Your organic farm in the Eastern Townships
The first fall frost welcomed us in the fields this morning. You know there is no turning back to summer once frost has hit, even if, as they are forecasting this Thanksgiving weekend, it is followed by a balmy Indian summer spell. While some vegetables resist, and even relish, frost (brocoli, jerusalem artichokes and lettuce,…
A week ago we held our first formal farm event for our CSA members, a méchoui . The weather couldn’t have been more perfect, after a couple of weeks of on-again, off-again rain – a balmy, sun-filled afternoon with nary a cloud in sight. We hadn’t really planned it when we chose the date, but…
But half the basket season still to go! Indeed, this week — Week 8 — marks the midpoint of the official 2011 growing season, even though the end of summer is just around the corner. The annual Perseid meteor shower peaked last week, our late season tomatoes are ripening on the vine, we’ve picked our…
The month of July was exhausting, with yo-yoing temperatures and countless fires to put out. August looks promising in comparison. We have begun harvesting the season’s first melons – they are truly delicious – as well as those summer stalwarts: eggplants, peppers and the quintessential tomato, which weighs heavy on the vine in great abundance…
We are often asked how our eggs get their color – so thought it would be nice to set the record straight: our white hens (Leghorns) lay white eggs, our others (Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds) lay brown eggs. When young (i.e. 18 to 24 weeks), hens produce smaller eggs; older hens produce larger…
Not much time to write, as we prepare for the deliveries of our first baskets before the Saint-Jean weekend…A few pictures are more telling than words : while we will continue to start plants from seed in the greenhouse through July, our recent focus has been on planting and transplanting in the field. Many mid- to…
It is difficult to speak of anything other than rain these days. There has been so much of it these last few weeks that some sections of our fields just aren’t draining. You can forget the use of most farm equipment in the soggy patches. Given the nature of our soil, tractor treads would take…
After last week’s proverbial April showers, we were hoping not only for May flowers, but for drier days propitious to planting. So far, though, May has been a disappointment: a short sunny break (four days), followed by diluvial rains since Tuesday noon. For farmers with loamy soils, a few days without rain will not suffice…
March 23rd marked the start of our greenhouse season. Leeks and onions first, followed by artichokes, celeriac and sweet peppers. Early April saw us seeding cut flowers, which we hope to offer this summer, and a few slow-germinating herbs (marjoram, rosemary)…then beets (soon to be transplanted outdoors) and tomatoes (candidates for a longer greenhouse stint).…
We’ve spent the past three months carrying water from house to barn for the four sheep we bought from our friend André last December, feeding them hay and grain. Three months of effort that have paid off big – in the guise of the recent arrival of three lambs, with a fourth expected any day.…