Boreal Edge Farm

Clearing the Land

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:04:00 +0000

Every fall we try to clear another acre or two of the pasture. This year we had a lot of help from local students needing to get their volunteer hours for the education program in. Thanks guys! 6 people working for 7 hours accomplished a weeks worth of work in just a day. What a difference many hands makes.
There is only 1 acre left to clear in the pasture now! It's nice to share this immensely satisfying work with other people. There is nothing quite as rewarding as starting a day with a piece of land covered in small trees and brush, and then finishing it with a neatly stacked brushpile burning away, the land now cleared and ready to grow grass for the cattle next summer. Effecting positive change in our daily life!

Grass Fed Beef Now Availible!

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:53:00 +0000

Were now taking orders for our Grass Fed Beef.

Every year we graze Herford-Angus steers in our pasture over the grass growing months (May to Oct). Our steers graze on a lush pasture mix of clover, timothy and grass from May through mid-October. Our animals are rotated through the pasture, keeping a fresh salad bar of grass in front of them all season, while allowing the other parts of the pasture to recover from grazing. We strive to provide the best quality of life for our steers. Our animals have fresh, clean, spring-water piped directly to them at all times. They also have access to shady, tree lined, lounging areas to relax in and never have to walk far to find either water, shade or grass. In early fall we send them to government inspected abattoir in Murillo for processing. We believe grass fed beef is better for people, cattle and the land for a number of reasons:

Pasture-raised animals roam freely in their natural environment where they're able to eat nutritious grasses and other plants that their bodies are adapted to digest
When raised on open pasture, animals are able to move around freely and carry out their natural behaviors.
Low stress conditions mean healthy animals, with no need for antibiotics or growth hormones

The Human heath benefits of grass fed beef include being lower in calories and total fat, with higher levels of vitamins, and a healthier balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fats than conventional meat.
Cattle can naturally gain weight and fat on good pasture without the need for grain.

Purchasing our beef

Because our priority is feeding our members, we offer our Beef for sale to our CSA customers first. If beef is available after their orders have been met we are more then happy to sell to the public too.

How do I request certain cuts?

Because of our small number of cattle we cannot offer beef by the cut. In order to be fair to everyone and ensure that we can sell all our cuts and ground beef, we bundle our beef for sale in 20 lb boxes. We include only top end cuts in our boxes.

The boxes are comprised of 10lbs of ground, and 10 pounds of assorted cuts. We include only top end cuts in our boxes.

Here's what you'll find in every box:

Box of Grass fed Beef Breakdown

1 Roast, 3-4 lbs (Sirloin tip, Boneless rib)

5 steaks (Tenderloin,T-bone, Rib steak, Porterhouse, Sirloin)

10 lbs of ground beef in 1 lb packages

Box Price: $100.00

Beef is sold on a first come first serve basis after our CSA customers.

Cooking Grass Fed Beef

Check out these links for great tips on cooking our grass fed beef.

http://www.sustainabletable.org/features/articles/grassfedbeef

http://www.alderspring.com/cooking/html/cooking.html

First Snowfall

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:24:00 +0000

Although the snow will melt pretty soon, it's definitely an indicator that our season is drawing to a close. This is the second last week of our harvest season, which will mean that April has gone to market every week for 17 weeks! That is the longest veggie harvest season we've ever been able to manage, and given our extremely poor summer, its a bit of an achievement.
After the snow melts we'll see what remains in the garden and take the last of it to market next Saturday, October 17.

Early October Update

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:45:00 +0000

With last weeks planting of garlic we've finally reached the end of the planting season on the farm. Despite the recent heavy frosts that killed the frost sensitive plants we still have harvesting to do. Right now we still have the following things available at the Country Market on Saturdays.

Beets
Chard
Green Onions
Mesclun Mix
Carrots
Spinach

Until we get a solid freeze, we'll keep going to Market, hopefully until the end of October.

See you there!

Pea and Bean Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:33:00 +0000

Saturday was our annual farm tour and communal pea and bean harvest. We had a great turnout from our CSA members. Collectively we picked 6 harvest bins full of beans in a little over an hour.
After the beans were picked we took them into the barn and together, everyone
packed them into bags.

Then we divided the bags amongst the participants and everyone went home with piles of beans.

Thanks everyone for coming out and participating in the harvest, see you again on Wednesday!

And don't forget to bring a sturdy container if you purchased a fall share!

