Boreal Edge Farm

Venison: Butchering, Grinding & Sausage~ing

2012-01-31T10:24:00.000-08:00

After many evenings searching for the elusive deer and finding only birds and spying far off white tailed deer tails, we finally got our doe in early December. The chaos of Christmas and planning for the farming season to come have left this blog post and photo essay a little delayed, but here it is nonetheless.

We got our deer, much to the delight of all. She was a large doe, with a surprising amount of fat on her, but given all the oats they've been eating on the property this year perhaps not so surprising. In any event, she had some nice tasty looking bits to her that promised to make good ground venison and sausages. We decided (well poverty dictated) that this year we'd prepare our own ground and sausage using our electric meat grinder at home. We knew from early on that if we got a deer, we weren't going to mess around trying to have cuts of meat (roasts or steaks) as we both prefer our game in ground/sausage format. The kids are big fans of ground meat too, steak, roast and the rest are wasted on them. Once we had gutted and skinned her, she hung in the barn for a couple of days to season and as a by product of the season, freeze.

We set to it in the kitchen in what proved to be a two day meat procurement process. Day 1, step 1 was to remove the fatty bits, hair and any other things you wouldn't want to eat from the deer. I should say at this point that this was my (Leigh) first time participating in the butchering, preparing of the meat. Before this I had seen many spoils of the hunt hung in garages and sheds, but never participated. It was super exciting and I found that the work of butchering came quite easily and naturally to me.

Because our meat had frozen during the hanging process the butchering took quite awhile, longer than if it had been thawed, but the fat and other bit removal was easier with the frozen hocks. Once we had a good pile we started to grind the meat while the other person butchered. We discovered that nice long frozen strips fed very well into the machine, without bogging it down and ground up quickly. This whole process took about 5 hours, consituting Day 1 of our "sausage party". Come one, you knew that joke was bound to be in here.

At the end of it all, we figure that we ended up with about 50 lbs of ground meat. Because it was going to sit overnight until we tackled the sausage component of this, we were happy for the fact our house is rather chilly in the winter, no need for artificial refrigeration.

Before we completely called it a day, we had to taste our handiwork for supper, so I whipped up a concoction. Here's the start of it:

And it was quite delicious. There is something super satisfying in knowing that the oats that you planted in fallow fields, fed the deer for the summer and fall. Then we hunt the oat fed deer, butcher it, grind it and eat it for supper. No concerns about where that meat came from for us :)

Day 2 required that we acquire some butcher paper so we could convert our giant meat pile into neatly packaged 1 lb portions of ground to be frozen. We ended up with about 25lbs individually packaged. Between that and our local pork we should have meat well into the spring/summer. And speaking of the pork...when we purchased our side of pork we were forward thinking enough to get the abbatoir to give us the fat from the side. We ground a very small portion this fat in order to use for our sausages, as venison is a very lean meat.

While Matt ground the pork fat (that goopy looking white stuff above), I mixed the spices for the two varieties of sausage: Hunter's Venison and Italian. I'll copy the recipes at the end of this post. We had to modify the Italian sausage recipe as it was a pork based recipe originally, so we decided on a 2:1 ratio of venison to pork. The hunter's sausage was based on a 5:1 ratio. Once we had the pork fat ground and the spices mixed up, we blended the whole lot by hand using the same principle as if we were making burgers or meatballs. Mash 'em! This extra step promised to result in a more consistent sausage with a finer grind.

One very important step recommended by YouTube videos and Matt's mom, Brenda, was that we try the sausage "guts" before putting them into the casings. This seems really logical, but to be honest, I'm not sure we would have done this without the recommendations as we were very focused on the "prize". I'm glad we did because we found the Hunter's Venison sausage was a little salty for our taste. I'm going to include the original salt proportions in the recipe below because we are not big salt eaters and some of you may be, but consider yourself warned. So, we added an extra pound of ground to our double batch of Hunter's Venison, changing that ratio a bit, but mostly bringing that saltiness down. It seemed to do the trick.

So 1.5 days into this process and we're ready for the actual sausage making part. Our meat grinder, which is certainly not industrial but is a good little electric machine and earned some street cred during this process, had a sausage making attachment so we were ready! We had enough sausage mixture for approximately 22lbs of sausage. For casings we went to our local butcher shop and purchase 1lb of real casings (not the synthetic ones), which in case you're wondering is way too much brine soaked intestine!!! We using 2 or 3 of the strips of casing, including all the casing we had to throw out because of our learning curve. Our advice to you is to ask the butcher how much casing based on how many sausages you're making. They do freeze and are quite cheap, so no harm done I suppose.

So the whole sausaging process, the actual putting of meat into casings was kind of tricky, but not insurmountable, after all as we reminded ourselves, we were learning a new skill and developing it so any mishaps were opportunities to refine our technique. Controlling the meat flow (I don't know any other way to say that) into the casing was the trickiest part. This effects how much air is going into the casing; too much air you have a meat balloon, not enough and you have a meatplosion. In the end, we were able to do a reasonable job with the tip from our manual that said when meat balloons (our word, not theirs) occurred, a small pin hole would help tighten up the very stretchy casing.

Below are shots of what we ended up with, our first sausages. The top photo is our Italian sausage and the lower one is our Hunter's Venison. The Italian are decidedly lighter in colour because of the high pork fat content. But they are both super delicious!

All in all, from hoof to casing, this venison procurement process was absolutely one of the most rewarding things we've done in a long time. Maybe ever? Bluedog is also very satisfied with the nonstop flow of giant deer bones to nom~nom. The birds are also happy with the venison suet ball they can feast on (just out of Blue's reach) in the lilac bush.

Happy, healthy, full tummies all around. As farmers, who grow and provide food for the community and our family, few things make us happier.

Sausage Recipes

Hunter's Venison Sausage: Makes 6 lbs of sausage

5 lbs Venison (cubed for grinding)

1 lb pork fat (cubed for grinding)

3 tbsp. salt (**remember the saltiness warning above)

1 tbsp. fresh ground pepper

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. sage

Mix ingredients well, let sit for at least 1 hour up to 24 hours. A note about the sage: I'm not a huge fan, so was a little sceptical about including it. However, once mixed, it wasn't even noticeable, I think it does something to counteract the gamey flavour of the deer? Anyway, I recommend it, despite my early misgivings.

Italian Sausage: Makes 3 lbs of sausage

2 lbs venison (cubed for grinding)

1 lb pork fat (cubed for grinding)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed (fennel, ftw!!)

1 tbsp. salt

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (a little more if you're like me and like it spicy!)

1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Mix ingredients well, let sit for at least 1 hour, up to 24 hours. A note about the 2:1 ratio: the sausage is pretty fatty this way. I think that's the way italian sausage should be, but if you're watching that kind of thing, you may want to make the ratio 2.5:0.5. I also think the fennel/spicy combo makes this sausage fantastic and delicious.

CSA Shares 2012

2012-01-13T15:14:00.000-08:00

We have high hopes that 2012 will be a year in which we hope brings happiness, prosperity and LOTS of good things growing on farm. We are experiencing a renaissance around here where our thoughts, minds and brainstorming are returning to some of our farming practices from years gone by and even some new ideas. If you are looking for some good reading, we just finished Joel Salatin's (of Polyface Farms in Virginia) latest book entitled "Folks this Ain't Normal". Salatin's knowledge and wit have reinvigorated our minds to the benefits of a diversified farm, with a focus on sustainability, community and self sufficiency. Matt's visit to Polyface a few years back continues to be an inspiration and a wealth of creative ideas for a small scale farming operation like ours.

We will be getting back into pasture raised beef this year after a couple of years hiatus as well as raising and tending to Leigh's favourite: laying hens, which will provide us (and you, if you so choose) with pasture raised, organic eggs. We are also looking into the possibilities of pasture raising pork and meat chickens. There are, of course, plans in the works for a whole bunch of delicious vegetables and herbs as well.

As a result of all this diversity, our 12 week CSA share this year provide you with a couple of options,

Veggie Share: $450 ($37.50/wk)

Veggie Share + Eggs (1 doz/wk) : $510

Veggie Share + Eggs + Winter Storage Share = $610

A winter storage share is delivered at the last drop of the year and contains vegetables that will last and store well in cool places until after Christmas. They typically include: potatoes, squash, pumpkin and preserves (pickles, jelly/jam) from the farm.

In addition, as CSA members you will have first pick at our meat offerings, which we can and will tell you more about later in the year :)

Those of you who purchased shares last year may take note of the drop in price for the Veggie Share. We have fewer infrastructural and equipment investments to make this year, as a result we would like this to be reflected in a lower overall cost to you, as it is for us. We will have some spots for work shares again this year, please let us know if you are interested in this 12 week commitment.

We are planning a Farm Orientation Day this year for ALL members (paid and workshare) on Sunday, June 10, 2012. This Orientation Day will provide you with the opportunity to come out to the farm, get a tour of our operations as well as answer any questions you may have about the CSA process and what you can expect the 12 weeks to look like. These are things we often don't have the opportunity to communicate at our busy drop nights! Speaking of drops, we will continue to bring your veggies/food to town on Wednesday evenings for pickup between 6 and 7pm in the Lakehead University parking lot.

If you are interested in a share this year, please let us know by responding to this email so that we can hold a spot for you. In order to save you the hassle of stamping and mailing an envelope with your cheque and because we'd love to see you, we will be at the Thunder Country Market (at the Dove Building) on Saturday, January 28th, Saturday, February 4th from 8am to 1pm for members to drop off cheques/cash for your shares. We may decide to be at market for more dates after that, depending upon the response, promise to keep you posted on that. We will also get you to fill out a CSA member information sheet at that time. If you would rather send your cheque via snail mail please find our mailing address below, be sure to include a note with your preferred email address (if its different than the one we've used here) and a contact phone number. Also if paying for your share in two instalments works better for you and your family feel free to do so, just let us know your intention.

We very much look forward to being your farmers this year, please contact us via email: borealedgefarm@gmail.com not via the comments option on this blog. You can also friend us on Facebook : Boreal Edge Farm and you'll find us :)

Snail mail:

Boreal Edge Farm

RR #1, 5 Marttinen Road

Nolalu, ON P0T 2K0

New Year on the Farm

2012-01-02T18:56:00.000-08:00

Its 2012, and this marks our 6th year of blogging, and our tenth year of growing organic meat and vegetables on the farm. After a quiet fall spent regrouping and reorganizing the farm we're very excited about the coming year. With plans for 100 laying hens in mobile 'egg mobiles' on the pasture, grass fed beef and our extensive array of veggies, the new year is looking like the most diverse we've ever fielded. The possibility of pastured chicken and turkey is also something we're considering, my goodness even pasture raised pork!

