Arlington Gardens

The week has begun under grey and rainy skies,and the recent humidity is beginning to affect the condition of some vegetables in the fields. You may have noticed that there are no more cucumbers in your baskets, as the plants have suffered from the excess moisture, which has led to the spread of various kinds…

It is sad to see an old barn go up in smoke…yet this is exactly what happened to a farmer friend who has just lost a chunk of family heritage, vestige of a bygone agricultural world. His barn, a structure of blissful simplicity which I used to glance at every time I passed by on…

“Where the forest is, Chateaubriand is believed to have said, there is the homeland: forests precede civilizations and deserts follow them.“ This quotation attributed to Chateaubriand,though no one seems to be able to find it in his writings or correspondence, has haunted me ever since I discovered it while browsing a web page. What did…

I harrowed one of my large green manure fields this weekend,the one that was leveled earlier this summer.A beautiful green manure that I buried under the teeth of my disc harrow. I could not help but note the following paradox: while through these repeated passes, I knew I was nourishing my soils and thus ensuring…

As mentioned in my last note, we spent the week planting:various brassicas, fennel, lettuces, basil, and more. These vegetables will certainly be in your baskets this fall, but we had to act quickly so as not to miss this short planting window. As we enter August, plant growth is affected by the amount of light…

DEAR MARKET MEMBERS:Intense workweek, short note.We started the week with nearly 200 trays of assorted vegetables to transplant to the field – failure was not an option, as it would have meant a less-than-abundant end of season. Fortunately, the weather cooperated nicely,with a little rain here and there, mostly at night, and plenty of sunshine…

I hesitated this morning beforemaking this decision,but as we did two years ago, we find ourselves having to cancel and reschedule basket deliveries for Wednesday, July 17th, and Thursday, July 18th (Montreal West, Town of Mount Royal, and Westmount). The reason is quite simple: we are short-staffed at the farm and have nearly two hundred…

After much shilly-shallying that has lasted weeks, or the entire spring, even,July is dragging us into the heart of summer.It is doing so without a true heatwave or excessive humidity: it’s just warm – warm enough to beckon laziness and the delights of beach activities. But we must not allow the mind to stray, our focus remains…

This week will be busy.It will begin with a harvest blitz to prepare our Wednesday and Thursday baskets. As soon as these vegetables are washed and packed, we need to focus on setting up our stalls at the Atwater and Jean Talon markets. From July 5 onwards, that’s where you’ll find us Friday through Sunday…

The week has ended and begins underthe sign of water.Lots of water. Not that I don’t appreciate nature’s generosity, but…there comes a point when enough is enough – when the are fields soaked, the rows impracticable, and the farmer’s t-shirt is perpetually wet… We already had to kick our heels before plantingour winter squash– finally…