An Invitation to our Customer Appreciation Days Dec 14th, 15th and 21st, 22nd

We are truly thankful for the support expressed by our customers; the stories you have told us, the place that  the farm has had in your lives.  Some of you have already brought in pictures for our memory board.

It has been 27 years of making the effort to connect with you and share our joy of farming.  You have been telling us through your stories that it has been a worthwhile one.  Many of you will keep in touch and make our Greenbank farm a new tradition.

We want to thank you.  The next two weekends we will have cookies and hot cider for refreshments as we chat about the times past and future.  There are specials on many of our products to help make stocking up for Christmas and winter more economical.

Our apples are a big reason why many of you come in this time of year - they are all on special for $1.50/lb including the Honey Crisp apples.

Our e newsletter will be starting up soon and we will keep you posted on the move and what we are up to.  It will be a very busy winter and spring this year.

Come in for a visit, dress warmly.  The atmosphere in the market is warm and welcoming but without a major source of heating the temperature is just a bit warmer than outside.

Christmas Trees are Here

The snow is here early and everyone is off to an early start.  It seems time speeds up when preparing for special occasions.
We have beautiful Fraser and Balsam Fir trees along with pine and spruce.  Our courtyard is transformed into a forest -  oh the smell - awesome!  The wet fall has kept the trees lush and green. Along with the trees we have garland and wreaths to help you make your home look and smell special.
A cup of hot apple cider is waiting for you in the market.  Lynda has been making up our Christmas cookie trays and pies are in the oven baking.

Traditions -  they are what connects us all.
Many of you have been coming for all 27 years that we have been open at our Markham Farm on Kennedy Rd.  Christmas is so traditional and sometimes it is the only time you visit us.  Each year it seems I am reconnecting with friends, watching the kids grow and over the years come back with kids of their own.  That is what makes this season so special to me.

As with life there are bends in the road and we are at a turning point in ours.  After 27 years here on Kennedy Rd. we have been given notice of termination of our lease.  This is our last season in Markham, the farm will officially close December 24th.  Winter will be busy moving everything up to our Greenbank Farm where we will continue to be open for our strawberry, pumpkin and Christmas seasons.

There will be some changes, we haven't fully developed them.  You will be able to see Dan at the Markham, Oshawa Centre and Whitby Farmers Markets along with his CSA.  James is applying for the EG Farmers Market at Green Lane and Yonge St and there may be more.  We will still be at the Markham Fair as well.

With that said we would love for you to visit - Customer Appreciation Days are the last 2 weekends before Christmas.  Come in for a chat, bring a picture from your visits on the farm.  We are making a memory board of the farm and would love for you to contribute.

We look forward to your visit.

October Harvest Festival Happenings

Fall is now in the air with the cool breezes and cold nights.  Halloween is quickly approaching and the fun continues.  Our pumpkin crop has been amazing this year - in quality, size and numbers.  Our pumpkin corral just keeps filling up to give you a great selection of pumpkins.

This will be the last weekend for our October Harvest Festival.  Weather permitting we will have all our activities happening including pony rides and horse drawn wagon rides.  Dress for the weather, dress to have fun. We are cooler on the farm with the open fields.

Sunday October 27th is special with Geissbergers Farmhouse Cider arriving with their award winning mobile cider press.  We have over 4 bins of apples to press into cider and you can view the process. Come see how it is done.  The fresh cider will be available for purchase at the farm.

The apples are fantastic this year.  We now have over 7 varieties available in the market, fresh picked, including Honey Crisp, Ambrosia, Jona Gold and Fugi to name a few.  We also have some incredible Bosc pears.

Come and enjoy.  Our farm will be open until December 24th.

Macintosh, Honey Crisp and Gala Apples are here

Long anticipated and seemly late the first main season crop of apples are now available in the market.  Honey Crisp, Gala and MacIntosh apples arrived this weekend.  Crispy, these fresh picked apples are from Graceview Farms in Port Burwell.  We are once again getting our apples from John.  His apples were great last year and we're off to a good start this year.

Come, enjoy the crunch.