Leigh and I hope the New Year brings prosperity to you and we hope for a great growing season!

Matt and Leigh

First pickles!

2011-08-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

Of the year that is, though, despite my love of all things pickled I must admit I've only pickled a couple of other times. This time, of course, is the most amazing because all of the things (well just about all of them) are right here. The cucumbers a little soft? No problem, we'll put those ones in water and go pick more. Dill? Oh, we'll pick that too. Our recipe calls for onions, we've got those too.

*sigh* Farm life can be super dreamy sometimes (still riding the egg-high, I'm sure you can tell). We followed this recipe for Spicy Dill Pickles.
We decided to use our Cuisinart pasta pot because sometimes you have to improvise when the urge to "preserve" occurs and we don't have a proper canning pot. This was handy in one sense because it enabled us to drain the majority of water without having to throw it out. Another improvisation included vice grips instead of canning tongs.

In addition to our own fresh ingredients we were really fortunate to acquire some of our friend Renata's fresh garlic from Mile Hill Farms which is beautiful in texture, taste and colour - look at those purple skins.

Our improvised tools worked pretty well, but our pot was about one inch too small, causing the water to boil over and put out our gas range enough times that the next time we head into town, I'll be buying a canning or at least a very large pot.
The results of our efforts are 5 X 500 mL jars (we had a few less pickles than the recipe calls for). Another definite change for the next round of pickles, which are already brining in the fridge, is to use our large stash of quart jars - a much better size for pickles. We'll also be ensuring that we really jam those cukes into the jars because they shrank a little in the process of processing so don't seem as full as they went in.
All in all, I'm quite please with our efforts and happy to have a starting off point from which to modify, add and personalize our pickles. Now we wait...

First eggs!

2011-08-21T08:45:00.000-07:00

After a long market Saturday we had that feeling of being wrung out and were ready for a nap, dinner and a movie (aka: the Saturday night post-market ritual. Between nap and dinner, I went out to see the chickens (now 4 months and 1 day old) and to my absolute great delight I found the first egg. At first I thought it was a rogue potato (it was rather oblong in shape) - it was one of those times where I had been looking and waiting for so long for something that when it finally came I wasn't sure whether to believe it or not.

When I say absolute delight, I mean absolute delight, like complete elation. The kind of happiness that you will remember and actually feel when recounted down the road to friends. Milestone kind of happiness. It couldn't have made me happier then if I had laid the egg myself (actually, I'm probably happier because it seems like that'd be a painful and highly improbable feat). The excitement of all the stages of development, getting them, brooding them inside, taking them on outside excursions, building their chiken tractor, moving them outside -- all of these things have been interesting, exciting and fulfilling. I love the chickens so much, if they never laid an egg, I would still enjoy them. But now, they do! They give back to us - we ate the first egg in the world's smallest scram this morning. As I got ready to crack the egg, I called Matt over (which seemed a little excessive and silly), but then this happened:

A double yoker!!! The first egg was a double yoke egg. I feel like this is the best possible place from which to start. A good sign or something. This also explains its rather oblong shape. I ate my portion of the world's tiniest scram with the delight that only comes from making something yourself or in this case nurturing, feeding, loving and providing for the birds to make something for us. After brunch, I somewhat obsessively went outside to see if there was another egg yet (there wasn't one earlier this AM when I checked) and once again to my absolute ridiculous, child-like giddiness there it was, egg #2. Looking much more like an egg, but small.

So, I guess my girls are off the races - this afternoon's project: building nest boxes. I'm sure you haven' t read the last about the excitement of the eggs, bear with me, I'm seriously filled with joy.

Pickled Radishes!

2011-08-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

This recipe comes from Granny Jan and is a flavourful and interesting way to eat radishes in new way (we're always looking for those around here). It came out of the July 2011 Bon Appetit magazine and was intended as a garnish for a watermelon salad - but we like them as they are, on an antipasto plate, even sliced on burgers - anything that needs a little kick!
Please note: this recipe is portioned for a single 1 qt. jar of pickled radishes, making it pretty easy to duplicate, triplicate etc etc.

Ingredients:

10 radishes (trimmed & quartered)
10 garlic cloves
1 tsp. whole black peppercorns
2 c. white vinegar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. sugar

Directions:

Combine first 3 ingredients in a clean 1 qt. jar. Add vinegar, salt and sugar. Put the jar lid on; shake until sugar and salt dissolve. Refrigerate for (at least) 3 days, shaking once daily.

The flavour mellows over time, last approximately 1 month refrigerated. Remember, because this recipe does not require you pressure can them, you also should refrigerate them. I think adding a little dill to this could also be delicious!

Happy radish-ing!

Midsummer Update

2011-08-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

This coming Wednesday (August 10th) Marks the 5th week for our Boreal Edge Farm CSA and the 6th for the True North Community-Co-op CSA. Its about this time of year, when things have moved into a predictable pattern of harvest, plant, weed that we can at last breathe a sigh of relief. Growing food for people on a small scale is a bit of a crap-shoot from year to year with little in the way of predictability. Such is the life of the farmer, the ultimate gambler. But by planting dozens of different crops we spread our bets out over the season and every year some things do well when others fail.

This year we once again tried cantaloupe and watermelons, but cool cool June wasn't kind to them, so maybe no melons this year. However, our corn crop hasn't looked this good in 5 years, there will be ears aplenty. Winter Squash are going great guns, filling out and starting to ripen already, whereas summer squash are just starting to set fruit. The carrots are late this year, but are coming on strong now and should give a decent harvest in a few weeks.

And the potatoes. Yes the spuds...

In the spring, armed with a mechanical planter, we went hog wild and planted 2 acres of the starchy tubers, it was so simple and quick, why not? Well, then came the worst potato beetle infestation we've ever had. We thought we had nipped it in the bud, eliminating the first hatch of P-bug larvae as soon as they emerged, but another wave twice as strong emerged soon after, and then 2 days ago a third wave, with hundreds of adult beetles. We have never in the past had more than a single plant infected, and it was quickly dealt with. Now with acres on the line we had to make a decision.
P-bugs only eat the leaves of the plants, not the tubers, and most of the plants were still unaffected (60%), so rather than waiting we've decided to harvest them now, eat them as new potatoes and at least enjoy them that way.

Now its off the the field to tinker with the potato lifting machine, that magically digs the spuds up and deposits them on the surface, and see if we can get the crop in!

How to Eat (y)our CSA share in one day!

2011-07-27T09:29:00.000-07:00

Now, this is not something you'd necessarily want to do, you may want to enjoy it throughout the week, however this may serve as a helpful tool for those of our CSA members (or fellow farmers, gardeners, and market shoppers) in how to eat up all those veggies. Its particularly important because what the garden produces it often produces in abundance. Sort of a feast or famine kind of a thing.
SO here we go...how to eat your CSA share in one day!!! Alternative title: you don't have to stir-fry to use up that bok choi :)

Breakfast:

Green onion + Thunder Oak Gouda omelette (dill or summer savoury optional)

You can use as many or as few green onions in this as you like, saute them first if you're onion "shy". We have no photographic evidence of this meal because we were too hungry, ate it too quickly and didn't realize that this day would turn out to be the veggie consuming experiment that it was!!!

Lunch:

Kohlrabi Slaw - peel & grate your kohlrabi, add remaining dill or some sorrel, add remaining green onions chopped finely. Add white balsamic vinegar and olive oil to taste. Finish with salt, pepper and your favourite hot sauce (we like thai garlic/chili sauces like sriracha).

Grilled Kale - chances are if you've asked us how to prepare a veggie, we've suggested you grill it on the barbeque. The reason is that its an easy, delicious, quick - not to mention heat-friendly way of cooking the veggies while retaining their awesome flavour. So mix your kale in with some olive oil, salt and pepper and grill on the top rack until the curly, frizzy edges are crunchy and brown.

Romaine/Sorrel Salad - Cut up your beautiful, flavourful romaine, add some sorrel and your favourite salad dressing.

Dinner:

So at this point you may have bits of all things left (some onion, some herbs) - here's the "kitchen sink" recipe/ dinner idea.

BBQ Bok choi bundles (credit goes out to Ryan, long time CSA member for inspiring this idea with a similar recipe)

The larger bok choi leaves will serve the function of the cabbage in the quasi-cabbage roll inspired dinner. Finely chop the bok choi stems, green onions, garlic (ok, not from us, but you've probably got some). Add some kind of meat if you want (or not) - we used smoked sausage, but you could go with bacon, prosciutto, ham, ground pork - you get the idea. This is also the time to chop up and throw in the remaining bits of other things you have left over.

Mix the "guts" together in a bowl add...you guessed it, olive oil + salt & pepper.

Brush the largest bok choi leaves with olive oil - these are your "wraps".

Here's the tricky part, that we admittedly have not mastered. Place a small amount of the guts in the center of the bok choi leaf. Fold in the sides, then the ends (kind of like a burrito) then skewer with either a toothpick or larger bbq skewer.

Carefully place on the top rack of the BBQ and roast for 5 - 7 minutes until the bok choi leaves darken in colour. Then you eat!!!

If you have any of the guts left over you can do what we did - lightly saute them to top the remaining romaine that you didn't eat at lunch. You end up with a delightful salad that is a combination of crunchy, savoury and a little bit warm.

So there you have it - this is how you can eat your CSA share containing bok choi, green onions, kohlrabi, kale, sorrel/dill/summer savoury and romaine - in only one, glorious day :)

We'd also like to share a website (credit to workshare member extraordinaire and our favourite graphic artist Merk for this one): www.supercook.com. Where you can apparently enter the ingredients you have to work with (in your fridge, pantry or otherwise) and it will generate a list of recipes using those ingredients or recipes using ingredients you'd like to use.

See you tonight CSA members - 6 - 7pm in parking lot R8 at LU Campus (near the ATAC).

CSA Starts this week

2011-07-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

A very quick note to remind our CSA members that this Wednesday, July 13 is the first CSA pick-up/drop of the 2011 season.
We look forward to seeing all of you and bringing you veggies at Lakehead U in parking lot R (near the ATAC building) between 6 - 7pm.

A Supportive Community

2011-07-09T16:06:00.000-07:00

It struck me last night that so many of the great eateries, delis and small grocers in Thunder Bay are not only places we like to eat, drink and be merry (or where we acquire the means to do this) they are also the good folks who buy, sell and otherwise consume our greens.
I thought our blog would be a great opportunity to highlight all these awesome community-minded businesses for all to see! After all they should get some free credit for all their good work.
In no particular order they are (there should be a cyber drum roll or something here) ...

