Dave Koert

What I have and how to get it

2011-04-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-08T05:43:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

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

2011-03-10T17:43:00.001-08:00

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

2011-03-03T11:21:00.000-08:00

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...

2011-01-19T07:16:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-10T08:16:00.000-08:00

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!

Shuttin er down/up for 2010

2010-10-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

Closing down things at the farm the next couple weeks and heading to Ottawa for the winter with the Pook tour. I have lots of nice carrots available that would keep well, some watermelon radishes, beautiful and tasty! Spinach, Mixed Greens,Pea shoots, Peppers available as well. Email me and arrange for exchange.

great press release

2010-09-21T09:28:00.000-07:00

Savour Stratford Perth County Culinary Festival: Things to know before you go

For Immediate Release: September 21, 2010
STRATFORD, ON

The third annual Savour Stratford festival is happening this weekend, Saturday, September 25th and Sunday, September 26th! For two whole days, Stratford's downtown waterfront (along York Street and Veterans Drive) will be the place to be, with all sorts of incredible food and fun, including a massive farmers' and artisans' market, nonstop concerts at the Bandshell stage, as well as a Tasting Tent where you can sample and savour delicious Perth County dishes, a Kids Tent where children can have hands-on fun with food, and Learning Centre providing informative workshops and entertaining demos! Saturday festivities begin at 9 am and continue into the night with a concert ending at 11 pm, and on Sunday things kick off at noon and go until 5 pm!

Free Stuff!
Ticketed events include the Sunday York Street Tasting Tent, the BBQ, Blues & Brews party on Saturday night, and Cider, Beer, Tea and Wine tasting workshops. While attendees are encouraged to purchase tickets to these in-demand events ahead of time, they should also know that there are lots of free activities and events for everyone to enjoy:
• At 10:15 am on Saturday, some attendees will be offered the opportunity to take part in a hands-on outdoor cooking lesson at the Veterans Drive Bandshell with Paul Finkelstein (aka the Food Network's FINK!).
• At 11:00 am on Saturday, The Savour Stratford Perth County Culinary Festival's Opening Ceremony will take place at the Bandshell. Mayor Dan Mathieson and MPP John Wilkinson will address the audience, followed by musical entertainment and a special performance by members of the Stratford Festival!
• The Monforte Dairy Kids Tent features free activities for children all day! Face painting, fun food and cooking demos, and crafts will keep the kids busy! Fun programming includes making yummy cupcakes on Sunday at 2 pm!
• The Stratford Chefs School Learning Centre features many free events, including discussions with celebrated chefs and authors, and demonstration workshops teaching culinary tips and techniques. Highlights include Locavore author Sarah Elton discussing her popular book on Saturday afternoon at 3:30, and a workshop teaching participants how to smoke their own food on Sunday at 2:00!
• From noon until 5pm the York Street Carnivale will delight the crowds with open-air performances by buskers and street performers.
• The Culture Days Tent invites attendees to come and engage with some of the artistic experiences on offer in Perth County. This includes demonstrations, mini-performances, music, and artist showcases. Art-themed programming includes the opportunity for everyone to contribute their tales in an interactive ‘Paper Trails Storytelling' activity on Sunday at 12 pm!
• The Veterans Drive Bandshell will be featuring open air concerts by talented local bands and musicians continually throughout the weekend, including a rare acoustic performance by The Salads at 2 pm on Saturday!

Things to know before you arrive
This year's festival promises to bigger and better than ever, and there are some new things that people who plan on attending should know:
• For the first time, a refrigerated grocery bag check-in will be available for people to store their food purchases from the Farmers Market while they enjoy the festival. A suggested donation of $1 will go towards Meals on Wheels.
• Also for the first time in 2010, a free shuttle bus will be stopping regularly at each of the four corners of Stratford to bring attendees downtown. Beginning at 9 am on Saturday and Sunday, the Savour Stratford Shuttle stops at four parking lots once an hour: Foodland (181 Downie Street), Old Stratford Fairgrounds (20 Glastonbury Drive), Sobeys (30 Queensland Avenue), and FAG (801 Ontario Street). Attempting to drive a car to the downtown festival is not recommended - leave it in one of these convenient lots and spend your time having fun rather than looking for parking! See program for scheduling.

