Friday 21 December 2018



Hello Everyone:

Whitsend is preparing to move Lanark County.  We have purchased a property in the highlands, formerly the site of Blue Chicory Farm.














The farm comes with some of its bee colonies, bird roosts and a nesting hut; a cold cellar, and some recently constructed facilities that can be used as a nursery and secure space for produce storage and curing.   There is a mature asparagus bed and about two dozen rhubarb plants.












The farm also comes with a myriad of minor repairs and upgrades.  Most of its growing field has not been worked for a couple of years and so will need a season of cover crops (and if all goes well, a pair of pigs will be hired on to help out with this).















Most of the outbuildings will require some minor fixing and or preparing for use.  As the season progresses, structures at the Mansfield location will need to be dismantled and transported to the new farm, to be re-built there.













If any of you are interested in taking part in any of these projects, feel free to let me know.  We have all winter to plan and a full season to complete them.  No one will leave the farm empty handed. 















As for this season’s growing plans…I intend to use the Mansfield location to continue growing the produce this year as I have some beds that are well amended and ready to go for spring.



I estimate I can spend half of each week there tending a smaller quantity of crops.  Therefore, our production plans will have to contract significantly for a year. 










I have listed one possibility as to what our production plan may look like for next year, on the “Potential Plans for 2019” page (see the tab above).

I’ll have to generate some income this season, so I want to make sure that I can come up with a plan that is palatable for a few customers.  Your feedback will be essential.











We will be out at the farm later this month to meet with the farm sellers to go over a lot of the growing details that they have to share (maps of their beds and lists of their perennial plants), details such as last guaranteed date before ground freeze, overview of the new tractor, quirks that the very old barn may have, etc…





In the meantime, I look forward to hearing from you,





Have a very safe and satisfying holiday and all the best for 2019.


Bob and Julia