Caribou Restaurant & Wine Bar
The Growing Season Juice Collective
Madhouse Tavern
The Bean Fiend
Maltese Grocery
Bay Quality Meats
Ruby Moon
True North Community Cooperative (The Green House)
Eat Local Pizza & Pastry
Bonobos Foods

The innovation they bring to preparing the produce we give them highlights the awesome potential and flavours of the food we grow. Working with such socially conscious businesses makes us truly grateful to be able to be (your) farmers!

Sun up, sun down

2011-06-24T18:19:00.000-07:00

We have been farming at a steady and hectic pace for the last few weeks and its starting to catch up with us. We're looking forward to that time of year when we're into a routine and its all about maintenance, keeping up with our regular succession plantings, cultivating, watering, harvesting, prepping and selling!

I (Leigh) am getting into the swing of things at market after two weeks. This week was my first solo market - it was really fun and successful. Being at the market gives everyone a great sense of the community we belong to, for customers of the market and vendors/farmers. Our farmer friends and "neighbours" were awesome (as usual) helping me get set-up and sorted out.

On our Sunday "off" we took a stroll down to the garden where our arugula, spring mix, spinach and radishes are growing fast and furious especially after the rain late last week. Our beans, peas, carrots and beets are also germinating really well in the long rows - the first crops to be seeded with our tractor-mounted seeder. The last of our transplant crops bound for CSA members and market also went in last week: dill, summer savory, tomatoes, squash and some others! I'm really looking forward to getting our share so we can pickle and preserve for fall and winter.

Our potatoes - we have planted more than an acre - are starting to sprout and grow. We have never planted this many potatoes, but were inspired by our great "vintage" potato planter and harvester scored earlier this spring. While they look like they've seen better days - they worked remarkably well, like they were built yesterday and enabled us to plant an acre of potatoes in the time it would have taken us to plant one or two long rows (660'). Ah mechanization!

One the list of things to check in on today: raspberries! After relocating them earlier this spring, into rows for easier maintenance and harvesting, they plants are growing well, but we're not sure how many berries we'll get this year because of the move. Its starting to feel like that time of year though, things are a little late this year, but early to mid July is raspberry time around here.

CSA 2011 Update

2011-06-14T16:27:00.000-07:00

A few of our CSA members have been inquiring about the CSA start date for this year so we wanted to dedicate this blog post to keeping people up-to-date.
The first week of the CSA will be either Wednesday, July 6th or Wednesday, July 13th. The absolute definite date is soon to be determined and believe us when we say, we are as anxious as you are!!! We are tending your vegetables with love and anxiously anticipating them growing to maturity so they can come to you!
Once we do start, the CSA will run for 12 weeks in total.
We will be sending out an email to all our paid members to keep you in the loop, if you did not or have not contacted us via email (borealedgefarm@gmail.com) please do, so we can add you to the group.
Our workshare members are also raring to go and were a great help at their orientation session. Remember, most importantly, as CSA members we are your farmers and this is your farm so you are welcome to visit and see how we operate anytime. Just make your way to Nolalu and follow the signs!

First Harvests

2011-06-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

After what seems like a slow start (due to cooler temperatures and our tractor being down for a week) this week marks our first harvest of the season. We had our first spinach and arugula harvests this week and should (barring any unforeseen circumstances) be able to go to the farmer's market on Saturday. The "barring unforeseen circumstances" disclaimer is important, because at this time of year it seems as if we are at the whim of Murphy.
Other important firsts this week include our first day of transplanting, where our veggies that were started in the greenhouse were planted by our field crew. These veggies are bound for CSA members and market. In the first round of 1080 transplants are: broccoli, cauliflower, pak choi (like bok choi), romaine and some other surprises.

660' of Pak Choi transplants^^

Romaine transplants ^^

Discussing seeder mechanics^^

Can't talk now, farming^^

The third and happiest first for one very happy farmer is the use of our newly purchased tractor-mounted seeder. For the first time EVER, we will be able to plant and cultivate (which includes weeding!!!) around our precise long rows of some of our finer-seeded crops. Beets, carrots, beans and peas all went in the ground using our new, much-anticipated high-tech method.

While it may have caused a slower start, the weather has been great for quickly germinating the next rounds of arugula, spring mix, spinach and radishes. The latter two we should have by next week, don't forget that Murphy guy...our fingers are still crossed, but we're starting to get into the swing of things around here!

Busy, but bountiful

2011-06-03T06:55:00.000-07:00

The fragrant smell of apple blossoms from our century-plus old apple tree are a delight to the senses when you walk around our farmhouse these days. A couple of days ago, however, the sweet smell of blossoms were drowned out by the acrid and quite frankly, icky smell, of Linus our 2 year old Beagle, who is now well acquainted with one of the skunks on our property. Don't play with those "cats" with the white stripe down their back Linus - I wonder if he'll recall this lesson?

Probably not.

Everyday, the farm is closer and closer to its first bounty of the season: arugula. This delightfully peppery little green should be ready for market next week (fingers crossed), with spring mix and radishes close behind. It makes us nostalgic for our trip to Italy where we ate arugula in every possible form - raw in salads, cooked with tomatoes and seafood on delightful handmade gnocchi on the Med coast and on Pizza Margherita in Vallee d'Aosta. Oh Italy, the culinary experiences we had continue to wash over us, months later. I am going to start experimenting with Arugula pesto - a delicacy we hope to be able to offer our farm community as well, after some taste tests, of course.

We are also getting ready to plant a new mixture of greens (in addition to our tried and true spring mix) that we call "Lala mix", which includes some 3 new lettuce varieties (Dark Lollo Rossa, Buttercrunch & Tango) along with sorrel. Radishes, favourites of farm customers (and Fraggles) are starting to plump, taking on their spherical shape - I had my first teeny, pea-sized radish last night. Our stalwart and hardy, spinach gets closer and closer to harvest everyday. To be sure, in two weeks time we will have piles and piles of veggies and we'll know what to do... feed them to people in our vibrant Northern community. We'll eat some ourselves as well, of course.

Rhubarb, most glorious of confection ingredients, is days away from its first tender harvest. I absolutely cannot wait to make a crisp - the flavour always reminds me of wandering around my grandmother's backyard with a bowl of sugar in which to dip the tart, late summer stalks the ultimate snack on-the-go.

And what of the chickens? (no longer chicks!) they are thriving in the tractor, foraging and growing fast. Including our Sisu who is carrying herself on one leg very well, eating and drinking well - I have a feeling she'll be a strong layer once the time comes (late July/August, in case you're wondering). Mrs. Anderson and Lucy are huge! Two of the biggest and from what we can observe are top of the pecking order!

For all our farm friends, customers and blog followers - the veggies are coming! the veggies are coming! We look forward to emerging from the frenzy to bring some to you.

Back in the [tractor] saddle

2011-05-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

Remember that whole thing about farming and timing? We are back in favour with the hands of time. Miraculously, our new tractor tire arrived in record time (early!) on Thursday afternoon, a full day ahead of the "earliest" expected arrival time. Yahoo!!!

So today, Matthew has disked, spread manure, and is getting ready to till and plant (a record) 14 beds so we can catch up in time for, you guessed it - rain tomorrow! Farming at this time of year really brings home the addage, "don't put off until tomorrow what you could do today". In fact, it amplifies the lesson - you shouldn't put off, can't put off and better not put off! Most importantly we don't want to put it off. The excitement of the onset of the growing season and vegetables to come is far too exciting!

We're happy to be on the upswing and back in favour with the ebbing and flowing of the sun, rain and planting cycle - the way we like it and most importantly the way we want it to be.

Tractor tires & fiddleheads

2011-05-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

Some things go according to plans and some things don't. That has been the big news on the farm the last couple of weeks. We planned to enjoy the long weekend (for Victoria Day here in Canada) in the middle of one of our busiest months - away from the farm, on a little holiday. As such, we had our butts in high gear along with the field crew. Just when we thought we had the jump on ploughing and disk-ing - we blew a tractor tire on the eve of leaving town. And we blew it good.

*sigh*

Not ones to panic we decided to proceed with our trip, order a new tire (these are not things they stock at the store, of course) and take it as a sign that we deserved a break. With our tire on the way, we decided (after the much enjoyed long weekend) to rent a dump truck to get our manure in anticipation of the tractor tire's arrival...to no avail. All the rentable dump trucks are unavailable and with our road on half load restrictions now we were starting to feel like we were up that creek, you know, the one without a paddle?

Fortunately, our field crew is resourceful and formidable - so we are doing some intense hand-weeding, harvested fiddleheads (newly sprouted Ostrich ferns - a small window of availability) and made a back up plan for manure delivery with a one-tonne truck and our trailer.

Phew! Farming is all about timing, sometimes we're on, sometimes we're off but we wouldn't trade it for an office anywhere!

Our one-legged chicken, Sisu

2011-05-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

We woke up yesterday morning, went out to check our chicks and noticed that one of our girls had a bloody leg - the crimson red colour jumped out at me amongst all the green grass and muted tones of the barred rocks. Fortunately, no other birds seemed harmed and the extent of Sisu's (so named because of her resilience and an homage to the early Finnish settlers of our farm) damage was minimal considering. We started ruling out options fairly quickly: it couldn't be a larger animal or even a smaller weasel because other chicks would have been damaged/gone, it couldn't be a raven (or large bird) pecking through the chicken wire because their beaks are too large to get through our fine wire and it couldn't be the dogs because, once again, there would have been more damage to the birds and the chicken tractor itself. This left us thinking that Sisu was injured in one of two ways, she either got into a scrap with one of her sisters that left her injured or she caught herself on something in the tractor (we've given it a thorough once over and thrice over now) or some combination of the two.
For a couple of hours, Sisu laid on the ground, not moving. I was preparing myself (sadly) to be down one lady to 7 chickens, but to my great great delight, she got up (on her one good leg) to eat and drink!!! Last evening during our bottle of post-dinner Barolo, we watched her move about on her one foot, eat, drink and rest. Sisu, like her sisters, is growing quickly out in the world and their instincts to forage have really kicked in! When we moved the tractor to a new patch of grass last night, they devoured the grass, dandelion leaves and some (including Lucy and Mrs. Anderson) were eating mosquitoes and flies out of the air - go girls go.
Our 8 girls continue to be some of the most loved and appreciated chickens around - we are incredibly grateful to watch them grow into inquisitive, resilient grown-up chickens.
*Fingers crossed for Sisu!*

Tongue & Groove Cedar Chicken Tractor

2011-05-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

This new chicken tractor is the fanciest we've ever built! With a total of 24 sq. ft., the girlies have their 3 sq. ft. requirement for free range status. And they are loving it!

