Update as of April 17:

Our CSA sales are now at 85%.  Contact us soon if you wish to purchase a portion of this season's harvest.

Pork is also starting to sell, and our stock is starting to dwindle.

I'll try to set some time aside on Sunday to do another post.  We have accomplished a fair amount over the past few weeks.

Take care,

Bob and Julia




Update as of April 3:

Our CSA sales have reached 70 per cent.

I have started celeriac and a second round of green onions in the nursery.

The dianthus flowers are starting their next pairs of leaves.  We are growing a lot of these in hopes of establishing them here in Lanark.  They should self seed effectively and be a treat for the bees.

Talk to you soon,

Bob

Update March 30th, 2020:

Hello Everyone, we hope you are all well - physically and mentally.  We know this has been an exceptionally challenging start to the year for a few of you - civil servants called upon to do work that you have never done before, teachers who have gone from the irregular work hours to no hours at all, families with children and parents to care for, and all of the other challenges big and small that we are all trying to mitigate and adapt to.  Some of my most interesting observations in the past month have not been on the farm!

Speaking of which, we are continuing on here with not too much disruption.  Most of my supply chains seem secure so far, though field seed prices are fluctuating as crops such as buckwheat and field peas are a commodity.

As of yesterday, our sales reached 60 per cent of our capacity for this season.  Thanks to all of you who have shown your faith in our farm during this most unpredictable season.

I am doing my part to ensure our property is remaining as low risk as possible.

I'll have more to write soon,

Bob

Hello Everyone:

Whitsend Market Garden is open for business this year.  I intend to continue to deliver food through the summer.  I'm doing my part to stay healthy and ensure I can continue managing the farm during this most unusual and unpredictable season.


If you are interested in a share of our produce this season, feel free to check out our “How to Buy a Share” page.  Contact me if you have any questions.

I hope you are all well in spite of everything.  As we have to limit our internet usage for Julia’s work from home, I will only use text for the following posts.

Here is a very brief update...

As of this writing, we are both well.  The snow is starting to recede from the house and the first bit of soil is starting to appear in the field.  The forest floor in the woodlot is about half snow free.  Cayley has been quite impatient for warmer temperatures and bare ground so she can prowl about without getting her paws cold.

The chickens are healthy and two of our four bee hives appear to have made it through the winter.  We are expecting another two new hives later in the spring.  


While we cleaned the two hives out, we inspected the frames.  In one hive, we noticed a lack of spring larvae.  This suggests that the colony appears to have lost it's queen at some point.


The other hive had dismembered bees and feces from shrews.  A miscommunication between Julia and I - her for not telling me that we should put screens over the hive entrances, and me for not telling her that this property is crawling with these rodent-like creatures.   

Seeds are now being planted in the nursery – green onions and tomatoes are the first out of the gate this season.  I have added gold bison tomatoes to the list as we still had some seed when we grew these a few years ago and I wanted to use it up.  These are an heirloom canning tomato with a nice taste.  I am curious as to how the Galahad tomatoes will work – a new variety for this season.

Most of the rest of the work on the farm right now is taking advantage of the limited amount of time in which the ground is starting to clear but still too frozen to do field work.

 

In addition to the spring clean-up, there is preparation for fence work, and work in the wood lot.  We are planning on making a few blue-bird houses together this week-end.

When I am out working on the farm, I feel like my life has changed very little other than Julia working from home.  I was a bit concerned about shortages of field seed, but after a quick chat with my supplier I was reassured that supplying animal feed and crop seeds are considered an essential service. 

Despite that, I keep looking ahead at possible what-if scenarios and trying to figure out what I would do if need be.  Farmers do this all the time, though typically on topics such as the weather and seed prices.

During this period of transition I am only using about half of the Stittsville farm growing field.  I was originally considering putting it to hay – it’s much too small to turn to cash crop.  The old vegetable beds are very overgrown but with a little work could be brought back.  I keep wondering if this could be necessary.  So I have been skipping past the regular news and watching the business and commerce section to see how supply lines are handling the unusual money/trade/transport situation/food accessibility.

In the meantime, it’s back to work.  We are set up to take care of ourselves for quite a while, and in a position whereby we can avoid going into town for prolonged periods of time if need be.   As a food producer, I want to ensure that I am healthy enough to keep our farm going and not a vector when it comes time to start delivery.


Fresh vegetable substitutes are starting to sprout in the woodlot, so I can eliminate one more reason to go to a grocery store.  

To close, please do your part to take care of yourselves as you are also taking care of others!

Don’t forget the people that the news is missing...I think daily about how life must be like in the border region of Turkey and Syria.  I checked the BBC website earlier today and found not a single story there about possibly the most vulnerable people on OUR planet.

