Spring work on the farm is difficult.

Physically difficult.

Because we are are out of shape!

After spending much of the winter indoors (working our minds more than our bodies 🙂 ) we really feel it in our muscles when we return outdoors to the fields. For the first few days anyways!

The record-setting warm temperatures the other week propelled us outside to pick roots left behind when we removed the row of old cherry trees last fall. There were plenty!

And there are plenty more remaining that we could not pull. I disced the ground and we’ll go through and collect roots again. Then we will plow and gather roots once more.

When we are satisfied that most of the roots have been removed, we’ll spread a layer of compost and seed a cover crop. Next spring – a year from now – we will plant our first vegetables here.

I planted those cherry trees close to 40 years ago. Without them the farm feels very open & empty. It is going to take some getting used to …

Today we began pruning blackberries – they are already showing growth.

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Around the farm this week …

The garlic is just poking through the straw mulch – a sure sign of spring!

In the little greenhouse the seedlings are growing well.

Spring means colour, and the first flowers blooming both in the garden and out in the fields.

Sage isn’t quite willing to let go of winter – she found the last bit of snow to relax in.

But the cats are basking in the sunshine & warmer temperatures!

These little guys too!

There is still time to join our CSA program for this summer. All the information & an application is at the top of the page, or email thefarm@thiessenfarms.com

This makes me happy!

The first of our seeds (hot peppers) have sprouted. A sign of spring. The start of our growing season.

I’m excited!

We start our seeds in the germination fridge.

A (non-working) fridge has sturdy shelves to carry the weight of many soil-filled seeding trays and enough insulation to keep the temperature stable. A crockpot filled with water, controlled by a thermostat, provides the necessary warmth & humidity that seeds require for germination. Once the seeds poke through the soil they are immediately moved out of the fridge and into the greenhouse since they require sunlight to grow.

Inside the fridge it’s a bit of a mishmash of containers right now. The large pot has some ginger we are trying to grow, artichokes are in the small pots, the boxes are seeded to onions, and the tray contains more peppers. Next week we will be seeding more peppers, eggplant, and the first of the tomatoes. This germination fridge will be chockfull – and overflowing – from now until late May. It’s a simple setup that works extremely well!

Here’s to a great growing season!

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Lorie & I were able to travel west earlier in February to visit our son & his family in BC …

… and the mountains! There were already snowdrops blooming in Stanley Park in Vancouver.

We continued on to Alberta to see my brother & sister-in-law … and the mountains!

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Around the farm …

Thanks to a mild winter we are eating spinach again, from last fall’s planting. It is a bit of work to sort through the outer leaves but in the centres of the plants are some beautiful, tasty, greens to enjoy!

More signs of spring!

Thank you to all who have signed up for our CSA this year.

We are still accepting applications. Details on this site or email thefarm@thiessenfarms.com and we will forward the information to you.

It has certainly been a dreary and gloomy January!

The many days of fog & mist were downright depressing last week.

But under this shroud, the farm was peaceful and beautiful!

The fields are relaxed and quiet waiting for spring …

… the greenhouse too.

In the little greenhouse there are reminders of last season. Under several added layers of plastic I kept some hanging baskets and some pots of herbs, for early spring cuttings.

We have spent the month indoors planning and preparing for the 2024 season.

Applications for our CSA program are now being accepted.

Here is an idea of what you can expect …

Will you consider joining this eating adventure with us?!

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The cats are mostly hibernating and waiting for some sunshine.

While Sage savours each & every snowflake that has fallen – she (and others) love the snow!

CSA information and the application are available on this site, or email thefarm@thiessenfarms.com and we will send them to you.

New Year’s Day 2024. Late afternoon – just before dusk. I am curled up in the chair by our front window with a cup of tea. Lorie yells, “Look, it’s the apple guy!” I drop my crossword puzzle. A man is walking up the road. Average looking except for the large orange pail he is hugging to his chest. It seems heavy. (Why isn’t he carrying it by the handle?) He disappears behind the birch tree and our roadside vegetable stand. Several minutes go by. When he reappears he is swinging an empty pail. Crosses the road and stashes the pail under the neighbours’ cedar hedge. Resumes his walk down the road. Whatever. I settle back in my chair and continue the crossword.

