We have only a few shares remaining, and sales will end very soon.  If you are interested in purchasing a share of our harvests this season, contact me very soon.

$360.00 for a full share: 12-14 deliveries from June through November.  

$184.00 for a half share:10-12 deliveries from June through November.

Pay in advance and insulate your self from food price inflation!

 

Hello Everyone:

The field work is moving along very quickly.  Ten hour days are the norm and six day weeks are typical.  This is one of the two times a season that determine the success of the farm, and there is no end of little details to tend to while keeping an eye on the big picture.  

Here is another big picture item, one of two false orange shrubs that we have planted near the house to provide more early season pollen and nectar for our bees and the other pollinators.  

The past few weeks have seen numerous additions to the growing field.  

Beans, lettuce, squashes, tomatoes, arugula, turnip, radish, peppers, pac choi, and as of today, the first round of potatoes.  The weather has been ranging between chilly and chillier and so the row covers have come off, gone back on again, off again, back on.  Environment Canada had a bad week and I started to use the row covers to protect the crops on nights which looked like extra warmth was not required, but why lay awake at night wondering if the forecast was wrong by 3 degrees?

As  for the rain, I won't have much concern about our aquifer going dry this season, at least for the next month or two.

Nonetheless, the irrigation is ready for the inevitable dry portion of the season.  Each year, anther drip tape starts to leak and so needs replacing.

These are the first two weeks of lettuce harvests.  Like everything else, they are benefitting from the rain but seem to be growing a little slow due to lack of sunlight.  Water alone will not do the trick.

Also plenty of seeding happening.  The first two rounds of carrots germinated well.  Reviewing my notes from previous years, it became apparent that the timing of ash application to the soil is a significant factor.  As stated elsewhere in this blog, our muck soil is low in manganese, essential for seed germination.  It appears that the ash must be applied immediately before the seeding takes place for best results.  

Spinach has been a notoriously difficult crop to germinate here, this is one of our better results.  However, they too are growing slowly despite the favourably cool weather.  

The other amendment I have been using this season is fish emulsion, which I have used sparingly in the past (particularly as I was starting out).  

I',m now using a little more and earlier than I used to, and seeing some encouraging results.  These tomatoes received an application a couple of days after transplant and unlike previous years when they seemed to do nothing for about a month, these plants are already showing fresh growth.  

The tomatoes and peppers will receive another application of fish and ash in a couple of weeks, and one final time as fruit is staring to set.

With the steady flow of transplants out the door and the clock ticking for each seeding and transplant schedule, it is easy to forget that these will be tasty food in a few weeks.  I am especially curious about the Red Long of Tropea, an elongated onion type that I have neither grown nor eaten before. 

Seeding potatoes in our new sandy loam field.  Here, I have furrowed two trenches to place the seed tubers.  This reduces moisture evaporation and gives me a head start on hilling

Finished.  The tubers are in the ground and the new tape laid out.  The white Onaway potatoes are in, and the red French Fingerlings are next in line.  

I'll have to start looking for another seed potato supplier soon.  When I was at Ellenberger's to pick up the seed potatoes, Henry inquired if I was interested in becoming Ontario's only organic seed potato supplier, as his knees were starting to give him some difficulty.

I'm not surprised he might say this, as he is of an age that is a couple decades beyond what most folks would consider retiring at.

With Henry talking abut retirement, Dick part way there and Tom and Alaine already living full time at their cottage, I suppose that means I am part of the next generation of farmers.  It's a thought that really hits hard.

Nothing is straightforward in farming.  A day after I planted the fingerlings, I was working in this area and noticed something amiss - a couple of tubers dug out of the ground.  

Careful examination of the surroundings revealed the culprit - racoons.  

I have two sprays that will be useful getting these of the property.  One is a mix of herb oils such as oregano and sage, and also contains hot pepper.  I can apply this to cover crops and areas near the food crops to act as a deterrent.  The other is coyote urine.  Small animals leave quite quickly when they sense this.  

