Last weekend Heather and I attended the local Slow Food AGM and were quite excited to make new acquaintances and to have renewed old ones.  We were there to talk about our CSA and to learn about what Slow Food is doing locally here in the County.  Heather and I expect to join soon, just as soon as we can get around the filling out that membership thingy…If you have a Slow Food group in your area I would recommend getting in touch with them.  It is a great way to enjoy new and local foods while supporting the farmer and artisan producers in your area.

Remember, if you are still interested in a CSA Summer Food Box from Fiddlehead Farm we are still accepting memberships.  Our membership drive has been going well, but we are still only half way to our goal for this year.  So please send those memberships that have been sitting on your shelf waiting to be posted to us in the mail or register online via our new Paypal option.  If you have friends who might be interested we greatly appreciate you spreading the word about our CSA.  The CSA program helps our farm get through this financially challenging period of spring inputs and as thanks we work all spring, summer, and fall to make sure you get the best produce we can provide.  Much thanks to all our members for their support and much thanks to future members for the incoming support.

New broiler (meat) chickens arrived the day before the last ice storm hit us here in Prince Edward County.  Lucky for the birds our power kept going despite it being out for a day or more just West of us.  I’m still thanking my lucky stars for that one.  The 100 little birdies have been doing really well tucked in the greenhouse.  I built them a large chick coop under a few of our seedling tables.   The chicks have to be kept warm for their first four week until their adult feathers come in.  After that they move outdoors for more greens and ranging.  Their current coop offers lots of space to run around and we are able to capture the extra heat at night for the greenhouse when we’d be running heaters anyway.  Sometimes I feel clever…sometimes…

The birds will be available fresh on June 22^nd for pick up.  The birds are by order only so please message me now with the number of birds and your preferred weight range.  Our birds generally weigh from 3.5-6 lbs and sell for $6.00/lb.  They are raised on all organic grains from Bernerland Farms in the Smiths Falls area and have access to a mix of pasture and garden greens.  The response to our birds was quite impressive last year and we look forward to continuing with the trend of happy taste buds.

In an almost ironic sense we had our irrigation pond dug last week.  I say ironic because as I write the problem is too much water on the fields; not too little.  Dry days will come again and now we are ready for it!  Our pond is 100’x50’x7’ and will provide us with enough water to keep our veggies growing through almost any drought.  Our target depth was 7’ and wouldn’t you know it we hit bed rock at exactly 7’.  Add to this the fact that below our top soil the subsoil is all clay and we have one top notch irrigation pond.  My thanks go out to the Carrot Cache foundation of the Big Carrot in Toronto again for their help in making this a possibility.

On top of all this repairs, maintenance, digging drainage ditches, and a good old dusting off of equipment is in full swing.  From here we are on a full run for May to get all of the new seeds and seedlings into the ground.  Exciting additions to this year’s garden will be garlic (coming up beautifully), sun chokes, strawberry seedlings (we’ll see how much they yield in year one), and our first asparagus seedlings are getting planted (expect three years to harvest).  Lots to look forward to for sure this spring.

Spring Details:

CSA delivers to Toronto to Bloor & Borden and John Street Farmers’ Markets on Wednesdays, Toronto Junction and and Withrow Park Markets on Saturdays, and to Belleville downtown on Saturdays and Wednesdays.

Saturday Farmers’ Markets start May 25th and Wednesday Markets start June 5th.  See you all soon!

Saturday morning I awoke to my regular routine of greenhouse chores.  The greenhouse is now full to capacity with our early spring crops; leaving the greenhouse alone for a day can be tricky as it needs to be closed in the morning and evening to trap heat and opened during the day to allow the air to cool.  Days away have to be carefully planned so that all our baby veggies stay happy and thriving.

With the greenhouse set for the day we hoped in the car for a day around the county.  There was a brief delay as we helped our weekend East Wing renters get their car out of the snow.  With ease everyone was rolling and Heather and I were on our way to Picton for the Artisan Market above the local bookstore.

The Market was a wonderful collection of county fixtures.  Happily, after a year of living here, I am starting to recognize more and more faces.  We stopped in at a number of different booths and had lovely chats with Honey Pie Hives and Herbs, Pyramid Farm & Ferments, Sunset Farms, Prince Edward County Lavender, and a few friends we happened to bump into at the event.  Heather introduced me to Rebecca from the Pink Lunch Pail and we also met a local clothing designer and seamstress.  We walked away with a few tasty treats and Heather got excited about the Maple Kombucha from Alex at Pyramid.

From the market we were off for lunch at Vicki’s Veggies.  Vicki and Tim have been great supporters of our farm and it is always a pleasure to attend their events.  This time around Tim was cooking up pizzas on their bread oven.  The pizzas had béchamel sauce topped with bacon and an egg.  They were officially called a breakfast pizza, but worked pretty well for lunch too: delicious.

While Heather was off helping collect some syrup from their trees I stayed put and enjoyed a cup of tea that Vicki had given me.  The tea was maple sap with black tea and mint.  It was really addictive and led to a few refills.  We got into a conversation with Stacey from Edible Antiques and got to try a maple tart from Pink Lunch Pail.  After an hour we had to be on our way to our next stop and said our good byes.  I made sure to squeeze in one last tea refill before leaving.

Our next stop was Nyman Farms.  The Nyman’s produce syrup and raise a number of animals.  Our farm is increasing its animal offerings this summer with chickens, turkeys, and pigs arriving on farm in the next month.  It is always of great value to talk with other producers and see how they are doing things.  The Nyman’s operation is compact and efficient.  I walked away from our visit with a few ideas on how to improve our farm and things to strive for down the road.

Sandbank’s Winery was our next stop.  Despite living in a wine region and being a wine lover I have not been to many of the 30 plus wineries that make up the viticultural scene here in the county.  This has to do with the aforementioned workaholic issues that have kept me from visiting the wineries many of which are only fifteen to twenty minutes from my home.

Sandbank’s Winery is just outside of Wellington and has a good selection of wines.  They are evenly split between reds and whites.  This is a good thing as I tend to be a lover of red wines while Heather is a lover of whites.  We sampled through several of their offerings on both sides.  While we loved a number of the wines on offer the riesling and baco noir reserve stood out as our favourites.  The challenge now is finding the right event to open them at.

