Posts Tagged ‘Niagara Escarpment’

Milton Urban Planning Fails: Beautification

June 2nd, 2010
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The intersection of Derry and Trudeau in Hawthorne Village, Milton. Beautification? Check.

Recently, local blogger and candidate for Milton Town Council in Ward 8, Zeeshan Hamid has strung together a series of posts discussing the ‘beautification’ or lack thereof, in Milton.

Hamid makes the case that Milton should position itself as an ‘Escarpment Community’ and that it’s future development and infill projects should take this into consideration. He’s essentially saying that Milton, from an urban planning and design standpoint, needs to separate itself from the rest of the urban sprawl west of Toronto.

Yes, this means you, Mississauga, Brampton and Oakville (north of the QEW, at least).

He’s correct. Oakville has Lake Ontario and by extension it’s signature Lakeshore Boulevard strip with its quaint shopping, restaurants, parks, etc. Mississauga has the lake as well and in addition, has more of a ‘big city’ downtown in the vicinity of Square One. Not all that great to some, but the city has become a major Canadian business centre because of it. Brampton has, well, um, not much. Sorry.

Moving west, the intersection of Derry and Holly has hanging pots of flowers.

Milton? Well, we’ve got a lot going for us.

We’re a small but growing town nestled in at the foot of the scenic Niagara Escarpment. The town’s amenities have increased ten-fold in the past decade and yet the downtown core — albeit not to be confused with Lakeshore Boulevard in Oakville — is quaint, somewhat scenic and is home to events such as this weekend’s Downtown Street Festival and the weekly Farmer’s Market. Milton is also a hop, step and a jump away from any number of conservation areas and farms with recreational opportunities abound, unlike Mississauga and Oakville.

Milton truly is a place where city meets country — and that’s a unique and strong selling point, especially in the GTA. With controlled growth and a little extra attention to detail, Milton was in a position years ago to truly become the jewel of the GTA. Seriously.

And how are we doing?

So far, not great.

Okay, Milton’s expansion hasn’t gone horribly mind you (we’ll talk traffic at another time), but things could have been better.

In Milton's newest development, Hawthorne Village on the Escarpment, things are looking a little bland.

Zeeshan is right — situated against Ontario’s most prominent geographical feature, the Niagara Escarpment, Milton should absolutely be positioning itself as a special place to be — an ‘Escarpment Community’ as he has coined it. A community where, from a design point of view at least, a little bit of that rural touch is brought in to soften the hard visuals of wider roads and new subdivisions.

The new housing developments themselves aren’t too bad. Hawthorne Village in the town’s southeast corner, is a decent-looking community with a nice mix of different sized houses and some nice designs. Well-done Mattamy. If you drive around in the older areas of Hawthorne Village where the trees have had 7+ years to grow, the streets actually have quite a nice character to them.

HV’s signature intersection of Derry and Trudeau was also well-executed from an ‘Escarpment Community’ standpoint as Zeeshan pointed out, with a good-looking median lined with trees and flowers. Is it a coincidence that Mattamy has their main Milton office situated on this corner? Probably not.

At any rate, most of Hawthorne Village, from a housing standpoint, was decently thought out. As you head west however, it’s a different story, and again, the Z-man nailed it with his recent assessment that the urban design is indeed regressing as you head toward the escarpment.

The Derry/Holly intersection has a concrete median with hanging flower pots. Trees and planted flowers would have been better, yes, but there was at least some attempt at beautification. However, moving into Milton’s newest area of development, Hawthorne Village on the Escarpment, it leaves us not only wanting more, but also disappointed.

I remember when Mattamy and other new home builders announced their plans to develop the land to the west of the existing town — I assumed these new developments would be pricey and exclusive and of the highest standard of both design and quality, given their proximity to the escarpment.

I was wrong.

The Hawthorne Village on the Escarpment area south of Derry and west of the CN Rail tracks is simply sub-par given it’s proximity to and sightlines of the escarpment and even in comparison to Mattamy’s earlier work in the east of town.

