Incentive Giveaway Winner!

The results are IN!

It's official - the Indiegogo Campaign is officially finished, our bailey's is tucked nicely into our celebratory coffee this morning and we're relaxing out in the Spring Sun! ...well, for the next 10 minutes anyhow. And then it's back to Spring planting and business as usual.

Thanks to all of you we raised a whopping $2,853.00!! That's going to go a long way to helping BUFCO with the Pop Up Shop, greenhouse and demonstration garden. So, thank you thank you thank YOU!

And now for the important news - the WINNER of our Indiegogo final days "mention" giveaway! 

source

(drum roll please)..... 

And the liter of organic & all natural Better World plant food goes to...... 

***KAREN SLOAN***

of 

Wall Flower Studio Seeds!!

Congratulations Karen - we're very excited for you!!

To claim your prize, please email Arlene and Marc @ info@bufco.ca - they'll get that to you ASAP so your vegetables can grow big and grow happy all season long!
 

To everyone else - again, thank you so much for all your contributions, shares and support. We wouldn't have raised this money without you and it sure makes us proud to be a part of SUCH a supportive and fabulous community here in Toronto.

If you need advice, seedlings, mix, raised beds, raised-raised beds, feel free to drop us a line at the above listed email, check out our website, or visit us at our store @ 3290 Keele St. at Sheppard Ave., Toronto, Ontario. We'd love to see what you're growing this season and help out in any way we can so don't be shy.

Again, congrats to Karen and all of us - because making real, organic, seasonal food accessible in our spectacular city makes us all winners. 

 

New Incentive - GIVEAWAY!

Hello lovely BUFCO Blog readers!

In celebration of the final hours of our Indiegogo Campaign, we're hosting a GIVEAWAY!

This new incentive is all about you and making sure your vegetables can grow their best this season. We want you to grow local, eat seasonal and love your food as much as you can. 

Here's the deal: For every share, re-tweet, re-post, update, etc... that you make about our Indiegogo Campagin, you get entered to win a liter of Better World Plant Food! Better World is derived from insect frass and contains no additives, synthetic chemicals or pollutants. It's sustainable, locally made and uses only certified organic ingredients.  

What to do:
 

Simply MAKE SURE you include a link to our campaign: http://ow.ly/kcmF1 

...AND include us in your shares so we can enter you for every single mention you give us! The more you talk about our campaign, the more likely you will WIN!

Facebook: @BUFCO

Twitter: @BUFCO

Pinterest: @BUFCO

Via Email: CC info@bufco.ca.

...Or if it's a blog post, leave a comment here or send us an email, info@bufco.ca.

 

At the end of the campaign, we'll announce the winner and get you your FREE container of Better World Plant Food!

Now let's get a'sharin and make the world a better place - including your own veggie patch! 

There are only a few more hours to go!! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

The ABC's of Peas Please

Good morning to YOU!

My first taste of peas came from a can. My mother loved to serve the pale green mushy things cold with a little Miracle Whip. It’s little wonder I never developed a taste for peas. That is, until I picked one fresh off the vine. Then there was no turning back. 

Thank goodness for Thor the Norse God of thunder who apparently shot peas down from the heavens to plug human wells. Was this an act of vengeance or a gift? Either way it seems a few missed their mark and ended up in the soil where we can lustily feast on them today.

Peas are great to grow in your own home garden not only because they are delicious but they are also one of the first things you can plant in the season. Like, now.

Unlike tender plants such as tomatoes or peppers, peas are cold weather hardy and can be directly sown in the ground up to 4 weeks before last frost. Don’t worry if you haven’t gotten them in early - peas can still be planted until early summer before things get too hot.

There are basically two kinds of peas: Shelling and Snap. Snap peas can be eaten shell and all while shelling peas can not. Both are available as bush type plants or vines. What you choose to plant will depend on your space. Both grow with little tendrils coming off the stems that will cling and climb up a trellis or netting. Lucky for you, we sell that.

Find a nice sunny spot to plant your peas and make sure the soil is nice and fluffy. If it isn’t, mix in a healthy portion of a good, well rotted, organic compost. I like using vermicompost (worm castings) - something you can find at our store. Mushroom compost is good too.

Another great thing about peas is that they, like beans, are “nitrogen fixers”. What that basically means is that their roots, stems and leaves add nitrogen to the soil, a very important ingredient needed to grow healthy plants. That’s why it’s a good idea to plant them next to nitrogen suckers like corn.

In fact, most herbs and vegetables are great companions for peas except for onions, garlic and potatoes, so find another spot for those.

The practice of “companion planting” is an old idea that is used for a number of good reasons. Plants can help each other improve flavour, repel bad bugs and attract good ones. Planting different plants together creates a natural and integrated pest management system for your garden so you won’t need to use those nasty chemicals.

Your peas will be ready to harvest after about 70 days. Make sure to save your seeds for next year by letting a few pods dry on the vine. Owning seeds is owning life - Monsanto doesn't get to be the only ones invited to that party. Power to the people and their right to seed! Am I right?

When all the peas are harvested you can leave the roots in ground for more nitrogen fixing and composition. 

...And don’t worry if you find a few single-podded peas. They’re said to bring good luck! Kind of like you!

Real Food Should Be Accessible!

It's easy being green! ...Isn't it?

Hello darling urban farm food lovers!

You know, there are a lot of reasons to be green. In a good way. It's more sustainable for the environment, healthier for the animals, better for our bodies - it just feels good.

...And who doesn't wanna feel good? We're all sensual hedonists when it gets down to it, aren't we?

And while recycling, eating local and hanging your laundry to dry on the line are much simpler than they were 10 years ago, in a oil-dependent culture it can sometimes get a little confusing.

That's one of the reasons I dig gardening in the city. Or outside the city. But generally I'm in the city. So let's go with that.

Urban farming has brought a lot to my life. There have been times when I've only had a small pot of basil on a windowsill, and times when my entire yard was a seething, oozing jungle of plump, juicy edible plant life - either way, I've found myself embedded in a culture and community of happy food enthusiasts. The sense of community I felt not only helped to localize my social circles, but it also fed me. Nourished me. Filled me right up. Figuratively and literally. When I'm growing vegetables, I eat well. Real well. 

Sourcing my seeds from a local seed sanctuary, growing the food right in my front yard, and walking them from garden to kitchen seriously cuts down on my oil foot-print. In this case, more like a toe-print. I know exactly who grew it. How it was grown. Whether there were any artificial fertilizers or chemicals involved in the process. If the person who harvested it was treated fairly. There were no transport refrigeration costs or soaking the vegetables in gas to ripen them. I learned what was in season in my region and what needs to be planted and when. Speaking of which, it's 5 weeks until last frost - are your hardies in the ground?

Growing my own food was deeply organic, in every sense of the word. 

It's pretty straightforward - seed, soil, sun, water, love and then eat. 

But not everyone gets to eat their own home-grown corn on the cob. Which means they need to procure them from someone. And until we re-master the barter system of actual fair trade economics, The 2013 Green Living Show will do just fine.

Watch for the BUFCO booth from April 12 - 14 at this year's event, located in the Direct Energy Centre. Join us at this eco-friendly exhibition to taste, tour, shop and discover! We'll be there talking about all things organic urban farming - will you??

What does living green look like to you?