The Penultimate Share

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:07:00 +0000

In the Penultimate Share

Green Onions
Cabbage
Celery
Carrots
Parsley
Beets
Summer Squash
Hot Wax Peppers
Bread
Eggs

Next week, Cantaloupe and Green bell Peppers!!!!

Enjoy,

10th CSA DROP

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:02:00 +0000

Hi All!
Tonight, we are looking forward to our first good taste of some of the later crops of the season, that we were very lucky to harvest this year!

In this weeks CSA share:

Green Onions
Beets
Carrots
Squash
Yellow Beans
Green Cabbage
Celery
Potatoes
Blueberries
Bread
Eggs

An email has been sent out regarding a slight change in how the CSA sign in will work this evening. Please take a moment to read this prior to your arrival.
Thanks! See you tonight!

9th CSA share

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:38:00 +0000

At long last, 2 weeks behind in a "normal" year, come the Yellow Wax beans!!!!!

And green onions from seed!!! These onions are the best we've ever grown.On the garden front the very first tomatoes have begun to turn red and the cucumbers are about an inch long. Melons are doing surprisingly well, given the lack of heat, we expect to have enough for everyone to get a taste. Green peppers and celery are doing great, thanks to the black mulch.

However because many plants will not set fruit when nighttime temperatures go below 8 degrees, we don't have anywhere the number of melons, squash and cucumbers we would in other years. Some things, like eggplant, never formed fruit at all this year. Last year there was weeks of cucumber salad for every member, this year it'll be more like a cucumber for every member. It's disappointing when we can't deliver on the "peak of the crop" veggies that every one looks forward to.
Despite dire predictions of "global warming", we haven't seen any of that around here in years. The last 3 summers have been getting cooler and cooler if anything. Next year there will be no "hoping" for a good summer. Were planning for another "bummer", and planting accordingly.
Next year we'll be changing our strategy for heat loving plants, growing them in long, unheated greenhouses called hoop houses, or covering the rows with agribond fabric to help keep the heat in. Whatever it takes to get back to decent yeids of curcubits!

In this weeks share:

Mesclun
Green Onions
Carrots
Golden Beets
Yellow wax beans
Kale
Herbs
Squash
Bread
Eggs
And a surprise or two

August 19 CSA share

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:52:00 +0000

On the menu for this week..............

Kohlerabi
Broccoli
Green Onions
Carrots
Chard
Peas
Summer Squash
Herbs
Mesclun Mix
Bread
Eggs

The hot weather helped the peppers grow, however the high temps of last week aren't in the forecast anytime soon.
However Beans are coming on now, and soon it'll be time to come and pick your own!!

August Abundance

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:27:00 +0000

This harvest day was awesome, thanks to the "Dream Team" working in the field and the barn. Thanks to Roots to Harvest for coming out to give us a hand this season, they attacked the weeds each time they came out, and what a difference a group of dedicated weeders can make on a field!

This week we have a few new arrivals!!!
Carrots,
Golden Beets,
And Cauliflower,
It also marks the high tide of Broccoli. We harvested a loader full!
In this weeks share:

Carrots
Golden Beets
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Mesclun Mix
Green Onions
Rosemary
Basil
Peas
Bread
Eggs

6th CSA share

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:03:00 +0000

It's mid-season now on the farm, and while in most years we would be into squash by now, the continuing cool weather has kept us weeks behind where we hoped we'd be. However the cool temps have allowed more planting of spinach to go in (unthinkable any other year as the plant bolts to seed in even moderate heat quite quickly) and has been beneficial to the brassica crops (broccoli, cabbage, kale. kohlrabi, cauliflower and brussels sprouts).

Every year when Kohlrabi, goes out in the CSA share we get the same question "What do you do with it?". It's an unusual looking vegetable, but despite its alien appearance it's really just a type cabbage. Here's a couple of our favorite Kohlrabi recipes:

KOHLRABI RECIPES

A favorite way to eat truly fresh kohlrabi is to peel (like a potato, Matt doesn't peel his but I like to.) The kohlrabi, slice it like you would jicama or carrots for a dip tray, and then eat the raw pieces plain or with lemon juice. The kohlrabi is fresh so it's sweet, and has none of that strong cabbage smell old brassicas can have.

Cooking tips:

Kohlrabi doesn't have to be peeled after cooking.

It's excellent cooked or raw. Try it both ways.

Grate kohlrabi into salads, or make a non-traditional coleslaw with grated kohlrabi and radish, chopped parsley, green onion, and dressing of your choice.

Try raw kohlrabi, thinly sliced, alone or with a dip. Peel and eat raw like an apple.

