Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard Season Begins Soon…Mark Your Calendars!

Hey everyone,

Stewardship season is almost here, and we couldn’t be more excited to get back out in the orchard with all of you! To help you plan ahead, check out our 2025 Stewardship Poster with all the important dates. Pop those dates into your calendar now so you don’t miss a thing. You can also download and print your copy here. Here are the dates:

  • Sun, April 13, 2025 – First stewardship day! Shed and garden cleanup
  • Sat, April 26, 2025 – Weeding in prep for mulching
  • Sat, May 3, 2025 – All hands on deck! Compost mulching
  • Sat, May 10, 2025 – Molasses 1, tree maintenance, weed garden/shed roof
  • Sun, May 25, 2025 – Tree and garden care
  • Sat, June 7, 2025 – Molasses 2, tree pruning, weeding
  • Sun, June 22, 2025 – Tree and garden care, orchard soxs
  • Sat, July 5, 2025 – Tree painting, weeding, deadheading
  • Sun, July 13, 2025 – Molasses 3, weeding, deadheading
  • Sat, July 26, 2025 – Tree and garden care
  • Sat, August 9, 2025 – All hands on deck, wood chip mulching
  • Sun, August 24, 2025 – Tree and garden maintenance
  • Sat, September 6, 2025 – Tree and garden maintenance
  • Sun, September 21, 2025 – Tree and garden maintenance
  • Sat, October 4, 2025 – Tool sharpening, tree and garden maintenance
  • Sun, October 19, 2025 – Shed cleanup/inventory, put garden to bed

This year, we might not be sending out reminder emails. We’re on the lookout for a volunteer to help with managing our emails. But for now, your calendar will be your best friend! Trust us, it’s going to be a great season and you’ll definitely want to be there.

A huge thank you goes to Sarah B. for her beautiful design work on the poster. I’ll continue updating the blog. And thanks to Gail for organizing all the dates and working closely with city staff.

Gail will also be in touch by email soon to let us know who will be leading stewardship on which days. She’s taking care of the Saturday sessions herself, but we’re looking for volunteers to step up for Sundays. Being the lead involves opening up the shed in the morning and locking up at 11 am when we wrap up. If you’re able to help, stay tuned for more info in the upcoming email.

We can’t wait to see the orchard buzzing with energy, laughter, and the joy of growing together. It’s going to be a beautiful season!

See you soon in the park!

Susan

Susan Poizner is one of the volunteers for The Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard in Toronto. She is the creator of the fruit tree care education website OrchardPeople.com.  Susan is the author of four fruit tree care books including Grow Fruit Trees Fast: A Beginner’s Guide to a Healthy Harvest in Record Time. She is also the host of the Orchard People podcast and an ISA Certified Arborist.