The next morning I investigate. I find this!

The apple guy strikes again!!

A few weeks previous he left a pile beside the neighbourhood mailboxes, just around the corner.

Last year our stand was also gifted with apples – twice – as were several of our neighbours, and even the school down the road.

So many questions … Who is this apple guy? Where does he come from? Why does he leave us apples? Where do the apples come from … ?

So few answers.

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Around the farm …

We finally mulched the garlic shortly before Christmas.

We had just enough help – enough to slow us down (and make it fun).

Apples for everyone! What a windfall!

Happy New Year!

It is always good to see the farm from a new perspective.

For example …

These pictures were taken in mid-August – notice how green everything is thanks to the abundance of summer rain.

(Thank you to our friend Carter from Vacant Inn Productions (www.vacantinnproductions.com) for these great shots.)

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Around the farm this month …

Our last fall CSA pick-up back on Oct 26 – still a good selection of vegetables!

The manure & compost is all spread and the fields are now resting for the winter.

We are always happy to receive leaves which are great for the soil. I spread these the other day – though the wind today is respreading them, I’m sure.

The cover crop has grown nicely and will provide adequate protection for the ground over the winter.

Found growing in the fields this week – dandelions, and 1 brave flower in our edible flower bed still hanging on.

We left a bed of salad greens for us to eat this fall and into the winter – weather permitting. As of now they are still fresh & delicious!

We planted the garlic in late October, on a beautiful, warm, autumn day.

We had our first frost of the season overnight and this morning.

This is later then usual – 3 weeks later than last year.

Then it was a beautiful sunny & cool fall day.

It was quite a heavy frost. The ground was white – roofs too – and the truck windshield had to be scraped.

The vegetables looked beautiful!

By mid-morning the sun had burned the frost away and all was good – no harm done to any of the vegetables remaining in the fields.

What’s in the box?

Chinese broccoli, salad turnips, cabbage, salad greens, green onions, sweet peppers, squash …

• Broccoli was a surprise in the box last week. This week it is Chinese broccoli also called flowering broccoli. The purple stems with green leaves are succulent, tender and have a mildly spicy flavour. Enjoy them in a salad, or gently stir fry or sautee them.

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Around the farm this week …

The dahlias were stunning this morning, the blooms edged in frost!

But by lunch they looked like this. Now I can mow them down, dig up the tubers and store them until planting time next spring.

But the dahlias along the barn were unscathed.

And the sunflowers didn’t seem to mind the frost at all.

Thank you for being a part of our fall CSA!

We hope to see everyone next spring. Details of CSA 2024 will be out in late January.

The 2023 season is quickly coming to an end.

We picked the last of the eggplant, peppers, cabbage and beans last week and then mowed the big vegetable field clean.

Saturday was our final farmers’ market in Georgetown. Despite a forecast calling for showers we had nice weather – cold & breezy but no precipitation. As usual the good people of Georgetown came out & supported their market and the closing day was a success – a great way to end our 30th year there!

Thank you Georgetown!

There are only 2 weeks remaining in our fall CSA – this week and next.

Growing conditions have been favourable – some sun, enough rain and most importantly, no frost – so we have been able to keep the CSA boxes full each week.

Here is last week’s CSA table ready for pick up.

What’s in the box?

Squash, salad turnips, salad greens, sweet peppers, green onions, beets.

Extras – cabbage, hot peppers, kohlrabi.

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Around the farm this week …

How about that!

Finally we got some coloured peppers & even some red shepherd peppers – at the last, clean-up pick! Too little, too late, but we’ll take them anyway!

And continuing that thought …

Here are the last sunflowers finally beginning to bloom – the patch that was supposed to be harvested for the Thanksgiving market!

But in anticipation of this possibly happening, I did plant them close to the house, so at least we can see them & enjoy them daily.

Under this white, insect cover is the fall cauliflower crop. Big, beautiful, healthy plants – but no heads yet!

