Flourishing in the midst of crop failure

I’ve just wrapped up my fifth season farming at Common Table Farm. Each growing season has been entirely different, with its particular mix of joys and disappointments. The one indelible lesson I’ve taken away from farming is that you cannot predict anything! With so much unpredictability, it’s necessary to develop resilience, especially when your best laid plans get hit with blight.

No Torontonian will soon forget the torrential rains that were dumped upon us this summer. As climate change stirs up extreme weather, we see the effects immediately at the farm. One weekend in early August, the weather swung from a heat wave to a couple of unseasonably cool nights. I arrived back at the farm on Monday and was shocked to discover rows of tomato plants looking like they’d seen the apocalypse. Weekly efforts to nourish the plants with compost teas and worm castings were all for naught. As the heavy rains came again and again over the summer – with too much humidity and too few sunny days to dry off the plants – I worried about the wet conditions propagating disease. And there it was: all the tomatoes hit with blight. Plants that had been lush in July were drooping dramatically with blotchy leaves. Tons of green tomatoes just waiting for sun-ripening, now blemished with lesions. It was devastating. It was discouraging not to be able to provide an abundant harvest of this much-loved crop to our community. With a drier September, some plants bounced back and provided fruit. But overall, the harvest was about a quarter of what we would have expected. After months of tending from seed, this was a bitter result.

There was not much to be done for this season’s tomatoes. But we can look forward and adapt for the future. We’re currently seeking funding for a greenhouse that would allow us to grow our hot crops with protection from excessive rains. We also look to this season’s successes and discover that there’s still much cause to celebrate. We grew our first watermelons! Our Young Farmer Program continued into its second year, with thanks to funding from the Anglican Foundation and KPMG Foundation. One of our 2023 youth participants enjoyed the experience so much, she eagerly reached out mid-winter to ask about summer jobs. Gabrielle turned out to be one of our most delightful summer workers yet – full of energy, initiative and laughter. We are honoured to be a farm where knowledge about food and farming is shared amongst young people who will go on to be leaders in our community.

This summer the farm was not only a place for growing food; it was also a gathering place for growing ideas. We welcomed graduate students taking a course entitled “Food/Justice, Farming and Faith” run by St. Michael’s College of the Toronto School of Theology. Students reflected on the challenges within our industrial food system while being present to the soil itself, all while completing practical farm tasks. It was a unique opportunity to practice embodied theology. We also hosted a wrap-up party for participants of Seneca College’s Toronto Urban Farming Training (TUFT). To the soundtrack of crickets and cicadas, we had an animated evening discussion about what kind of municipal policies could support urban agriculture.

The farm welcomed younger learners, too. Elementary school students sifted worm castings and planted native flowers. Here’s a snapshot of the kind of journey that kids experience here:

“I remember the composting and worm poop parts most… At first, I thought it was disgusting, but after I saw people having so much fun, I decided to give it a shot. It turned out to be really fun (except the earwigs and worms).”

Another student remarked: “I really felt good because it was my first time planting a plant. I remembered there were little grubs in the soil and an ant nest.”

It’s pretty special that this is a place where kids experience the soil and its inhabitants for the first time. The farm deepens our understanding of how soil, seeds, microbes, water and the sun come blessedly together to create food for all beings.

Farming is not all roses and sunshine. We have our share of trials and crop failures. But we are proud to be part of a larger food and eco-justice movement that invites people to see how environmental issues, our food system and our own relationships to land are all intricately connected. No matter what kind of season we have – blight or no blight – we experience flourishing here!

To learn more about Common Table Farm and to support its work, visit www.flemingdonparkministry.com. Flemingdon Park Ministry is a ministry of the Diocese of Toronto.