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CropSil® is a silicon-based plant nutrient in a Monosilicic Acid form that acts as a bioregulator in the dynamics of plant cell growth, metabolism, and enzyme production. Extensive scientific research and field trials have proven Monosilicic Acid strengthens plants cell walls, increases vigor and improves resistance to stress, resulting in better rooting and crop quality. It interacts positively with other nutrients like macro and micro-nutrients and trace elements enhancing their agronomic performance and efficiency. It also enhances plant processes such as hydration and chlorophyl production.

CropSil as a plant process enhancer gives your plant more of what it’s looking for!

CropSil® works as a transport agent bringing nutrients from the root zone to the rest of the plant.

CropSil® also increases uptake of available CO2 and H2O enhancing the metabolism of plant nutrients.

• Optimizes input performance such as fertilizers and biostimulants
• Increases bio-mass of plant’s branch, stem and roots
• Improved ripening, higher brix and nutritional value with a longer shelf-life
• 100% biologically available and highly beneficial to all plants
• Easy to use as a foliar spray or irrigation additive
• Can be mixed with chemical, biostimulants, fertilizers and micro-nutrients
• Suitable for seedlings with starter, sapling transplanting treatments

CropSil® is stabilized silicic acid used to supercharge your spray medium. By adding a small amount of CropSil® to your water, you can improve the performance of watering and foliar spraying your crops. CropSil® also optimizes all other inputs in a tank mix allowing for a reduction in the usage of chemical inputs. With a super charged solution, plants build stronger cell walls, larger more erect leaves with increased chlorophyll production and increased root mass that will optimize the improved uptake of nutrients, leading to more natural vigor and an increased resistance to stress. Therefore, the need for copious amounts of fertility and protective chemical inputs that also damage and toxify our soils is greatly reduced. Thus, enabling plants and crops to grow in a more natural way to produce healthier, productive and sustainable outcomes.

Bio-available mono-silicic acid Si(OH)4 the only form of silicon (Si) utilized by plants

Silicon is the second most abundant element on earth and can be found in all soil. The belief is that plants are unable to use silicon in its most common form and are still able to grow to maturity without the use of silicon (Si). Silicon is not considered to be essential to a plant’s growth and is not recognized as a primary nutrient for plants like NPK. However, the truth is that silicon does play very important roles in the growth cycle of all plants (vigor, production, stress resistance, etc.) as is being researched and discovered by academia. Studies have shown that silicon has a positive influence on uptake and vascular transport of micro-nutrients as well as improving the mechanical strength (structure) of the plant. Helping plants to resist stress and improve growth. Natural weathering process turns a very small portion of silicon into plant available silicon (PAS), known as Monosilicic Acid (MSA) or Orthosilicic Acid (OSA) the only form of silicon utilized by plants. However, silicic acid is very unstable and in a soil environment rapidly binds to itself (polymerizes), quickly becoming once again unavailable to plants and leading to silicon deficiency and plant stress. What research has shown is when stablized into a mono-silicic acid form and introduced to plants it can have very profound affects on many plant processes. In particular cell growth, nutrient transportation, hydration and chlorophyl production.

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The first in-depth guide for farmers and gardeners who have access to an established woodland and are looking for productive, innovative ways to create a natural forest ecosystems that produces a wide range of food, medicinals, and other non-timber products.

Farming the Woods covers in detail:

• How to cultivate, harvest, and market high-value non-timber forest crops
• Comprehensive information on historical perspectives of forest farming
• How to mimic the forest in a changing climate
• Cultivation of medicinal crops
• How to create a forest nursery
• Harvesting and utilizing wood products
• The role of animals in the forest farm
• How to design and manage your forest farm once it’s set up

FELCO 2 (Right-handed) - Flagship pruning shears/secateurs is easy to understand when you experience their smooth cutting action for the first time.

The ergonomic form and contoured finger grips of the FELCO 2 immediately provide a safe, comfortable and reassuring feel. This is underlined by the robust, reinforced anvil blade - which is directly riveted onto the one-piece aluminum handle - ensuring the FELCO 2 is strong enough to tackle heavy-duty pruning.

Rubber shock absorbers protect against wrist strain while rubber handles provide comfort. The micro-metric setting mechanism allows easy adjustment of the cutting head precisely to your own requirements, while maintaining the trademark clean FELCO cut. The FELCO 2 is the best quality universal cutting and pruning tool for anyone who enjoys the sense of satisfaction that comes from a job well done. 

Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts is a one-stop compendium of the most productive, edible fruit-and nut-bearing crops that push the boundaries of what can survive winters in cold-temperate growing regions. While most nurseries and guidebooks feature plants that are riddled with pest problems, veteran growers and founders of the Hortus Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano, focus on both common and unfamiliar fruits that have few, if any, pest or disease problems and an overall higher level of resilience.

Inside Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts you’ll find:

•   Taste profiles for all fifty hardy fruits and nuts, with notes on harvesting and uses
•   Plant descriptions and natural histories
•   Recommended cultivars, both new and classic
•   Propagation methods for increasing plants
•   Nut profiles including almonds, chestnuts, walnuts, and pecans
•   Fertilization needs and soil/site requirements
•   And much more!

Jammy & delicious for slathering onto warm toast, sweetening smoothies, drizzling over pancakes, and all the other yummy uses you can think of! 

Aronia berries offer up a plethora of health benefits including fiber, vitamin C, and powerful antioxidants. Fresh raw Aronia berries are quite tannic and have a mouth-drying effect, but that didn't transfer to this creamed honey and it has a yummy jammy flavour.

Note: labels say 300g in photo, actual weight of honey is 350g (label to be updated in future!)

Trees are our allies in healing the world. Partnering with trees allows us to build soil, enhance biodiversity, increase wildlife populations, grow food and medicine, and pull carbon out of the atmosphere, sequestering it in the soil.

Trees of Power explains how we can work with these arboreal allies, specifically focusing on propagation, planting, and individual species. Author Akiva Silver is an enthusiastic tree grower with years of experience running his own commercial nursery. In this book he clearly explains the most important concepts necessary for success with perennial woody plants.

Mesto - 3558  - 18L Backpack Sprayer with Added Adjustable Nozzle 

User-friendly backpack sprayer for professional use with internal piston pump for the highest level of user protection, offering the best wearing comfort due to padded S-shape straps as well as hip belt, pump lever that can be changed right/left, pump lever length and width adjustment, extra large filler opening, cover with loss protection and integrated measuring cups, ergonomic shut-off valve with integrated pressure gauge and filter, 50 cm brass spray wand with brass nozzle, 18 l fill capacity, FPM seals, made in Germany, guaranteed 20-year availability of MESTO spare parts.

Ideal for: Professional garden centers, care for gardens with large trees, forestry, care for espalier trees. The added adjustable nozzle is so you can get to the top of your semi-dwarf trees - tested by Silver Creek Nursery!

FELCO 512 - Budding & Grafting Knife

This honey is pure, unadulterated goodness from my hives. I (Jodi, the beekeeper) harvest honey with care each season when the bees have enough extra to share. Each season the local terroir influences the flavours captured in my jars of liquid gold, although often there are similar flowers and farmers crops, such as alfalfa, clovers, sunflowers, and more that the bees visit every year. 

This year I took a small harvest at the end of July and a final harvest at the end of August. The honey from the 2nd harvest had a small amount of basswood honey which I kept separate! Basswood honey has a unique flavour that can be described as waxy, buttery, metallic, and sometimes minty, depending on your palate. I find it to be a bit metallic with buttery/waxy notes that sometimes reminds me of buttery popcorn, and it's one of my absolute favourite Ontario honeys.

The rest of the season's harvest is a delicious summer blossom/wildflower honey. 

• I harvest my honey with a no-heat process. It is cold extracted and then I bottle it up before it has a chance to crystallize.
• When freshly harvested (usually late July or August) this honey is in its liquid state and will slowly crystallize over time. 
• Depending on the time of year ordered, it may come to you crystallized (my favourite as it's easier to scoop out!), partially crystallized, or liquid. You can always return honey to it's liquid state with a hot water bath, repeating and stirring to help dissolve crystals if needed. I used to re-heat jars to keep them liquid, but I'd rather sell pure raw honey and will only be doing it upon request. 
• Natural crystallization is sometimes fine-grained and can be quite similar to creamed honey, but without the manual labour (or machine) that is typically used to create creamed honey. 

Why does honey crystallize? Honey is made by the bees, who collect nectar from flowers. The nectar is naturally about 80% water and sugars, most of which are sucrose. The bees use their own special enzymes to break down the sucrose into fructose and glucose - the same types of sugars found in apples and other fruits and vegetables. This helps make honey a naturally healthy sweetener because our bodies recognize it quickly and both fructose and glucose are smaller sized molecules of sugar which our bodies can digest easily. But where does the crystallization come in? Right here: Glucose naturally prefers to form a crystalline structure, so over time it separates and builds itself into crystals within your jar of honey!

