Sweet May

May has made us forget one of the coolest and rainiest Aprilswe have experienced since we started the farm.Creatures of habit, we have become accustomed to the milder winters, and drier and warmer springs, that have become the norm. This year has proven such an exception to the new rule that it was only at…

The End (2021)

Thus ends our 2021 season :an apotheosis, according to Environment Canada and their forecast for sunny skies, albeit accompanied with a bit of a chill. I won’t complain, as the fields are soaked from weekend rains and we still have to harvest the contents of your last basket. Another summer growing seasonhas come and gone, true to form,i.e.…

When in Rome…

Si fueris Romae, Romano vivito more –or more familiarly, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do.’  The expression comes to mind as I observe my three sons readying themselves for the deer-hunting season. Preparations include the felling of a few cedars to build their caches, the installation of cameras to better appreciate the comings and…

August

August is upon us and your farmer knows he’s heading into the final stretch. August is a perilous month, one of heavy humidity, blazing suns and late greenhouse seedlings that still require our full attention. Summer’s end plays itself out in the fields, as harvested plots need to be quickly harrowed and just as quickly sown…

On Storing Veggies

I am often asked how best to store vegetables from your weekly csa baskets in your fridges – the short answer is to make sure there is as little water as possible on your leafy greens and to stock up on glass or plastic containers for all your vegetables. For your leafy greens (lettuces, kales and tutti…

Teamwork

I cannot let this season end without a special mention for those who planted, weeded and harvested all the vegetables which have filled your baskets. 2020 will have been a very particular year : our core field crew, who hail from Mexico, arrived on average two months late, and it took a good deal of moral…

Braving the Elements

It seems the forecast is for a grey and rainy week…and there is nothing surprising to that, as the end of October is fast approaching. Patience is a virtue, so we sometimes wait for the rain to end, other times we slip on our rain coats, don our rain boots and brave the elements head…

Of Odes to Nature and Hunters

A glorious day is unfolding, cool and sunny, an upbeat start to a week that will be up and down, meteorologically speaking. My morning constitutional in our last vegetable patches reminded me of the second – slow – movement (The Lonely One in Autum) of Mahler’s The Song of the Earth, an ode to the fading beauty…

Plunging into Fall

The farm seems to be plunging headfirst into Fall. Fallen leaves are everywhere, empty boughs abound, nature is slowly emptying itself of life. How is it that the transition is always so sudden? It always takes me by surprise. All that’s left in the fields is row upon row of the vegetables that will fill your…

Just plain (not alternative) facts

Beattie Barn, Arlington Gardens — by Peter Toth For starters, the beautiful fall colours are a harsh reminder that there are only six basket deliveries remaining (five, for our market farmstand baskets). And so it is that we enjoin you to think about making up any holiday baskets still outstanding. We have officially entered Fall,…