I don’t mean to dump on Mattamy or HVE residents here — I don’t know design-wise how much of this is in the hands of the builders or whether it’s the town needing to simply demand more from land developers. At any rate, there are a ton of large, exclusive homes in this area, but they are simply ridiculously sandwiched together on narrow, congested streets — even by today’s development standards — that the overall ‘look’ is simply not up to snuff.

And comparing the major intersections — Scott and Derry for example, leaves a lot to be desired in comparison to Holly/Derry and Trudeau/Derry. Overall, the development looks rushed and not well thought out — very ‘anti-Escarpment Community’ — not good considering it’s unfortunately ironic placement.

You also need to look at the new shopping plazas in town. Not a pleasant sight for the most part. Very wide open, lots of concrete and again, you get the feeling there was zero thought put into the design here. The Metro Plaza at Thompson and Louis St. Laurent has ‘urban sprawl’ written all over it. The Superstore plaza beside the GO Station? Well, that’s simply too much of a disaster to go into at this point, as is the whole intersection of Thompson and Main Streets — let’s save that one for another day.

So what types of things does Milton need to consider — from an urban design point of view — moving forward?

I believe Milton needs to position itself right now as the ‘Escarpment Community’ where urban and rural living collide.

In future new development and infill projects, some care absolutely needs to be taken to try to beautify the town where possible and begin to try to set it apart from neighbouring cities.

Newly built major roads and intersections, especially those leading in and out of town absolutely should have medians that allow for trees, plants and flowers. Let’s not forget about pine trees or cedars as well which maintain their look throughout our long winters.

Speaking of major roads, let’s do our best to keep homes from facing onto major arteries like Derry Road, and where homes do face onto major roads, let’s allow for trees as a buffer. Forget about fences — an ‘Escarpment Community’ needs to incorporate nature and natural elements as much as possible.

And speaking of ‘buffer zones’, let’s work on our shopping plazas and business centers. If parking lots need to face out to roads, can trees be planted to hide the sea of concrete from view? What about trying to get some storefronts facing out towards the road instead of toward the inner parking lot? Wouldn’t it look so much better to drive along roads like Derry or Bronte and see storefronts, trees, sidewalks and benches instead of bland back entrances, garbage bins or parking lots? Can we not try to avoid unmitigated disasters like the townhomes on Kennedy Circle that have the arse-end of the Metro Plaza stores staring back at them in their living rooms? Of course we can.

Infill is critical as well. Here’s hoping this type of care and consideration is also taken when the design and planning of future projects in ‘Old Milton’ takes place in areas such as Main Street east of downtown. I think we can all agree that most of that area of Main St. — lined with industrial plazas — is hardly befitting of an ‘Escarpment Community.’ Ditto for most of Ontario St. and Steeles Ave. — both major arteries for visitors or passersby through Milton. If your impression of our town was based on the beautification or lack thereof along these routes, you probably wouldn’t be too anxious to move to Milton.

Granted, these areas aren’t likely to be transformed easily if at all, but any infill projects planned here in the future should take this into consideration. Even much of the industrial area along Steeles could be softened if trees could be added to the sides of the road.

Honestly, I think the formula is pretty simple. Urban sprawl such as what Milton has experienced over the past decade, seems to be synonymous with open, bland spaces and lots of concrete. If nothing else, the thought process from now on should be: when in doubt — trees, trees and more trees. Oh, and plants and flowers too.

You get the point. Milton has a lot to be proud of — it’s geographical location included. I think it’s time that the town seriously considers trying to capture a sense of that as it continues to grow. This isn’t about property values, it’s about pride. It’s about making Milton a special place to be. Milton should (and still could) be the jewel of the GTA.