Despite the fact that the dogs are infinitely curious about their feathered siblings and the temperatures went low enough last night for a frost - the ladies are happy happy, out in the sunshine. They are enjoying their new digs and we are glad they do! It took a total of 18 hours for two people to construct out of cedar, milled from our farm.
Enjoy it - they sure are!

Delicious Breezes and Glorious Sunshine

2011-05-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

Its the middle of May (wow!), which means: prepping, planting and excitement for the season to come. This week the coolness of late winter/early spring - whatever it is that we call April here in the Northwest - has decided to give way to sunshine and warm breezes. We had a wicked thunderstorm a couple of nights ago that woke even sound sleepers and lit up the house in the wee hours of the early early morning. Thankfully we had already tilled, disked and planted many things, just in time for the rain to fall. We have mixed greens, spinach, radishes and arugula already in and covered with agribond, some of their tiny sprouts are starting to emerge. These sprouts are the promise of things to come and you can literally feel it in the air around the farm. The joy that nurturing these vegetables into being brings is palpable.
Yesterday was the first day for our work crew this year, in addition to getting the water flowing in the barn, they transplanted/moved over 100 raspberry plants. Instead of harvesting berries from the mass of confusion in the old raspberry bush site - we will now be able to walk amongst the rows of berries to pick their deliciousness. Today we are finishing up with the raspberries and getting more beds seeded in order to keep the timing right for our secession planting in order to get those veggies where they need to be - tummies (yours, ours, whoever)
The girlies (chicks) are ready to head outside, this message was hammered home when one managed to escape from the brooder and join us in the kitchen for lunch yesterday. Not sure who was more surprised, the work crew or the rogue chick. The chicken tractor should be ready to go in the next week, ready to house the girlies as they start their new adventure.

Day 13 - Growing Chicks

2011-05-02T17:36:00.000-07:00

The chicks are growing up a storm these days. Lots of feathers and colour patterns emerging on their wings and butts! Its hard to believe they are only two weeks old, makes me feel a bit like humans are tortoise-like in their development.
As they get bigger, so does their food and water consumption. Everything is going down at a noticeable pace these days.

In the spirit of continuity, above and below are two shots of Lucy. You may feel like you're getting ripped off here because the lower one is a bit blurry. But, this shows an important part of chicklet life these days - moving!!! Lots of jumping and peeping and general raucous activity. We can often hear them - CLEARLY, moving around, scratching, making their chicken sounds. All this reminds us how much (and how quickly) they are growing.

As the ticks start to arrive, and the flies begin to wake up the chicks get the occasional feast -- a taste of things to come. This also means we've started discussing chicken tractor design and fencing to continue to keep the fur babies (and other creatures) at bay.

While the chicks enjoy their strolls in the kitchen we are hoping for some warm, calm days to take them back outside. That way I won't have to follow them around with towels to clean up their messes -- of which there are plenty. The kids watch with a mixture of horror, disgust and military precision as they point out the "poos" -- "eeew". Now that I have a regular relationship with their excrement, I feel as if they are in fact, my babies.

The girlies (as they are known to me) managed to knock over their food twice today, so I'm going to have to work on the blocks of wood that are functioning as extenders for their food and water. They need to be high enough they can't poo in them, but stable enough that this doesn't happen. Their length/height is often very evident when they are asleep in their brooder with their (long!) necks stretched out. It seems like a great way to sleep.

Hey Comrade, like our farm propaganda?

2011-04-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

So we decided it was time to get some farm swag (mugs, bags, shirts -- anything else?)...

Whaddya think?

These two images are inspired by war propaganda posters, when food, labour issues, rationing and doing one's part for the country/war effort became paramount. Rosie is no stranger to many of you, however, the other poster is a mash-up of a Soviet Era poster, cleverly crafted by our good friend Merk (who is also an accomplished and talented graphic artist and author of the popular Zygote Bop serial comic in Thunder Bay's "Walleye" Magazine).

By the way, these images are copyright to Boreal Edge Farm, All Rights Reserved. Be nice, let us take the glory of these beauties, ya hoser.

Growing chicks need brooder modifications

2011-04-27T08:56:00.000-07:00

Pretty wing feathers

Say What?! Chicken Butt (& Tail Feathers)

Lucy: 8 days

We've had the chicks for one week (and a day) and they have grown tremendously in that time. They have gone from being tiny fluffs to larger, less fluffy versions of themselves. The last couple of days have seen their curiosity grow, they are much more interested in the people who come to visit them and bring them food and drink! The chicklets had their first (supervised) adventures outside this past weekend in the lee of the wind. They sat on our legs and stayed very close to us and the brooder, but started to get more and more brave after about 20 minutes or so in the big world out there.
As they become increasingly bold and more active, they are jumping and flapping in their brooder a lot more. This means we had to extend the top of the brooder so they won't be able to jump out of it -- at least for a few more days. Basically they have gone from being chick-infants to chick-toddlers in about a week. We have tried to capture this by showing another picture of Lucy above (whose last photo went up a few days ago). Her wing feathers (along with all of her sisters) have come in nicely - they are starting to show their "barred" bands where the white mixes in with their dark feathers. Tail fluffs are starting to make way for proper tail feathers.

Day 3.5 - Lucy goes on an adventure...

2011-04-22T11:28:00.000-07:00

As the chicks continue to thrive and grow, they are starting to look like "themselves", unique from one another. This is Lucy. She went on a kitchen floor adventure today, she is most easily identified by the markings around her eyes, the white crest on the top of her head and her white and yellow chest - the most colourful of the eight chicklets. Another chick, the "grey" one (also Q's favourite) has really well-developed and colourful wing feathers. In honour of the boys love of the Matrix movies, her name (or my name for her as I'm sure Q will have other ideas) is Mrs. Andersen. Pics of her coming soon. For now, we're leaving the chicks to go have an adventure on this wonderful holiday Friday.

Day 2: Wing Feathers!

2011-04-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

Wing or pen feathers, whatever you like to call them, they are starting to show on a few of the chicks today. I also think they've grown a little taller - they are certainly more adventurous. Lots of eating, drinking and the inevitable "output" that goes along with it.

Feather Babies & other spring arrivals

2011-04-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

Feather Baby: stretchin'

Still a bit chilly in the new digs at this point

Kale after a long winter's nap

Tube entry, furry helper

Spinach, so tasty

Its warm somewhere!

This is generous, thermometer

Despite the recent snowfall, we are eagerly welcoming the family chicks to the farm! Today is the day that the "feather babies" arrived and we are happy to see them and hear their little voices. Our recent amalgamation of two households worth of just-about-everything means that we've been spending a lot of our time organizing our farmhouse. Today's organizational task focussed on preparing the area where our chicks will live out of harms way. This, of course, is out of the jaws of our resident beagle and duck toller. Both are birding dogs and living on a farm has only heightened their taste for feathered and furry creatures of all kinds. So, goal #1 is to keep the feather babies out of the mouths of the fur babies. The best locale in the house that meets this important criteria is the top of my desk (presently occupied by other, less important items). We've managed to get the lamp positioned just perfectly to keep them warm so that they are ready to have a little chicklet snooze. We're not sure who is more excited at this point, me or Q. So far the dogs have yet to figure out that there are living creatures on the desk, though the duck toller, Blue, has a hunch something is up -- mostly because he is not the main attraction right now.

In the brief period last week while the winter's snow thawed before the spring snow fell, we were able to check out our hoop houses where we were pleased to find spinach and kale growing! After a typical Northern winter, when it feels like nothing could possibly be growing (except our desire to be outside) these hearty little veggies made it through. Even more amazing were the rows of onions and spinach that somehow survived outside tubes under blankets and blankets of snow - not even agribond was used for these dudes! When we used an indoor/outdoor thermometer in the "veggie tubes" as they are known around here, it was an awesome discovery to find out that while it was only 9 celsius outside (in the sunshine), it was 26 celsius inside the tubes! With those temperatures we expect to have spinach for the family in under 2 weeks.

With plans for this year's CSA and market garden season well underway we are also exploring new designs for our business cards and swag! Boreal Edge Farm t-shirts, inspired by Soviet-era propaganda posters are the perfect marriage of our penchant for history nerdiness and dedication to peasant life.

April Showers?

2011-04-05T18:50:00.001-07:00

In some parts of the world, the expression “April showers bring May flowers” is a familiar promise of the milder temperatures to come, for us, it means another growing season. However, here at our farm, in Northwestern Ontario where are our April Showers look more like flurries, some are getting anxious for spring. Despite the recent accumulation of snow on the fields (approximately 6 inches), some definite signs of spring are upon us: from the annual spring wood harvest in preparation for next winter, to seed orders and first sighting of dirt since last fall! Late last week we had our first sighting of dirt in the fields, a sure sign that spring planting is a few weeks away.

Inside the farmhouse, we are planning for another year of feeding families through our CSA and market garden at the Thunder Bay Country Market.

In addition to growing things for our customers, we just placed our order for laying hens that will provide our family with eggs by mid-summer. Barred Plymouth Rock chicks will arrive on April 19^thbecoming the newest residents of the farm. These chicks will spend their first 4 weeks indoors until they are ready to head outside into their chicken tractor. Because there are only 8 Hens (we hope they all make it through their first weeks) the reasonably sized chicken tractor will be big enough for the chickens, but small enough that it’s easy to move.

Stay tuned for pics of our chicks (couldn’t resist the opportunity to pun).

2011-01-26T07:04:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Its solidly into 2011, and time to let our members know that CSA shares for the summer are now available.

Here's a link to our CSA page for more information on how the process works, payment options and our address.

We have a few changes this year:

Size
Our CSA is going to be much smaller this year, with only 20 shares available. This change is the most significant and undertaken for a number of reasons. Firstly, we can do a much better job of meeting our members needs at this scale. Also this size of operation fits nicely in with our labour force and management plan. Lastly, we are growing the farm into other areas in order to make our operations sustainable. We will continue with our "first come, first served" policy in filling shares, and given the smaller size, we expect to fill up fast. The farm will continue to supply the Thunder Bay Country Market, True North Food Co-op and our many restaurant clients in 2011.

Duration
The CSA season will run for 12 weeks instead of 14 in order to maximize our opportunities to bring you the freshest produce we can during the main growing season.

Price
Our CSA shares are now $480, down from $600 dollars last year. This reflects a reduction in the duration of the season as well as decreased weekly management costs associated with a smaller CSA.

