We Still Have Strawberries

Even though this heat is shortening our season we still have strawberries for picking at our Greenbank farm, just 10 minutes east of Uxbridge. Don't delay as we're not sure when the picking will end. Right now it is still good although berries are smaller in size. Come in the mornings when it is cooler, the berries will keep better. We are open at 9:00am. Jim has been irrigating to give the plants some relief form the heat. Fresh picked berries are still available at both our farm locations. We're looking forward to more crops coming ready - We have been harvesting beets, peas and zucchini. Cucumbers are about to start. We hope to have early Ontario sweet corn in our markets soon.

Kids and strawberries

Is it hot enough for you. This heatwave can be stifling but it actually is cooler in the country. I was amazed yesterday at the temperature difference between our Markham and Greenbank farm. It felt at least 5 degrees cooler here in Greenbank with the nice breeze we had. This heat is ripening the berries fast so don't delay in getting yours. We're open at 8:30am in Greenbank till 7:30pm weekdays and 9:00 to 5:00 weekends for picking. Have your kids come meet our kids. Piper and Joy are week old twin goats that we have had to bottle feed. They love all the attention they can get. The pictures are from a recent night when they needed babysitting. Zena was very motherly and the kids being young look to all sources for food. You can visit them in Greenbank.

Fathers are special on the farm

A lot of attention is paid to moms and babies on the farm each spring but lets not forget about dads. We're celebrating dads on the farm this Fathers Day with free admission to our Markham farm'n fun for Dads of all ages when they bring their kids. So come on out to the farm Dad and have your kids meet our kids.

Strawberries are here

Farming can be a challenge and one of the main challenges is predicting when a crop will be ready for picking. Like the weather reports a week can make a big difference in what you predict and what happens the day of. This past weekend we had one variety of berries just starting to ripen and we were picking for the market in Markham. The other varieties looked like they would be ready in more than a week away. The heat way hits and THE STRAWBERRIES ARE RIPENING FAST!!!! Farmer Jim now thinks we will be opening here in Greenbank for pick your own and fresh picked strawberries Sunday June 17th - just in time for Fathers Day. Please call 905-985-6749 before coming for exact opening day and hours. FRESH PICKED STRAWBERRIES ARE AVAILABLE AT OUR MARKHAM FARM!! The crop in Greenbank is looking good and we have a good supply of our early berries at our Markham farm location. Peas are early this year and we are picking them for the market as well. We may have pick your own peas in Markham by this weekend. STRAWBERRY SEASON IS HERE. GET YOUR JAM JARS READY SO YOU DON'T MISS THE PEAK OF THE SEASON.

Open Victoria Day Monday

WOW!!!! What a weekend for weather. It seems summer is here. Jim is out in the fields here in Greenbank planting our tomatoes today. Our zucchinis, onions, garlic and cabbage are doing well. We've planted berry bushes this year - gooseberries, black currents, haskaps and chokeberries. Great for jam making in the years to come. We could use a bit of rain tonight, as I'm sure everyone gardening hopes for. Come for a visit It's been a relaxing weekend here in Markham with families enjoying the farm. All our spring babies are thriving and loving all the attention. Come and meet Timothy Peter, our newborn kid, just 5 days hold. He's capturing everyone's hearts as he greets them at the farm. Strawberries are here soon Time to think about clearing your freezers of last years fruit. Our berries are in blossom. This means it will be approx. 3 weeks till we can start harvesting. Berries from southwestern Ontario are starting to appear in the food terminal but currently they are everbearing varieties, we find them tart so we're waiting till the June bearing varieties are ready. Everything seems early this year. Sunday we had jam making demos; it is so easy and pectin supplies for jamming are in the stores now. Time to make room for this years crop. We're open today with lots of fun activities. Come on out and enjoy the great day ahead.

Opening for the season this Saturday

Wow how time flies. This winter went by very quickly with all the projects we were able to work on due to the mild weather. Our Greenbank Farm is transforming and will be open once strawberry season starts. Our Markham Farm opens for the season this Saturday School tours are already underway and the market has got it's spring cleaning. New product is now coming in and we're getting ready for the big day. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. Our website has had some freshening up and you'll notice a new addition of our CSA being organized and run by Dan and Molly. Check out their page and video. It's been fun watching them get up and running. Family Membership Seasonal Pass We've had many requests for a season pass and this year we're giving it a try. Check out our home page for more info. Passes are available for sale in the market until June 30th. So come see our babies!!!! Baxter is one of them and I'm sure you'll meet him as he is very vocal. Bottle fed from birth he is thriving and loves to meet people. He has grown since these pictures were taken.

See you soon!!!

Spring is here and we're opening May 5th

Wow, how the winter months flew by. They've been busy ones here in Greenbank, the weather allowed us to do a lot of outdoor work. No complaints on the temperature either.

We're currently cleaning up for spring - the Markham farm and market will be opening Saturday May 5th. Stay tuned for some new developments.

It has been a busy winter for learning with numerous workshops attended on a wide variety of topics. I've just completed our second Environmental Farm Plan workshop where we analyze our farm and farming practices to see how they measure up to Best Management Practices. The workshop is based on helping us improve our impact on soil, air, water and biodiversity. It was good to see the progress we've made since we last completed one 5 years ago. The On Farm Food Safety workshop was along the same lines but geared toward best practices for food safety. Be on the look out for some new posters around the farm. I've got some interesting ones.

Jim was able to attend a behind the scenes tour of Busch Gardens, Virginia while attending the North American Direct Farm Marketing Association conference in Williamsburg, Virginia. Although Busch Gardens is a little out of our league, they're putting in a new roller coaster at the cost of $30 million, it was interesting to see how the big guys operate. We were also able to meet up with our fellow marketing friends from across the USA and Canada. Conferences are always energizing for us and this one was followed closely by our provincial conference in Niagara Falls. So, now we need to absorb it all and put what we learned into practice.

Hope to see you again this season. Let us know how we're doing, suggestions and comments are always welcome.