The disturbing thing for me, is the fact that the town was essentially a blank canvas a decade ago. As Zeeshan has pointed out, no one bothered to look at the mistakes made by other Municipalities like Mississauga, Oakville or Brampton in their years of aggressive development — or even the successes for that matter (speaking specifically of Mississauga’s policy of infrastructure before population growth). And now, here we sit feeling the brunt of some of the decisions made years ago with little thought given to any sort of vision for Milton’s future.

Who’s to blame? I’m sure you could come up with a laundry list of people, politicians and organizations, but at this point I think it’s best to look to the future.

Milton’s rapid expansion has still only barely begun and there is still plenty of time to right some of the previous wrongs with regard to urban planning and design — as well as continue to improve older areas via sensible infill strategies.

I’ve been saying it for years: this is a pivotal time in the history of this town. Don’t be afraid to voice your opinions, concerns and support for the candidates you think can help achieve the vision you have for Milton.

That’s right, this is yet another call for voter turnout in this Fall’s Municipal election. It’s time for us to get actively involved in shaping Milton.

Should Milton be satisfied with simply becoming another generic GTA suburb, or do we take steps to make our town a special, desirable place that is unique and stands out?

I knew you’d agree with me. The time is now.

—

Milton Urban Planning Fails is a regular feature on MiltonSearch.com.

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Posted in Environment, GTA, Hawthorne Village, Milton Development, Milton: The Bad, Politics, Real Estate

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Town hall revamp reinvents past for Milton’s future

March 26th, 2010
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The atrium of the recently opened addition to Milton Town Hall. The expansion gets an A+ in Christopher Humes opinion. (Photo Courtsey of Ventin Associates)

The atrium of the recently opened addition to Milton Town Hall. The expansion gets an A+ in Christopher Hume's opinion. (Photo Courtsey of Ventin Associates)

In today’s Toronto Star, Urban Issues and Architecture writer Christopher Hume wrote a piece on Milton’s new Town Hall expansion.

And get this: shockingly, there was nary a mention of the famous (or now infamous) million dollar glass wall.

It was a glowing review of the new expansion, actually.  Hume focuses on the positive, quoting architect Carlos Ventin on the materials used and inspiration of the design.

Yes, the glass wall has had it’s share of criticisms — most of them quite valid, but you have to admit the expansion overall is stunning. The best part is that it doesn’t look out of place in the surrounding neighbourhood with it’s old ‘castle-like’ exterior meshing with the modern, Escarpment-inspired extension. It’s full of character — Hume points out the fact that it’s made up of a series of smaller spaces avoiding that ‘cavernous’ feel — unlike many of the boring and bland civic buildings you see in other communities.

I’m sure the design will stand the test of time. It’s good to see Milton get some cultural kudos on this one — not only for those involved in the project, but also for the rest of us living in Canada’s fastest-growing town, often criticized for it’s out-of-control urban sprawl.

Here is Mr. Hume’s article:

1800s castle-like jail and courthouse transformed into hub of suburban community

If it’s true a community reveals itself in its city hall, Milton must be one of the most enlightened corners of the GTA.

Given that this town of 80,000, like so many others across southern Ontario, has been buried alive in sprawl, the facts of its civic precinct are all the more remarkable. Combining old and new, heritage and modernity, Milton Town Hall presents an ideal architectural image of the successful small city. It is a complex that imparts a clear sense of its origins, acknowledges the past and anticipates the future, no mean feat at a time when drive-through culture has all but obliterated any attachment people feel to place. In the endless homogeneity of suburbia, this stands out.

The story goes back to the early 1980s when Milton bought a mid-19th-century courthouse from Halton Region for $1. The building was abandoned and falling apart, but eminently worth saving. With its battlements and thick limestone walls, it resembled a castle more than anything. Considering its role as a seat of justice, that obviously seemed the right way to go. Today, courthouses are little more than judicial warehouses with waiting rooms attached, but in the 1850s, the local courthouse was a potent symbol that the Canadian promise of “peace, order and good government” had been delivered.

