Hello Everyone:

Much has changed since the previous post.  I would take a few photos for the next installment and within a week the photos would be out of date.

I was relieved that the melt was steady - at no point was there any significant amount of water flowing into the road ditch. 

As well, there was very little surface pooling, suggesting that the water is soaking into the ground.

Good signs for our water table this year.  

The same field, about two weeks later.  Already, the soil is thawed enough in the most exposed areas to work.  A head start on springs work.  

Grass requires only one degree to start growing, so the plastic mulch will be out in a few days to keep that suppressed.  The mulch will also help hold moisture in the beds.

As of this writing, I already have the first spinach, lettuce, and snow pea beds ready for planting.  

Most of the work is in the nursery - seeding peppers, tomatoes, onions, parsley, etc.  

These are the first round of green onions germinating in a seedling tray.  

Two weeks later the onions are promoted up to their cell packs.  They'll continue to grow for another six weeks until they are ready for transplant.

The parsley is coming along.  I'll likely have more transplants than required, though I always prefer more than I need in case of any losses from damping off infections, mice or earwig infestations, or spilled trays.  

If I do have extra, I will offer the surplus seedlings  to CSA customers who want some extra for a container in their kitchen or back yard.

I'll likely have extra hot pepper plants to give away to CSA customers as well.

Lots of other work to do while waiting for the ground to thoroughly thaw out.  

All of the bird boxes now have predator guards on them.  With a bit  imagination and some left over metal flashing, it is easy enough to protect the bird boxes from most predators.  Protection from Jays requires a little more work.

I rely on the finches, bluebirds and barn swallows to help manage the insect population; the finches in particular seem to have a taste for hornworms and potato beetles. 

Off to inspect the property to see what winter has left behind....

Hello Everyone:  Activity is starting to pick up. 

Flyers are being distributed, advertising campaigns are being planned, new nursery lights are being installed, trays are getting cleaned up and soil mix is being prepared for the first round planting in the next few days.

My rest and relaxation time is rapidly diminishing...

The 2024 production plan is 90 per cent complete.  All I need is a bit of input from CSA customers for a few crop varieties to finish it off.

An aspiring farmer I knew was told by her father (a renowned expert occasionally quoted in the news) that farming was not an "intellectual career".  

I think of that comment often when I am in the midst of the yearly production plan.  Lots of baseline information is required - maturity dates, knowing which crop varieties do best at particular time of year, what a happy customer base wants, yield per plant (and all the seasonal variations that can entail), etc. 

After the info is gathered, it all has to be linked together in a plan that fulfills my goals on a limited amount of land for 30 CSA customers, a well stocked store and market stand, and enough left over to participate in the autumn fair.  The plan needs to have enough flexibility built in to manage how our spring will turn out - will there be ice storms?  30 degree heat waves in early May?  Lots of rain?  No rain?  

Succession cropping allows farmers to produce more food on less land - as soon as our garlic is finished, the beds are cleaned up and late autumn carrots are planted in the same spot.  

Succession cropping complicates the production planning process.  For example, when I have a bed producing peas for the spring, I know that I can use this same bed for a leaf crop later in the year.  Before the succession crop may be planted, the beds need cleaning up (trellis stakes removed, grass rhizomes teased out with the wheel hoe, extra compost applied, persistent weeds such as thistle roots pried out, etc.).  Then about three passes over the next three weeks with the colinear hoe to suppress any weed seedlings germinating from the weed seed bank in the soil - this activity eradicates about 80 per cent of the weeds for the rest of the season.  

Pictured:  Using a co-linear hoe to suppress weeds.  If you are a gardener and dislike all the weeding, this could be the tool or you.  I would not be able to manage the farm without this.

I'm now ready to plant, but is there time enough for the lettuce to grow?  Fortunately, the peas are finished by the end of June.  With three weeks of cleaning ahead, I can assume that lettuce may be planted here by late July, which most lettuce varieties can tolerate.  However, if the lettuce is following the first bean crop (harvested late July), then I know I won't be able to use the bed until late August - maybe too late for lettuce except a 28 day variety such as the mini "Freckles" romaine.  

If the Freckles are already slotted into another spot on the map, then I have to determine if their spot can be filled by a lettuce with a longer growing period.  If so, then I move these varieties around on the map and adjust my dates accordingly.    

I typically find that three drafts are required to get the maps and schedules up to 80 per cent complete.  I then start buying the seeds, only to discover that some varieties I have planned are not available; requiring more adjustments.

Almost every year I start the planting with the plan "mostly complete", and by the end of the season, there are always a few discrepancies between the papers and the fields.  

Interplanting is another space saving method - planting a crop along with another crop in the same space.  One example we use:  When the squash plants are first transplanted, I transplant choi  and sow arugula and radishes along the edge of the squash bed.  These crops take 21 to 26 days to reach harvest date.  Soon after these crops are harvested, the squash starts to put on its growth spurt and soon has the entire bed covered.