For the most part, racoons are not too big of a problem  for food crops (except for corn, which we don't grow).  However, they are a threat for the chickens and their ability to damage and or disturb.  I suspect they dug up my trench compost I put in the chard bed, though at the time I could not find any foot prints clear enough to determine the culprit.

Transplanting and seeding and bed preparation are not the only things that have to be done here.  Compost growing is also essential, and as I use grass clippings as the main feedstock, I have to do a lot of that right now.  Ideally, there should be no grass seed in the clippings and the bluegrass (which is by far the worst weed here) and bluegrass - the dominant grass in most places here - sets its seed early.  SO most of my compost generating has to be done in the busiest time of the year as well.

Another source of fertility are our use of cover crops.  These are some f this years lettuce beds.

Last year they were seeded with snap peas, but ths did not germinate; and in turn, with no peas in those beds, there was no benefit of a nitrogen fixing plant.  So this spring, I planted field peas and some oats to cover the ed (to keep is weed free) and feed the soil with nitrogen.    

Now that I am getting close to the time when lettuce transplants are moved in, I have cut down the cover crops.  The next step is to work it in to the soil and let it decay for a couple of weeks.  

Speaking of peas, the snow peas are coming along and look like they ight be ready in two or three  weeks.  

The beds need a bit of cleaning, and the paths definitely need a mow, but otherwise I am pleased.

The work does not end.  If these plants get too much taller, the trellising will be more difficult to manage, so the stakes will have to get pounded in this week-end.  

When the work does end, I often find a surprise on my walk up to the house.  In this case, Julia's "b" garden has been spruced up and some alyssum transplanted into the bed, along with a fresh application of mulch.  .  

These are more food sources for our pollinators.  

Closer inspection revealed some of my amaranth flower transplants had been added.  I wasn't sure where I was going to put those anyway, and there was no guarantee I would have the time to plant them.

First harvest anticipated for June 12.  If your mouth is watering over the good food I have been taking about; or if you want to support local food growers, or if you want to pay for food once and not worry about price increases, now is a good time to call.

Bob

  If you have received a flyer or read an advertisement, here is a quick pitch:

For our new post as of April 27th, scroll down...

-Purchase a share of the produce in advance.  

-12-14 harvests between mid June and late November 

-Customers in Ottawa & Perth have doorstep delivery; if you have received a flyer, you are in my delivery area

-Customers in Lanark/McDonalds Corners area pick up at the farm gate store.  A few complimentary items shall be available throughout the season to make your drive worth while

-Broad range of produce available according to season:  Beans and peas, lettuces and greens, potatoes and onions, tomatoes and peppers, carrots, rutabaga, celery, garlic... 

-Honey and pork available as additional purchase

-All farm products are grown using organic methods

-Excellent quality - I now have over 14 years experience 

-Shares cost $360.00 for the season, payable in two installments

-Half shares available for $184.00, 10-12 deliveries per season

-If crops are a little abundant, quantities are topped up at no extra charge

-If we have a particularly good growth of one or more crops, you may purchase extra amounts for putting food by (such as canning for tomatoes, storing carrots, etc.)  

Our share sales have crossed the  68 per cent mark.  If you are interested in a share of the farm produce, please call us soon.

Hello Everyone:

Spring is slowly starting to wake up the farm.  

The snowdrops are starting to poke out of the ground, and the bees are making their first forays, finding pollen from somewhere, presumably trees.  That's a promising sign for some white or at least very light gold honey.  

The chickens came out for their first afternoon walk.  At first, they spent a day or so just pecking about by the door, but as the temperature warmed, they started strolling down to the crab apple tree to peck away at fresh shoots of grass and whatever bugs are just starting to thaw out under the leaf litter.

THis photo is a couple of weeks old - the snow has all melted.  