Milton would eventually hire restoration architect Carlos Ventin to renovate and adapt the building to its new use. His intervention was sympathetic and respectful, yet sensible, practical and appropriate. Council meets in converted second-floor courtroom, and office space was carved out of the rest of the building.

“The building was a mess,” Ventin explains. “I didn’t think Milton Council would have the fortitude to go ahead with this project. Everyone running against the restoration of this building was defeated in the election that year. From then on, it was pretty easy. I had full backing of council. The building was in such terrible shape, we had to do it in two stages. First, we had to stabilize the building and prepare it for restoration.

“I always try to incorporate exterior of building with interior. For example, I created an atrium that joined the new and the old. It’s a conversation between old and new. The building wants to be the heart of the community. Milton needed something flexible. From the day I started I asked myself how would I like to spend eight hours a day in this building. The biggest compliment is when people tell me they love to work in the building. I always tell my client you can’t recreate yesterday’s stage for today’s play.”

Ventin even managed to incorporate the jail and the prison yard that were added to the courthouse in the 1870s. Indeed, the latter serves as an exquisite walled garden whose environs are well protected from the world beyond.

But in the decades since the original building was refurbished, Milton’s population has nearly tripled and the restored town hall was no longer big enough. The town decided to expand to the south, on the site of what had been a parking lot.

In an unusual move, the design for the addition was also given to Ventin’s firm. Though his practice isn’t known for doing new architecture, it handled the job with amazing grace. The structure begins where the old one left off, literally and aesthetically. In other words, the addition continues the material palette of the courthouse but brings it into the 21st century. Though the language is thoroughly modern, the new wing feels right at home next to its aged neighbour. The big difference between the two may be the amount of glass, which means a degree of light and transparency not expected from either a courthouse or prison.

“The three natural elements we wanted to incorporate,” says Ventin’s colleague, architect Paul Sapounzi, “were the Niagara Escarpment, Sixteen Mile Creek and the woods.”

The first comes in the form of the limestone, quarried from the escarpment. The creek is represented by a water feature that runs through the site and into the building. The woods can be seen in the finishes.

As the public face of the civic complex, the expansion is where residents conduct their business and where city staff of 200 has its offices. Arranged around a large light-filled atrium, the interior space flows easily and effortlessly.

The smartest move, perhaps, was to design the addition as a series of smaller elements, rather than one enormous structure. Keep in mind that the town hall is located in a residential neighbourhood, historic and low-rise. Sitting across the road from Victoria Park, the building takes on the appearance of a pavilion, light, airy and decorative,

The town hall is an important reminder that the future of Ontario’s small towns does not require the destruction of the past. Indeed, history gives so many of these communities their appeal as well as their identity. When everything looks and feels the same, it makes no difference where you are. But as Milton reminds us, not all towns are born equal. And not all die equal.

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Halton looking to protect 36% of its developable land

December 17th, 2009
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Burlington farmer James Fisher says a natural heritage designation will inevitably put agricultural interests behind environmental concerns.

Burlington farmer James Fisher says a natural heritage designation will inevitably put agricultural interests behind environmental concerns.

Kudos to Halton Region, which is finally looking to limit development after a huge amount of some of Ontario’s finest farmland has already been or is planned to be developed on.

This will be interesting to watch as the situation pits green politicians vs. rural politicians supporting farmers vs. farmers who want to sell their land to developers vs. farmers who want to preserve Halton’s rich farmland.

You may also want to read two other articles posted previously on MiltonSearch.com: Strawberry Fields (not) Forever and A Farewell to Farms.

Below is an overview of Halton Region and its land designations. Click the image for an enlarged, interactive version.

Here is this latest column in it’s entirety from the Toronto Star:

Where Homes Don’t Grow

Halton’s radical plan to limit development pits red-taped farmers against green politicians

Outspoken Oakville councillor Allan Elgar has a name for the practice of building a sprawling subdivision on prime farmland: He calls it “the final crop.”

