If it can be done there...

In Toronto, a Backyard Transformed into an Urban Farm

In New York, a group of twenty-somethings who live together make up a hit sitcom. In Toronto, they make up Trinity Reach Farm. Let's call it The One Where the Gang Makes Their Backyard into an Urban Farm. An urban farm where they raise chickens, grow herbs and vegetables, smoke fish and meat, make cheese and brew beer and cider.

Trinity Reach Farm, recently profiled by Vidafine, was founded in the spring of 2009 by four young restaurant employees, Paul, Dave, Chris and Jacob. (Chris left the farm at the beginning of June; his room has been converted into a dining room.) Soon kicked off the roof by their landlord, the group moved into the apartment building's backyard, where things really took off, as they write in their blog:

Ideas began spilling out at a rapid pace. A smokehouse; chicken coupe; fire-pit; compost... perhaps fueled by a few too many home-brews, our small herb garden had turned into a full-fledged small-scale urban-farm, overseen by three inexperienced twenty-somethings.

And although raising your own chickens is technically illegal in Toronto, an otherwise very forward-looking, green city, the urban farmers haven't had any trouble with the neighbors or the law. Vidafine writes:

The team at Trinity Reach Farm isn't here to present anything revolutionary, they are just looking to use their talents and interests to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Ultimately, producing your own foods is fun, and enjoying the fruits of your own labour definitely tastes better!

It's hard to disagree when you think about fresh-as-can-be eggs, smoked meat and fish, and home-brewed beer and cider!

Feeling inspired? We hope so! The team at Trinity Reach Farm has proven that you don't need a house in the country- or even a large backyard- to have your own farm.

I am there!