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Heart's Content Organic Farmstead
- Backyard
Bounty
Tom Armitage
8 Islington Avenue, Guelph, Ontario (519)
803-2539
Description: Backyard
Bounty's approach is to convert resource
dependent yards to resource productive
green space while providing many benefits
to the City of Guelph, the environment,
our society, and the economy. To date,
Backyard Bounty has converted more than
35 plots from grass to gardens throughout
the City of Guelph, equalling about 3
acres. We are very proud of this effort
and we want to share the harvest with
you!
CROPS
There are many environmental benefits
to growing vegetable gardens in an urban
setting. Gardens have been found to be
more biodiverse than lawns, providing
habitat for insects, birds, and animals
while promoting pollinators. They provide
residential 'cooling' during summer heat
waves as vegetables are better at absorbing
the sunlight and heat than grass. In addition,
gardens do not require the use of mowers
or leaf blowers, thus decreasing air and
noise pollution in the city. Furthermore,
maintaining a garden uses substantially
less water than does keeping a lawn green
and we encourage homeowners to install
rain barrels for watering the gardens
to further conserve water.
Backyard Bounty grows about 50 different
varieties of vegetables including many
heirloom varieties within our various
gardens. The plants in each garden vary
depending on the location of the yard,
the amount of sun it receives, whether
there is competition with trees, the type
of soil and other variables. By growing
a diverse variety of crops, we build a
system with natural protection against
insects, blight, adverse weather conditions
and other problems, ensuring that there
will always be some vegetable varieties
which thrive and survive. We use all organic
practices and - no GMO, no chemicals,
and we work to improve the soil health
and grow the vegetables naturally.
LOCAL
You cannot find vegetables more local
in Guelph than Backyard Bounty produce.
Nearly all of our operations are carried
out entirely within the City of Guelph.
The employees live within the city, the
equipment and materials are purchased
within the city and all the produce is
consumed by Guelph's inhabitants. In this
way, Backyard Bounty epitomizes the local
food movement. This localized production
system means that our customers may easily
know how their food is being grown and
can see many of the gardens throughout
town before enjoying our produce at several
different restaurants throughout town.
Local food production reduces the need
for packaging, refrigeration, storage,
and transportation of food, decreasing
energy usage and costs associated with
its production. Backyard Bounty's model
is part of a fundamental shift in food
production which helps to build a system
of food security into the future.
Backyard Bounty's approach is to convert
resource dependent yards to resource productive
green space while providing many benefits
to the City of Guelph, the environment,
our society, and the economy.
Produce: A variety of vegetables
and cut flowers including: arugula, lettuce,
beet greens, radishes, turnips, kohlrabi,
kale, broccoli, green onions, corn salad,
spinach, snap peas, edible flowers, herbs,
zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes, onions,
lettuce, radish, beets, carrots, Swiss
chard, basil, eggplant, herbs, cut flowers,
snap beans, peppers, cabbage, kale, broccoli,
squash, pumpkin, beans, fennel, beets,
leeks, onions, arugula, lettuce, radishes,
herbs.
Delivery to These Areas: We will
have two CSA pick-up locations in Guelph
in the 2012 season. One is downtown, the
other is in the South-end at the Salvation
Army citadel on Gordon. We will deliver
anywhere in the city at an additional
cost of $125 for the season.
Area of Coverage: Guelph
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