Eggs and Bread
Despite the popularity of these add-ons, we are not able to supply them this season. Derek Luchesse at Both Hands Bakery has moved on to a new career, leaving many folks, including us, without his fantastic bread. We, along with you, will miss the Peasant Bread we ate for so many years!
Our good friends at 5 Arrow Farm are still producing eggs, but they are in the process of moving shop (or farm) right now, from a 10 acre holding, to a 110 acre property (yes, you read that right!), and thus need time to adjust. Anyone interested in eggs is encouraged to call 5 Arrow Farm at 767-1605 to make arrangements.

Storage Shares and Work Shares

These will continue as before. See our CSA page for details.

New Crops
We are growing a few new & exciting things this year!

* Little Baby Flower Watermelons - 2 to 4 pound fruit, bright striped pattern on the shell and dark pink flesh that is sweet and crisp with a high sugar count.

* Crookneck Squash - buttery flavour and firm texture

* Halona Cantaloupe - 4 to 6 pound fruit, excellent sweet flavor.

* Herbs - we'll have a full lineup of herbs including, Parsley, Basil, Dill , Cilantro and more

Pea and Bean Picking Day

Will take place in the First week of August. Members can come out to the farm and harvest their own peas and beans, to eat fresh or take home and freeze!

We'd like to thank all the shareholders, past and present, for helping to build and strengthen the viability of local agriculture and small family farms!!

Looking forward to growing for you in 2011,

Matt, Leigh, Raven and Quillan Baughman

Our Veggies are Still Trucking

2011-01-11T07:14:00.001-08:00

Even though its January and nighttime temperature's routinely dip to -25 C, we're still farming!
Here we see the field team putting up the low tunnels over beds of Arugula, Spinach, Kale and Baby Greens last November. Low tunnels are small unheated greenhouses, that help frost hardy plants survive our subarctic winters, by creating a sheltered micro climate. We've taken to calling these structures " veggie tubes".
Now, 2 months later, the Spinach and Kale are still alive, if in stasis, waiting for temperatures to go above freezing so we can begin the earliest harvest season in the farms history. The Veggie Tubes are a low tech way of extending the harvest season, making healthy food accessible for our customers for even more of the year.

Italy: farms, food & goodness

2010-10-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

La Mela Quadrata: The Square Apple or maybe The Apple Square, in any event an organic grocery store around the corner from our hotel in Torino

Torino's public bike system, like Montreal & (soon to be) Toronto's bixi - this one is for Duncan!

Red onion cake, red wine, Gerwurstraminer grappa & a very happy onion-loving farmer

Spoils from Salone: Award-winning Gerwurztraminer grappa, flatbread, cheese, onion compote, pickled onions, sun-dried tomatoes, mini anchovies, salami

Spoils from Salone: cheese, onion compote, onion cake, Balsamic vinegar, red wine (of course), sun dried tomatoes from Sicily, broccoli pesto, red chili infused honey, pickled onions in olive oil, mini anchovies (a little creepy)

Spoils from the Salone, award winning red onion compote & red onion cake along with Birthday medieval wine infused with cinnamon and clove as well as their handmade chocolate friends

BEER!!!!!! Irish stout to be precise, we traveled many miles...

Sampling wine and cheese favourites c/o the province of Trentino

Prosciutto outside the Salone del Salumi (Salami Room) at the Salone del Gusto

Farmers fields en route to Torino, beautiful mountain vista in behind: loving the contrast

The chocolate nut loaf of wonder :)

Being nerdy for Slow Food HQ in Bra, Slow Food started in this region

Slow Food HQ

Slow Food HQ in Bra (after meeting "all things with a blade" guy in his store

Newly ploughed field en route to Bra, not sure what will grow here in the clay?

Happy, happy in Moneglia

Moneglia at sunset

Moneglia, still loving us: Barolo, fresh pesto from the enoteca, pickled onions in olive oil, proscuitto

Cinque Terre favourites: Almond stuffed olives, olives wrapped in anchovies, boccocini (buffalo mozzarella)

Antipasti in Riomaggiore: strawberries, almond stuffed olives, olives wrapped in anchovies, onion foccacia, fresh figs, hazelnut chocolate, bread (of course), Genovese pesto, olive foccacia, grapes, Sciachetra (sweet, white wine typical of Cinque Terre), some other delicious bottle of red :)

Blueberries on the path to Manarola? Maybe? They sure looked like it, but the were on a higher bush - help us out if you know what these are.

Fisherdude in Riomaggiore harbour, note the human made stairs carved into the stripey rocks

Seafruit (haha) risotto in Riomaggiore, the unofficial HQ of Cinque Terre

Mussels & Cinque Terre white wine in Moneglia

Ahhh....the Mediterranean, you were good to us Moneglia

Some kind of fruit crushing thing for juice extraction...mmm...extracting! A lots of fruit infused liquor and wine in the areas around Campex, Switzerland. Also, ski bums
Grapevines on Swiss mountain slopes

Swiss mountainside, don't look down! Southern facing slopes have grapes, Northern facing slopes have fields to grow other, less sun needy crops

Those three-wheeler thingys really are small :)

Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco - dependent upon which side you're on, France is just over that hill!

Grape vines in Vallee d'Aosta

Vallee d'Aostan grapes, close to the ground!

2010-10-30T08:22:00.000-07:00

Piemonte: Torino & Terra Madre 2010

2010-10-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

While in Bra en route to Torino we happened upon a knife store, more accurately an "all things with a blade store" where Matt discovered the joy of coveting material possessions. I am well versed in this distinct pleasure and had already "cut my teeth" on many of Italy's fine fashions. In any event, Matt's material interests were piqued by a lovely kitchen knife in this wonderful little store. The shopkeeper informed us as we talked blades that much of his selection had been sent North for the Salone del Gusto -- the conference and global food tasting extravaganza that runs in conjunction with Terra Madre. Armed with his business card and stall number we made plans to meet him there! But not before having one of the most delightful, slow (as in slow food) meals of our trip. Our fabulous hotelier in Bra (who also provided us with maps and other tips) pointed us in the direction of Ristorante Garibaldi where we had the specialty Piemonte regional menu - enjoyed by local and tourist alike. To add to the adventure, we had little idea what we were getting, but felt up to the challenge. We were treated to 5 courses of local fare which started with deer sausage topped with a toasted hazlenut, filled out in the middle (quite literally) by the berry lamb ratatouille (an interesting twist from anything we'd experienced before) and rounded off with a chocolate tart. Bra is one of a few communities in an area that is known for growing Nebbiolo grapes, which are used to make varieties like Nebbiolo and its more famous, aged cousin Barolo. If you've been following you'll know this is the wine that turned Matt into a wine drinker, hence the motivation of this stop. Another awesome find from Bra was something I have no name for - chocolate lovers, prepare yourself. I can only describe this chocolate treat in the following way: imagine if the center chocolate in a truffle were made into a "loaf" shape, kind of like fudge -- think a dense Ferrero Rocher center (Ferrero, incidentally is also in this region). Okay so truffley, fudge-like hazelnut chocolate loaf mix in some whole toasted hazelnuts. How do you acquire a bit of this? Well naturally, you ask the lady who runs the enoteca (forever known as the store of wonders) to cut a slice, no slab, off for you. Oh Italy, you know how to do chocolate, and wine, and meat and cheese and everything really (except bacon and eggs, Matt will inform you).
Armed with these and other amazing gastronomic experiences we headed into Torino bound for Slow Food's Terra Madre conference where I had the opportunity to rub elbows and share ideas with producers, foodies and youth activists from everywhere! Highlights of my conference sessions included hearing about youth initiatives in Florianopolis, Brazil where youth volunteers work with community members in urban slums to compost waste as a way to fight a rat infestation problem. More Brazilian food projects included a micro-lending and business incubation project led by Brazilian chef David Pierce who teaches youth in Sao Paolo's slums to develop their skills in order to operate catering businesses of their own. The final contributor to this session was Irish chef Darina Allen of the Ballymaloe Cookery School (http://www.cookingisfun.ie). Despite Allen's own strong identification as an "old hippy who is young at heart" her session truly captured my interest. Allen runs a cooking school training students in all manner of food production from seed to table in a farm setting. My background in education as a teacher and my home on an organic vegetable farm, got the gears in my head turning with awesome possibilities.

Salone del Gusto a food-tasting extravaganza was an incredibly chaotic, farmer's market wet dream, like a farmer's market on steroids - except without the steroids or anything of a chemical-like nature. All the vendors from Italy, Europe and the rest of the globe were giving out tasty samples and selling their amazing food products uniquely crafted in their region. Some of our favourites included the award winning onion cake & onion jam (a particular farmer's favourite), creamed broccoli (sort of a broccoli pesto), medieval wine spiced with cinnamon and clove and BEER! Tons and tons of microbrewed beer! We were also able to track down the knife man so that Matt could select the Wusthof chef's knife of his choice - a "dolce" cutting implement.

It was really exciting and inspiring to see so many people of all ages, from all sectors of the economy and from many varied walks of life come together to share a love of food, how we grow it, eat it, support it and advocate for it. I felt very privileged to be a delegate representing Slow Food Superior, even though I didn't know Mark, Phillip, Suzy or Bill from Canada (as many international delegates queried me). The catalyst for this trip was the conference, however, I would not have experienced the conference in the same way had we not spent time in place, experiencing Italian culture, food and pace of life. We ate many proper pranzos, enjoyed regional wines and food (don't forget the chocolate) which made me able to slow down and enjoy food in the places its grown, the way its meant to be prepared and served - that's what Slow Food is all about. I now know one million ways to consume (and enjoy) arugula! Most important I'm moving on to bring this to the students I work with by making plans for December 10 - Terra Madre Day!

If you want to know more about Slow Food Superior come out to the Annual General Meeting on Monday, November 1 @ 7pm at the Waverley Resource Library. You'll hear other conference delegate reports and get an opportunity to engage with an awesome group of community minded food-folk. As always, delicious local treats will be served. See you there!

The Ligurian Sea!

2010-10-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

Which is really the Mediterranean, but the part near the positively amazing province of Liguria. We spent the last few days exploring coastal villages, cruising through a multitude of tunnels (eek!) and moving amongst the villages of Cinque Terra by train. We were welcomed into this leg of our journey by the absolutely fabulous and randomly selected village of Moneglia where we ate two local specialities immediately: pesto Genovese and fruits of the sea, a literal, albeit poor translation of fruites de mare! Homemade pasta al pesto Genovese, calamari fritti and the stand-out Minstestrone Genovese danced across our table adjacent to the Mediterranean. The Minestrone (with or without pasta - your choice!) is not what we were accustomed to in flavour or colour as its main flavour was the regions typical pesto. Other fantastic food experiences included mussels and gnocchi served with tomatoes and arugula. The village of Moneglia itself was a quaint, if not colonial-era inspired Mediterraean place that serves as a jumping off point for many tourists heading into Cinque Terre.