Our last stop of the day was Sugarbush Winery.  This is a small winery that specializes in estate wines.  Everything they do is from their own grapes and despite being a fairly compact vineyard they have a sizable selection of quality wines.  I was particularly impressed with the Pinot Noir.  Pinot Noir tends to be my favourite wine and the one from Sugarbush put a particular smile on my face.  Heather walked away with another reisling: I think there might be a trend developing.

We pulled into the driveway with perfect timing for the greenhouse.  Temperatures had just started to drop and I was able to close it up before the temperature went too far down.  With the day’s loot away we put together a sprout salad from the greenhouse and curled up with an episode of Edwardian Farm followed by a bonfire hosted by Alex and Jenna of Pyramid Farm & Ferments.  As things go out here in the county it was a full day.  That night we both slept soundly.  It reminded me that I have to get out more often.

I am now just in the early stages of reviving the farm from its winter rest.  The greenhouse is partway there with the first batch of seedlings started this week.  Onions, Leeks, Shallots, and Scallions have all been seeded and I even put in the first round of lettuce in hopes of an early first harvest.  This morning I saw the first seeds of the year starting to crack open.  My mouth started to salivate at the thought of the fresh lettuce I was standing over.  In the coming days hoses will be laid out, rain barrels put in place, and more plants started.

It is still too early to get the tractor out and running.  There is still much snow on the ground and it will be a while yet before the ground dries out and I can drive on it.  All of our machines have had a good long rest and are in need of some tender love and care to ease them back into performance shape.

Our year is well planned with a few exciting additions expected in 2013.  The biggest addition was confirmed today with the awarding of a grant to Fiddlehead Farm by the Big Carrot’s Carrot Cache Foundation to help us dig an irrigation pond to provide a steady supply of water to our veggies so that major droughts like last year won’t put us out of business in the future.  It was our greatest weakness as a farm and we are relieved to be able to address it this year.  Much thanks to the Carrot Cache Foundation, their staff, and supporters.

With our year shaping up and the farm gears starting to roll I wanted to ask our new and returning CSA Members to send in any registrations they might have sitting on their counters.  March is the biggest pinch time for us farmers in Ontario as it is when our seed orders are coming in, potting soils arrive, and new equipment and tools are brought in for the coming season.  Together they equal a significant cash pinch.

The CSA is a valuable tool to help farms alleviate the financial burden of the early season and it is the perfect chance for members to invest in and help support our fledgling farm.  I look forward to welcoming new members soon.  I want to thank all of the people who have sent me emails or spoken with me at public events for their interest in our farm, the dream we are working towards, and in sustainable local food.

Eat well and don’t worry…fresh, local, and tasty food is on its way soon, okay maybe two months away still, but I’m excited!

]]> http://www.fiddlehead-farm.ca/spring-is-in-the-air/feed/ 0 http://www.fiddlehead-farm.ca/317/ http://www.fiddlehead-farm.ca/317/#comments Fri, 14 Dec 2012 22:24:20 +0000 admin http://www.fiddlehead-farm.ca/?p=317 It has been over a month now since our final 2012 CSA shares  went out.  Many of you might expect life on the farm to slow down and for the many hours of needed rest and sleep we shorted in the summer would be indulged in now.  Happily you’d be right on most counts.  Life has taken on a slower pace of late.  This doesn’t mean that we aren’t keeping busy here.

I spent most of November getting our garden beds ready for 2013.  They have been plowed, harrowed, and (the biggest part of it all) manured!  Yes I spent most of November moving horse poop around the neighbourhood and onto my field.  This will incorporate into the soil through the winter and spring giving the soil fresh vigor come planting time.

I have also spent my time this fall learning more about gardening, you’re never done learning afterall, and planning for 2013.  We hope to have our 2013 CSA packages together for early January.  My hope is to add to the diversity of veggies found in the CSA while rotating through the staples we are all used to and love.  If you are interested in a 2013 package please contact us and I will be sure to get details to you as soon as possible.

My classmates from the Sustainable Agriculture Certificate I did in 2011 came for a reunion weekend and we had a mass group garlic planting.  We put Fish Lake Garlic into the soil in preparation for a great crop in 2013.  Fish Lake Garlic is a porcelain variety that features four to five large cloves.  When sitting down to think about varieties we knew immediately that we had to grow this one.  Our mission is not only to  grow delicious food in a sustainable manner, but it is to preserve and enhance local food history and heirloom varieties where we can.  So not only will we be growing Fish Lake garlic on Fish Lake Road in a garden that overlooks Fish Lake, but we will be doing it less that 1 kilometer away from where this variety of garlic was cultivated.  Our neighbour, simply known locally as the Fish Lake Garlic Man, spent the later part of his life dedicated to garlic.  He began cultivating it at a time when there was little information about garlic in Canada and when few people were producing it.  He created a local treasure that we are lucky to continue in the shadow of its birthplace.

I am planning on celebrating the 21st to welcome new light as the Northern Hemisphere begins its slow tilt back towards the sun.  We feel the dark acutely these days.  Light begins at 7h30 and ends at 16h30.  Any outdoor work must be finished by then as it will be pitch dark out beyond those hours.  I think feeling the darkness of this time of year has been an interesting experience for me.  I didn’t expect to find the night so present in my day to day life, but when you’re in the country, especially when there is no snow on the ground, the night is all enveloping.  It makes the solstice important in a way that it hasn’t been before.  The solstice is a celebration of the return of the light.  And that is a great excuse to make a great meal and celebrate with friends.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, stir. Taste and adjust seasoning to suit your preferences! Serve with taco chips, fresh tortillas, sandwiches or on a salad!

 In this week’s box you will find a bunch of either kale or swiss chard, onions, lettuce mix, a gorgeous (and tasty!) small bag of edible nasturtium flowers, a cucumber, a bag of scallopinis, tomatoes, ground cherries, Jalapeno hot peppers, cilantro and parsley. The scallopinis are beautiful. If you blanche them quickly before sautéing, they hold their colour in the most fantastic way!

August 29, 2012
Life in farming is never dull.  On Tuesday we took Vanessa’s batch of 49 broiler birds to the abattoir.  The drive was going wonderfully well until this head popped into view out of the dark just to the right of the van.  We had enough time to register in our minds “DEER!” before we heard it run face first into the side cargo door.  There was a crash and thud followed by an adrenaline rush.  I looked back to see a stunned but very functional deer pick itself up off of the road and continue on its merry way.  Our van was left with a few cosmetic dents, but nothing functional was damaged.  We just have a little more character on the road now along with a few tufts of fur.