Steam kohlrabi whole, 25-30 minutes, or thinly sliced, 5-10 minutes. Dress slices simply with oil, lemon juice and a fresh herb, or dip in flour and briefly fry.

Saute grated kohlrabi in butter, add herbs or curry.

Add sliced or cubed kohlrabi to heart soups, stews or a mixed vegetable stir-fry.

Chill and marinate cooked for a summer salad. Add fresh herbs.

Kohlrabi leaves can be used like other greens. Store the leaves and bulbs separately. The globe will last for a few weeks in plastic in the fridge..

Kohlrabi Pickle Chips from the Victory Garden Cookbook

1-2 pounds smallish kohlrabi, trimmed
3 small onions
1/4 cup pickling salt
2 cups vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1/4 teaspoon tumeric

Peel and thinly slice kohlrabi and onions. Mix salt with 1 quart ice water, pour over the vegetables, and soak for 3 hours. Drain, rinse, and place in a bowl. Bring remaining ingredients to a boil, cook for 3 minutes, and pour over the vegetables. Cool, cover and refrigerate for 3 days.

What's in this weeks share!?!

Snow Peas/Suger Snap Peas (Can eat both pods and peas)
Kohlrabi
Broccoli
Mesclun Mix
Romain Lettuce
Green Onions
Beets
Chard
Basil
Bread
Eggs

Spinach Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:51:00 +0000

Here is another great recipe from one our our members!

Spinach Salad

Baby spinach
3 boiled eggs mashed or sliced
mushrooms
1 small can sliced water chestnut
6 strips crisped bacon

Put on dressing just before serving....

1/2c. Olive oil
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Finely chopped onion
2 Tbsp vinegar
1/2 cup or less sugar
3 Tbsp Ketchup

Leave sauce overnight for best results.

Sunshine, Broccoli Tops and Rainbows

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:17:00 +0000

We've had quite a few little showers and one downpour in the last week which helps the garden grow.

In this weeks share:

BROCCOLI!!!!!
Kale
Parsley/Cilantro
Radishes
Green Romaine/Red Romine/ Oakleaf, head lettuce
Chard
Mesclun Mix
Bread
Eggs

Just around the corner: Peas and Baby Potatoes!!

Why our Ultrafresh vegetables are important

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:27:00 +0000

Thankfully, all our membership has eaten safely the past 4 weeks!

Here is a link to a news article regarding a lettuce recall from some stores throughout Ontario:
Lettuce Recalled From Ontario Stores

Kale and Banana Smoothie

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:05:00 +0000

Here is a recipe for a Kale and Banana smoothie, forwarded by a fellow member of our CSA.

Kale and Banana Smoothie

1 Banana
2 cups chopped Kale
1/2 cup light unsweetened soy milk
1 Tbsp. Flax seeds (try to grind them, as your body will not get any nutrients from the flax otherwise)
1 tsp. Maple syrup

Directions:
Place the banana, Kale, soy milk, ground flax seeds, and maple syrup into a blender. Cover, and puree until smooth. Serve over ice.

This recipe is from allrecipes.com. A great recipe resource allrecipes.com allows you to get a recipe and adjust it to a specific serving size requested.

Thanks to David Cevero for his contribution of this great recipe!

Rain at last! Huzzah!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:12:00 +0000

With 6 weeks of rain storms just missing us or petering out a half mile away we don't get excited until there's water in the gauge. But this morning in a fast and furious 10 minutes a cloudburst dropped .8 of an inch!!! This is great news for the garden and pasture. The peas and beans should have enough moisture to start forming now, and the spuds are getting the rain just when they need it. We could still use a lot more rain, but we're grateful for what we've received today.

In Today's CSA share:

Basil
Beets
Head Lettuce (Green Romaine, Red Romaine, Oakleaf, Butterhead)
Rainbow Chard
Green Onions
Mesclun Mix
Radishes
Kale
Bread
Eggs