There is nothing wrong with honey that has gotten crystallized and it is perfectly safe to eat. However, if you prefer it liquid, you can gently heat your honey to cause the glucose' crystalline structure to dissolve back into a liquid state. Over-heating honey can destroy healthy enzymes, so it is recommended to heat no hotter than your hand can stand. My go-to method is to boil water in a kettle or saucepan, remove from heat, and place my jar into it. Allow to cool, stir and repeat if your jar is quite crystallized. 

Crafted with love and apple-y aplomb by Jodi at Huckleberry Hives! Jodi thought it would be fitting to honor this old apple in candle form so she made a mold using a real lady apple from Silver Creek Nursery!

• pure beeswax candle, colours created with candle dye
• candle size: 3.8cm wide by 2.5cm tall (1.5" x 1")
• approximate burn time 15 hours

🍎The Lady apple is synonymous with holidays and has a long history of use for decorating trees (ornaments or garlands) as well as use in wreath making.
🍎It is also known as Pomme d'Api - the oldest recognized apple variety under that name - originally documented during early Rome under Etruscan rule, around 700BC!!
🍎The first time it was called Lady was during the French Renaissance in 1628, and it became naturalized in America during the 1800's.

These candles can also be purchased with specialty greeting tags for teacher gifts, romantic gifts or wedding favours:

• "I'd apple-y be in your class forever."
• "You are the apple of my eye." 
• "I'd apple-y be yours forever."
• "Appley ever after."

Enjoy the warm glow of your very own bear, or the warm glow of gifting one to someone beary special to you!

• each bear comes with a tag that reads "You are beary special to me."
  
• pure beeswax; white polar bear is charcoal filtered beeswax, black and brown use candle dye
• 2.54cm wide by 6.35cm tall (1" x 2.5")
• approximate burn time 10 hours

In The Home-Scale Forest Garden, Baker shares what she learned as she became a forest gardener, providing a practical, in-depth guide to creating a beautiful, bountiful edible landscape at any scale—from a few dozen square feet to an acre or more.

Baker provides information on planning, planting, and maintaining a resilient forest garden ecosystem, including:

•   Using permaculture principles
•   Observing and mapping your space
•   Building planting beds, including hügelkultur mounds
•   Coping with saturated soil
•   Matching perennial edible plants to the right growing conditions
•   Grouping plants in diverse layers that attract and shelter beneficial insects and birds
•   Creating microclimates to increase the range of plants you can grow
•   Pruning, propagating, managing pests, and more
•   Expending less energy for greater reward

The Home-Scale Forest Garden is complete with descriptions of over 100 food-bearing and multifunctional plants for every layer of a forest garden: overstory and understory trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, groundcovers, vines, and mushrooms, too.

In Cider Planet, Claude Jolicoeur—a longtime, passionate cider maker and author of the international bestseller New Cider Maker’s Handbook—takes readers with him to the world’s greatest cider regions, providing an expertly guided tour laced with his deep understanding and appreciation for how this “Prince of Beverages” is made.

Inside Cider Planet you’ll find:

• Descriptions of global orchard practices

• Specific apple varieties used in different countries and regions

• Detailed histories of the world’s oldest ciderlands

• Profiles of different cider styles and rituals

• Tips and tricks from some of the most knowledgeable cider producers

Cider, long perceived as a European country drink, is now truly a worldwide culinary delight. Jolicoeur talks about new and emergent regions that have contributed to this growing appreciation, and how they are building upon the old traditions while creating their own new ones. 

For decades fruit growers have sprayed their trees with toxic chemicals in an attempt to control a range of insect and fungal pests. Yet it is possible to grow apples responsibly, by applying the intuitive knowledge of our great-grandparents with the fruits of modern scientific research and innovation.

Since The Apple Grower first appeared in 1998, orchardist Michael Phillips has continued his research with apples, which have been called "organic's final frontier." In this new edition of his widely acclaimed work, Phillips delves even deeper into the mysteries of growing good fruit with minimal inputs.

History: Harrow Diamond is one of the cold hardy peach varieties to come out of the Harrow Research and Development Center in Ontario. It was introduced in 1984.