Pictured:  Tomato seedlings with radishes.  Judging by the radish leaf size, these are ready to be harvested.  To the left, the tomato stakes are pre-positioned to go into the bed as soon as the radish is out.  

Squash is fairly good at suppressing weed growth in it's understory, though not perfect.  Weed  suppression is much less time consuming than weeding mature weeds.  So, after the under sow crop is harvested, it is very convenient to give the bed a quick once over with the hoe, to eliminate the weeds that are just starting to germinate.  By the time I have done three passes with the hoe over three weeks (eliminating most of the season's weed growth), the squash plants are filling out their leaf canopy and leaving little space for anything to grow quickly.

Pictured:  Arugula ready for harvest in a bed of squash seedlings.

Timing is everything on a farm, and under sowing is no different.  The first year I tried this, I delayed my choi transplants and they were overgrown by the squash, leaving them stunted and not very appealing.  

It's always a big relief to get the plan "mostly done".  I suppose I am good at it though it still ties my mind up in knots and I spend a certain amount of time pacing about, running my hand through my hair, muttering, stopping to stare at the map or out the window at the field.

My best "eureka" moments for solving difficult parts of the plan almost always occur in the first hour or so after waking up - a very good time for brainstorming and problem solving (and a good excuse to linger over the morning coffee - I highly recommend this activity if your career is of the intellectual persuasion).

If I need a break from thinking, there are other more mundane tasks that can be done...

The nursery is getting a spring cleaning.  Dust, dried kidney bean pods, cobwebs, cluster flies (where do they come from?) and leftover detritus from last year all need to be swept away.

One of the heaters requires some cleaning and a spot of WD40.  The fan looks a bit more problematic - 1 year old and showing signs of motor burnout.  

These are essential for keeping the air warm in the nursery - sunlight, insulation, and propagation mats are not enough to keep a stable temperature.  The fan circulates the warm air around and helps suppress fungal infections that kill sprouting plants.

NEW LIGHTS!  One would think that sourcing LED grow lights would be a very simple - I certainly did.  Between my inability to understand anything about electricity and the jargon used to describe it on a package; and the department store folks who happily sell the lights whether or not THEY understand the jargon, I found myself going in circles last spring.  Fortunately, I had just enough illumination coming out of my old fluorescent lights to keep the nursery going.  

After a lot of inquiries, I eventually found myself back at a popular but ridiculously over priced store in Ottawa for grow lights.  

Special thanks to William Dam Seeds - one of our seed suppliers - whom I reached out to with inquiries and who went above and beyond providing me with leads.  

The germination tests are complete.  More green onion seed is required, but the snow peas are looking ok for another year, and the old kidney beans are still doing well.

The three year old sunflower seeds we plant for the bees are responding like they are new.

Old seeds are cast into the wildflower field that we are developing; if any of the old seeds germinate, we'll just let them grow and go to seed.  What some folks call "chaos gardening".  

Out of chaos of planning and onwards to the spring...

Still plenty to talk about.  Future posts to include are the heat stress trials I am doing this spring.  

Until then, I'll be "doing everything and everything else as well..."

Welcome to Whitsend Market Garden!  If you have received a flyer and are interested in learning about our CSA produce delivery, please check out our "Join Our CSA" page, by clicking on the tab above.

Hello Everyone:

2024 is here and we are hoping it is better than the last few years, generally speaking - do you recall the good old days of 2017?

Between bouts of reading and snow throwing (and inventing a new card game), I have been doing seed research and trying to source new LED grow lights that suit my nurseries needs.

We are looking to expand to 30 customers this season, so I will be doing some flyer delivery in the Bridlewood area in February.  

The price has gone up, but so have the number of deliveries, and the variety of the crops is slightly increased as well.  

More leaves this year!  More lettuce and salad green deliveries this season.  

A lot more hot peppers, and new varieties.  We have honored requests for Jalapeno peppers, and I have sourced an "Anaheim" type pepper - like a mild cayenne - that has thicker walls and good for stuffing.  As well, I have renewed my cayenne seed stock to improve our germination rates over the last season.

If you want to see how the farm fared in 2023, the 2023 Year End Review is available on a separate page - see the page tabs, above.

The biggest challenge here with regards to growing food seems here to have been solved, if the results on some crops (parsnips, winter squash and sweet peppers in particular) are anything to go by.  

Our honey production will likely be down somewhat this season - it seems about four of our remaining six hives were lost (we lost the seventh in the fall).  New "nuc hives" have already been ordered

Julia suggested that our autumn mite treatment may have been a little late, but we won't have a better idea until we do a full inspection next spring.  At least the nasty hive is one that succumbed, no regicidal activity required.

Due to the extraordinary amount of honey we produced last year, we still have some to sell - see the Honey page for details.

More news to come...