Feels like Fall, there go the summer crops

Hot one day, cold the next and now frost warnings in cottage country.  Puts the pressure on to enjoy those last fruits and vegetables of summer before they are gone with the season.  Fall is officially just around the corner.

Tomatoes are one of those crops and our market is bursting with them at the moment.  A customer passed on an amazing recipe today that I will definitely try.  

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Heat oven to 300 degrees

1. cut the tomato in half, place cut side up on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
2. drizzle lightly with olive oil
3. add slice of garlic
4. optional - sprinkle with seasoning such as basil  
5. roast in oven for 3 hours  

Enjoy on its own or in salads.  Tomatos keep for a week in the fridge

Fall also means celebrating the harvest.  Time marches quickly and Thanksgiving will be here in the blink of an eye. Time to order your fresh, free range turkey.

Tomato Harvest is at its Peak

It's been a fantastic year for our tomatoes; for quality and flavour.  Our market is bursting with tomatoes and now is the time to catch the freshness and flavour the summer sun has given them.  
So get your canning jars ready.  Capture the taste of summer as we move on into the fall harvest season.  

Report just in from Farmer Jim - 
We have a dandy crop of pumpkins and October will be amazing this year.  He's been out in the field checking on them and is very pleased. 

Got to love the fall with all its colour.  We already have the beauty of the mums to enjoy and the leaves will be turning soon.  Our squash is adding even more colour to our courtyard.

Our fall school tour program is gearing up and Myrna is in the office to help you book your tour.

FUN and FOOD defines Labour Day Weekend

Labour Day weekend - The defining weekend between summer and fall when we get back to our regular routines after the summer break.

For us on the farm it means the tomato crop is coming on strong, fresh picked apples have arrived and the bins of squash are coming in filled from the field.  Many of the summer crops such as beans and sweet corn are still available, but the farm is definitely taking on the look of fall with the pumpkins ripening in the field and the garden mums giving us colour in our courtyard.

Our ENCHANTED FOREST AND 2 ACRE CORN MAZE ARE NOW OPEN
You've been watching the corn grow all summer, now it is ready for you to enjoy and I don't mean by eating it.  Feed corn can be a very tall plant and we use it for our maze because of it's strength and height.  Farmer Jim enjoys making the maze as challenging as possible, we make it harder by adding 5 stations for you to find so you can find your fortune with your fingers.

Our Enchanted Forest has changed over the years.  The storybook scenes have always fascinated and enchanted you on the walk, now with close to 20 years of growth the forest has taken on an enchantment of its own. There are few things more peaceful than walking in the woods.

JOIN US THIS LABOUR DAY WEEKEND.  

We are open Saturday, Sunday and Monday 9 till 6 

Ginger Gold Apples are Here

I love the start of apple season.  There are many early apples, my favorite is Ginger Gold; it is crunchy and sweet.  For all you tart apple lovers we have a small amount of Paula Red apples, they are just starting to be harvested.

Time flies and before you know it September will be here, Macintosh apples will have started and we'll be well into a multitude of apple varieties.  We are sourcing our apples from the same grower as last year.  John Hordyk is located in Port Burwell.  Jim developed a good relationship with him last year during the apple shortage.  Liking his quality he will support him once again this year.

John grows amazing pears as well and we will be sourcing our Flemish and Bosc pears from him.  Something to look forward to.

Tomatoes Have Begun
Depending on the day you can look out the back door of our market and see an expanse of tomatoes in bushels along with staff trying to wash, sort and basket them.  Our crop is looking fantastic so far and Jim is working hard at keeping it that way.  Check out the abundance we have of cherry tomatoes, round and even roma varieties.  We will soon be into canning season.

Sweet Peas
Who would have thought they'd be sweet and plentiful in August especially since they got fried in July.  These past two weeks of beautiful, cooler weather has allowed a late crop of peas to flourish and we're enjoying them immensely.  Get them before they are gone.  You can even pick your own.

Celebrate Honey
Another successful day on the farm.  Attendees had the opportunity to learn more about bees and honey in a fun and tasty way.  Mark your next years calendar for the civic holiday Monday Celebrate Honey on the farm day.   Here is Rebecca with the beekeeping equipment.