That’s why the farmboy-turned-environmentalist is backing Halton Region’s groundbreaking proposal to set its own protections on an extensive natural heritage system. The plan would preserve a whopping 36 per cent of the region’s developable land, set up an integrated network of preserved areas, and drastically curtail where houses can be planted some day.

The land included is neither part of the protected greenbelt and Niagara Escarpment nor under consideration for development.

But the move is pitting green-minded politicians in Oakville and Burlington against those in Halton Hills and Milton, who are more responsive to concerns raised by farmers and development interests and have opposed it. A final vote is slated for Dec. 16.

Supporters make no bones about the fact the plan will thwart speculators who have bought, or arranged to buy, vast hectares of prime agricultural land in Halton, and the farmers who want to sell it.

Caught in the crossfire, however, are farmers who don’t want to sell but are deeply concerned that the new designation will add another layer of regulation that bodes ill for farming in the long run.

It is, contends James Fisher, all about how words are interpreted.

“The actual designation has negative impact,” said Fisher, one of several farmers who spoke to Halton regional council this week. “It’s not that we are against the natural heritage system. We want an alternative that respects agriculture.”

They fear that replacing the current agricultural zoning with the term “natural heritage” will inevitably put farming interests behind environmental concerns, despite repeated assurances that farming will always be allowed.

Farmers want, at a minimum, to see the natural heritage system designated as preserving both environmental features and agriculture.

Whatever the final wording, Elgar and most of the Halton councillors seem ready to approve the creation of a vast “systems-based” network of natural heritage corridors to connect environmentally sensitive areas such as river valleys, woodlots and wetlands.

It would end the old practice of protecting only isolated pockets, which tend to degrade over time if there are no corridors ensuring that wildlife can move freely.

The proposal may be more radical than the provincial greenbelt legislation because it bans golf courses anywhere on the system, whereas the province just blocks golf courses from prime agricultural land.

“If we get this, we will be the first region in the Greater Toronto Area with a systems-based approach on a regional basis,” said Elgar, describing the preservation plan as simply an extra layer of protection.

“It is a no-touch zone … There is concern that there is a lot of farming land bought by the development industry, with the hope in future of flipping it to plant houses.”

The plan would not only make protected areas off-limits but also make anything built within 120 metres of a natural heritage feature or corridor subject to an environmental impact assessment – a proposition feared both by developers and farmers who want to make improvements to their property.

While other GTA municipalities are also doing more long-range development planning now, Halton’s scheme is the most ambitious.

In the face of similar opposition, Peel Region politicians recently deferred a decision on their own plan, which targets mostly farmland in Brampton and Caledon. Peel’s plan is less stringent than Halton’s – it has been slammed by the Sierra Club for example, for allowing golf courses to be built in the valley lands of its waterways.

Halton politicians could take courage from an Ontario Municipal Board ruling last year that approved Oakville’s controversial decision to protect 900 hectares on its own initiative. The preservation area – won after a decade-long tussle with the development industry – represents more than one-third of the 3,400 hectares of undeveloped land north of Dundas St. W.

The OMB ruling was a major victory for the likes of Elgar, Oakville Mayor Rob Burton and members of the environmental group Oakvillegreen, who had fought to preserve green space in north Oakville while making room for an eventual population of more than 50,000.

The ruling also emboldened them and other Halton Region politicians to go after developers for thousands of dollars in extra development charges on each home sold – significantly higher than other regions – under the mantra that “growth must pay for itself” and municipal government doesn’t exist to subsidize developer profits.

Halton Hills Councillor Clark Sommerville says the intention behind the natural heritage system proposal is good – and driven by urban councillors from Oakville and Burlington who are trying to make amends for the fact their communities were largely built out before such protections existed.

But he thinks it’s “overkill.”

No matter how well-intentioned, overregulation “will be the death knell of farming,” Somerville said – not development.

“The biggest thing we are trying to protect is the non-urban rural land from development, but the way it’s being written it almost appears that agriculture is the threat,” he said.