I was very happy to return to the garden after that adventure for a good long day of harvesting.  It takes a lot of time these days as there is a lot to bring in for both you, our CSA members, and for market.  We put together what I think is our best box yet!  This week you will find some lovely salad mix, Swiss chard, basil, parsley, cilantro, cucumber, carrots, beets, Jimmy Nardello sweet peppers (they are long, thin, red, and at first glance you’d think they were a hot pepper but they’re sweet), jalapeno pepper, a bag of mixed salad tomatoes (in the mix you’ll find red and green – ripe when soft to touch as they stay green – zebras, yellow perfection, and indigo rose), onions, ground cherries, nasturtium flowers (a refreshing edible flower with a slight peppery flavour for salads or garnish), and some tomatillos.  The last item is the main ingredient in our recipe for the week.  Tomatillos are common in Mexican cuisine and are most prominently found in salsa verde or “green salsa”.  This version is super simple and deliscious.  We made it on Monday and served it as a sauce on roasted chicken.  I was very happy with the results.  (recipe on back)

If you have an interest in one of Vanessa’s chickens please let us know by phone or email and we’ll arrange delivery.  These birds will be slightly smaller than our last batch averaging likely 3-4lbs rather than the 6-7lbs we had last time.

September 5, 2012
Rain is a wonderful thing.  On this past Tuesday September 4th we enjoyed being poured on for nearly nine hours straight during harvest.  In total some 38mm of rain fell on our little farm.  It had been 23 days since our last rainfall.  On August 11^th-12^th we saw 20mm fall on our farm.  We do a little happy dance every time we pass 1mm of rain.  For our plants to be happy and vibrant they need rain.  Irrigation keeps them alive and can help speed them along in a normal year, but the little we add disappears fast with our depleted water table.

A moist soil is alive.  There are millions and billions of micro organisms in the soil that establish symbiotic relationships with our foods.  Our plants need these organisms in order to extract nutrients from the soil.  Water is essential to plant growth, but it also ensures an active soil culture that can keep our plants thriving.  A good rain like today brings life back to the dry soil I was looking at when I awoke.  As I was walking in with the last of the harvest I swear the plants looked greener and more vibrant already.

Your box this week is a bonanza of garden wonders: Mesclun Mix, Kale, Parsley, Cilantro, Tomatillos, Tomatoes (big bag of Roma’s for saucing and some Green or Red Zebra Salad Tomatoes with a Brandywine Beefsteak), Cucumber, French Fillet Beans, Yellow Wax Beans, Bunched Carrots, Onions, Ground Cherries, Sweet Pepper (either yellow bell or a Jimmy Nardello), Jalapeno, and beets!

We are moving into the next phase of the year.  We are still planting greens, but a lot of major harvests are underway.  Keep your taste buds on edge with the soon to arrive waves of squash and potatoes.  You can expect leeks to make an appearance soon too.

September 12, 2012I am happy to report that last weeks rains have quite rejuvenated our gardens.  Our kale, chard, and lettuce beds are growing fast and producing very well. With help from our WWOOFers (volunteer farmers) Rebecca and Nick we’ve been out pulling in major bulk harvest in preparation for the fall leg of our CSA. We are looking forward to sharing a selection of squashes, potatoes, and turnips with you from now until our CSA season ends.

The times are certainly busy here on the farm.  We harvest four days a week now to bring in the full diversity of produce that you’ve been enjoying in your baskets of late.  Mondays and Thursdays usually see us harvesting our non-perishables while Tuesdays and Fridays see us harvesting our tender greens and packaging up all of the deliciousness you have been seeing in your baskets of late.  It takes a good deal of time, but the results have been more than worth while.

This week we are happy to see the return of a favourite item and the arrival of a new item.  Returning this week is our friend the potato.  All of our beds are now ready for harvest and this is the week we are doing it!  We started late this afternoon with part of our fingerling bed and were able to sneak a pint of Banana Fingerling Potatoes into this week’s basket.  The fingerling is a category of potatoes that are slender and elongated.  They are very tender and are amazing if done at a slow simmer in a pan with butter.  Just slice the fingerling into rounds and enjoy; I know I will be J

You will also find some mesclune salad mix, kale, chard, beets, carrots, yellow beans, onions, ground cherries, cayenne hot pepper (labeled “Hot” on the bag), sweet peppers, one spaghetti squash, cucumber, Cherry Tomatoes, and Leeks.  Yes, the new item is the leek.  They are just entering into edible size and this fall treat will make a wonderful addition to soups, stir frys, and as a garnish.

September 19, 2012
September is more than half way gone and it appears that things in the garden are still moving along at a good clip.  Our summer crops continue to produce well and we are starting to see our fall crop plantings near harvest size.  We have also enjoyed semi regular rains so far this month.  I believe we have had more rain this month than we did all July and August combined.  The abundance of moisture has come with a few wonderful surprises.  The principle of which is the fact that the cabbage and brussel srpouts that we assumed we dead and gone to the drought appear to be thriving again.  My fingers are crossed, but I am hoping that some of these beauties will find their way into baskets come October.

As I write this newsletter we are about to see our WWOOFers Rebecca and Nick depart for Nova Scotia.  They have just finished a two week stint here at the farm and we’ll miss them.  They were excellent field hands and great people to trade stories with.  Nick was a great help in loading and unloading our pigs for their trip to the abattoir.  Together they picked epic amounts of beans, tomatillos, tomatoes, ground cherries and carrots.

This week we are happy to see the first appearance of Turnips in the boxes.  These turnips have a wonderful bite and full flavour.  Along with them you will find some ground cherries, potatoes, onions, leeks, mesclune salad mix, beets, kale, Swiss chard, beefsteak and salad tomatoes, and carrots.

September 26, 2012
It is now officially fall.  Myself and many other vendors at the Junction Farmers’ Market noted the traverse of the equator by the sun, the actual time of the equinox, with a mix of emotions.  For many of us it signaled the beginning of the end for our gardens and the shift from planting and cultivating to harvest and closing mode.  I think one of the biggest emotions was that of relief and celebration.  Many of you know that it has been a challenging year for our little farm due to a confluence of circumstances from drought, equipment failures, and the inevitable startup struggles every small enterprise faces.  This summer was a seventy hour a week marathon that holds promise of winding down with the coming of fall.  The work has been great and I have been lucky to have the chance to meet so many wonderful people as a result through both you, our CSA members, and through the customers who frequent our market stands.  With the start of fall I am celebrating our successes this year, reflecting on our failures, and beginning to dream about round two in 2013.