Opting out of switchback highways, we hopped on the train to Riomaggiore the unofficial headquarters of the five villages that make up the Cinque Terre, a UNESCO Heritage Site and National Park protecting the medieval villages with terraced farm land next to the Sea. From their earliest development to the mid 19th century, these villages could only be accessed by the walking paths between them. Since then a rail line was constructed but you can still walk amongst them. Because of weather we were only able to walk from Riomaggiore to Manarola, which now looks much different from its historic predecessor. We were anticipating a more rustic hike than what we encountered to say the least. The 850m (not a typo) from Riomaggiore to Manarola, know as the Via dell'Amore (the path of love or something of the like) occured over smooth sidewalks. One tradition of this pathway, that we have yet to entirely understand is the tradition of signing one's name, the date and perhaps the name of your love onto a padlock and attaching it to certain parts of the fencing on the path. Stand out favourites aside from the physical beauty of the place and the prevalence of delicious prawns, was the performance-apparel garbed Euro tourists. We found the terraces, filled with grapes from which the local white wines are made. One local speciality white wine is Sciachetra which has a similar sweet taste to the icewines of the Niagara Peninsula for those of you into VQA's.

Our return to Moneglia offered up some of the stand-out dishes of the trip so far and certainly the most incredible hospitality from the staff at Tender Restaurant (home of the Minstrone Genovese). Matt relished in the Swordfish grilled in olive oil and adorned with rosemary while I took a crack at the Minestrone to my great delight. We were also firmly back into red wine, despite traditional recommendations of white wine with seafood and continued our mutual love of Barolo. I was commited to remembering the specific name, but alas, we drank a bottle at pranzo which caused a relaxing nap by the Meditteranean and all specifics were forgotten!
Fuelled on our love (of the Mediterranean), of Barolo and the upcoming Terra Madre conference in Torino we are on our way North, but not without a brief foray today in Barolo country to sample what the Lonely Planet refers to as the "Ferrari of red wines".

There are many pictures to follow, once we find a secure place to upload some!

Farmer on Vacation: the Italian Alps

2010-10-17T09:08:00.000-07:00

Fall seems like an unlikely time for a farmer and a teacher to take time off and head for the Italian Alps, but we need a break too and the opportunity to represent Slow Food Superior at Terra Madre 2010 seemed the perfect opportunity to take a couple of weeks to tour Italy - gastronomically, of course.

After landing in Torino we hopped in our rented Fiat Panda (the Northern Italian car of champions) and headed for Vallee d'Aosta - a series of villages accessed by crazy mountain switchback roads. One of the Valdostan (as the locals refer to their unique mountain culture) food experiences to be enjoyed is the regionally produced cheese Fontina, which tastes like something between brie and blue cheese, but is all parts delicious! One of our favourite parts of the Fontina is the teeny tiny cows that make the milk and their very small pastures found precariously on the side of the mountain, wherever they can be squeezed in between the alpine homes and in southern parts of the Vallee, the grapvines.

Our hotelier in the charming village of Valtournenche informed us in a trilingual extravaganza, that we have started to call "franglais-taliano", that we should trying growing grapes in Nolalu the way they do in Vallee d'Aosta. This technique harnesses the warmth from the rocks which are placed at the base of the grapevine. The grapes are then grown to a shorter height than their more conventional cousins in the south so that they can be used to make the regional wines. He also assured us in a non-plussed tone that organic farms are the norm here, not the exception.

Making our way from the foot of the Matterhorn to the base of Mont Blanc in Courmayeur did not disappoint for the little wee cows and more grapes! The key distinction between North American, small-scale farms like ours and the ones in Vallee d'Aosta is that our farms are, in fact, BIG. Every piece of land that could be use for cultivating something is put into service. In order to harvest grapes or bale hay Vallee d'Aostan farmers use equipment that is comparable to the size of their cows. We marvelled at the micro-tractors and balers.

The local charcuterie in Courmayeur offered up the best prosciutto we have ever eaten as well as the local favourite fontina. While ordering up our delicious treats we noticed that this charcuterie had been deemed worthy of a Slow Food designation for their meats and cheeses. Wonderful bread and flavourful polenta complete the alpine diet of Valdostan people. We enjoyed this entree into Italian eating, but were thrilled to eat a pizza with corn and arugula (some tastes from home) before heading through one of the fortuitous mountain tunnels into Piedemonte, the next leg of our journey.

First Frost!

2010-09-08T06:23:00.000-07:00

The first Frost of the year fell on the 3rd and 4th of September. It burned a few of the squash leaves, but left the tomatoes unharmed. Very light frosts are not uncommon at this time of year, and we're experiencing normal September weather right now. The farm has received 2 inches of rainfall in the last week, which is much appreciated. We could still use more though to help charge the aquifer up for winter.

As of today there are 3 CSA drops left.

Today, Sept. 8
Next Wednesday, Sept. 15
The following Wednesday Sept.22

Fall shares will be delivered on the last CSA day. Wednesday September 22.

September Update!

2010-09-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a few shots from the last few weeks on the farm:

A little rain shower that completely missed us, but soaked the city (as usual!)

A dinner setting featuring barbecued Zucchini boat, (stuffed with local ground pork, leaks, onions sharp cheddar), mashed potatoes and carrots and Grass fed Sirloin Steak. Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon in the glass.

The sorting and bagging end of the Spring Mix line. Every leaf is hand examined to make sure that our washing process has been thorough enough. Yes its extremely labor intensive!!!! But growing food free from pesticides means a lot of hand work!!!

Sam roasting weeds with the flame thrower! We flame the beds after they have been planted, but before the crop emerges to kill early germinating weeds like lambs-quarters and pigweed. It helps a lot, but the beds still require extensive hand weeding!!! More hard work to make sure organic food comes to our members in as clean and environmentally sustainable as possible!

Harvest tubs filled with produce!!!! The end result of a year of planning and thousands of person hours of labor! This Stop Light photo of the awesome food we grow is one of the high points in the agricultural calendar at Boreal Edge Farm.

August Update

2010-08-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

Its been dry, dry for about 6 weeks now. Despite the several thunderstorms that have inundated thunder bay in the last few weeks we have seen precious little of that on the farm. The total rainfall for the last 6 weeks has only been a little over half an inch, most of which we received yesterday afternoon in a 20 minute down pour.
Even so the plants are growing right along, and many of the mid season veggies are appearing in our CSA shares.

IN tonight's box:

Peas
Yellow wax beans
Squash
Carrots
Onions
Swiss chard
Broccoli
Radishes
summer squash

Keep praying for rain to fall on the farm! We could use it!

July Update

2010-07-13T13:36:00.001-07:00

The field crew has been outstanding this year, here we see the weekly radish harvest underway.

This week in the CSA share:

Radishes
Spinach
Spring mix
Chard
Tatsoi
Green Onions

Coming soon....

Carrots
Squash
Kohlrabi

Things are growing like mad with the excellent weather, lets hope it continues!

CSA Begins

2010-06-30T09:41:00.001-07:00

CSA begins Wednesday June 23, From 6-8 pm. At Lakehead University in parking lot R8. Near the atac building. Entrance off of Oliver Road.
Remember, the produce starts slowly and builds as the season goes on! See you there!

First Spinach and Lettuce ready

2010-05-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

The first direct seeded spinach, salad mix and radishes are ready, we'll be at market with them this weekend! CSA deliveries are expected at the end of June!

Deer Fence 2, this time its physical!

2010-05-14T06:38:00.001-07:00

One of the biggest challenges in farming here in Northern Ontario is that the vast amount of wilderness around us holds hundereds of Whitetail deer. They are extremely destructive in the garden. We have lost thousands of dollars in crops to them in a single evening in the past. Last year we built a 7 strand electric fence to keep the deer out of the field and keep the veggies safe. It worked for a while, but an electric fence is only a deterrent, not an actual barrier. By the fall the deer had figured that out, and would pass right though it, knocking the insulators off the posts and rendering it pretty useless. In consulting with other farmers around the world, we discovered this high strength poly mesh fencing is effective and prevents them from going through or under. Over on the other hand is still a possibility. But I'll get to that.
The first thing that needed to be done was taking down the old fence wire and insulators. Then we had to double the number of fence posts. The new fencing needed about 20 foot spacing instead of the 40 foot spacing we had. We put in the posts over a couple of weeks by hand.....

As a section of fence became ready, rolls of poly mesh were brought out,
And then strung onto the posts with fence staples...

Once the fence was up, we had a physical barrier that would keep the deer from going through, or under the fence. Now the over part. As recommended, we put a single hot strand electric wire fence, outside the perimeter 3-4 feet away from the mesh fence. If a deer is going to try and jump the mesh, its going to have to stand directly on the hot wire. This double fence system is supposed to be effective and we're counting on it to keep our veggies safe!
This project took place over 3 weeks and many people helped make it possible, a huge thanks to:
Marianne, Jay, Jocelyn, Marley, Aila, Ian, Sean and Josh. Good people make the work fun and it just flies by too.
With the fencing done the infrastructure projects are finished for the year and its onto prepping and planting on a larger scale!

Farm Happenings

2010-05-11T19:04:00.000-07:00

The shed has benefited enormously from Marianne's organizing abilities. A place for everything and everything in its place.
Happy radish sprouts are coming up, and soon to a market stand near you!
Meanwhile the boys have populated the pond they built with goldfish.

Spring plowing, planting and infrastructure projects continue, 14 hrs per day on this tiny farm!

Early May Update

2010-05-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

What's happening on the farm right now?

A little bit of spinach is heading into the Growing Season.

Beds are being seeded with lettuce radishes and spinachio.

And the crazy wind gave way to a beautiful sunset this evening, light spilling through the new sprouted poplar leaves.

2010 Pre-season Team

2010-04-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

Introducing the 2010 BEF field crew, from left to right,

Jay, Marriane, Marley and ....

Me!
With a crew this kick-ass, we're ready to get awesome food to where it needs to go, inside our customers! Look out 2010!

Clearing the Land

2010-04-27T03:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Hilling Ezack and his trusty brush saw, the final acre in the pasture is nearly cleared. For the next few years this land will be pasture, but when the stumps have decayed enough to be ploughed out, veggies will live here. Imagine the onions!

Garlic Growing Great

2010-04-21T17:36:00.001-07:00

This garlic has been under row cover for the last few weeks, mostly as a deterrent to deer, which can get past the electric fence now! However the garlic has been thriving in its protected environment, Today I pulled the cover off and weeded these beauties. Hopefully by fall time we have enough to sow an entire 340 square foot bed for next year!