Cool and Dry means Not Great for Veggies

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:32:00 +0000

Despite the drizzly conditions the last few days, the farm has seen very little precipitation in the last 6 weeks. We have only received 3 tenths of an inch since early June. Considering good plant growth requires about an inch of water a week, we are seriously under-watered right now. Every weather system containing precipitation has either just missed the farm, or dissipated before getting to us. We can irrigate the transplants with our drip system, and we do our best to keep moving the sprinkler on the direct seeded garden but nothing compares to a good, steady rain.
The field crop garden has no irrigation at all, and is dependent on rainfall to water the plants there.
Now that the blooms are on the peas, and potato's we really, really need rain in order for the plants to set their fruit.
Add to this the unseasonably cool weather we've had and plant growth is nowhere near what we've seen in the last 8 years. Normally our first CSA share would include Romaine lettuce, but our first heads won't be ready until this coming week, the fourth CSA share drop. We have had Broccoli as early as the second CSA share, this year it looks like it wont be until the fifth share, although there are a few heads starting to form now.
July has been downright cold, cold enough that we have had a few wood fires in the stove to drive the chill out of the house. We have never, ever had a fire in the house in the month's of July or August. Considering this is usually the hottest time of the year, when corn, melons and peppers are thriving, we're becoming concerned that some of those heat loving crops may not be ready before the first frost in fall.

Bees and Beasts

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:59:00 +0000

We have had a few new additions to the farmstead in the last few weeks that we haven't had a chance to mention:

A hive of local Bees courtesy of Nathan,
The bees will help pollinate the flowers on the plants in the garden (and produce honey too of course).

And four Hereford/Angus steers.
Grazing our lush pasture in full bloom. A pipe from our spring brings fresh cool water to the steers. Bees and grass fed cattle are pretty maintenance free systems on the farm, only needing a daily checking and (in the case of the cattle) opening a gate to move them to the next paddock of grass. That's important when there is so much work to do watering and weeding in the gardens.
Because we are a small scale organic farm, weeding is mostly done by hand, either with a hoe ,wheel hoe, flame weeder or (mostly) just pulling them up. With 3 acres to weed, there is never enough time in the day.

Food in full swing

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:59:00 +0000

The farm is now in its second week of CSA share growing. This week we have the following for our members:

Pak Choi
Basil/cilantro
All lettuce Mesclun Blend
Spinach
Radishes
Green onions
Kale
Bread
Eggs

In order to keep a steady supply of food ready for our members, we continually plant new beds of spinach, lettuce, green onions, chard, beets, carrots, radishes and greens. Here's a newly planted bed of meslcun (centre) and Radishes (left). Every week a few more beds are planted and every week we harvest a few too. It takes about one hour to till and plant a bed and two hours of weeding before harvest time. Harvesting itself can take as little as 20 minutes or as long as 2 hours depending on the crop.

Once the veggies are harvested we take them into our newly built (and still semi-completed) barn to wash, grade, bag and store them. This process used to be the labor bottle neck on our tiny farm, but the new "production line" streamlines the work and makes it ALOT easier on us physically.

Basically the line is two raised work surfaces (one that April is standing at, and the other one behind Nathan covered in freshly washed blue bins) that allow us to keep our backs strait, out of the rain and sun, while we work. At the end of the tables is the door to the home made walk in cooler.
April has just brought a load of spinach in from the field, and places it at the end of the wash table.

Then the harvest bins are filled with spring water and washed, then spun dry in the orange salad spinner. One person washes and grades the spinach, one person fills the spinner basket and spins the spinach dry and one or two people stand at the end of the line and bag the spinach. The bagged spinach then goes into the blue boxes and finally into the cooler, ready for tomorrows CSA drop. We use the same process for greens and mesclun. Almost every thing else is harvested and bunched in the field, then brought up to the barn to be washed, counted and packed into the cooler.
We are always refining the process, but in comparison to previous years, this is a huge improvement and has made producing food for 80 members possible.

Comments

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:09:00 +0000

If you would like to leave a comment, Please do!
Click on the "comments" link at the bottom of the post, write your comment, and then click on the "anonymous" radio button (circular button). This will allow you to post without having to finagle with a password.

PICK-UP LOCATION

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:03:00 +0000

Pick -Up

Due to an unavoidable discrepancy at LU, the drop location has had to change from the Lot 5 administration lot, to Lot R3 (Click Here for a map).
It is off Oliver rd, turn on University Drive North, and the parking lot R3 is on your right.
It is next to the MV building, and close to the MS building.

Bread Ingredients

Also, we had a question regarding the ingredients in the bread made by Both Hands Bread. The bread itself is always dairy free, however an exact list of ingredients could be obtained by calling Derek at: 473-4599.

Just a quick reminder: we had a few questions regarding obtaining your weekly share if you are unable to pick up on Wednesday evenings. Our advice to this is to try your best to find a friend or family member to pick up for you, otherwise we take the leftover items to a local shelter on our way back home. The food will always go to good use!

RECIPIES!

Here is a few Joi Choi recipes....

