Lots of busy bees planting seeds in the Anthropology Greenhouse. Photo by Sam Lucchetta.
Spring is just around the corner, which means Dig In! has already kicked off this year’s growing season with a Seed Planting Workshop generously sponsored by UTERN (University of Toronto Environmental Resource Network) in the Anthropology Greenhouse on March 12th. Scheduled to coincide with this year’s ECOFEST, participants got their hands dirty with an introduction to soil blocking, which is a more eco-friendly way to start seedlings that reduces shock to fragile root systems during transplanting. Dig In! volunteers had the opportunity to plant some of this year’s crops that benefit from early seed-starting, such as an array of peppers, kale, basil, parsley, rhubarb, onions, leeks, and lettuce. Some of the kale has already sprouted less than a week later!
Planting rhubarb seeds in soil blocks. Photo by Sam Lucchetta.
As April rolls in, we look forward to the first signs of spring as more seeds begin to sprout. We’re planning a second seed planting workshop on Wednesday, April 11, when we’ll plant more fast growing crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash.
We’re in the process of scheduling our regular work days, to commence in mid April. One of our first work day tasks will be distributing compost to our gardens, and direct seeding crops that fare best when they are direct sown, such as carrots, beans, peas and radishes. More information will go out on our email list, so be sure to join our listserv here.
Interested in doing your own soil blocking, or learning more? You can find a photo of the soil block recipe we use, as well as links to other online resources, at a previous blog post here.
ECOFEST 2018 continues until March 23, 2018. Check out what other great events are happening at https://www.facebook.com/uoftecofest/
Choosing what seeds to plant next. Photo by Sam Lucchetta.