Floating tubs!

2010-04-09T04:56:00.000-07:00

What do farm kids do in the spring? Dam up the stream and float harvest tubs in it of course!!
Warm days, cool nights, and relatively dry conditions are helping the land to firm up, we might plant some real early stuff in not to long under row cover to see what happens. I'll update everyone on the spinach situation soon!

Blue Bird Sighted!

2010-04-02T14:14:00.000-07:00

April 2nd, 2010 sets the record for the first Bluebird sighting of the year. Its kind of hard too see, but look on the fencepost at the center of the picture. There it is! The little bird was pretty spooky, so I couldn't get a better picture, still its at least photographic evidence!

This one is either a female, or a juvenile, or maybe both. Its not terribly blue in color, but when it flew it had the distinct sky blue flash on its wings. This is the first year I can remember seeing bluebirds before swallows, lets hope its a good omen!!

Garlic Greening Up

2010-03-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

Its only March 31st, but the cold hardy plants on the farm are growing right along. Here we see this years crop of Garlic, sprouting up.

There is only enough garlic for seed this year, and next, but in 3 years time we'll have enough garlic to keep our members in garlic year round! Each bulb divides into 6 cloves, and each clove grows a new bulb, which in turn divides into 6 cloves. Not every plant will make it of course, but by saving our bulbs and replanting them, we'll take the 100 sq, feet we have planted this year and reasonable hope to get 500 sq feet of cloves planted for next year. The year after that (2012) we'll have 2500 sq feet of garlic, enough to begin using it commercially on the farm.

March Spinach !?!

2010-03-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

This year we've been treated to weeks of unusual warmth which melted the snow off our gardens which has put us in an unusual position, crops are growing in our fields! Here's why: Due to equipment issues last fall, we didn't plough down the gardens like we normally do, incorporating the vegetable residue into the field for the winter. Some spinach and lettuce that we had seeded really late (October) for a last chance crop, germinated and then went dormant for the winter. When the warm weather melted the snow and thawed the frost out of the ground, the frost hardy plants woke up and started to grow!

We knew the warmth was only a passing phase and that we'd get back to our normal temperatures sooner or later so we took a page from Mr. H at Subsistance Pattern and built a low tunnel to help shelter the spinach from the coming cold. We also tried just using some row cover to shelter the plants as an experiment. Here's whats happening:

The tunnel cover one 48 inch bed of spinach, its 80 feet long, and about 3 feet high.

Last night we got down to -11 C and the ground froze quite hard on the field. But inside the tunnel.....

The soil was still unfrozen, and the spinach is growing!

There is hoar frost on spots on the surface, but that dosen't bother spinach.

Meanwhile down the field at the row covered lettuce,

The ground is definitely frozen here, and the lettuce covered in frost.

Row cover on its own isn't effective against - 11. The experiment continues, but our eyes have definitely been opened to the possibilities of extending our season!

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

2010-03-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Yep, that's this years spinach. If the warm weather keeps on we'll be going to market in 4 weeks!

The Changing Face of Business

2010-03-10T16:48:00.000-08:00

Weeks and weeks have been spent on planning our new season, so many that it seems like forever since we've left the house. But we did last weekend, setting up an info booth at the Northern Food Connections Trade Show.

Our Farm has come a long way from its beginnings back in 2002 when we bought the place. From abandoned homestead to making us a modest living in 8 years. CSA has been a huge part of our success as full time farmers and we've always felt that our CSA membership is the first and foremost focus for our farm. However we have also been actively growing other aspects of the farm business too. With such a short growing season, we have to 'make hay while the sun shines' when it come to marketing our produce. This year we have added a few new additions to the market end of things:

#1. THE SALAD GARDEN

The Salad Garden is the name of our produce stand in Thunder Bay. The Salad Garden stand focuses on salad greens, lettuce and garnishes for salad (Radishes, green onions, carrots etc) and sometimes has other excess produce from the farm for sale as well. The Salad Garden stand will be in town on Wednesday evenings, Fridays, and Saturdays. Right now we are offering a CSA option for our stand as well. People can purchase $220 dollars worth of produce, for $200, saving 10 percent at the stand. This option allows members to take whatever they want from the stand, just like they were paying with cash at a farmers market. If they want spinach, they can take it, don't like spinach? Then they can choose something else. Hopefully this new option appeals to people who we couldn't otherwise accommodate with our full scale CSA.

#2. Commercial/Bulk Orders

We've been expanding our bulk sales for the last two years, but this year we'd really like to find a partner or number of partner's who could use large volumes of our greens. To that end we've helped to establish the Superior Seasons Food Market, an online Market store and delivery system that allows chefs, caterers and others to purchase local food with a click of a mouse. The produce from many other businesses will also be available through this one stop service.

We'll keep everyone updated as these new aspects of our farm evolve.

Gorgeous Weather!

2010-03-08T12:18:00.000-08:00

This has been the nicest winter we can remember. In the last two weeks we've had many days where the highs were well above freezing. Today its yet again +12 and the snow is melting fast. We've lost about a foot of it in the last few days. But while we are enjoying the warmth now, we know the snow will be back soon. Weather this good just can't last.

DESIGN TIME!!

2010-02-27T09:33:00.001-08:00

This year we realized we needed to develop a logo for the business, to help people identify us at events and sort of 'brand' the farm. Who better to do the job then Jennifer Osbourne of Alley Cat creative! Jennifer is a talented graphic designer/artist who happens to be a fellow food producer and friend. Her work in design has often been aimed at farms, and she has created many eye catching logo's.
The logo features the sun rise over the boreal forest, cleverly doubling as the leaves of the carrots while a green leaf fills in the foreground nicely.
We are really pleased with the end result. If anyone needs design work done we'd highly recommend Alley Cat Creative!!!!

Thanks to Jennifer, the farm is ready to start the 2010 market season with a more "professional" look.

The Sleeping Land

2010-02-19T07:24:00.000-08:00

February is a time for dreaming about the season to come and all the possibilities. The snow is two feet deep out in the field and the soil is frozen, but when we look out the window we envision rows of vegetables, hoop houses and people working.
It's actually been a wonderful winter for weather. Unlike last years brutal endless cold, this year we've benefited from the El Nino ocean warming. Most days in January and February have been nice with daytime high's near freezing. El Nino's are always hit and miss in Central Canada, but this year has been a definite hit and we're loving it. Hopefully the nice temps stick around for a few more weeks!!

Winter Work

2010-02-10T14:44:00.000-08:00

We've been making our own shovel and rake handles for years, this winter Matt decided to outfit a few axe heads with handles. The wood is Black Ash from our woodlot. We cut the Ash trees in late November when the sap is in the roots, then peel them and put them up into the woodsheds rafters to season for a year. The next winter, when time allows, all the forks, spades and shovels that have lost handles over the season are repaired and re-handled. Economically its probably a lateral move at best, the time it takes to make and install a handle, vs buying one from the hardware store. But its good to know we can shift for ourselves when we need to, and the shovel handles last a lot longer than the hickory ones we buy in town.

More Planning

2010-02-02T17:37:00.000-08:00

The mid-winter plan-a-thon continues. We have just returned from the Guelph Organic Conference and boy are we re-energized! It never fails to amaze me what a few days with enthusiastic, like minded people can do for our motivation and innovation. Here in the North there are so few vegetable growers, and no other CSA operators that we can talk with. Its great to be able to share stories and experiences over dinner and drinks with people who actually understand what you're talking about. Now with that boost of energy, we're ready to kick start this season!!!

Planning Time

2010-01-12T06:57:00.000-08:00

January has seen us planning up a storm, getting our ideas together for the 2010 season. We are making a few big changes to the way we run our CSA this year in order to better accommodate our members. Mostly this means giving them options when it comes to all the "extra's" we provide, like bread and eggs. But we're also planning on lengthening our season by a 2 weeks, and bringing the membership up to 100 shares. This all has to make economic sense and fit in with our labor schedule for next year as well. Which of course means juggling numbers, and developing plans for the coming season. Employees, seed, compost, taxes, rentals, equipment, tools, the list goes on and on, and hopefully, somewhere in there we can make a living too!

One new option we're hoping works out this year is offering a few "work shares" on the farm. A work-share is when a member of the CSA trades their labor (4 hours per week for 14 weeks) in exchange for a share of the produce. This helps us with harvesting and packing, and lets the participant really connect with the farm (and get some exercise too). Last year we had one work share and we found it went really well.

This time of year is really exciting, but also a little intimidating, as we send out our first membership info for the year. Right now we have a long list of members and waiting members, that soon must transform into confirmed members for 2010. With the first year of full time farming under our belts we're hoping there will be many more to come!

The New Year Begins!

2010-01-04T03:18:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010!

After taking some time off in December we're now back to work on the farm. What is there to do on a vegetable farm in Northern Ontario in January? Plenty. We have lots of paperwork to fill out and send away, accounting, taxes, t4's for our payroll. Not to mention building our new website, creating a short commercial and giving a couple of lectures at our local University and schools.

Around the farm we've had a few unusual visitors that have stayed much longer than normal.

Snow birds! Also called the Snow Bunting, these birds travel together in flocks of 20 to 50 individuals and migrate south with the snowline. Normally we see these birds arrive on the farm about a week before the first snow, and there gone as soon as the snow falls. This year the birds have hung around for months longer than usual. The reason? This we did an experiment with a cover crop of oats, and left half an acre standing in the field, rather than ploughing it under. The Snow birds have been eating the oats and some grass seeds and occasionally flying up to the driveway to get a bit of grit. Despite the snow and several nights of -30 C the birds are still here.

We wish everyone a Joyful and Prosperous 2010!

Clearing the Land

2009-11-03T06:04:00.001-08:00

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!

2009-10-20T04:53:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-10T07:24:00.000-07:00

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 we've 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

2009-10-03T10:45:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-09-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-25T18:38:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-12T06:27:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-03T10:51:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-23T07:27:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-23T07:05:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2009-07-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-18T07:32:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-13T08:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

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 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

2009-07-04T13:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-03T07:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

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,
Broccoli
and Eggplants,
All tripled in size.
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

2009-06-20T10:02:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-12T15:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-07T08:24:00.000-07:00

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.

Frost Alert!

2009-06-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

I've been up all night watching the weather in case things go bad in a hurry. With thermomoters in both the garden and on the deck for measurement, the temperature has been falling, but suddenly it really starts dropping and at 2:30 AM frost is already forming on raised surfaces and the temperature has plunged 5 degrees in the last hour. The weather service is calling for a "hard Freeze", death to all new transplants, even cold hardy ones like those we just planted.
Gotta cover the plants!!!!
.A little extra plastic is on the roll, using the car and tractor headlights we work covering the 5 330 foot rows.