Crunchy Joi Choi Slaw
2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp dark sesame oil

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard

salt to taste

Very thinly sliced Joi Choi

1 carrot, shredded

1/2 scallion, thinly sliced

Mix all together, serve.

http://www.freshlink.org/JoiChoiRecipe.html

Here is a Kale Recipe...

We have always cooked it as a side for supper as follows:
Bunch of Kale
1-2 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 shallot (you can use finely chopped regular onion)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

First, sautee the garlic and shallot in olive oil. Then, add the Kale, Sautee just until sweated not until mushy. Add salt and pepper to taste!

If you have a great recipe you'd like to share, just post a comment!

June 28th Update

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:44:00 +0000

This last week saw our temperatures shoot up, wayyy up, into the 30 celcius range. The plants, long starved for heat, responded by growing like mad. Here's tomatos,
Broccoliand Eggplants,All tripled in size, with April's little foot thrown in for scale.
We planted another 8 beds of succession crops, here I am holding the seed drill,

We finished building the production "line" and 8x8 walk in cooler. Then we tryed them both out on wednesday and took some early greens to the Country Market.
Our First CSA drop date is for this coming Wednesday, July 1st. It looks like our first share will include ......

Green Onions
Spinach
Greens
Radishes
Joi Choi
Kale
Bread
Eggs

After all the work of the last months, its at last time to Harvest!!!

June 20th Update

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:02:00 +0000

Last night we finished putting in the last of the 6079 transplants! Our sore backs are glad that job is over. Now the entire mulched acre is planted. It features: 2 types of broccoli, 2 types of melons, 2 types of eggplant, Kohlrabi, 4 kinds of tomatoes, pie pumpkins, 3 types of peppers, Joi-Choi, Cauliflower, celery, kale, celeriac, 2 kinds of cabbage, Brussels sprouts, basil, cilantro, rosemary, parsley, 2 kinds of cucumber, 4 types of wintrer squash, 4 types of summer squash and yellow onions. All told this job took 180 person hours to complete!
The warmth of the last week has really helped the direct seeded garden to thrive, we now have 36 beds planted, with more going in every day! Also of note our daily work hours has started to shift down a few notches, from 14- 16 hours a day in May and early June, to 12 hours two weeks ago, this last week we were down to 10 hour days!
This last pic is thanks to our youngest. The first toad of the year was photograped "in action" and released after. Toads are a welcome sign of summer, we usually have dozens living in the garden over the season. They are an excellent organic solution to insect pests, and a good indicator of biodiversity on the farm. With the forcast for more warmth this week, its safe to say we have at last arrived in early summer.

June 12th update

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:04:00 +0000

This has been a brutally cold spring, frosts have fallen several times, killing off many of our friends and neighbors transplants. On balance the first 10 days of this month have been 10 degrees lower than average. Daytime highs of 12 to 15 and nighttime lows of around freezing have really kept the veggies from developing. The cool earth has meant that germination has been agonizingly slow. Still, in the last few days things have started warming up a little, and at last the plants are beginning to grow.The onions are doing great, while spinach and lettuce mix have their first true leaves.
Here a recently sprouted golden beet is peeking up.
Head lettuce transplants are starting to put out new growth,
Like this red romaine.
The leafy greens under row cover are up and seem to be handling the flea beetles okay,
Corn just started coming up today,
Peas, a cool season favorite are doing well despite the temperatures.
Kale, another cold hardy transplant, has been growing since it went in last week.
Our tomatoes, peppers and herbs are hardening off before we transplant them, hopefully tomorrow or the next day.
The forecast is looking good, fingers-crossed, hopefully the plants can make up for lost time, as our first delivery date is set for the evening of July 1st!

Kids in the Field

noreply@blogger.com (Matt and April) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:24:00 +0000

We had visiting field hands arrive last friday from an intercity school in town. They came to learn about how we work the land, and to help too! We head down to the plastic mulch garden.After a quick lesson in how we're going to transplant, we start firing the norstar gold onions in!
The process goes like this: I punch the hole through the plastic at the right distance with the transplanter. One kid drops a pinch of kelp meal down the tube, another drops a pinch of bonemeal. Then with one kid holding a tray of onions, two more children pull 4 plugs out of the tray and drop them down the tube.
Lastly a group of 3 or 4 people cover and set the plugs. In one hour we`ve planted 1200 transplants!!
The kids have lunch and then back on the bus to the city. Everybody had a good time, and the kids have had an experience that they`ll remember for awhile.