• The Savour Stratford Festival will proceed rain or shine - many of the events are taking place under weather-proof tents, but it is still important that people prepare themselves accordingly:
o Dress for the weather! Bring sunscreen to protect yourself during a long day in the sun, and be sure to wear weather-appropriate apparel and gear. A picnic blanket is also recommended.
o Bring a reusable water bottle, or plan to purchase a reusable Savour Stratford bottle at the event. Bottled water will not be sold on site. Drinking water is made readily available to refill your bottles as much as you like.
o Bring reusable totes to carry all the marvellous food you will want to buy at the Farmers Market! Also, the Market, BBQ, and tickets for events are cash only. An ATM is available on-site.
o Savour Stratford 2010 is an eco-friendly event: powered 100% by green Bullfrog Power, the festival is also striving to minimize waste. Attendees are encouraged to use the recycling and composting receptacles available throughout the site. All food and beverage containers and utensils will be biodegradable, so stick them in the compost bins when you're done!

For a full schedule of events and to purchase tickets for any of the Savour Stratford Perth County Culinary Festival events, visit the www.savourstratford.com website, the Stratford Tourism Alliance office at 47 Downie Street, or call 1-800-561-7926

Savour Stratford week

2010-09-21T05:28:00.000-07:00

Hello, just a quick note to let everyone know that I am at the farmers market on Saturday down by the Avon River. On Sunday I'm doing a workshop at the Learning Centre about smoking techniques, as well as the Chef/Farmer pairing with the Church in the Tasting Tent. We are doing a Sorrel Ice Cream Sandwich with Fudge.

http://www.welcometostratford.com/culinaryfestival/index.html

Crazy Season

2010-09-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

I will be uploading blogs for times I have missed, still shooting some videos and pics, which I will upload when I have a second...LOL

Been busy with doing some workshops and things for Taste of Huron and Savour Stratford. The fall crop is coming along nicely, much better than the summer crop. We had next to no rain on the farm for over 2 months, which made for some challenging times lugging the sprinkler all over the field.

Been doing a lot of smoking lately, mostly trout and ribs...the smoked fish has gone over amazingly at the market, I have been selling out every week for a month now.

Pics and video to come.

Busy Busy Busy

2010-06-16T04:49:00.001-07:00

Things are coming along nicely, and lots of new things built to make my life easier. All of the peas got trellises this year. I built 70 tomatoe and cucumber cages out of 6x6 concrete mesh. I built a sweet 21 bed flowerbed, complete with windmill. You can find me every Sunday in Stratford 10am til 2pm at 49 Griffith Rd, which is the new Monteforte Dairy. We started a producers only Slow Food Market, 2 weeks in and the response has been positive.

2010-05-05T07:47:00.000-07:00

Here's a shot of the cold frame I built. Birds are all coming back for the summer, and the field is coming along...Greens, Spinach, Radish, Peas, Beets, Kohlrabi and others are all on the way.

Rain!

2010-05-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

We got some much needed rain today. Lots of activity around the farm, birds are arriving everyday. Planted another wave of greens this week, next week I think i'm going to transplant the first round of brassicas. Seed potatoes arrived this week, I stuck with 3 or 4 that worked last year and I am going to try a few new ones too.

Good Week

2010-04-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

From tilling, to picking stones, to row formation, to planting, to raised bed construction, I pretty much did it all this week. It was nice weather for the most part. I planted 8 rows of shell peas, 12 rows of snap peas, some radishes, swiss chard, a bunch of beets, spinach, mixed greens and kohlrabi.

2010-04-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

All the land has been tilled and picked of stones, looks much better this year. Hopefully less weeds to deal with! Should start having some stuff ready at the start of May.

Spring has Sprung

2010-04-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to getting my sign up. Here's a panoramic from the south east corner of the field. I'll be posting some more video blogs shortly, lots going on around the farm these days!

Part2...Soil Block Making

2010-04-05T18:10:00.000-07:00

I'll post some updates when I see some signs of life! Enjoy.

Video Blog

2010-03-26T07:24:00.000-07:00

Hello...here is a series of videos I shot about soil block making...Part 2 to follow.