We wake these days to cool crisp mornings.  The dew is heavy and our greens look vibrant.  Growth is slow due to the low light levels and low heat.  Lettuce, turnips, and beets are all looking healthy and are moving along at a steady pace.  We started harvesting a new bed of carrots this week.  Our tomatoes are still on the vines and we watch the weather reports religiously for any signs of frost.  Soon we will have to clear the vines to allow the fruits to ripen inside and with luck will have tomatoes well into October.

This week we are focusing on one last hurrah of summer’s bounty as we close on that chapter of the year and move on to the final fall leg of produce.  Tomatillos are back for a final appearance this week, next week too for our full share members, and you’ll find some roma tomatoes for roasting, drying, or saucing as you like.  You will also find what I am happy to call CSA staples such as carrots, beets, ground cherries, and mesclun salad mix.  You will also find squash, turnips, kale, a sweet bell pepper, cayenne hot peppers, Onaway potatoes, onions, scallions, a pie pumpkin for those not receiving a basket next week.  If you are a full share member you will receive your pie pumpkin next week in preparation for Thanksgiving.  It is early this year so enjoy with some pie!

October 3, 2012
Happy Thanksgiving!  It came early this year and we are happy to say that the full bounty of 2012 has made its way into your boxes.  As a farmer thanksgiving is a time to look back on the season that is ending and to reassert my humbleness before nature.  At times we people can be a little self assertive in our demands on nature.  I know that I have been critical of the heat and low rain we were dealt this year.  It is easy to get focused on the things that went wrong than those that went well.  Thanksgiving is a time for me to say my thanks to those I am indebted to and whose charity I have gained from.

I think firstly, on behalf of us all, I should send out thanks to our departing intern Vanessa.  Vanessa has been a solid presence on the farm since May and has been instrumental in making these weekly boxes happen.  I am thankful for her dedication to the farm and her willingness to persevere through difficult times.  Coming to intern on a farm during its first year is always brave and to do so through drought and heat is a serious test of character.  The food we have all enjoyed this summer was made possible through her hard work and we here at the farm wish her well as she moves on to bigger and better things.

Secondly I owe thanks to the family, friends, and volunteers who have made Fiddlehead Farm their temporary home throughout this past season. They came to work, visit, and often times eat with us.  Their contributions helped to enrich our lives and our farm.  I can only hope to have as many positive encounters in 2013.

Thirdly, I believe that thanks are owed for the land, the sun, and the rain (that which did fall) that ultimately made the garden flourish in tough times.  There were a few rains where I was out doing a little happy dance.  These rains helped to breathe life into the crops that we are now enjoying.  Without the land and weather there would be no food so we must always remain thankful for them.

Lastly, I want to express my thankfulness for you our CSA members.  This was a challenging year for our farm and I feel that your support and understanding has helped me to fell secure in our project.  Even when the weather was difficult we knew that our desire to grow good food organically and sustainably was the right one because we had people like you standing behind us.  Thank you for you support.

This is our climax box.  From here we will begin the denouement as crops die out and settle down for winter.  You will find mesclun mix, kale, beets, carrots, parsley, turnips, a small cabbage, fingerling and norland potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, pie pumpkin, hot and sweet peppers, tomatillos, tomatoes, scallions, leeks, onions, and ground cherries.

October 10, 2012
On October 8^th, this past Monday, we experienced our first frost of the fall season.  It was expected.  October 8^th is actually the average date for the frost to return in our area.  The arrival of frost signals a shift in our garden work.  Several plants were killed and a few others were knocked back.  Our fall brassicas (radishes, kale, turnips, mesclun) are doing very well, but our peppers and tomatoes are half dead.  We have begun the process of stripping the vines in hopes of getting some fruit.  You will find the results of this labour in your baskets this week.  Frost marks the real beginning of fall here on the farm.  Lots to do still, but the beginning of the end is here.

Thanksgiving came and went fast on the farm.  I work weekends attending farmers’ markets so I only had a little time with family, but it was quality time.  I hope that you were all able to make use of the extra large boxes last week and that many a great meal was had from them.  We have only a few weeks left in our CSA and you can look forward to lots of greens, some root veggies, and hopefully I can still pull off a surprise or two.

In this weeks box you will find mesclun salad mix, a stir fry mix (mixed spicy mustard greens), red and green peppers, a squash, potatoes, carrots, kale, beets, scallions, some thyme, and watermelon radish.  Yes, watermelon radish is our new item for the week.  The watermelon radish is an Asian radish related to the Daikon.  It gets its name from that fact that underneath its dull white skin is a bright red centre.  It is a wonderful radish that plays with your taste buds.  It is both sweet and spicy shifting from one to the other as you chew.  I am very happy with how it performed and we can look forward to a steady flow of them from now through to the end of our CSA run.

October 17, 2012
The end to our 2012 CSA half shares has come upon us fast and by surprise as always.  We started way back in June, survived a historically significant drought together, and all the while got to enjoy wonderful organic produce.  I hope that you have all enjoyed the year as much as I have.  The CSA program is a central part of our farm.  It enables us to fund our yearly seed costs and ensures a stable destination for our produce.  I hope that you have all found the experience rewarding.  It was important for the farm to offer unique foods that were both tasty and nutritious.  I hope the winter months treat you all well and I want to thank you all for your support and feedback throughout this season.  I want to invite thoughts and suggestions on how we can improve our young CSA for next year.  Thank you all for being a part of our inaugural year.

It is amazing at how fast this farming season has flow past.  We were hit with a hard frost last Saturday morning.  I woke to my final day at the Junction Farmers’ Market and crunched by way across the frozen four in the morning grass to load the van.  It was a conclusive end to our heat loving crops.  Our peppers and tomatoes had been limping along last week and I did manage to save a large amount of both before the frost finally killed the plants and the fruits.  We enjoyed much from both of these favourites and it will be another ten months before we are able to enjoy them again.