Celebrate Honey Monday August 5th

Anytime is a good time to celebrate honey and in a sense we do that each day.  It has become an annual tradition for us here at the farm to really focus on honey bees and the work they do each year on the August holiday Monday.

Use your senses to learn more about bees and the honey they produce.  Sample the different types we offer.  We still have a limited supply of our Spring Blossom honey.  Our beekeeper is preparing to harvest the first of our Wild Flower honey this week and may have it delivered by the 5th if all goes well.

Come and join us Monday August 5th for a sweet experience!

 

Raspberries have arrived

Heat and humidity - the weather related to raspberries.  The sultry days of summer are progressing and June bearing strawberries are done making way for raspberries to take center stage.  Time to make jam so that you can preserve the great taste of summer for winter.  We also have a limited supply of our own black currents.  Cherries, plums, blueberries are here as well.

Each week there is a greater selection of Ontario grown fruits and vegetables.
We began picking our green and yellow beans today in Markham and they are available for pick your own as well.

Our zucchini (they grow fast so we'll have some big ones in the market soon) is fresh picked and waiting to be taken home to the BBQ.  Get some peas, sweet and sugar snap, before they are done - they don't like this heat.

SWEET CORN BEGINS MONDAY JULY 15th.  Mmmmm... keenly anticipated - peaches and cream sweet corn is begining, fresh picked.

Summer and the Farm changes with the seasons

The seasonal changes can be seen in our market with the variety of fruits and vegetables available.  Variety is the spice of life.

Strawberries are in their last week but raspberries, cherries and blueberries are coming in. Peas are at their peak - sweet and sugar snap are bountiful right now.  Beans are just beginning as is sweet corn.

Soon the market will be jammed with an amazing selection of Ontario grown produce.  Foodland Ontario has a good chart to help guide you through the seasons of availability and we have it in our market.  Ask for one, they are a handy resource.

New in our market is SHELDON CREEK DAIRY milk and yogurt. Check out their website at www.sheldoncreekdairy.ca  We have two new dairy calves for you to visit, they arrived last week. Gingersnap is a red Holstein and Biscotti is a black and white holstein.  Seems we have a cookie theme going with our calves as they join Oreo as part of our farm family.

We're busy at Greenbank with the summer crops.  Tomatoes have been staked and tied (backbreaking but it got done) and we're trying to keep up with the weeds.  This weather is phenomenal.

Had enough rain yet?

Open Canada Day Weekend both Farms

Hot and Humid or Cool and Wet, seems there is no in-between these days.  Better than Alberta so I won't complain.

We will be open all weekend at each farm.

Our Greenbank Farm is open Saturday, Sunday and Monday 9-5 for pick your own and fresh picked strawberries and sweet peas.
Markham, we are open 9-6 for lot's of fun with all our activities available Monday.  Also beginning Monday July 1st we will have pick your own sweet peas.

Our Spring Blossom Honey will be here soon. Mmm.... a great taste of spring in the jar.  Perfect to top off your berries.

Happy Canada Day

Pick your own Strawberries and Peas at Greenbank Farm

Our Greenbank Farm is now open for pick your own and fresh picked strawberries and sweet peas.  The cold, wet weather has delayed the season but this heat wave is bringing them on.  Come soon to get the best of the crop.

Our strawberry crop is not up to what last years was.  There were lots of blossoms but not as much fruit as there should be.  May have been one of those last frosts of the seasons that did the damage.    This will relate into a shorter picking season so don't delay.  Next years new plantings are looking fabulous, as farmers we are always looking to the future.

Whenever farmer Jim wants to feel good he checks his sweet pea crop.  This spring has been perfect for them and have we got a crop of peas.  They will be available for pick your own in Greenbank now and shortly in Markham.

For exact hours and picking conditions in Greenbank 

call 905-985-6749

Strawberries- The sweet taste of summer

Long anticipated, a little late to arrive - strawberries are here!!!

We have fresh picked Ontario strawberries available in our Markham Farm Market now.  They took their time - the cooler, wetter weather causing the delay.  The berries are looking good and are consistently more plentiful although I would  recommend jam makers waiting a week till we have enough to sell by flats at a decent price.
New this year is vanilla pound cake - just what you need to enjoy a light berry dessert.