Back From Western Canada

2010-03-12T06:23:00.000-08:00

Interesting 4 months on the road...Drove from Stratford to Calgary and worked there for 3 months. Then off to Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics, Go Canada Go! Stopped off for some skiing and dogsledding in Fernie, BC, with my friends Travis and Amy of Adventure Source Tours, check it out if you're ever in SE BC.

Got this years seed order in...getting taxes done & spring cleanup are underway.

Fall

2009-10-02T04:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates...my laptop is sad at the moment, it has all my pictures stored on there. :( Things are winding down for the season, we had just under 4 months frost free, which is one of the shorter seasons in recent memory. Greens are still going strong though, and the 2nd wave of beets, carrots, peas and radishes will be ready soon.

Mitchell Fair

2009-09-13T08:46:00.001-07:00

So, I got 1st overall in the vegetable category and 2nd in flower arrangements. Next year I will enter some more, this year was very last minute.

2009-08-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

Made some amazing stuffed squash the other night...goats cheese, bacon, corn, roasted peppers, basil, with borage and parsley. The zucchini and squash are going crazy right now!

The heat is finally here

2009-08-19T05:18:00.000-07:00

My cousins Alicia and Kurtis came out for a couple days to help out last week...we picked a lot of beans that day! The flower garden is going crazy right now...and a Romanesco broccoli.

Farmers Market part 2

2009-08-14T04:37:00.000-07:00

I will also be in Stratford at 253 Willow st on Sunday mornings 10 am to 12 pm. Stop by and tell your friends!

Farmers Market in Mitchell

2009-08-11T04:21:00.000-07:00

For those of you near Mitchell, I have started up a mini farmers market on Saturday mornings at 23 Thames River Place in the Ritz Villa complex. I will be there from 10am till noon. Things went well last week!

this and that

2009-08-06T04:41:00.000-07:00

The first pepper has turned red! Theres a picture of my salad station with greens, scale and edible flowers to make it look pretty ;) Also the flower gardens are in full bloom, love walking by those areas. More flower pics to come.

Loves me some Carrots

2009-07-30T05:38:00.001-07:00

A little before and after with the baby carrots. YUM!

Colourful!

2009-07-21T05:37:00.000-07:00

Check out the cool moth I found the other day! I love all the colours going on in the garden right now...A lot of the flowers are starting to bloom now too!

Farmers Market

2009-07-14T05:28:00.000-07:00

Had my first day at the Blyth farmer market...sales were decent, but not outstanding. I am now an official supplier of Pook Toques as well!

The good stuff

2009-07-05T05:28:00.001-07:00

The stuff I've been waiting for is finally coming to fruition! YUM!

Happy Canada Day!

2009-07-01T23:59:00.000-07:00

Went to watch the fireworks in Stratford after a long day of harvesting.

Weekly Share

2009-07-01T05:39:00.003-07:00

Last weeks share of mixed greens, spinach and french breakfast radishes.

Race against the storm!

2009-06-30T05:39:00.000-07:00

Trying to get my harvesting done before the big storm came rolling through...Made it!

Rain day and a tour

2009-06-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

The plants are LOVING the rain this week! Here's a bit of a tour of the front garden...Beets, potatoes, corn, broccoli, peas, radishes, tomatoes, and beans among other things here and there...Spinach was ready this week, and was delicious! The first peas are forming pods and the lettuce is doing well as usual.

Progress

2009-06-09T18:24:00.000-07:00

SOME things are coming along nicely. Beets, Spinach, Mixed Greens, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, and I'm most happy that all the carrots germinated, as they are sometimes a bit of trouble :) The planters are old milk jugs planted with sunflowers, and nasturtiums and a few other random flowers...they should look good when they are blooming.

Digicam found

2009-06-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a few leftover pics from pre-finding the cam...note my awesome potato planting technique, and the mighty Troy-Built Horse, which was likely my best purchase so far in my farming career.

Yoga/Pilates

2009-06-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

Took my first yogalaties class tonight at the Live Well center in Mitchell with Jennifer Moses. It was fun and very relaxing.