Another sign of spring:  Onion, lettuce, celery, parsley and pepper seedlings are starting to spend days and some nights out in the harden-off shelter.  

Not soon enough, they are making space in the nursery for the tomatoes and second and third rounds of lettuce.  

I anticipate the onions being planted early next week, if not sooner.  If it is still a little cold, they can be protected with row covers.

Time for the compost to get the covers taken off so it can thaw out.  As soon as there is enough grass to mow, this windrow will get some fresh nitrogen from the grass clipping and be flipped over to allow oxygen into the pile.

Most of this compost will be for the autumn, but non-brassica leaf crops prefer to have the compost added during the year they are growing, so this windrow should be partially used by midsummer.

 wonder if any snakes will hatch here this year?  (See photo from a post about a year ago).

I was hoping to have hired someone to start work by April 15.  The grant process appears to be frozen (I assume until after the election).  To buy time, I have deployed the infrared transmitting mulch to suppress te grass growth.  

Another sign of the farm opening:  the outdoor tap is on and the water is being used.  

The first crop to be seeded is the snow peas.  

These beds have a south facing slope and so are prepared in very early April.  After the peas are sown and watered in, I use the row covers to keep the soil surface moist and retain warmth in the beds for the cooler nights.

Now out to the far end of the farm to check on the garlic.

The first up (as usual) are some of the porcelaines, particularly the Yugoslavian bulbs.  

It's always a bit of a breathtaking wait when the varieties emerge at different rates, as one wonders if the final emergence will be a typical (for us) 98-99 per cent) or something substantially less.  

All one can do at this point is wait and see.   

Too much work to do so I can't wait to watch the garlic.  Further up the field, where the soil changes from muck to sandy loam, there are the beds prepared for the first time last season.

First, the beds need to be aerated with the broad fork (as on the left bed in the photo).  

With sixteen parallel beds to do, it is most efficient to aerate all beds at once.  Why stop?  There are another eight beds up here that were not used last year and will be hosting half of the squash crop.  

With the broad forking finished, some amendments are applied to these beds.  All of these had compost applied last fall, as well as slightly decayed autumn leaves to add some organic matter to this relatively thin soil.  

I add some ash (a natural source of potassium and some micro-nutrients).  While checking my field seeds last week, I located a small amount of forgotten rock phosphate, just enough for two beds.  Two of these new beds are going to have peppers (hot pepper and jalapeno, as well as some green peppers), and the phosphate will do them well.

Eight of these beds are going to have carrots, they will be following the late season potatoes from last year.  As potatoes are good at scrounging nutrients, I'll give the carrot beds an additional nutrient boost with a cover crop of a few field peas (The carrots  want some nitrogen but not too much to give them small roots and lots of leaves), buckwheat (a phosphorus concentrator and weed suppressor) and oats (extra organic matter).  

These are broadcast onto the soil and then raked in.  A row cover protects the seeds from the crows and starlings.

To be continued...

Hello Everyone:

Believe it...spring is here.  At least in the nursery.  The temperature is averaging around 12 degrees; warmer when the sun is shining on the windows.

Here are the onions just starting to sprout in the seed tray.   (Great way to re-use bulk salad containers).  This is the second round of the onions.

The seed trays are re-purposed bulk salad containers that I have modified.

The growing medium is a custom mix of mine - 3 parts growing mix to one part enriched potting soil; from brands that are admissible under the organic standard..

Here are the first round of the green onions.  

The biggest challenge to starting seeds is a fungal infection called damping off, which attacks the base f the stem and causes the seedling to flop over and expire.

I use a small fan to keep air circulating, and a spray of organic camomile on the soil surface before planting the onions.

After reaching about 3-4 inches height, the onion sprouts are teased out of the seed tray soil, gathered into groups of four seedlings and planted together in cell packs.  

At transplant time, it is very easy to pull the clump of four seedlings from each cell and transfer them to the growing bed.  

