Busy Bees

I didn’t think they were serious. The two of them had decided to try their hand at beekeeping, to master the art (and science) of honey-making — moved by the call of urban apiculture on the one hand, and by visions of humming hives in our fields on the other.  But first, before spring had even…

Summer Settles In

This week the farm is finally decked out in full summer attire, as our solanaceas (tomatoes et al) finally take their rightful — and colourful — place in the sun and your baskets. It was about time, we were beginning to tire of all the greenery. Our farming routine was broken last week as we…

Almost, But Not Quite

Our fields are poised, teetering on the verge of change, as if shifting gears from one generation of vegetables to the next were too much to ask for. The first generation is the one that’s already filled your baskets: leafy greens, garlic scapes and green onions thrown in for good measure. The second generation includes…

Best-Laid Plans and Straw Beds

This week we face the consequences of small-scale crop planning failure as we find ourselves serving up not one, nor two, nor even three — but four varieties of summer squash, all ripened to perfection: your classic zucchini, the rotund ronde de Nice, an exotic Lebanese varietal and a yummy yellow one. In the face…

Turning Up the Heat

We’re usually on top of the weather, but this latest heat wave wasn’t really on anyone’s radar. So while we had already deployed some irrigation equipment for a few more heat-sensitive vegetable varieties, we’ve spent the past days rolling out the remaining pipes, heat oblige. Time was of the essence as we spent the weekend…

La vie en vert

Edith Piaf probably did not know kale when she first sang La vie en rose…but we can tell you, life is pretty green on the farm these days. Given abundant spring showers and cooler weather until recently, our leafy greens have done particularly well, thank you very much. And so the plan is to offer them…

Cloudy Skies

It’s been a yo-yo start to the season so far. Just when it seems the sun is here to stay, a sou’wester blows rainclouds our way. Last Friday’s torrential downpour drenched the fields and meant we had to postpone a day’s work of raising beds and laying plastic for our corn crop and our solanaceas.…

Spring Rains

Il pleure dans mon coeur comme il pleut sur la ville…”It rains in my heart as it rains on the town…” (Verlaine) The verse is a bit over the top, but if the rain doesn’t let up soon, we’re going to start worrying in earnest. After a cool April and a rainy May, our seedlings…

And We’re Off !

It’s official, we’ve launched our 2014 season at Arlington Gardens! If you’re anything like us, we assume you’re chomping at the bit and eager to partake in another year of farm bounty.  Although we like winter, there comes a time in February when our organic clock starts ticking and moves us to action, i.e. to…

It’s Over…

Yet another season at the farm has come to an end. We enjoyed sharing nature’s bounties with you in 2013. We look forward to a respite, punctuated by the usual winter activities, and we promise to let you know as soon as we see the first signs of spring. Meanwhile, we wish you all a…