Still, environmentalists such as Liz Benneian of Oakvillegreen say the new rules will ensure protection for farmers. Her only concern is that a provision in the original plan – superimposing the natural heritage system on Greenbelt areas as a second layer of protection against a future change of heart by the province – has since been removed.

“We believe this is a forward-thinking plan from planners and politicians,” Benneian said. “A gift to our grandchildren.”

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A farewell to farms

November 16th, 2007

From the Toronto Star:

Bert Andrews of Andrews' Scenic Acres in Milton believes Ontario agriculture is in big trouble

After 27 seasons, Andrews' Scenic Acre, on the outskirts of Milton, is going the way most farms in the area have gone -- out of business.

When even a relatively successful operator has had it, you know Ontario agriculture is in big trouble

There’s something new growing in Bert Andrews’ field, in front of the patch of long-wilted rhubarb and the wispy, overgrown asparagus.

“For Sale/Lease, By Owner” reads the giant white sign, “Growing Farm Business, Winery and Farm Property. ”

After 27 seasons, Andrews’ Scenic Acre, on the outskirts of Milton, is going the way most farms in the area have gone — out of business.

Not because it hasn’t been profitable — this past season has been Andrews’ best to date. But he had open-heart surgery last year, and none of his children wants to take over the operation.

“I’m 64 years old — I want my Sundays off,” Andrews says on a warm fall afternoon, looking out at his fields and the russet-coloured Niagara Escarpment in the distance. The heads of his towering Russian sunflowers have long turned black and now curl downward. The last of his pumpkins have been sold. And the haystack, which visiting schoolchildren jumped on until last week, will soon be dismantled — perhaps for the last time.

It’s the end of an era, not just for Andrews, but also for agriculture in the Toronto area.This is the best farmland in the country. But we’re quickly paving it over. The Greater Toronto Area — including Durham, Halton, Peel and York regions — lost 16 per cent of its farms between 1996 and 2001. Since then, another five per cent have disappeared.

There’s a sign nailed beside the door of Andrews’ barn that reads: “Farmers Feed Cities.” It should say: “Cities Eat Farms.”

Up to 80 per cent of the produce we buy travels thousands of kilometres by truck or plane. Even apples — which are quintessentially Ontarian and can keep in cold storage for months — travel 5,900 kilometres on average to get to us, according to a recent Region of Waterloo Health study.

Contrary to what one might think given how much of our food is imported, Canadians spend less of their disposable income on nourishment — about 10 per cent on food and non-alcoholic beverages, according to the OECD — than residents of most other developed countries. A related fact: domestic farmers make less than half of what Toronto garbage collectors earn. (The average farm earns less than $25,000 a year before expenses, according to the latest census report.)

The profession’s self-esteem is in the gutter. As Andrews regularly points out, Ontario agriculture minister was once a plum posting. Now, it’s an afterthought, rarely noted in reports about cabinet shuffles, because it’s no longer considered a powerful portfolio, even though it’s the only ministry that touches all of us many times daily.

Faced with a future of long hours, little respect and less pay, is it surprising that young farmers are leaving the land in droves?

Despite the growing local food movement, most farmers and food policy wonks agree: the future of Ontario farming is bleak. Most predict it will take a horrific event like 9/11 to wake us up to the dangers of relying entirely on foreign food.

“I have a three-month-old granddaughter, and I don’t want her to be hungry in her lifetime,” says Mike Shook, program manager with FarmStart, a Guelph-area non-profit aiming to get more farmers on the land. “If we keep in the direction we are, I fear she will be.”

Many urge the government to take action before it’s too late. The Greenbelt — which protects 720,000 hectares of land circling Toronto from development — is a start, they say. But protecting land is one thing; ensuring that food grows on it is another. Horse farms are the second fastest-growing agricultural category in the Toronto area, after cash crops like winter wheat, according to the last census.

“We need a master plan,” says Andrews.

He remains among the small minority of optimists. How else would he have survived almost three decades of farming near Milton, the fastest growing municipality in the country, as subdivisions and golf ranges replaced the fields he once ploughed?