Hello Everyone:

Not really a time to rest, though my left arm is telling me otherwise.  Three days of rest and light activity whether I like it or not, with a healing regimen of ice applications and extra stretching to get myself back into shape.  No matter how much I have accomplished, there is always more to do...

In the meantime, the farm store is open by appointment only until next spring.  For details, see the farm store page.  

Our stock is limited to honey, fingerling potatoes, kidney beans, mini butternut squash and some carrots.

Contact us by email or phone if you are interested in making an order.

or call (613) 278-1937

Next years country.  At last, the next and final stages of land preparation have started.

This is the smallest of four strips that were plowed in October by a local farmer (thanks Kevin!)

The turf will remain flipped over for the winter, to allow the freeze dry cycles and desiccating action of the wind to kill off as much of the bluegrass and quackgrass rhizomes as possible.  

In the spring, Kevin will return to disc the field, chopping it up into a tilth that I can then work into seed beds.

 

This particular field will be used next season to allow us to expand our CSA by about a third.  In the next 2 or 3 years, the extra produce will be in one of the other three strips, while a set of hoop houses will be set up here to extend the season of our tomato, lettuce and salad greens production.  

Author and (now retired) CSA pioneering farmer Eliot Coleman documented a lot of his experiments creating high tunnels that cost a fraction of what many "professional" greenhouses do; and they are easily scalable.  

By the way, Eliot's books are eminently readable, loaded with interesting information, and easily translate to any of the gardening work you might be doing in your yard or allotment.  I first encountered his books and techniques during my internship at Elmtree Farm 

The other big accomplishment is work on the new pig field.

There are not many pig breeders in the area who specialize in the traditional outdoor foraging breeds, and the demand is higher than what these breeders raise each season.  As I understand, sows generally produce two litters: one in March and one in May.  As most folks seem to want their pigs in May, having a home ready for them in March increases the chance I have of finding some earlier in the spring.  Therefore, I have done everything I can to prepare this field so that it is ready in time for the first litters of 2024.

This area pictured is what I refer to as their home base:  where the pig hutch, water trough and feeding station is.  It has a strengthened electric fence augmented by a physical fence to "train" the pigs to respect the electric lines that divide their paddocks and the entire pig field from the rest of the farm.  

One other item (off camera by about 20 feet) is a scratching post and place where the pigs can create a wallow to cool off and deter flies in the summer.

The remainder of the field is divided into 21 paddocks.  Surrounded by an 18 inch fence, with an additional two electric lines. One is at snout level and one at jumping level.  (Yes pigs will jump, though I have only heard of this behavior being done by boars when separated from a female in estrus - not necessarily a behavior exclusive to pigs...).

In turn, the paddocks are separated by temporary electric tape that are easier to adjust should the need arise.

In this climate, grass typically recovers from grazing in 21 days during the spring and early fall. At that time, the pigs will be given access to each paddock for one day.  The next day, that paddock will be closed and the next opened, allowing the pigs to access fresh grass.   After 21 days, the pigs return to the first paddock, which would have new growth on it by then.

During the mid summer, the grazing recovery period is about 28 days.  During that time, the pigs will have access to paddocks in the new field discussed below.  

Each paddock will have it's own set of grasses, weeds and planted oats and other forage crops to graze upon, as well as old, rotten and partially buried logs to root around for grubs.  Each paddock is different, providing novelty to keep them interested in their surroundings, and important element to consider for raising healthy, stress free animals.

Most of the paddocks also have shade for the summer heat.

As for the other fields plowed this fall:  

This is one of three parallel strips of land plowed.  In the past, I had used these strips as the old pig field.  

My intention is to create a 3 year rotation of the activities in each strip:  In season one, pig paddocks in one strip, produce in another, and spelt and or other hay crops in the third strip.

In each successive season, the pigs move to the vegetable field, the vegetables are planted where the hay was, and the hay grows where the pigs grazed in the previous season.

With a set-up like this, the pigs follow the vegetables, cleaning out roots, weeds and rodent nests and re-fertilizing the land.  The season after the pigs are on a particular piece of land, I will have hay planted to use as bedding (and winter fodder for when we start to breed pigs).  Placing the hay year  between the pig foraging year and vegetable growing year ensures that the manure is safely broken down and incorporated into the soil, neutralizing harmful bacteria more than a year before produce is planted.

Always thinking ahead, I have a place to over winter pigs when I am ready to start breeding them.  This structure (seen from the opposite side of the pig field) is the current chicken coop.  It's cellar opens onto ground level (the door is visible behind a small tree). 

With more than a bit of work, the cellar and yet to be enclosed yard can be re-purposed to contain pigs over the winter, taking advantage of the insulation provided from the surrounding soil and ground heat coming up through the earthen floor.

 

I'll need to build a run that leads the pigs from the winter yard to the pig field, though that task should be fairly easy.

To be continued...

One of the biggest challenges of learning this farm is understanding the soil.  This season I had a number of challenges and questions, and now most of them have been answered.