We welcomed two volunteer guests to the farm over the weekend as well.  Stefan and Felix are visiting us from Germany and have already been a great help in the field.  While I’ve been focusing on harvests they’ve been starting to put the irrigation equipment away.  This ensures that we will soon be able to turn under this year’s garden and begin our preparations for 2013 in earnest.

The biggest point of excitement in terms of 2013 preparations is the imminent arrival of garlic to the farm.  We are especially pleased to be purchasing some Fish Lake III.  Fish Lake III is a garlic variety developed not just here in Prince Edward County, but on the property directly next door to us.  Keeping local food culture alive is something I am very excited to be taking part in.  Only nine months until we can start enjoying it!

In this week’s basket you will find beets, carrots, leeks, turnips, cabbage, thyme, watermelon radishes, potatoes, onions, hot peppers, green peppers, and a squash.  It is still quite a full basket despite the frost.  I hope all is enjoyed.

Some recipe suggestions would be stuffed peppers, a good vegetable soup with the roots, and radish with a little lime and salt on them.  I also enjoy the radish sliced and eaten as a snack.  Watch for the little heat at the end

October 24, 2012
Here we are, the second to last CSA box for our full share members and the last box for our Belleville half share members.  I hope that everyone has enjoyed their boxes this year.  Please send us feed back on what you liked and did not like about this year’s program.  As we start to reflect on next year your input will help us grow and improve our CSA box program.  We will be in touch during the winter months with 2013 program details.

I still cannot believe that we are in the full grip of fall.  The days are chilly even though frosts are still few and far between.  In the field our team of German WWOOFers has been rolling up thousands of feet of drip tape from our irrigation system for winter storage.  The drip roller has evolved in fits as each incarnation of our makeshift device breaks or shows flaws.  The biggest challenge has been to build a handle that won’t sheer from the weight of the full rolls.  I think the Mark III might be the winning design.  I hope

Soon I will be back on the plow turning under this year’s garden with visions of 2013 in my head.  I am excited to have this time to work on the garden.  We did not have access to the garden in the fall of 2011 to prep fields or build infrastructure.  We hit the ground running in February and have not stopped since.  Preparing the garden now means more time to focus on planting and cultivating in the spring.  Even though I am ready for a rest after a full season of farming I am still getting excited about 2013 and starting it all over again.  Yay!

For our second to last full and last half box we are still showing a decent array of produce.  We started into a new bed of carrots today and were happy to find some decent sized yaya carrots ready for eating.  Scallions, leeks, beets, turnips, parsley, watermelon radish, potatoes, green peppers, mixed greens of Red Russian Kale and Spicy Mustard for cooking, and a goodly sized Kohlrabi.  Sadly our salad greens are looking a bit tired and tough for harvest these days.  If you find yourself in a pinch for some extra cooking greens try the radish greens they are a bit tough for salad in my opinion, but they do cook up nicely.

Eat well and thank you for supporting us in our first year.  We enjoyed ourselves and I hope you have too.

For our full share members there is still one more delivery to look forward to.  Lucky ducks.

October 31, 2012
The final delivery of the year has arrived.  I am happy to say that we have managed to keep a good level of variety into November.  While our CSA is only a short 18 weeks it has seen a dramatic range of weather, struggles, and successes.  I am thankful to you our inaugural CSA members for your bravery in supporting us in our first year and for weathering the summer drought with patience and understanding.  I am already formulating crop plans for next year and I am eager to hear requests or suggestions that you may have.  We might not be able to do it all for next year, but every year we build in our complexity, competency, and quality.  Your feed back will help us with this

Life is changing gears here at the farm.  I still have some local markets to attend, but the weeks now are largely focused on preparation for winter.  We put the greenhouse to bed with all of our seedling trays cleaned and stacked waiting for spring to put them back into full use.  The WWOOFers and I spent this week pulling deadwood out of the forest for winter fires.  Our old farm house has no central heating, so to avoid the cold we are about a third of our way to a full wood shed.  It took a few sore muscles to get there and it will be a few more before we finish.

I think Fergus and Willow have been enjoying the wood hauling the most.  For those of you not in the know, Fergus and Willow are our 11 month old pups.  They generally spend their days in the garden with us.  The forest has been a wondrous new world for them.  I think they also enjoy watching us human folk work while they play.

In your box this week you will find some familiar friends: we have watermelon radish, turnips, beets, kohlrabi, carrots, thyme, leeks, fingerling potatoes, onions, and cabbage.

Thank you for enjoying the bounty of 2012 with us.  We hope to grace your table again in 2013.

July 4^th, 2012

Welcome to the start of Fiddlehead Farm’s 2012 CSA!  It has been a lot of hard work to get to this point, but it is finally time to start enjoying the harvest.  We started seeding in March, and by April we were plowing the fields.  We continued through May with seeding and weeding.  In May we faced a challenging drought.  It rained the first weekend of the month, but it didn’t rain again for weeks after that and hotter than average temperatures led to very dry soils and a very poor germination rate.  Sadly, several of our plantings were lost in this weather.  The return of regular rains in June has been very much welcome.  Our crops have perked up and lots of new seedlings have sprouted.

In your box this week you’ll find a mixed bag of Lettuce Greens, a head of Paris Island Romaine Lettuce, one bunch of either Siberian or Lacinto Kale, Early Wonder Beets, Oregano, Hyssop, Savory, Cascadia Snap Peas, and a head of Nappa Cabbage.

Our unique item of the week has to be our Hyssop.  It is a member of the mint family, but it tastes like licorice.   You can use it to season cooked dishes or add to a fruit salad.  We’ve had some lovely pastas with hyssop at the farm this week and there was a beautiful fruit salad with hyssop, banana, apple, and pineapple at breakfast the other day. You can also make a wonderful tea with it.  Enjoy J

While you enjoy this week’s box we at the farm will be continuing the work of preparing for later harvests.  Our Tomatoes are just getting ready to trellis and lines will be strung this week.  Tomatoes are one of my summer favourites and I am excited this year to be trying some new varieties.  You can hopefully expect those treasures to start appearing mid-august.  I know, it is far away, but the wait will be worth it!