Bob and Julia

We still have pork hams and loin chops...see our pork page if you are interested.

Update as of February 28 2020:

In the past two weeks we have sold forty per cent of our available shares.  If you are interested in a portion of our harvest, or want to purchase some individual crops, contact us soon.

Hello Everyone!

New post as of February 11 202o can be found just below the heritage pork advert...

Update Feb 21st - I have tried to clarify our purchasing our arrangements for this season.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Heritage Pastured Pork for Sale

Delicious pastured pork for is now for sale, just in time for your next feast!

This meat comes from heritage Large Black hogs, an old English breed that is famous for producing succulent, flavourful roasts and chops. 

We offer pork only once a year and quantities are limited, so order now to ensure you don’t miss your chance to enjoy this special product.

To see the price list, click on the Our Pork tab above.

To make your order, contact Bob at whitscust@gmail.com .

Hello Everyone!  Whitsend is starting to come out of hibernation. 

I thought a couple of the previous season's were challenging.  2019 - with the new property to start building up - even a reduced workload at the Stittsville site was a bit much.  

Making haste slowly has been the approach I have taken to remaining productive during an extended rest and recovery period this past winter.

I've been reading a lot.  The previous owners of Blue Chicory Farm had left much of their farm library behind.  The public library also has an interesting collection.  

Aside from personal interest reading - alternative economics, Muhummad Mossadegh, an eye opening trilogy about the WW2 European Theatre - I have been broadening my knowledge of restoring farmland.

Regenerative farming is a big topic of interest, for three reasons.  

First, I want to build up this farm on a strong foundation.  I made some mistakes when I first developed the Stittsville site which greatly impacted the rate of our business growth.  I know what mistakes to avoid, but I want to ensure I don't correct them with different mistakes.  

Second, regenerative farming seems to be the next logical progression from organic, ecological or sustainable farming.  The lowest common denominator of these regimes are not doing more damage to the land.  Some farmers, economists, and other observers/thinkers/authors have pointed out that these practices only slow down the degradation of the worlds most important resource, soil.  

Consider the fact that healthy soil retains and cleans groundwater.

Regenerative farming is a practice that seeks to regenerate soil even as nutrients are removed to be used by the farmer and farm customers.  Its modern roots can be traced to South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia in the mid fifties; and slowly spread to Australia in the following decades. 

Many "pre-agricultural" societies followed regenerative land management cues for a very long time, because, as people who recognized themselves as part of the land - not in opposition to it - they worked around and with the systems that were already functioning.  

Thirdly, learning about regenerative farming gives me hope that maybe we are not too late in correcting the damage done to our biosphere for centuries.  Mesopotamia and the Libyan basin are two examples of  places that were damaged by farming long before the advent of oil based conventional agriculture.

If I were to recommend one book, it might be 'Call of the Reed Warbler' by Charles Massey.  It seems to cover just about everything on the topic - I am only about a 5th of the way through it and it isn't the most entertaining of reading.  If I find something a little more concise, I'll certainly share the title.

Regenerative processes work without the need for human intervention where there is  grass grazed by bison, wildebeests, aurochs, and other migrating herbivores.  It has been the foundation of life on land for millions of years.  

As a farmer, my role is to figure out to get herbivores migrating across these six or so acres  in a manner that regenerates the soil, retains water, and produces  meat, mushrooms, honey and vegetables that nourish our household and bank accounts.  

Welcome to the 2020 Whitsend season!  Eleven years in business and still learning...

During our first season here, we had the opportunity to meet a few of the locals.  When describing the location of the farm we had purchased, many times folks would say something like "...oh that place...whats in that strangely shaped building?"

In addition to the root cellar and the ground floor work space, this two story powered shed contains the production office of Whitsend.





As soon as I saw this room, I knew it was where I wanted to do my thinking, drafting, and planning. 

The view isn't great - all of the windows point away from most areas of interest on the farm and the house, trees, and sheds block the rest of the sight lines. 

But it is bright, cozy, and as free from distraction as an aerie.

It still needs some work, such as a curtain, internet access, and some kind of wall fascia to cover the insulation.  Aside from the curtain, these details will have to wait for time and money.

It functions well enough for now.

. 






Spreadsheets are frustratingly great.  An invaluable tool for managing a lot of information. 

Unfortunately, when trying to tie together a lot of separate elements into one unified whole, spreadsheets display on too small a screen to provide the big picture. 

For several years, I have been wanting an entire wall to map the farm on.  Now I have it.

Another drawback from previous years is solved.  When living off farm, planning at home had the drawback of not being able to go out and check some small detail.