The ultimate proof: he hopes to sell his property to a farmer.

“There are people who think I don’t have a hope in hell,” he chuckles. “But I’ve been hearing that all my life.”

To an outsider, Andrews’ Scenic Acres seems one of the most successful farms around. The 39-hectare property bursts with blackberries, pumpkins, strawberries … as well as 17,000 bottles of fruit wine a year. Andrews runs a bustling market out of one of his barns and sends his produce out to eight farmers’ markets every week.

More than 15,000 school children tour his farm each summer. And far more than that come out, mostly on weekends, to pet his goats and ride a tractor out to the fields to pick their own food. One Sunday this fall, a record 3,300 people swarmed the farm to pick pumpkins. For many city slickers, such “entertainment farms” have become their only connection to rural life.

No matter how successful and cherished Andrews’ Scenic Acres may be, is it realistic to think a farmer will buy it when speculators are scooping up property all around Andrews? Nearby farmland inside the Greenbelt is going for $20,000 an acre — a price most farmers could never afford. Farms like his that fall outside the Greenbelt border are running at $50,000 an acre. Which means only a Rosedale stockbroker would have the necessary cash.

That’s exactly who Andrews is banking on — “It would have to be somebody who had passion.”

Wayne Roberts, project co-ordinator for the Toronto Food Policy Council, has a different buyer in mind: the Ontario government. “That’s obvious to anyone concerned with the future of food security in Ontario,” he says. Not only would the province save the most productive land from being stripped of its topsoil and converted to homes and malls, but it could also boost aspiring farmers into the business by renting out small acreages to them at affordable prices — he calls them “farm condominiums.”

“Once land is changed from agriculture into something else,” he says, “it’s almost impossible to reclaim. If this farm goes, it’s not late — it’s too late.”

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Strawberry fields (not) forever

August 21st, 2007

From the Toronto Star:

Mexican labourers plant strawberries behind the tractor of Bert Andrews, whose farm is now the only one left growing them around Milton.

Mexican labourers plant strawberries behind the tractor of Bert Andrews, whose farm is now the only one left growing them around Milton.

Perilous exchange sees rich farmland around the GTA sprouting subdivisions

Bert Andrews sits atop his tractor in the middle of a chocolate milkshake field.

The earth below his giant wheels is grey-brown and frothy — so soft it crumbles like foam, so moist it doesn’t raise dust. It’s also teeming with nutrients.

Just perfect for strawberries.

“This is the nicest soil you can find,” Andrews says, looking over his shoulder at the row of Mexican labourers he’s towing behind him on a finger planter.

The planter looks like a rickety CNE ride. It has four metal seats separated by miniature wheels with funnel spokes. Each labourer sits behind a stack of young, tender strawberry plants, and when a spoke comes up, he slots a plant in. The wheel spins it down and – click – plants it in the ground with a little squirt of water.

Four other workers with shovels follow behind slowly, doing quality control — tucking in exposed roots; packing down earth.

“You missed one there,” Andrews says, pointing to a plant the size of one of his fingers on the ground. He’s spent $9,000 this year on strawberry plants alone. He wants to make sure they survive.

While the pumpkins he’ll plant next year draw bigger crowds, strawberries are his biggest seller.

Ontario strawberries burst onto the scene in late June. Four weeks of mouth-bursting sweetness reminds us briefly that strawberries — like everything grown from the earth — have a season, and that some things are worth waiting for.

When Andrews bought his farm just north of Milton almost 30 years ago, there were six other strawberry growers in the area. He’s the only one left.

Once a bustling farming hub, the area has become a distant suburb of Toronto. The farm equipment dealerships have all left. Brick mansions have replaced barns. And fields that once sprouted wheat and sweet corn are now golf fairways.

It’s a perilous exchange. The farmland around Toronto is among the best in the country. It’s ranked almost exclusively class one and two — making it ideal for everything from strawberries to sweet corn. But increasingly, we’re planting subdivisions on it.

