What I have and how to get it

So, here's what is on tap for this year...

I've been working at Northwestern high school in the greenhouse and
fields for a couple months now, so I have an early start on seedlings,
and a lot more room, so I have lots!

I will be at the following markets this year: Mitchell on Fridays 9am
till 1pm (May til Oct) Stratford Slow Food market on Sundays 10am till
2pm (June til Oct). Mitchell is at Lions Park and the Stratford one
will be downtown this year, right beside City Hall!

In addition to herbs and vegetables I will be doing a bunch of value
added products as well including:

Pickled goods (pickles, spicy beans, beets, onions, carrots, radishes etc...)
Smoked tomato - either halves or sauce
Smoked french sea salt and black peppercorns
Compound Butter - I'm doing a maple butter (with Maple Syrup I helped
make) and a few savoury ones - (Garlic & Chive), (Basil, Parsley &
Lemon Zest) (Rosemary & Thyme) and possibly a Red Wine and Shallot.

I am and have been meeting with the Health Unit, Canadian Food
Inspection Agency, The Ministry of Natural Resources about all my
value added products.

The following I am in the process of getting approved:

Smoked Old Cheddar - and I'm experimenting with other cheeses
Smoked Fish

I have Basil ready right now, and by the start of May I should have
Greens, Arugula, Radishes, Sorrel and maybe some Tomatoes from the
greenhouse!

I am working on a spreadsheet order form, and may experiment with
sending out one of those each week, and you can order what you would
like instead of me picking for you. Of course if you want to, I can
still do up a mixed bag.

Please email me back with your contact info so I can get a
mailing/delivery list going and feel free to pass this on to anyone
you think might be interested.

davekoert at gmail.com

2011 update

Getting busy again at the farm switching over from my Pook Toque to my wide brim hat. This week I pulled up some carrots I had left to over winter and they are sooo sweet and crunchy! Also have a lot going on at the Northwestern greenhouse. Over 2000 seedling are well underway and Basil, Greens, Dill, Parsley, are all ready, the first of the Tomatoes are already flowering! On the bad news front it is getting difficult to get approval for my smoked fish. Concerns about listeria from the MNR are putting a stop to that...looking for alternative methods of storage and packaging. I am however going ahead with smoked sea salt and peppercorns, as well as smoked vegetables, mainly smoked tomatoes to add a kick to your tomato sauce. Produce is a month or so away from being ready, look for mixed greens, arugula, radishes to start.

Twitter contest

Reply to this post to claim your prize pack of a piece of my delectable smoked fish and a sample of smoked salt & pepper. Leave email address and twitter account so I can contact you about claiming your prize pack!

Slow Food Market in Stratford

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=anything+grows&fb=1&gl=ca&hq=anything+grows&hnear=Stratford,+ON&cid=0,0,5192222729388181581&ei=S355TY-yH8vtrAHAgJHNBQ&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=2&ved=0CB4QnwIwAQ

I'll be at the market on Sundays from 10 am to 2 pm starting Sunday March 20. I will have smoked fish, smoked sea salt, smoked peppercorns and some other items to start.

Terroir 5

Good day!

I had a chance to attend Terroir 5 in Toronto this week. http://www.terroirsymposium.com/ It was a fantastic day with speakers from all over the world talking about all the aspects of food and the food industry, specifically using local food. I got to meet a lot of interesting people and make some great contacts as well as meet up with some familiar faces from the Ontario food scene. I learned a lot, and will definitely be incorporating some of the ideas this year.

I have also been helping out at Northwestern high school in the greenhouse and showing some of the kids how to do transplants and seeding. This week we will be making soil blocks and starting some tomatoes and peppers among other things.

My friend Steve attended the dinner at Lassdale farms a few nights before the event, read all about that here: http://local-come-lately.blogspot.com/2011/03/truly-holistic-experienceterroir-v.html

So this is the New Year...

Finally got around to updating my Twitter page...
http://twitter.com/#!/KoertOrganics
let me know what you think. Just got back from Ottawa, sales were a little below expectations. We were unable to secure a booth at Winterlude, as they have only 1 vendor allowed to sell any type of clothing. I will be at the Pond Hockey and Curling championships from Feb 4-6. http://www.icerockslive.com/ Looking forward to the whole weekend, as we are an official sponsor. Also looking forward to watching the Superbowl with many Maple Leafs alumni, we are all staying at the same inn.

On the farm front, just going through seed catalogs and getting things sorted for the year. Looking to see how I can do some more business in London and possibly Toronto.

Pook Tour 2010/11

Hello from the Nations capital! Things are going swell so far in Ottawa. I'm working right beside the parliament buildings at the Rideau Centre. Got a chance to see the Prince of Darkness while I was here...Ozzy put on a great show! glad I was finally able to see one of my favorite artists. After Christmas I will be working at Winterlude right on the Rideau Canal. Happy Holidays everyone!