The baby broccoli is coming. Will it mature in time for CSA next week?

There is lots of salad greens though – spinach, lettuce, mini-romaine, arugula …

Because we have not had a frost, the dahlias are still blooming and giving us pleasure.

Thanksgiving Monday was a very windy & chilly day – so we stayed mostly indoors and enjoyed a day off.

But by late afternoon I was craving fresh air and ventured outside to grab some photos for this newsletter and check on the vegetables.

The sun was shining, the colours were bright – a glorious autumn day!

What’s in the box?

Chinese cabbage, salad turnips, lettuce mix, spinach, edamame, fall radishes, sweet peppers, green onions.

• We have some beautiful Chinese cabbage this week! One variety is green with a pale creamy centre and the other is more frilly and looser with a more yellow centre. Both are delicious and excellent in salads, coleslaws, stirfries …

• Salad turnips (remember them from spring?) are small, round, white turnips that resemble radishes, but without the bite (usually)! Mild in flavour, crisp, and quite tender, they are best eaten raw – simply wash, cut off the tops and enjoy! They can also be stir fried, sautéed, or steamed – both the turnips & the green tops.

• The salad greens – lettuce mix & spinach – are loving the cool temperatures and the rain over the weekend.
• Enjoy the final batch of edamame for this year. Edamame freezes well, if you want to preserve some for the winter. Boil the pods in water for 3-5 minutes then pop the beans out, and freeze them in a freezer bag. We like to add them to our winter salads, soups or casseroles …
• Fall radishes, sweet peppers (weather permitting) and green onions complete this week’s box.

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Around the farm this week …

The weather has been awesome of late, and we have been picking some amazing vegetables – especially for October!

The last planting of 2023 – our lettuce mix. Will it mature in time for the last CSA at the end of October? Under the white insect cover is some Chinese broccoli.

The fall cover crops are germinating nicely – hoping for a carpet of green before winter.

We have enjoyed some beautiful fall skies lately.

Heading out behind the barn to feed the chickens this morning, I caught a whiff of another autumn aroma – pawpaws!

Altogether more pleasant than the manure smells I mentioned last week, pawpaws smell of ripe bananas, pineapples and mangos – a thoroughly delightful & delicious scent!

Today was the 1st time I could smell them. That means some are ready!

I have been anxiously waiting for them to ripen, checking the pawpaw patch every few days for the past couple of weeks, hoping they would be ready before Georgetown market ended on Oct.14. Our customers have been even more anxious, asking about pawpaws every week too.

So it is very good news that we should have some – probably only a very few – pawpaws this Saturday at market!

For more info on pawpaws, check out our blog post from a few years ago …

Haha Pawpaw!

What’s in the box?

Cabbage, sweet peppers, radishes, squash, green onions, green beans, lettuce mix, spinach.

Extras – hot peppers, kohlrabi …

• We have some lovely cabbages growing in the field – green, red & the curly leafed savoy. (And some beautiful Chinese cabbage too – for next week.)
• Sweet peppers have been frustrating & disappointing this season. As they ripened and started to turn colour, they rotted – mostly due to the wet conditions earlier. That is why we have been picking them all green. There’s nothing wrong with green peppers – they just don’t have the sweet flavour of a red, yellow or orange pepper. Now that the rains have stopped, the quality of the peppers is improving, but the cooler nights have prevented them from ripening & colouring up. However this week we are back to very warm temperatures. Will we get some coloured peppers yet?
• Fall radishes have been in the box the last few weeks, but this week we will have spring radishes – in October!
• There will be another winter squash in the box this week. Squash stores well – keep them dry & at room temperature. But watch them carefully. If any soft spots appear, eat them quickly.
• Green beans, green onions, lettuce mix and spinach are also in the box this week.

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Around the farm this week …

Lots of vegetables. Lots of weeds!

There’s a new pup in the neighbourhood – a Red Heeler named Tucci. Sage is not too sure about him, but the Flynns are quite certain they don’t like him, and hope he doesn’t come around the farm much.

Sage – passenger princess!

More autumn colours on the farm …

Happy Thanksgiving!