Yesterday I was working on the schematic map from a sketch drawn last fall.  I needed to double check an obscurely written note. 

A short walk to the growing field to see the survey stakes confirmed what I thought my margin scribbles were telling me. 

Not every structure on the farm was in a state of "ideal for us" when we arrived.  

The yard below the A-frame (pictured here on a misty day) was bounded by a dilapidated fence.  Many of the posts were a strong push from falling over and they had heaved so much that the gate was a chore to close.

I knew this space would be useful, but I could not seem to see what it's possibilities were because of all the clutter.

Solution?  Remove the clutter!

By observing the different nails and the way in which they were applied, I figure at least three different people had added to this structure over the years...maybe as far back as twenty years to the previous previous owners.

A lot of nails were removed and graded into three categories:  useful, useful after straightening, and scrap metal.

Destruction comes naturally to me - none of my childhood snow forts lasted more than a week - and this job was fun.  For the first six hours.  

As the day (and the next) wore on, I continually asked why five nails were needed to do the job of two!

The hardest part was keeping track of nails as they landed.  There are at least half a dozen that went flying out of sight and are now waiting to foul a mower or pierce a paw or foot.

One of the benefits of destruction is the opportunity for renewal.  

In addition to reclaiming nails and other hardware, I now have added to my stock of wood.  A small amount is still useful for sheds.  A larger quantity is reserved for temporary repairs, door stops, livestock ramps, etc.

The rest goes to the brush pile.  When I have a days worth, I'll rent a wood chipper and make mulch for around the compost windrows and low-lying high traffic areas.

Hopefully, I'll have enough chips left over for a permanent pile, as these are a favorite habitat of salamanders.

I'm not sure what these fascinating little creatures do, and that is intentional.  Having something scurrying about it's own inscrutable business appeals to me.  

Besides, there is way too much to learn, and not enough time to learn it all...

Heritage Pastured Pork for Sale

Delicious pastured pork for is now for sale, just in time for your holiday feast!

This meat comes from heritage Large Black hogs, an old English breed that is famous for producing succulent, flavourful roasts and chops.

We offer pork only once a year and quantities are limited, so order now to ensure you don’t miss your chance to enjoy this special product.

To see the price list, click on the PORK PRICE LIST tab above.

To make your order, contact Bob at whitscust@gmail.com .

About the pigs

The pigs were raised in the great outdoors of Lanark Highlands, with plenty of room to exercise and root in the soil. They were fed certified organic vegetarian feed. In the fall, the pigs regularly enjoyed apples and walnuts from the trees on our farm.

To learn more about Devon Black pigs, visit these websites:

https://largeblackhogassociation.org/

https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/largeblack

Hello Everyone:

Here are the responses from the apple taste testers.

If these sound like something you want to try, let me know and I will include them in your next delivery.

We have cut up the mid grade fruits and cooked them in a low cooker with a small amount of cinnamon.  Applesauce for the winter when apples go up to 7.99 a Lb.   These generated more compost from parings, but otherwise were what I expected.  

Libby and Tory absolutely loved the apple cores and eagerly await their evening snack of more.  

Customer taste test:

 - Crunchy and tart! My favourite! We loved them/would take more/would recommend

 - Apples have good texture and pleasantly tart taste. We ate them raw, but probably could cook with them too. One had a scar that we cut open and there was browning down into the apple suggesting something small might have eaten its way into one side, but the other half of that apple was fine.  Would be interested in some more for sure.

 - I liked the crispiness of the apple. But it was a bit tart for our taste.

 - I'm no food critic as I like most food so here goes my best Lanark apple review...

I enjoyed eating the apples raw probably more than cooked. I did notice how fast the apples browned as i cut them up to cook but that was expected for me. I like apples that are crisp and tart but didn't find these especially crisp or tart.

 - Its taste is OK. However, we like different kinds of apples, e.g., crisp apples.



I assume the discrepancy between the different assessments may be that two fruits were not good enough for a sample to draw consistent conclusions from.




There is much more to write about from the past season, I may have some time to finish a very lengthy post if the weather is too wet to do other work around here.

Highlights of the summer include catching bee swarms and raising a hundred square foot shed onto a temporary foundation.

Plenty we have learned, including mushroom cultivation, chicken first aid, how to clean a carburetor, and building a staircase.

Less fun news include the cat and mouse game between us and the local bear.

 


One other note - I am trying to figure out how to crack black walnut shells.  Another farmer said placing them between two boards and driving a tractor over them might work, but then that would leave me with the onerous task of separating the broken shell from the nuts - which might also be broken up.  Alas, I do not have a tractor....