One cherry pick led Ryan to sharing over a decade with NFFTT
December Healthy Harvest Habits
In a month full of holidays and (hopefully) more focused time on rest and rejuvenation, December is a time to slow down, learn, and grow our relationship to land and urban fruit trees.
Read on for Not Far From The Tree’s recommendations!
Place Based Learning
A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee
Creating Habitat Gardens for Native Pollinators (Ontario and Great Lakes Edition)
by Lorraine Johnson & Sheila Colla
Messy Cities
Why We Can’t Plan Everything
edited by Dylan Reid, Zahra Ebrahim, Leslie Woo, and John Lorinc
Supporting Gardens and Fruit Trees
Biodiversity in the City Booklet Series
Helps re-connect people with the natural world, and raises awareness of the seriousness that biodiversity loss represents and how it affects them directly. Find copies at the Toronto Public Library (or in PDF format)!
Growing Connection
Toronto Nature Stewards
Join other nature restoration volunteers passionate about building urban ecosystems that are self-sustaining. Spread over 49 sites, volunteers remove harmful plants, plant native species, remove trash, and educate others in their community about natural ecosystems.
Project Swallowtail
Mobilizes the power of people to help pollinators through the simple act of gardening. By planting native flowers in back yards, balconies, parks, boulevards and window boxes, residents of Toronto can help make this city a friendlier place for pollinators!
Explore NFFTT’s Resources
Fruit Ripening and Picking Guides
Get to know the fruit you have a relationship to a bit better through our fruit guides. Learn more about the ripening timeline, ripeness indicators, picking tips, and ideas on storing and eating!
Fruit Tree Care Guides
Spend some time learning about how to prune and care for fruit trees you have a relationship to through our tree care guides!
Healthy Harvest
Healthy Harvest is our monthly guide to caring for and being in good relation with fruit trees. We share this knowledge to empower Torontonians to contribute to a healthy, vibrant and sustainable Urban Orchard!
Looking for more information on caring for fruit trees and growing fruit from a recommended source?
If you enjoy harvesting fruit in the city and want to learn how to help fruit trees thrive, Susan Poizner of Orchard People has a series of award-winning books that make fruit tree care simple and practical.
When trees get the right care, they produce bigger, tastier harvests for everyone — including gleaners!
Explore the collection here: orchardpeople.com/books
Further Reading
Maddie’s love for NFFTT’s model of shared abundance