July 11th, 2012

Time is moving super fast at the farm.  I still cannot believe it is July!  We are nearly finished trellising our Tomatoes and last week we made use of the damp conditions to do a lot of hand weeding on our carrots and beets. The new crops are looking quite promising and will hopefully make up for our drought delays. Irrigation is a wonderful thing once you have it, and our drip tape is proving to be increasingly efficient at giving our plants the water they need without loss to the surrounding soil. The greatest part about being in our first year is seeing how fast our systems can evolve and adapt. Learning our soil and how it responds to water has provided a lot of insight into how our garden ought to evolve and where the most efficient uses of water, hoeing, and space can be made.

This week’s box is quite a shuffle from our last delivery.  This week we have the first of the year’s Zucchinis.  You’ll happily find one scaloppini zucchini and one straight green zucchini.  Herbs are back with a special first appearance of basil.  You’ll also find thyme and sage in your box.  Swiss chard is our feature leafy green of the week.  If you are unfamiliar with it, treat it as though it is a large-leafed spinach. Beans are also making their first appearance in the CSA this week.  You’ll find either a green French, or yellor wax variety in your box. They are both delicious so I know you’ll enjoy!  Kohlrabi is our unique item of the week.  You can eat this “turnip cabbage” raw in salads or cooked into a variety of dishes.  If you experiment please let us know the results J Scallions, in big beautiful bunches, are on hand to round out the box.

July 18th, 2012

It has been hot hot times here on the farm this week.  I’m sure you’ve all been struggling with the heat and our crew has been doing its best to keep these veggies growing and smiling.  This has meant a few modified days where we take the bulk of our rest time during the afternoon before returning to work from 4:00pm to 8:00pm.  Prolonged afternoons are usually cause for celebration followed by an immediate nap.

New crops are starting to grow, and with them the promise of delicious food down the road.  New beds of mixed lettuce are sprouting alongside parsley and parsnips!  I had quite the time getting the parsley to start in the dry hot weather we’ve been enjoying this year, but perseverance has paid off and we now have the first little shoots of parsnips starting in the garden.  With steady irrigation, loving hands, and the odd bit of hoeing we’ll nurse these delicate seedlings into deliciously sweet fall veggies.

This week’s box is fairly similar to last week’s.  You will find Kale, Scallions, Zucchini (regular and scallopini), basil, hyssop, lemon balm, and beans.  The new item this week is the lemon balm.  I figured it would be a good addition given the hot weather and everyone’s need to start hydrated.  Simply cut up some lemon balm (the herb looking like mint that smells of lemon) and put it in cool or cold water.  The lemon flavour and essential oils will seep into the water giving it a refreshing lemon flavour without the need for lemons.  You can also make a hot tea with it or put it into food.  It would pair nicely with fish.

Thoughts on Kale!  One thing that I’ve started doing with the kale recently is breakfast smoothies.  I am frequently given tips and suggestions for veggies by market goers and one of the best so far has to be the kale breakfast smoothie.  You simply take the kale and remove the stem.  You only need two cups to make a tall glass so you can be sparing.  Add two cups milk, one banana, and a tablespoon of maple syrup.  Blend until it is smooth and enjoy.  It may be the greenest thing you’ll ever drink

One final note for this week: we are processing our small flock of meat chickens this week.  If you are interested in some farm chicken please email or phone the farm to reserve a bird.  As of my writing we only have 5 birds left for this order, although there will be more later in the season.  They will range 5-10 lbs (note if you have a size preference) and will be whole and frozen.  Birds are $4.50/Lb.  We will bring them with us for delivery next Wednesday July 25^th to Scadding Court and Bloor/Borden Markets.

July 26th, 2012

July is coming to a close and as it does I am breathing a sigh of relief.  This has been one of the most difficult months of farming that I have experienced in my four short years of farming.  July was incredibly hot and our water reserves evaporated.  The result of it all has been higher than acceptable losses and the delayed maturation of our surviving plants.

A CSA Member asked us last week why we were not yet seeing CSA staples like carrots, beets, or lettuces.  I expect that many of you have similar questions and I want to provide an explanation.

The hot and dry conditions have been the greatest cause of losses this year.  We have been working non-stop for the last few weeks trying to get irrigation to as many of our key crops as possible.  Crops which in a normal year would never need irrigating have needed saving this year.  The biggest save of the last week is our winter squash crops.  We are growing lots of squash and two weeks ago it looked as thought we were going to loose them.  We spent some extra time putting irrigation lines on them, and I’m happy to say that they are recovering well.

Our lettuces were burned out by the heat.  Hot weather causes lettuce to go to seed and take on a highly bitter flavour.  We grew two beds of lettuce for mixed bags and one of head lettuces in July and saw high losses to plants simply burning to a crisp in our fields and found the survivors too bitter to be worth eating.  They did get a regular supply of water, but it wasn’t enough.  We have reseeded with one bed sprouting and another just seeded.  Lettuce is coming back, but it will take a few weeks to get to proper size. I’m comforted by the fact that few others have lettuce either; the problem is across the board on small farms in our region.

Our carrots and beets are in the field and should be getting close to harvest soon.  We put more irrigation lines on them and hope it will have an effect.  The big problem is that while we are keeping them alive, the heat and surrounding dryness in the soil is making it difficult for them to size up.  Rain came Thursday so I hope that it will be the push those crops need to finally swell up.  It is odd; we received our heaviest rainfall of the year (50mm), but soils that usually become mud in lesser rains are today just damp.  It is a sure sign of just how dry things were.  We have been able to keep our carrots looking healthy and green, but beets showed a propensity to burn in the drought leading to lower numbers.  There are a lot in the ground though so you should expect them in your baskets soon.

The hot and dry conditions have been exacerbated by what has been a particularly bad year for insect populations.  An early spring gave populations a head start on our gardens and stressed plants are more susceptible to attack.  This pressure has been particularly felt in our crucifers (cabbage family plants).  We have been able to save our kale only through great care in covering the plants and by using a calendula extract to knock the populations back from time to time.  We had one plant left uncovered for a day and by the next morning the beetles has eaten all the flesh from it.

Our goal for the fall is to make up for this loss by providing you with the produce that the heat and insects destroyed this summer.  Flee beetles disappear by September so we should have a greater success rate and crucifers prefer cool to hot weather.  My fingers are crossed.  Wetter weather should help our crops to mature and thrive.  Irrigation can keep them going but it is never as good as a solid rain.

We do also have some success to tell you about.  The heat has been particularly good for our tomato and tomatillo crops.  These have been thriving on irrigation and we expect to see a good return come August as these crops begin to ripen.  Onions and potatoes have also proven hearty and we should see good harvests of these in the coming months.