This year, I am growing some amaranth flower seeds, for a coupe of reasons.  They make nice cut flowers for the dinner table (and unlike most flowers I have tried, easy to transport on delivery day), the ones I leave to seed are food for the finches, and they make an eye catching display at the fair.

Julia has started some flowers for the bees, including nicotiana, french marigolds and pincushion flowers.

Also planted, but not yet germinated, are the celery and parsley plants.  I expect to be seeing them in a week or so.

I step out of the nursery and face reality.  Not quite time to be thinking much about the fair, or transplanting.  

There are other details to see to.  

Applying for a grant to hire someone for the year, resumes to go through and interviews to conduct.  

And dealing with the unexpected.  This is a photograph of the bottom of my trailer.  I was driving to the lumber yard to pick up a supply of wood.  About 200 feet from the entrance of the yard, there was a loud bang and the trailer started slewing from side to side.  Turns out a bolt that seats the axle had sheared, and the assembly slid along the leaf spring.

 I spent eight hours disassembling my trailer and loading it onto a friends trailer to bring back to the house.  Next step is to find a autobody mechanic to determine if everything is still road worthy (except the bolts, I am replacing all of those) and put the entire trailer back together.  

Lesson learned:  Don't buy the cheapest trailer in it's size class!

Farming is a jack of all trades endeavour.  I figure the "gardening" part is abut 20 per cent of the work; the rest of it is trailers, shed building, sales and advertising, administrative work of all types and research.

So I am back to lots of that before the next post, when I will be starting the peppers.  Talk to you then...

I prefer to keep our farm apolitical, but I also believe it is essential to draw attention to acts of bullying, so that those with spines know when they need to stand up in opposition.  

"Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness." When McCarthy tried to continue his attack, Welch angrily interrupted, "Let us not assassinate this lad further, senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?" (my italics)

-The phrase that ended the McCarthy era. 

Hello Everyone:  A day of prepping for the storm is almost over - just need to thaw out the gas line on the snow thrower.

Cayley doesn't like the cold and snow, but tries to get out once a day to tag her sentry box by the door; sometimes venturing over to the firewood shed to have a sniff or two.

I'm not so lucky, I have to walk the perimeter to check the electric fence, fiddle with the tarp keeping snow out of the hay hutch, and essential tasks that gloves are too big and clumsy for that needs doing in minus 50 or whatever it is today...

At least the air is fresh and the scenery is fairly good.

About a fifth of the area between the two rows of pine trees is where the garlic bulbs are planted for next year.  

Snowdrops, iris', yellow and purple crocus' and scylla are other bulbs we have planted as early flowers for the bees in the spring, which is much closer than it seems.

A sign of spring:  The nursery is on, the temperature is still a low plus two average, but the heat is now on and the seed trays are starting to hydrate in preparation for starting the onions.

Another two LED grow lights are installed, as I phase out the old CFL bulbs.  

Installing the lights is a finicky task, but its a heck of a lot warmer (and less windy) than outdoor work.  

Just in time for valentines day - an unusual red chieftain potato.  I recall harvesting this back in the fall, and it wound up in the produce share for the house.  I came across it the other day and wondered what sort of romantic meal one could possibly make with this.

Our next post will show how our onion germinating is going.  

Update February 11th:  Subscription sales available now.

Lock in your produce prices for the season - Pay $360 for a share of 12-14 harvests between mid June and late November.

Half shares available for $184.

See "Join our CSA" page for details.

Space is limited, contact us soon...

Pork available:  

Fee range, organically grown and ethically raised heirloom Tamworth pigs.  

For a full list of available cuts and pricing, see our "Whitsend Pork" Page.

Produce available:  A limited amount of red cooking onions, cippolini onions, red potatoes, garlic and kabocha squash is still here for purchase.  Contact us soon if interested, by phone or email.

