The More You Know

Community Gardens: What are they and how to join one

community-gardens

If you call Toronto home, we don’t need to tell you that creating a bustling garden to call your own is out of the realm of possibility for many of us. According to a 2017 census, more Toronto residents live in apartment buildings than in single-detached houses, most of which offer balconies but little greenspace. Community Gardens: What are they and how to join one

AN APPLE A DAY… FOR SIXTY-SEVEN YEARS AND COUNTING!

A tractor parked in an apple orchard

Alvin Filsinger came to organic farming, well, organically.   He was born in 1924 on a farm in Ayton, Ontario, and he always loved apples even when he was a small child. When he came of age, he bought 400 apple trees from a local nursery, and started his own apple farm.  After a visit from AN APPLE A DAY… FOR SIXTY-SEVEN YEARS AND COUNTING!

FRENCH ARTICHOKE GARLIC FROM SAMSARA FIELDS ORGANICS

The Sweet Potato - French Artichoke garlic, an heirloom variety in season now

Locally grown by our friends at Samsara Fields Organics, French Artichoke Garlic is the latest exciting addition to our produce department! So named because of the way the cloves are arranged inside the head (which people thought looked like an artichoke), this is one of the mildest varieties of softneck heirloom garlic.  It’s the preferred variety FRENCH ARTICHOKE GARLIC FROM SAMSARA FIELDS ORGANICS

The healthful benefits of GT’s Kombucha

Mounting research is pointing to the importance of maintaining a healthy human biome. That is, maintaining an optimal ratio of good gut bacteria in our bodies. So how exactly can we do this? One simple way is to increase the number of fermented foods in our diet which add living probiotics. And one of the The healthful benefits of GT’s Kombucha

What’s The Deal with Farmed Fish?

James Tober, The Sweet Potato’s red seal certified butcher & fishmonger, provides his thoughts on farmed fish I’m not a city guy. I grew up in the country, hunting and fishing to help fill our freezer for the winter – and fill it we did, with moose, bear, deer, pickerel, salmon, bass and smelt, all What’s The Deal with Farmed Fish?

School Lunches Around the World

The Sweet Potato Toronto - school lunches from around the world - a sampling of what's eaten for lunch in Japan

School Lunches Around the World Image via Karen LeBillon Isn’t it interesting that there’s no such thing as ‘kid food’ in much of the world? And how different countries treat the “public school lunch” is fascinating. The effects of a quality national school lunch program have broad positive implications for overall health and happiness for School Lunches Around the World

10 Natural First Aid Essentials for Camping

Ahhhh, the great Canadian outdoors… We sure are lucky here in Ontario to have access to some gorgeous wilderness, provincial parks, and campgrounds. If you’re planning a camping trip, here are 10 items we think are essentials for first aid and personal care. Whether you’ve got an intense backpacking canoe trip planned or a laid-back 10 Natural First Aid Essentials for Camping

Alternative Menstrual Products

Please note – in this post we are using, to the best of our ability, medical terminology to refer to the anatomy of folks assigned female at birth. We think it’s a good thing to be informed about the products that we use on and in our bodies. In Canada, there are lots of government Alternative Menstrual Products

Talkin’ Grass Fed with JT

On the eve of launching our grass-fed beef line at our butcher counter, we talked with our Master Butcher, Red Seal Chef James Tober, about grass fed beef: What’s special about it? Why should we care? And how should we cook it?

Be Prepared to Spring Into Allergy Season

We want you to breathe easy and be prepared for the upcoming allergy season, so we assembled this list of tips. Different things work for different bodies, and we’ve had successes with:   Limiting foods that are mucus forming: dairy based products, refined flours, and processed foods Drinking nettle and/or feverfew tea to support your Be Prepared to Spring Into Allergy Season