Why We Grow It: This Canadian variety is one of the most cold hardy available and is one of the first to ripen in Ontario. The fruit is medium in size, mostly freestone but flesh does cling some to the pit, and of good flavour. Like Redhaven, it is non-browning, and it holds its shape well for canning or cooking.

History: Contender was developed at the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station and released in 1988. It is one of several peaches developed by the station with the goal of creating late-blooming varieties that are better able to avoid spring frosts

Why We Grow It: Contender is a good-quality cold hardy peach. It produces large, freestone peaches with a sweet flavour that are great for eating fresh off the tree. The fruit is firm and slow to brown, also making it an excellent option for canning and freezing.

Curious about grafting your own trees in the summer? We're happy to offer a grafting workshop focused on chip budding apple trees. While this workshop focuses on apple trees, these same skills can be used to graft other species of fruit trees as well!

Registration includes:

• 1 piece of apple budwood of your choice* and 1 EMLA 106 semi-dwarf rootstock - you will graft and take home one apple tree!
  
• 1 copy of Fruit Tree Grafting for Everyone (co-authored by Steph)
• Exclusive workshop-day discounts on fruit trees, tools, and orchard supplies

*We will be in touch closer to the workshop to let you know what apple varieties will be available for grafting.

Dates & Times:

• Part One: Zoom - Wednesday, August 12th from 7pm-9pm, online via Zoom
• Part Two: In-person – Thursday, August 13th from 6pm-8pm OR Friday, August 14th from 1pm-3pm in our orchard (weather permitting) or in our hoophouse at Silver Creek Nursery (2343 Gerber Rd, Wellesley, ON, N0B 2T0)
  • When signing up, please select the date you will be attending in-person
  • If weather permits we will be out in the orchard so please dress appropriately for the weather. If there is rain we will be in the hoophouse. The hoophouse is covered but please dress appropriately for the temperature. 

During the Zoom call, we will walk you through the theory and application of summer grafting including aftercare, and will answer any grafting questions you may have. On Thursday and Friday (note that participants pick which day to attend in-person) we will go over chip budding techniques in-person, give you a chance to try grafting out for yourself, and by the end of the workshop you'll have grafted your own apple tree to plant at home!

NOTE: Refreshments will be provided (bring your own drinking vessel). We will have some stools/chairs but bring your own if you prefer. 

FELCO 6 (Right-handed)

An excellent all-round choice, these compact, high-performance pruning shears / secateurs provide outstanding reach and cutting power. 

The FELCO 6 combines exceptional ergonomics with a comfort in use which enables the highest cut quality every time, regardless of your hand size. 

Every feature of the FELCO 6 contributes to their supreme comfort across the full range of pruning tasks. Pick them up and the compact, lightweight feel is combined the sturdy cutting power that comes from blades constructed from high quality hardened steel. 

The one piece forged aluminum handle only adds to their intrinsic robust functionality. The angled cutting head creates a natural extension of the hand for even greater ergonomic comfort, while rubber shock absorbers deliver a soft closing action that protects the wrist against strain. The micro-metric setting mechanism allows for easy adjustment of the cutting head for that scalpel-like precision which exemplifies every FELCO pruning tool and makes them so indispensable. 

• pure beeswax 
• 6.9cm wide by 8.9cm tall (2.75" x 3.5")
• approximate burn time 25 hours

The mold for these candles was made from a Bonne Louise de Jersey pear from one of Silver Creek Nursery's own trees! Each pear is rubbed with cinnamon to give a textured, realistic effect, and little leaf tags add the final touch. 

Jodi has created several punny tags that you can add to your pear candle, listed below.

• "Pearfect together."
• "We make a great pear."
• "Have a pearfect day!"

Unlike the mild heat of Sweet Heat honey, this small batch of Hot Hot Heat honey is a spicy heat that hits harder for the folks who have asked for something spicier! My customers at markets have described it as starting out mild, but building to a strong heat.  Keep in mind that their samples were given as a small amount on a toothpick, so a normal spoonful will have a significant spice level!

I dried and blended my own home-grown hot peppers with my raw honey. Peppers used include:

• two tiny Armageddon peppers (around 1.3 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU))
• lots of Lemon Drop peppers (15,000 - 30,000 SHU)
• lots of Sugar Rush Peach peppers (50,000 - 100,000 SHU)
• lots of Habanero peppers (150,000 - 325,000 SHU)
• some Hungarian Wax peppers (1,000 - 15,000 SHU)
• some Ancho (1,000 - 2,000 SHU)

Wade Muggleton has distilled 20 years of orchard know-how into this practical handbook to help you plan, plant, and manage your orchard, whatever your garden size or budget.