I expect to have a good fall, but I do expect leaner than intended boxes to continue as we recover from the drought.  Carrots and beets should be coming along in August with September and October looking to be very good. We have been fine tuning our irrigation to work with this weather and our soil type to allow new seeds to germinate. This is in perfect time as the fall crops are being seeded in the coming weeks, and we plan to have them germinate and grow on schedule.

For this week you will find some of the aforementioned Kale along with scallions, basil, beans, savory, zucchinis, and…to our amazement…Dumpling Winter Squash.  Yes, somehow one of our winter squash varieties has matured already.  We had one with our lunch on Tuesday to experiment with this delicious small variety of squash and found it to have a mildly sweet flesh somewhere between an acorn squash and a butternut.  We baked it in the oven and I would suggest cutting them into wedges, brushing with maple syrup, facing wedges up (skin on baking sheet), and cooking until soft in a hot oven.

A great suggestion for the Scallopini Zucchinis is to slice them into half inch steaks, coat with a little bit of olive oil, sprinkle with coarse salt, and grill on a barbeque or indoor grill.  I did them on a fry pan here to great success.

Thank you for being a part of our 2012 CSA and for you patience as we weather the worst Ontario drought in 40 years.

Aug 1st, 2012

Vanessa weeding, Steve hard at work on his new toy… whoops! I mean tractor!

The Laying Hens in their coop.

The general theme of this month has been one that I’m sure farmers and gardeners alike are well familiar with; the all encompassing, “I’ll dance if it makes a difference,” constant refrain of when (when?!) is it going to rain? Well, it didn’t, for quite a while. Almost two full weeks without precipitation, and we were without irrigation, doing everything we could imagine to get some water on the plants that had been recently seeded or transplanted. Much to the amusement of some we drove the farm van around the field with a 1000L tank in the back, getting gravity on our side to get a little moisture on the brassicas. The reality of drought at this time of the season is that any crop that is beginning to germinate, the tiny little carrot seeds under a protective layer of soil, has a giant ‘pause’ button pressed on its development. They wait, they wonder as much as we have been where the rain is, and they keep their delicate first leaves underground well sheltered from the glaring county sun. When it finally does rain, (and luckily for us it finally has) everything that’s been patiently plotting underneath the soil busts out with a vengeance. The garden, as Steve is fond of saying, is “popping!”

Waiting for rain…

Hiding out under row cover.

Even in the midst of drought we had crops that were thriving, and I’m not just talking about the pigweed! Our spinach, lettuce mix, and radishes have all been coming up quite consistently. We’ve had some decent production in the kale, collards and chard department, and our mesclun, though bedeviled by flea beetles, is still coming back heartily enough to take to market every week. In the past week we’ve seen the dwarf snap peas fruit and fatten up – it’s a remarkable thing to watch the dainty little pea flowers shift into thin, flat early peas that gloriously take a fuller and fuller shape, busting at the seams with peas inside. Did I mention they’re delicious? Don’t worry, they’re on their way to market – and you – very, very soon!

The pea beds early in the month before their glorious transformation.

The month of May, and now June of course, has had us in the field so long we’ve been bad bloggers, but it does mean that every section of the garden now has something to boast about. When we (the interns) arrived, there were a number of beds planted, but the big crops, the ones that are staggering because of the sheer number of things to go in at once! still loomed ahead of us. It can be daunting to look at bags upon bags of seed potatoes (for the uninitiated those are basically potatoes that have been stored because they’re too little, or lumpy or unfortunate to sell, that in the spring send shoot right out of those eyes we trim off eating potatoes) knowing that each potato within the 20lb sack will be cut at least in two, if not in three. Seed potatoes don’t sit nicely in trays, they’re darned heavy and it took a little creativity to figure out the ideal system for depositing each little chunk-with-an-eye into the furrows Steve had made with the tractor. The answer? Tree planting bags. Worn like a back pack, with large sacks at the hips, planting bags were made to be stuffed to the brim with potatoes. A week later we discovered they were also meant to be overloaded with onions! They’ve been a delightful, albeit hilarious, solution to the conundrum of attempting to carry many little things and plant with both hands.

The WWOOFERs, Tyler, and I, affectionately (we swear!) refer to the days of planting onions, scallions and leeks as the days we enjoy planting thousands of something. One of the more interesting aspects of being a farm intern is those moments when you catch yourself re-learning something you thought you already knew. For me this was so clear when it came time to plant the leeks. While we may have an idea of how something is grown, or how to harvest it, our understanding of planting is often limited to seed-in-ground, plus water and sun. Just like bean plants in kindergarten, right? On a farm that intends to get the most out of the vegetable growing season, this is the case only part of the time. The rest of the time there are plants painstakingly seeded in the greenhouse, on some farms as early as February, coddled and nurtured through germination, through the development of their true leaves, and later transplanted into the wide open spaces of a garden bed. Leeks and onions are often seeded in rows, without the use of separated planting blocks. This means, come transplant time, you take a tray with approximately one thousand tiny leek bulbs into the field and you separate them out by hand. One, sometimes two or three at a time, and then carefully ensure that the spider’s web tangle of roots is safely under a healthy layer of soil. For a few days there, we were dreaming of leeks.

Squash – another one of those ‘thousands of something’ crops. All in the ground now!

These are, of course, the moments that stand out. We’ve already learned to appreciate the steady rhythm of hand weeding a bed of peas, or picking spinach. We’ve come to be pleased about the speed and accuracy of a wheel hoe for clearing the aisles between garden beds. We’ve accepted the fact that weeds can feel like the most productive thing in an organic garden, a challenge that needs to be met consistently head-on, with determination and the right tool for the job, which, often times, is a set of well trained hands. In one short month these tasks have become routine enough to barely meet the requirements for an ‘interesting’ blog post. They occur with such frequency that we sometimes forget the last time a bed was weeded, or what exactly was planted there, even though we may have only done it a couple days (hours?) before. Life in a garden moves quickly. These moments are worth mentioning though, if only as a reminder that the little tasks that make up the everyday life of the farm bear such substantial fruits. I’m not just talking about the peas either! Every crop that we fuss over, every bed that we rake in preparation for transplant, every hole we dig to protect those delicate little roots, is going to become something glorious – our, and your, food. And that’s certainly something to celebrate.