Things at the farm are rolling along, finally a break from the rain so I can get the rest of my planting done. Still going to hold of on the tomato and pepper transplants, it's supposed to go down to +1 this weekend, and I think that would make them sad. Must acquire a greenhouse...next year at this time I would have had them out already for a while.

Workin Hard

2009-05-28T06:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates...I seem to have misplaced my digicam :( Almost all of the crops are in, 2nd wave of transplants are underway and produce is ready...Mixed greens, arugula, french breakfast radishes!

First Harvest

2009-05-16T08:45:00.001-07:00

The first planting of arugula is coming along very well, as are the french breakfast radishes. yay to fresh greens!

Beetdown

2009-05-12T08:34:00.000-07:00

Direct seeded some beets...The tools I purchased are working out very well.

Pot On!

2009-05-11T08:47:00.001-07:00

Transfered the Peppers, Eggplant and Tomatoes from the 2 inch blocks onto 4 inch blocks. Here Steve does an awesome job of making the 4 inch blocks, it takes quite a bit more soil mix for these blocks, and I can only hold so much in my 'blocking mix mixing station', so the potting on continues this week...

Transplanting

2009-05-11T08:39:00.001-07:00

The first seedlings got transplanted...2 kinds of Brussels Sprouts and 6 kinds of Broccoli. Made some mini tunnels for protection until they get a bit sturdier.

Direct Seed progress

2009-05-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

Peas, Lettuce and Radish are all doing well...

2009-05-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

Time to pot on the peppers. I had a hard time taking pics, it was so humid I couldn't keep the lens clean...

Veggies get to play outside

2009-05-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

Time for some hardening off...at this time we had no power for 2 days from that big storm.

2009-04-28T07:13:00.000-07:00

Some Jade Cross Brussels Sprouts...they seem to be doing the best of the bunch, with all the rest of the brassicas not to far behind...

Seedlings

2009-04-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

Here we have some Onions, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Peppers among others...
Also a flower bed I'm getting ready at the end of the hill.

Field Prep

2009-04-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

Hand raked this half of the back field. Ya, that sucked. Looks really good though.

2009-04-15T06:57:00.000-07:00

A nice sunset and the seedlings are coming along...

2009-04-11T06:55:00.000-07:00

And away we go...the blocking mix came together really well. Got all of the Onions, Shallots, Leeks, Parsley, Rosemary, Broccoli, Peppers, Cabbage and a few other planted...up next Tomatoes!

2009-04-06T06:45:00.000-07:00

Finally got the seedling room finished! Time for blocking mix and seeds.

2009-04-01T06:37:00.000-07:00

Been busy at the farm, so not so much time for posting. Got the seedling room almost finished, and built this handy stand for making blocking mix.

New Flag and Sprouts

2009-03-30T08:39:00.001-07:00

Got a new flag for free from the MP`s office. Started some sprouts this week as well...Daikon, Mustard and Alfalfa. 5 days later = nutrient packed sprouts.

Progress

2009-03-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

Almost finished the seedling room. Should be all set to go sometime this week. What a beautiful day on Saturday, +16 on the farm, keep it coming! Did some outside work with the loader tractor as well.

2009-03-19T08:32:00.000-07:00

Finished off framing in the seedling room, hopefully have some stuff started next week. It's been extremely nice out the last week or so, got lots of outside work done.

I'm melting!!!

2009-03-09T12:55:00.001-07:00

Pretty self explanatory, took a walk of the fields the other day to see what things look like. A bonus was a lot less stones then I thought ... but there could be many more waiting just below the surface.

Seedling room almost framed in

2009-03-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

Got some nicer weather and got quite a bit done on the seedling room. Need to get a few outlets installed and find a door as I couldn't find one in the barn to re-use:(
Once I get those two things done(hopefully this week) then I will be ready to get some seeds going! T-minus 2 months till transplants!

Drive on...

2009-02-20T08:09:00.001-08:00

I picked up the cold/flu bug that has been going around, but still managed to get some more work done in the drive in shed. Here is the before and afters of the bench which had about 40 years of odds and ends built up...and dust...lots of dirt and dust. I organized it all into 4 piles...usable stuff, burn pile, iron scrap and recyclables. It's crappy work, but it feels good to get all that cleaned up and ready for farm use once again!

