project. Check it out at http://www.seeds.ca/proj/tomato/

local, organic apples at Diversity Gardens!

Come and get 'em! This week we will have Jersey Macs and Paula Reds.

Macs, Courtland and Spartans will be available mid September.


Why organic apples?
Apples, as all orchard fruit are one of the most heavily sprayed crops. The USDA Pesticide Data Program has found 42 pesticide residues on apples, and that is just from production. Before conventional apples make it to the grocery store displays they undergo a fungicide dip and shellac based waxing, and sometimes irradiation.

For more information:

Organic apple Production
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/fruitover.html
http://www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca/rcbtoa/training/fruit.htm

Conventional apple production
http://www.whatsonmyfood.org/food.jsp?food=AP
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/pub360/7appcal10.htm
http://postharvest.tfrec.wsu.edu/PC2004A.pdf
http://www.scribd.com/doc/13514892/Preservation-of-Fruits-by-Waxing

What's On Your Food?

Find out what chemicals and pesticides are on your favourite foods at www.whatsonmyfood.org.