Shoresh’s mission is to inspire and empower our community to become Shomrei Adamah, guardians of the earth. While the state of the world has changed with the current COVID-19 pandemic, our mission remains the same. We are here to nurture your connection to the earth through nature-based Jewish experiences. As such, we want to invite, encourage, motivate and enable you to grow your own food this season. Whether you have a tiny balcony, a windowsill, a backyard or a large piece of property, you can grow some of your own food.

The reality is we don’t know what the trickle down effect of the pandemic will be on food security so we are urgently calling on all of you to pull up your rainboots, read this blog post and get digging and planting so that you can feel like an empowered guardian of this earth.  The time to prepare and plant your garden is NOW.

What is a Dayenu Garden?

Every year at Passover, we thank G-d for giving us enough blessings by singing dayenu, enough. For years, Shoresh has been cultivating an attitude of gratitude by practicing “dayenu everyday” inspired by Jewish prayer, blessing and perspectives. Even though we are in difficult times, like our ancestors who survived plagues, slavery, genocide and hunger, we still have enough. We have clean water, food, electricity, love, tradition –  we have much to be thankful for. Dayneu.

A Dayenu Garden is therefore a plot of land for you to cultivate the following:
1) Gratitude for having enough
2) Awe and wonder for the miracle of life and a sacred place to experience this miracle unfolding
3) Some nutrient dense vegetables and herbs for your family to enjoy
4) And if you have extra space, consider growing for community members in need and for the pollinators so everyone can have enough.

We hope you enjoy and appreciate our video to get you started and draw on these amazing local businesses to get your garden up and running. Remember the growing season in Toronto is short so don’t delay!

The following is a list of local companies that can support you in developing, planting, and maintaining your own garden space.  We will continue to update this list, so please send us the names of individuals and companies who are operating locally and have in place systems to support community members during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organic and Untreated Seeds
Urban Harvest
William Dam

Organic Seedlings
Backyard Urban Farm Company (BUFCO) (grown by Trout Lily Farm)
***Seedlings can be picked up from their Roncesvalles location or delivered.  They sell out each year, so order as soon as possible.

Soznicki Organics
***This local organic farm is selling seedlings this year

Compost, Soil and Organic Soil Amendments
Backyard Urban Farm Company (BUFCO)
***BUFCO has bags of worm castings as well as potting soil.  

Gro4 Organics Inc.
***Has many soil mixes as well as potting soil and worm compost.  

Bustan Urban Gardening Essentials
***Has a HUGE selection of natural soil amendments.

Fiesta Gardens
***Has potting soil, triple mix, compost…as well as a huge selection of seedlings (some organic).

Pic-a-Mix
***Sells cubic yard bags of garden soil, compost, and mulch 

Creating the Best At-Home Composting System
Check out this helpful article by Hermann Samano to create your own at-home compost.

Raised Garden Beds
Backyard Urban Farm Company (BUFCO)
***BUFCO has DIY Kits that you assemble yourselves.  They also offer full assembly and set-up packages.

Marnie Pettle
marniepettle@yahoo.ca or 647 963 8840 or click here for more information.
***Our friend Marni is a local woodworker and is able to build affordable, custom, cedar raised beds.

Healthy Garden Co.
***Healthy Garden Co. will build and install cedar garden beds of varying sizes.

Young Urban Farmers
***Young Urban Farmers will design and install raised beds based on your site requirements.

Lee Valley
***Lee valley has kits that you can assemble yourself (some require you to purchase your own lumber)

Rain Water Catchment Systems
RainBarrel.ca

Garden Planning and Coaching
Backyard Urban Farm Company (BUFCO)
***BUFCO is offering online garden consultation for $40 for 30 minutes.

Young Urban Farmers (YUF)
***YUF offers help planning, designing, constructing, and maintaining garden spaces.  Private coaching and workshops available.

Garden Planning and Planting Resources
We love You Grow Girl, a website by Toronto local (and author/photographer) Gayla Trail that has LOTS of amazing and empowering resources for gardeners.  Here are a few of our favourites:
Beginner Gardening Guide
Seed Starting Guide from You Grow Girl
Container Gardening Guide

Our friends at FoodShare have also put out some great resources to help you plan and plant your garden this season:
Fast East Crops
Quick Tips for Growing in Containers
A Tribute To The Monarch Butterfly: How to Turn Your Backyard Into a Butterfly Friendly Habitat

And here are some of our favourite Facebook groups for local garden resources and information:
Grow Food Toronto
Toronto Gardeners

Lastly, here are a few “cheat” sheets we made a few years ago that we use at Shoresh when designing new garden spaces:
Vegetable Planting and Planning Chart
Companion Plants
Container Plants