The Greater Toronto area lost 16 per cent of its farms between 1996 and 2001. Since then, another 5 per cent have vanished.

Once lost, the farmland can’t be replaced. The ground elsewhere just isn’t as fertile, and the climate not as generous. One farmer who moved fewer than 20 kilometres from Burlington to Waterdown lost the moderating effect of the lake, and with it, two whole weeks of the growing season.

“We need to be aware what w’re giving up,” says Margaret Walton, a Muskoka planner specializing in Ontario agriculture. “We can build houses anywhere. Why do we all have to live on prime farmland?”

What makes the land around Toronto so good? When the glaciers receded 10,000 years ago, they left minerals essential for plants — magnesium, potassium, calcium, zinc. The resulting soil is a fine mix of sand, silt and clay, making it easy to manage. It clumps well, allowing roots to take hold, but not suffocating them after a rainfall. And it’s deep and relatively stone-free. “That’s the ideal,” says Ray McBride, a soil-science professor at the University of Guelph. “That’s why Toronto is where it is. Pioneers looked at the area and saw it had sandy, good soil, lots of water, and not a lot of snowfall.”

Even more important than the soil is the climate. We have more frost-free days here than almost anywhere else in the province.

Despite those advantages, we truck in as much as 80 per cent of our fruit and vegetables.

We could soon be trucking it all in.

Even in the heart of our strawberry season, Loblaws sells California imports cheaper than Andrews can at his own farm.

It’s an economy of scale. California boasts seven times Ontario’s strawberry fields — 14,000 hectares compared to 2,000. The state grows them all year round, which is why you can still find them in January.

The only advantage Ontario growers have is your mouth. “They’re picking (California strawberries) when they’re not ripe, so they’re not going to be as sweet,” says Andrews.

It’s sunny and warm — perfect for planting. Big fat clouds dot the sky. A train moans in the distance, and Porfirio Contreras Vazquez, one of his workers, is singing a love song. “Tengo mied.”

These plants won’t bear fruit until next summer, when they’ve matured and begun to fill in — sending out sprout-like runners, which root down into the earth, forming “daughter” plants. Those then will put out delicate white flowers next May, which, if pollinated by one of the bees Andrews rents from a local beekeeper, will form into berries.

Given enough water, no pests and winter protection, this tiny plant will grow more than 100 berries over the next three — maybe four — years, before Andrews ploughs it under to make way for winter wheat or sweet corn.

“They just get old and not productive — like a lot of things,” chuckles Andrews, 63.

Having finished planting the last row, the Mexicans head back to the farm for lunch. Andrews follows slowly behind them on his tractor.

Halfway up the field, something catches his eye. He leaps down, bounding like a fawn along the straw that separates the row of calf-high strawberry plants that he put down two summers ago.

There, at the top, in a cluster of neon-green berries, are two blood-red ones. “That’s what it’s all about,” Andrews says triumphantly. “All this effort, all this work, now we’re seeing, as they say, the fruit.”

The Last Straw: Did you know?

  • Strawberry farmers traditionally put straw between rows. Hence the name, although some historians peg it to how strawberries “strew” or spread through tendrils.
  • The straw is used for many things. In winter, , it is put on top of the plants to protect them. In summer, it becomes mulch, keeping down weeds, and also makes for softer picking on your knees.
  • As with apples, there are many varieties of strawberries. They vary in shape, size, colour and time of ripening. A farmer can extend the season by two weeks by growing Annapolis berries, which ripen first in June, midseason Miras, and late-blooming Cabots, which bear fruit at the end of June.
  • “Day-neutral” berries are becoming more common in Ontario. From California, they don’t depend on a certain amount of daylight to bloom, putting out berries through the summer and into the fall. Unlike local varieties, they are usually grown in raised beds, covered by plastic. Both techniques aim to keep the soil warm during the fall and spring.

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