Our pick your own at our Greenbank Farm will be sometime next week.  We will keep you posted.  Our pea crop looks fantastic and we should have a good supply in a few days.  We will have pick your own peas in Greenbank along with the strawberries.

Strawberries are not the only Ontario grown produce to begin - the new crop of potatoes is now in our market along with lettuce, spinach, and garlic mmm.....

Eating from Ontario grown just keeps getting better.  Keep watch for more fruits and vegetables to come.

Fathers Day Sunday June 17th- Dads are Free

Fathers are special.  Sometimes taken for granted, not always thanked.  Sunday is a good day to pause, take time to let Dad know he is loved and appreciated, before it is too late.

This week we are mourning the loss of Jim's Dad who died peacefully and suddenly Monday at the great age of 94.  Long time customers will remember him helping out about the farm - BBQing hot dogs in the fall, selling Christmas trees, polishing apples at the Markham Fair.  He was always a source of support for us and we will miss him dearly.

Take time this week to connect with your Dad, tell him at least one thing you appreciate about him.  An investment in family time pays huge dividends.

Food for Thought

Just watched W5's Food for Thought last night.  Found it very disturbing and saddening the way the pigs were being housed and treated by the staff.  Saddened also that it can be called farming.

We raise a few pigs, and I mean just a few.  Over the past years we have found it more difficult to find weaner pigs to raise as many farmers have stopped raising pigs due to the poor monetary return on their efforts.  When food prices are low it translates into the farmer not being able to make a sustainable living to maintain their farm.  You can only lose money for so long; emotion and love of farming doesn't put food on the table when there is no income from your efforts.

To me, real farmers have a respect for the land and their animals - treating both right as they are their partners.  Healthy soils and animals gives us healthy farms. The pig production farm featured in the show did not have farmers working for them, they had labourers.  I wonder what they were paid and how many hours they had to work and what support and respect they received?  Maybe it is not just the animals that were mistreated.

What would be different if the workers had respect for their efforts in caring for the animals, recognition for a job well done, adequate pay.  Can that be done and still have pork for low prices in the supermarket?  Not likely.  These stories along with those we are seeing in Bangladesh with the garment factory workers are going to keep happening as long as we seek abundance at cheap prices.  Someone or something always pays the price.

Makes me think twice when I see a good bargain.

Mothers Day Tradition

When we think of mothers we think of memories and traditions; big and small, happy and sad.  To have memories you need time to make them.  A tradition on our farm is to give moms of all ages free admission to our farm on Mothers Day when accompanied by their kids.

Mother's Day is this Sunday.

Take some time to enjoy your family and relax for a few hours.  The trilliums are blooming in the woods, the heron can often be seen at our pond, the lambs are hiding behind their mom who is more than eager to eat any green you have to offer her.

We wish all moms a great day making memories, making traditions.

Opening Day is Here

The last few weeks are a blur - getting the farm ready, coping with the cold and wet weather - would it ever end?

The sun and the warmth have arrived just in time - school tours have started, the farm and market is now open for the season.

It is such a beautiful time of year.  This morning at first light it was like a switch was flicked and the birds started singing.  A little early for my liking but beautiful just the same.  The robins are about, building their nests and fattening up on the worms.  The days are longer allowing us a slow relaxation into evening and the ability to do just a bit extra outside after dinner.  The grass is green and the buds are now visible on the leaves.  I've got some early spring flowers blooming.  Yeh Spring!!!

Hope to see you soon at the farm.

Apple Cider- Innovation at work

What happens to all this left over produce when you close for the season?
This is a question asked by many of our customers.  We donate some to food banks and group homes through the generous effort of Patti, a wonderful customer, and her helpers.  The apples left this year have now been pressed into cider.

What is innovative about that, you may ask.
Apple cider has been around a long time, it's the process that is innovative.
Geissberger's Farmhouse Cider (www.farmhousecider.ca) in Durham Region just won the Ontario Farm Marketing Association Innovation Award sponsored by Foodland Ontario for their apple cider processing trailer.