Seedling Racks

2009-02-13T07:51:00.000-08:00

Building four of these seedling racks. 6h x 2w x 4l. Would have been nice to have an extra set of hands, but I managed alright. The 2nd and 3rd racks went together rather quickly, once I established a good pattern.

Seeds arrive

2009-02-12T08:01:00.001-08:00

Got my first shipment of seeds in this week...exciting times!

Went through and checked off each item on the receipt and listed the days to maturity so I can get a planting chart going. Keep on melting snow!

Black Gold and more clean up

2009-02-04T16:22:00.000-08:00

Back at the farm this week for some more cleaning/setup and pitch forking. Found that all of the old barn stalls still had one to one and a half feet worth of cow manure and straw in them from 7 years ago. Back breaking work getting that cleaned up, but well worth the effort. Also finished demoing the old milk room, just need to get the tank out of there on the spring and I'll have an insulated seedling room. I'm planning on using the old stalls to make a cold storage celler and a drying/curing/storage room for veggies that don't need quite as cool temperatures for storage. Slowly but surely it's all coming together.

More workshops

2009-02-03T11:14:00.000-08:00

Finished up the 2nd session put on by Farm Start in Guelph. Ann Slater came in to talk for a few hours and they had a couple of reps from OMAFRA as well. I think I'm reaching my limit for classroom learning...I need to get in the field ASAP!

Guelph Organic Conference

2009-01-26T13:15:00.000-08:00

I went to the University of Guelph this weekend. On Thursday and Friday, I took a 2 day workshop put on by the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario. It was an introduction to ecological farming with 2 leaders and 9 participants. We did a lot of brainstorming and idea sharing. The majority of the others have larger conventional farms and are looking to make the transition to organic. We covered a lot of ground in the 2 days, on topics ranging from soil ecology and cover cropping to crop rotation and composting. I took a lot away, but I feel the most important thing was the reassurance that I am doing all the right things on my way to certification. Thanks to Chris, Joan and Tom for all their knowledge and feedback.

Barn clean up.

2009-01-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

Took a break from reading and planning to do some good old fashion work. I`m cleaning up the old milk room to use as a seed starting room.

We have power!

Some of the old milking equipment.

I think the tank will fit against the wall for this year and hopefully I can get 5 or 6 benches built by the end of the month.

Free stuff

2008-12-13T10:58:00.000-08:00

The Ontario Food and Agriculture site has lots of free Fact sheets and booklets available. I had to pay the shipping, but for $5 it was well worth it.

I picked up a bunch of supplies this week from Carol Francom a local grower. She is semi retiring this year. I should have enough trays to get me going this year!

I think bartering is the way to go in these days of tough financial times we are experiencing. Perhaps we as a society need to get back to basics before we can turn this around. Although I am only one person...you have to start somewhere.

A Little Light Reading ;)

2008-12-05T14:35:00.001-08:00

Here are some of the books I have been reading while I have some winter downtime.

These are all tremendous sources of information, I can not wait to get out and start implementing all of my new found knowledge!

Soil Test Results

2008-12-03T08:16:00.000-08:00

Everything checked out fine. pH is 7.2 which is just on the higher side of the middle of the scale (0-14). Calcium is very high, should make for some really good beets next year!

Not a whole lot of physical work going on right now...going to do some cleaning in the next few weeks so I can get the health board in to take a look.

Still working on my business plan, as well as the garden plan and rotations. Slowly but surely.

I'm planning on attending the Guelph Organic Conference January 22-25.

Bedtime for the Winter

2008-11-02T12:14:00.000-08:00

Went out to do some rough measurements to get some acreage estimates. Looks like close to 2 acres total, in 3 different fields. I`ll get a better idea of the exact number in the spring once the soil has been tilled a few more times and I get borders and pathways set up. Waiting for the soil test results so I can figure out what needs to be obtained for amendments.

Land Acquired

2008-11-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

Oct. 28, I reached an agreement to use a plot of land from my uncle for the sum of $0! The land is in Huron county, about 40 km from Stratford. Took 6 random samples and mixed thoroughly, in for analysis. The farm that the land is on, is the first land my grandparents purchased when they moved to Ontario via Nova Scotia from Holland.