Whitsend Market Garden

Hello Everyone:  Happy Holidays to you all.  For us, the end of 2025 was a bit challenging, with Cayley's passing, and illness in our extended family.  We are fortunate nonetheless, and thankful for the experiences that the people and animals have shared with us.

Given the circumstances in my own family right now, it should not be surprising that the season's end was somewhat of a whimper, with a few opportunities to sell some surplus produce lost due to timing, weather, car issues and commitments elsewhere.  

We did have our own little Christmas miracle.  Much to our surprise, Julia's geranium bloomed without any forewarning.  

There were a lot of surprises on the farm this season, most of which were positive.  The new field produced better than expected, sales at the farm gate store increased despite part of our road being closed for bridge repair 

Even the township saw the sense of rejecting the bid for a new gravel pit application; perhaps the province will see the light as well?

There were some less welcome surprises.  In particular was the arrival of the squash borer beetles.  Only twice in the fifteen previous years of farming have I had a catastrophic crop loss.  

So it is time for the year end review - my cold blooded assessment of how the farm worked through 2025, and what I learned from that.  As usual, I will start with an examination of each  crop, and then some of the other aspects of the season's production.

The 2025 Season review, once published, will be on it's separate page - see the tabs above.

Have a safe and happy holiday, and best wishes for 2026...