We finally got a break in the weather this past weekend and were able to get our apples squeezed into cider.

Why this processing procedure?
As quoted from their website - "We provide sterile processing with high-tech equipment, innovative high temperature/ short time pasteurizer and convenient Bag-in-Box packaging.
The Bag-in-Box packaging system gives our ciders a shelf life of 1 year without preservatives or refrigeration.
The mobile mill meets all health regulations and is capable of processing and packaging up to 2 - 20 bushel bins of apples per hour, producing 500 litres of freshly-pressed pasteurized cider."  

I couldn't have said it better.

We were really excited to get our apples pressed into cider by them.  The 5 litre boxes will be available for sale when we open - first weekend in May.   We've booked them to come for the last Sunday in October to demonstrate the cider pressing at our farm.

Congratulations once again to the Geissbergers for providing a wonderful, innovative way of preserving the harvest.

Enjoy some pictures from our day pressing cider.  Jim had a good workout.

squeezing out the juice

Jim loading the apples

apple pulp getting wrapped for pressing

cider into the bag

Gord at the pasteurizer

it's in the bag

Wanda with the boxed cider

It all happens on the trailer

Looking to the Future, Reflecting on the Past

The new year is here and it is a white one.  Looks like we'll have a lot more snow than last year.  I don't mind, I mainly hibernate this time of year - cooking, cleaning, book work and just trying to slow down a bit.  Jim grumbles about having to plow it; I think the fresh air is good for him.

Last year was a year of change and challenge.

• Dan and James ventured into new territory with Dan developing a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) enterprise and joining the Markham and Whitby Farmers Markets and James joining the Oshawa Farmers Market.  The connections they made and experience gained has been immense.  Jim grew a larger selection of crops to supply them and both participated in the harvest.  We built a new cooler here in Greenbank to accommodate their produce and ours.
• Our market here in Greenbank is looking great.  Gillian, our long term Greenbank employee, appreciated the protection from the weather.  We were able to remain open daily during strawberry season with fresh picked and weather permitting pick your own berries.  We will continue to experiment with being open after strawberry season and build up our farm market business at this location.
• The warm winter and spring then late freeze in April played havoc with the Ontario apple and tree fruit growers making crop shortages the norm for the season.  We ventured further afield, met a new apple grower in Norfolk county who had apples and having a good experience with him will most likely continue to have him supply our apples next year.
• Our dry, sunny summer didn't affect the pumpkin crop - ours was great - it did make for a lot of weed and insect invasions.  It seemed all summer we were trying to find our crops among the weeds.  The weeds just kept coming.  Rainfall varied throughout the province, our area thankfully had enough.  
• Grain and hay prices shot up because of shortages throughout North America due to the dryness and some areas an extensive drought.  This affected us in the cost of animal feed and you may have noticed it reflected in the cost of our chickens and turkeys.  
• It was the rainy fall that really affected us.  With only 5 days in October with no rain our harvest festival days and school tours were damp.  The sunny days were welcomed by all and activity on the farm was busy then.  
• Hurricane Sandi in late October blew down our roadside sign, time to refresh it.  Otherwise the wind, cold and rain from it just delayed school groups and dampened the last days of October.  We're thankful that was all we experienced with the storm.  Tim, a former employee. was called down to New York to assist in the cleanup.  The devastation from the storm was immense, it seems recovery will take years.  
• December was fun - thanks to the hard work of John and Laura and the participation of our staff we took part in the Stouffville and Unionville Christmas parades.  A new experience for most of us.  Thanks to these communities for accepting and supporting us.
• Our soil's water level has fully recovered from the summer dryness.  The rain in December topped it up.  We know because of our wet basement.  The joys of older homes.

The season can be summed up in an appropriate statement from one of our cohorts who grows apples. " It is a challenge to have a business with Mother Nature as a partner. "

Farming is a next years business.  We're re-energizing, reflecting and reworking things.  Always optimistic about the future, we look back appreciating our customers support for us and the boys, and look forward to a exciting and challenging new season.

We wish you all the best for the new year.  See you in the spring.