Please place orders 48 hours in advance - the produce is stored in our cold cellar, the farm store is too cold for storing produce.

CSA (Subscription) shares: These are available very soon.  If you are interested, contact me now as space is very limited.

For more details, see the "Join Our CSA" page.

Hello Everyone:  Welcome to 2025 - Our 15th year operating the farm, and our 5th year at the Lanark location.

I have improved my strategy for managing nutrients in the soil, set up my production plan, and ordered most of this years vegetable seeds.

I'll be seeding the onions in late February, with celery to follow soon after.

In the meantime, most of the work  is administrative or other aspects of farm planning:  Getting a payroll system set up and applying for grants to defray hiring costs; planning the construction of the new chicken shed, and pricing and ordering new irrigation materials for the new fields opened up at the east end of the farm are just some of the tasks to keep me busy during the "off season".    

Not all work here is administrative at this time of year.  There is also drudge work, such as cleaning outa all of the seed trays and transplant cells, and ensuring they are sterilized with a mild peroxide solution.  Dusting out the nursery, vacuuming heating coils and minor maintenance on the heaters and fans, and small details that always get left behind at the end of the year.

Outside, there is the usual electric  fence upkeep, and checking the snow for animal tracks to see who is getting in and what they are doing.  (Photos to follow soon).  At least one lesser weasel has returned, much to my delight.  At least, that is what these tracks appear to be.  Plenty of mice to feed on here...

I have updated the website:  Our 2025 crops page, pork, farm store, and 2024 review are mostly complete.

Update January 21:

The seeds have started to arrive.  Most season's, I like to try a couple of new varieties; either because they catch my eye, or they have a characteristic I want or a variety I usually get is sold out.  In some cases, it is simply a matter o curiosity, such as the "Red Beard" Green onions, and the Y38 seed potato suggested by our seed producer - an all red (inside and out) potato.  

Other new varieties for this year:   

I thought I would give a white onion a try, just on a whim.  

I was so pleased with how consistently prolific the orange picnic peppers grew, I decided to reduce their quantity by a third and try a red picnic pepper to go with them.

Late last year, I trialed mini flowering broccoli, and was impressed with the results.  I plan to grow this for all customers in early spring and late autumn.  

I have attempted brocoli in the past; for some reason the results at our old farm were disappointing.  

Brocoli requires a lot of bed space, with the recommended 18-24 inches spacing (on my farm that means approximately 25 - 30 plants per bed).  That's enough for 25 customers plus a few for the store, assuming every single plant performs at its best.  That will tie up the bed for 60 to 75 days, depending on which variety of broccoli I choose.

In our field rotation system, cabbage family (brassica) plants such as brocoli and root crops share the fourth year of the rotation.  That makes for a bit of a squeeze, so adding a new crop usually means that another will have to go.   I divide the space equally between roots and brassica, so if I plant brocoli then I will have to eliminate another brassica family crop from the selection.  Kale provides two harvests per 25 foot bed (minimum), so I am  keeping that.   

Pac choi, radish, arugula and other brassica salad greens only require 3-4 weeks of growth, so they are staying; turnips and rutabaga are good storage crops so they are staying; and now that I am having success with cabbage itself, I plan on continuing to grow it. Which leaves no space or brocoli.

However, a flowering leaf broccoli can be planted at much greater density; enough for at least two harvests in half of a 25 foot bed.  I trialed a small quantity last year and was pleased with the results, for both growth performance and taste.  

Expect some this year in the autumn; I'll try growing it in the spring though much will depend on how quickly we go from 15 degree days to 35 degree days - brassicas typically prefer cool weather.

As for other crops I tried for the first time last season, I will be continuing with the Prudens Purple tomato.  Of the three new varieties I tried last year, it did the best, and I expect it will improve with improved techniques for managing muck soil fertility.

Expect more boston and oakleaf lettuce, yellow beans, and kabocha squash - all of these either did well or did ok in less than ideal situations.