By 4 am the job is done, the frost is falling around us, but the sprouts are safe.
This is called exhaustion. Wake up at 6 Am, plant, water, till and organize until 10 PM, then watch the weather and get a quick meal, work though the night and finally in bed at 5 AM
The 23 hour workday!

2600 Transplants!!!!!!!!

2009-06-02T18:58:00.000-07:00

Today with the Help of the "Dream Team", we planted 2600 transplants in the plastic mulch garden. It took seven hours with 7 of us working steady to get it done, but by this evening the cabbage, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, broccoli, kale, joi choi and romaine was in the ground.
Ready to face tonight's frost warning.
Yikes!

Thanks to Chris, Bobbi, Dave, Nathan and Brad for helping us out today. It made all the difference.

Late May farm update!

2009-05-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

The Deer fence is almost done, all the posts are in and most of the insulators are on.

Head lettuces are ready to transplant, once the fence is up of course!Direct seeded spinach is getting its first true leaves,

Lettuce mix coming up,Green onions are chooglin' right along,

A shot of the long row, plastic mulch garden just after it has been packed
And this is a picture just a little farther down on the same garden. The lighter colored earth farther down the field is newly turned sod, planted to a cover crop for this year. The darker earth in the foreground has had 2 years of cover crops planted and tilled into it. Then 4 days ago in a 14 hour marathon stretch we hauled, dumped, loaded and spread 30 tons of compost, 1 ton of alfalfa pellets, 600 pounds of pure wood ash and 100 pounds of kelp meal on the garden to prepare it for this years duty growing all our transplants. You can really see the difference that kind of attention makes in this photo.

Then tonight, after much tinkering, it was time to start laying biodegradable, corn starch mulch.

Every day is filled, sunup to sundown on this farm.

Spuds away!

2009-05-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

Now in the ground:
Potatoes
Carrots
Onions (seed and Set)
Chard
Beets (Red and Gold)
Radishes
Lettuce mix
Mesclun Mix
Ovation Greens mix
Spinach (Melody and Sardinia)

Rockpiling

2009-05-23T17:10:00.001-07:00

Our glacial till soils are liberally peppered with these babies,

Every year the rockpiles rise higher, but the stones keep on coming up.
I get rather philosophical about these stone piles, started long ago by another family. In some ways they are a link, continuity across generations of agrarian life. When I pick up a stone from the old pile, I'm conscious that I'm touching the same thing that the last farmer touched when the land was last cared for 100 years ago. When I add to the piles, its like I'm carrying on the same timeless task, building the stonepiles they began. When this land passes into other hands, and if they care for it, then they too will add to the piles, and so on down the centuries.
People come and go, we are so brief and transient, but the land is always here. The stones are always waiting.
It puts me in mind of a quote from Elias Contrerez

"There are stones which are still silent. When they speak the secrets they keep, nothing will be the same again, but it will surely be better for everyone. The being and not the having will be valued. Another hand will raise the flag, and the world will be scented, will be heard, will know and will feel as it should be: the honourable home of those who work it."

Spreading compost

2009-05-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

Seeds and Snow

2009-05-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

We have been working our typical 14 hour field days lately, so time for posting text has been slim. However today's wonderful weather has given me the chance.
Much like last year, this years May Long weekend is snowy and sub zero. And while May has been relatively cool, it's not quite as bad as last year. In the last few days we finished the roof of the barn and moved some of our equipment in.Unlike last May, this year we have had some sun and wind action that allowed the soil to dry out. With the new 3 point mounted rototiller we got a large section of the garden tilled last week which further dried out the seedbeds. Then, when we had unloaded a 5 ton load of manure (mostly by loader and shovel because the "dump" truck wasn't too "dumpy" and getting the truck stuck in the process)
and the 4 tons of Alfalfa pellets had arrivedwe were primed to amend the rows and plant.
Which is what we did yesterday, getting in the first succession for the CSA.
We planted:

Spinach
Baby Lettuce Mix
Green Onions (sets)
Beets
Chard
Radishes

The seeds will take a few days to germinate, so we're not to concerned about the snow. Like all things in farming we must do what we can, when we can and leave the rest to providence.
Needless to say, we've been busy, and this next week we're moving on to the next big project, DEER FENCE!!

Barn Raising & Rototilling

2009-05-11T17:19:00.000-07:00

Barn Raisin' 3

2009-05-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

Barn-rasin'

2009-05-06T16:14:00.001-07:00

Going up!

2009-05-04T17:10:00.001-07:00

The pole barn started taking shape today, from peeled trees on the ground, to a rough outline of the future structure.
Also going up, head lettuce seedlings!

Burning Brushpiles

2009-04-28T04:48:00.001-07:00

Last night conditions were ideal for burning some of the piles of brush stacked two years ago in the pasture. The beeping sound in the video is an unidentified bird that seemed to be drawn to the fires. If conditions remain good we'll try to get a few more done tonight.

Soil and Sun

2009-04-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

After a really long snow season this year, the sun and rain have at last done the job.
Even the deep drifts of snow have finally melted and the gardens have emerged.
A few weeks of warmth is all we need to dry the land out and start farming! But it can always snow again, even until the end of May, so we can't get too excited.
From now until the end of May will determine how the season will begin. If we get a warm and dry few weeks, we can start planting cold hardy crops pretty soon (2 to 3 weeks), if it is cool and wet, we won't be getting going for 4 to 6 weeks.
The ground at this point is supersaturated with melt water as this post hole, dug last fall, indicates
Until the land drys out we can't work on it. But that doesn't mean there isn't a huge pile of work to do.
The two Major Projects we have to get done this spring, besides tilling, amending, planting and cultivating 4 acres of veggies, are:

1. Build the Deer Fence.
This 7 - 8 foot high electric fence will encompass almost the entire field (10 Acres). Thousands of feet in length, with literally miles of electric wire strung on it, this project is going to be a biggie.

2. Build the Harvest/Washing/Processing/Tool Storage/All purpose Pole Barn.
This 30 x 30 pole barn will be located inside the fence and directly adjacent to the gardens. It will consist of a work area that we can wash and pack vegetables, relatively comfortably in, as well as a cool storage room and an area to keep the tools and harvest bins in.

Time to get at it!

Winter returns, again,

2009-04-20T05:26:00.001-07:00

Just as the gardens were emerging, once again another dump of snow. This time about 6 inches. Suffice it to say we're not expecting a early spring this year, but then again, we weren't planning on it anyway.

Swallows Return

2009-04-17T05:41:00.001-07:00

The return of the swallows is a welcome sign of fair weather ahead. Saturday's predicted snow aside of course!

The Eagle has Landed....The Kubota too

2009-04-15T15:50:00.000-07:00

This morning just after breakfast, I looked out and saw a sure sign of spring perched in a tree at the edge of the field.Bald Eagles like this immature one, arrive every year on their migration north to the good fishing grounds on the tens of thousands of inland lakes just a few miles north of our farm. Although the lakes are still frozen the rivers are running and the warm days are making the snow disappear fast!
Just before lunch another spring arrival,

Our new Kubota tractor! This 34 horse 4x4 tractor is just what we need to run our small farm. Thanks to the loader and PTO operated rototiller we'll save a lot of time and our backs this year when we spread amendments/compost and till the almost 4 acres of gardens.
Testing out the tractor here is our good friend Nathan, who gave his seal of approval after his test drive.
Later the tracter cleared an ice dam in the ditch of the township road that was causing some minor flooding. With the kids playing in the water farther up the ditch and I "working" a little ways down from them I realized we were both having fun doing the same thing.
Ah springtime!

April 8th

2009-04-08T06:59:00.000-07:00

After last weeks 20" snow fall (On April Fools Day), things have warmed up a bit and the snow is starting to melt once again. Its always a little disheartening when spring gets pushed back by a few weeks, but that's life in NW Ontario. Still, the forecast is for above freezing (+5 to +7) daytime temperatures for the next week, along with strong winds, which should help the melt a bit. Still no double digit temps on the plus side yet, but we're light years ahead of last April's temperatures, so we remain optimistic about this next month.

Boreal Edge Farm

Venison: Butchering, Grinding & Sausage~ing

CSA Shares 2012

New Year on the Farm

First pickles!

First eggs!

Pickled Radishes!

Midsummer Update

How to Eat (y)our CSA share in one day!

CSA Starts this week

A Supportive Community

Sun up, sun down

CSA 2011 Update

First Harvests

Busy, but bountiful

Back in the [tractor] saddle

Tractor tires & fiddleheads

Our one-legged chicken, Sisu

Tongue & Groove Cedar Chicken Tractor

Delicious Breezes and Glorious Sunshine

Day 13 - Growing Chicks

Hey Comrade, like our farm propaganda?

Growing chicks need brooder modifications

Day 3.5 - Lucy goes on an adventure...

Day 2: Wing Feathers!

Feather Babies & other spring arrivals

April Showers?

Our Veggies are Still Trucking

Italy: farms, food & goodness

Piemonte: Torino & Terra Madre 2010

The Ligurian Sea!

Farmer on Vacation: the Italian Alps

First Frost!

September Update!

August Update

July Update

CSA Begins

CSA begins Wednesday June 23, From 6-8 pm. At Lakehead University in parking lot R8. Near the atac building. Entrance off of Oliver Road.Remember, the produce starts slowly and builds as the season goes on! See you there!

First Spinach and Lettuce ready

Deer Fence 2, this time its physical!

Farm Happenings

Early May Update

2010 Pre-season Team

Clearing the Land

Garlic Growing Great

Floating tubs!

Blue Bird Sighted!

Garlic Greening Up

March Spinach !?!

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

The Changing Face of Business

Gorgeous Weather!

DESIGN TIME!!

The Sleeping Land

Winter Work

More Planning

Planning Time

The New Year Begins!

Clearing the Land

Grass Fed Beef Now Availible!

First Snowfall

Early October Update

Pea and Bean Day!

The Penultimate Share

10th CSA DROP

9th CSA share

August 19 CSA share

August Abundance

6th CSA share

KOHLRABI RECIPES

Spinach Recipe

Sunshine, Broccoli Tops and Rainbows

Why our Ultrafresh vegetables are important

Kale and Banana Smoothie

Rain at last! Huzzah!!!

Cool and Dry means Not Great for Veggies

Bees and Beasts

Food in full swing

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PICK-UP LOCATION

CSA begins Wednesday June 23, From 6-8 pm. At Lakehead University in parking lot R8. Near the atac building. Entrance off of Oliver Road.
Remember, the produce starts slowly and builds as the season goes on! See you there!