Garden bonus! Tyler picking wild asparagus.

Next Up: Animal Adventures

This first set of photos is from the Easter long weekend.  Heather’s family joined us for many feast sized meals and a mini-construction project.  Heather’s dad, pictured in the first picture explaining the designs to Willow, did the bulk of the assembly work.  He and Heather cut all of the boards from rough cut 2x4x10s we picked up at the mill.  It was a lot of work, but I think they both enjoyed it.  Heather sealed all of the wood and today, April 23rd, she put the wheels and door latches on in preparation for the arrival of more chickens this week.  Soon we will be self-sufficient in eggs.  The second picture is Heather showing off the nifty nest box door for egg collecting.  On the bottom is the nearly finished coop.  A big thanks go out to everyone for making that weekend so amazing.  We got a lot done!

Our Greenhouse certainly came alive this month.  Not only did our WWOOFers Alex and Mathilde assemble all of the tables to get our trays off of the floor, but they spent several day long stints at the seeding table planting tray after tray of delicious veggies.  The result is a greenhouse that is easy to look after and that is full of seedlings just waiting to be planted.  Thanks again to both of them for making a big difference on our farm during their stay.

For those of you who are curious: the tables a old shipping pallets that we attached legs too.  A great way to reuse something that people would otherwise have just thrown out.

Composted manure arrived on mass a few weeks ago.  It was amazing to see this big truck come up the driveway.  It was even more amazing to watch at the entire shipping compartment or this big trailer lift nearly straight into the air.  I was very happy it wasn’t a windy day.  I’ll admit it: I backed up as it neared its peak.

Our restored spreader has been busy laying the manure.  With crops going in, there is little time to waste.

We’ve all been getting up to different things here on the farm.  I can be seen on top with the seeder getting ready to lay some peas into the ground.  Fergus was there for moral support.  Apparently that can be tiring.  Ron is at centre working to clear out some of the old walk ways on the farm.  Hawthorns have taken over the main path linking the length of the farm.  Ron has painstakingly been removing it.  Dad, at bottom, is plowing up some soil.  There is a lot of grass in our fields and it all has to be put under to allow up to get our veggies growing happily.

Dad hasn’t been the only one out plowing the fields.  By far I’ve spent the most butt in seat time getting the fields ready, but happily I haven’t been the only one.  Heather is seen on the right using the tractor for the first time.  She got it moving and made a fairly straight pass with the plow.

Last week it developed a leak in its fuel tank and was down for a few days before we were able to fix it.  It was a very stressful couple of days, but we managed and the end result was a working tractor and two more finished garden sections; well, the plowing part was done.

And that has been my tour of April in photos.  More has happened of course.  Transplants went into the field for the first time and we had to make due without irrigation during a brief dry spell.  Improvisation and creativity have been our aides and luck seems to be favouring us.  In the coming weeks we’ll see our coldroom arrive for veggie storage, irrigation setup, and a processing station designed and built.  Yikes…I better get moving on all of this stuff!  Thankfully starting next week Fiddlehead will have its first two interns, but I’ll let them introduce themselves.

Until next time!

Luckily enough for Fiddlehead Farm we have some helpers staying with us.  Alex and Mathild have joined the Fiddlehead Farm team as our first WWOOFers.  WWOOFers are traveling volunteers who take advantage of world wide opportunities on organic farms to learn and experience local culture and farming.  They are staying with us for three weeks as part of their one year journey across Canada.  While here they chip in six hours of work a day and spend their free time exploring the County and surrounding areas.

The first major challenge we threw at them was cleaning out the garbage in our antique manure spreader and uncovering the old plow, spring tooth harrow, and discs that the previous owners of Fiddlehead Farm had left us.  By the end of the day we had moved all of the equipment but the discs.

With a lot of grease and a little oil the gears on the old spreader started to turn.  Throw in one new spring and voila we have a functional antique manure spreader.  It is ready and waiting for our Turkey Litter Compost to arrive this week (April 10^th).  Having a functional spreader is a great weight off of my mind.  The pieces are in place.

Yesterday I took the harrow that Alex and Mathild had helped to uncover out to the field.  It wasn’t as good as a plow, but it helped turn over some of the plant cover while opening the soil up to breath out any of the extra wetness that may have rested in spots.  Tomorrow I’ll be out with the tiller to turn that plant matter in and make some bed for the peas that are ready and waiting to plant.

With just a little help projects are hopping off of the shelf and are getting done.  We are beginning to pick up speed as our garden is getting ready to spring into life.  There are green in the Greenhouse and there will soon be greens in the field.  The months of preparation have all been building to this: our first field planting of the year!

With all of this fun going on in the field it is easy to forget about marketing our CSA.  Memberships have been coming in the past few weeks and we now have a solid start to our first CSA year.  I thank everyone who has signed on and I look forward to providing you all with top notch tasty veggies this year.

We are still looking for more members and as our major garden expenses are just starting to land on our table every member is treasured all the more.  If you’ve been sitting on the signup form or have it waiting on the table to be mailed to us now is the time to send in your registrations.  Tasty food is being planted.  Reserve your share now

Until next time…

Once the frame was up and our massive crew was out and eager to work we broke into teams.  Gene and Stuart took on the mountings for the roll-up sides.  Alan and Ron worked away at framing the ends.  I spent the day on a ladder securing the beams and working the impact gun.  By the end of it all we had the makings of a greenhouse with the promise of being ready for covering on Sunday.

Sunday was a rush at the end.  Our crew needed to get back to the city while we needed to have a lot of people on hand to put the covering on the greenhouse properly.  We pushed through and by five we were ready to put the plastic on the framing.  The cover went up and over remarkably easy.  There was little wind and the many hands made it easy to pull, tighten, straighten, and secure the cover before dark.

It was an amazing achievement to get this together in such a short span of time and I am indebted to my helpers for what they accomplished.  I hope that everyone had as much fun as I did.  We now have trays of seedlings going in the greenhouse.  Spring is here and the seeds are a planting!

A thanks needs to go out to Heather’s friend Allison who helped Heather build a temporary outdoor pen for our piggies.  The purpose of the pen is to get the pigs accustomed to the electric fence.  We want them to hop back when shocked and not through the fence.  It will also train the pigs to avoid the fence in the first place.  Hopefully they learn quick and they’ll be out on full pasture in no time at all.