With his expert guidance you can have an orchard on any plot—garden, yard, allotment or smallholding—and both maximise your harvest and minimise your outlay. The book covers:

• Rootstocks and fruit varieties
• Planting plans
• Maintenance strategies
• Pruning
• Propagation
• Eco-friendly pest and disease management
• Harvesting
• Storing
• Preserving the harvest

Show off your appreciation for holistic gardening/agriculture and Silver Creek Nursery with this bandana! The pattern by Bentley Schieckoff features a variety of the fruits we grow, and our wonderful helpers including bees, worms, and birds! 

The bandanas were made in Canada and are a blend of 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton.

Exploring the science of symbiotic fungi in layman’s terms, holistic farmer Michael Phillips (author of The Holistic Orchard and The Apple Grower) sets the stage for practical applications for working with mycorrhizal fungi across the landscape. The real impetus behind no-till farming, gardening with mulches, cover cropping, digging with broadforks, shallow cultivation, forest-edge orcharding, and everything related to permaculture is to help the plants and fungi to prosper . . . which means we prosper as well.

Building soil structure and fertility that lasts for ages results only once we comprehend the nondisturbance principle. As the author says, “What a grower understands, a grower will do.” Mycorrhizal Planet abounds with insights into “fungal consciousness” and offers practical, regenerative techniques that are pertinent to gardeners, landscapers, orchardists, foresters, and farmers. Michael’s fungal acumen will resonate with everyone who is fascinated with the unseen workings of nature and concerned about maintaining and restoring the health of our soils, our climate, and the quality of life on Earth for generations to come.

Author and plant specialist Eric Toensmeier (Edible Forest Gardens) introduces gardeners to a world of little-known and wholly underappreciated plants. Perennial vegetables are perfect as part of an edible landscape plan or permaculture garden.

Profiling more than 100 species, illustrated with dozens of color photographs and illustrations, and filled with valuable growing tips, recipes, and resources, Perennial Vegetables is a groundbreaking and ground-healing book that will open the eyes of gardeners everywhere to the exciting world of edible perennials.

World-renowned expert Martin Crawford covers both common fruit bushes and lesser-known edible shrubs. He takes us on a journey into the world of exotic spice trees, shrubs with medicinal parts, and nitrogen fixing plants. All these can be grown in temperate climates, allowing us to diversify our diets and design beautiful, productive gardens while showing us how we can integrate agroforestry into our smallholdings and farms to create new income streams.

Martin Crawford's expertise has been a great resource for us and much of the information he has collected over the years has helped us to understand our own plants better.

History: Waneta is a hybrid of Japanese plums (Prunus salicina) and American plums (Prunus americana) developed at the South Dakota Experimental Station by NE Hansen and introduced in 1913. It was developed at a time when hybrid plums were more important as a commercial crop. It was named after a Yanktonai man who played a prominent role in the War of 1812 and later became chief. 

Why We Grow It: Waneta is a juicy and sweet clingstone plum with tart red skin. The flesh is a yellowish colour. The tree naturally stays a little smaller and has good crops, paired with decent cold hardiness.  

History: Toka is a hybrid of an American plum (Prunus americana) and a Japanese plum (Prunus salicina) that was created by Dr. N.E. Hansen who is known for his extensive career in developing cold hardy plant varieties. He developed Toka at the South Dakota Experiment Station and introduced it in 1911. It is unclear what 'Toka' translates to in English but 'toka' can mean 'etc/among other things' or 'river crossing' in Japanese

Why We Grow It: Toka is also known as Bubblegum plum due to its flavour and smell which bears an uncanny resemblance to bubblegum. These plums are incredibly aromatic, and will fill your kitchen with their perfumed scent as they sit out to ripen. The semi-clingstone fruit features deep red skin and bright yellow flesh that is firm but juicy. It is good for fresh eating or preserving. 

History: Shiro plums (translated from Japanese as 'white') were developed in California and introduced in 1899. They were bred by horticulturalist Luther Burbank who is renowned for his extensive experimentation with creating new plum varieties. Shiro plums are most commonly grown in the United States and Canada.

Why We Grow It: This early Japanese clingstone variety has yellow skin and flesh that is juicy and sweet. The fruit keeps longer than most plums, lasting two to four weeks, and the tree is known for its compact growth and heavy crops.