Events & Workshops
Annual Fruit Tasting Open House - 2021
Oct 14 update: the forecast looks a bit rainy and windy! Rubber boots/umbrellas/rain coat advised. We will be parking mainly behind the barn - come in the main driveway (with the green tree sign) and we will direct you from there.
Note: this is a free event, but please consider supporting our hard working vendors. Please also consider the extra strain the pandemic puts on us all, and have patience while we safely muddle through this event!
Have you ever wished to sample some of our interesting varieties before buying a tree? Stop in during our annual fruit tasting open house! You can sample various apples and pears and take a self-guided tour of our holistically-managed test orchard.
Covid-19 Protocol:
I will borrow this phrase from our irrigation suppliers' recent catalogue intro: be calm yet vigilant, fearless yet respectful, strong yet soft-hearted, immoveable yet flexible. We make a difference to those around us. While anyone is welcome to attend this event, everyone is required to be respectful.
- Proof of vaccination is not required, as the event is completely outside
- Masks are required if you are closer than 2m to anyone outside of your household
- Signing in for contact tracing is required
- The tasting layout will change significantly from previous years, please see below:
The Tasting: this year, the tasting will be held in and around the sales area as in past years, but this year we will have the white hoop house set up for you to get your samples, then take them to the seating area to enjoy there. Masks should be worn inside the hoop house. At the entrance of the hoop house, wait for a staff member to serve you. Staff will take you one-on-one into the hoop house, where you will get a paper plate and a marker, and the staff member will cut slices of the desired fruits onto your plate and marking the variety, whereby you exit the hoop house and enjoy your samples outside in the seating area. No more than 5 folks + 5 staff helpers are allowed in at a time (10 people total). This may create quite a bottleneck, so please do not ask questions inside the hoop house, be decisive, and have your desired cultivars to taste in mind. I (Steph) will be hanging around the seating area and can answer any questions :)
Making Cider: We'll be doing cider demos throughout the day, approximately every half hour. This is an interactive activity, with children (and adults!) helping toss fruit in or turn the crank. All helpers must sanitize their hands first.
Self-Guided Tour: This hasn't changed much, though since we pastured the pigs through the orchard recently, the ground is considerably less even; stick to the main driveway in the orchard for smoother walking.
Other Vendors: The following vendors will have some wonderful goodies to buy!
- Huckleberry Hives (honey and candles made by my sister)
- Lynn River Farm (charcuterie boxes and baked goods with local, organic emphasis)
- Momma Bear's Quilts (quilts and quilted things made by my Momma)
- Wayne and Rosanna's succulents and eggs (grown/raised here)
- Tim's Veggies (organically grown here at the nursery: beets, squash, potatoes, pumpkins, etc)
- and of course, us, Silver Creek Nursery; we'll have a shared booth with Lynn River Farm's foods and Wayne and Rosanna's goodies.
Guelph Organic Conference
Stay tuned for 2022 dates!
The Guelph Organic Conference gets better and better each year! Visit us at trade show booth #87 on the basement level. There is no admission charge to attend the trade show and it is open to the public.
Hamilton Seedy Saturday
Stay tuned for 2022 dates!
Stop by the Silver Creek booth to buy trees, orchard supplies, or ask questions. There will be lots of other interesting vendors at Seedy Saturday, as well as free gardening workshops, children's activities, gardening book exchange, and seed swap.
Milton Seedy Saturday
Stay tuned for 2022 dates!
Stop by the Silver Creek booth to buy trees, orchard supplies, or ask questions. There will be lots of other interesting vendors at Seedy Saturday, as well as free gardening workshops, children's activities, gardening book exchange, and seed swap.
Haldimand Seedy Saturday
Stay tuned for 2022 dates!
Stop by the Silver Creek booth to buy trees, orchard supplies, or ask questions. There will be lots of other interesting vendors at Seedy Saturday, as well as gardening workshops and a raffle. Cancelled due to COVID-19 - join us here next year!
Holistic Spray Mini-Workshop
Saturday, April 17th, 2021 at the nursery, 8:00-9:00 am
Ever wondered about the mysterious 'Holistic Spray' we mention? Learn all about it in this workshop. Join us bright and early to discuss spraying, the ingredients in a holistic spray, when and where, and most importantly, why! We will show you our set up and offer advice to make your own spray, for your own localized pest and disease pressures. Contact us for more information!
Apple Grafting Workshop
Sunday, May 2, 2021 at the nursery, 1:00-4:00pm
AND
Monday, May 3, 2021 at the nursery, 1:00-4:00 pm
Due to a higher demand, we are running two workshops this year! This is a hands-on workshop where you will learn to graft and take home 5 apple trees at the end of the day. For pricing or to sign up, contact us and we'll send you a registration form.