Our cats winter well!!

Bottomless bowls of kibble & fresh water, with the occasional treat to keep them nourished and content,

… a knack for finding the sunny spots in the barn on a cold day,

… and the warmth of the greenhouse for napping.

Rosemary is often the only one brave enough to venture out on these cold days – returning to the barn later with a full belly. Somehow she catches mice even in the snow.

When we are working in the shop, Fennel & Rue want to be a part of what’s happening – with limited success!

It’s a good life!

We have wintered well too, spending much of our time indoors resting & relaxing, and also planning and preparing for the new season.

Already it is sign up time for our CSA (community supported agriculture) program. Find all the information here.

Here are some lesser-known-facts & history about our CSA program …

• This is our 16th year with a CSA program. We began back in 2010 with 10 members – 3 of them are still with us! Other members have been with us for many years.
• CSA enabled us to gradually decrease our farmers’ markets from 4 each week to only 1.
• Our biggest year was 2015 with 150 shares. That fall we made the big decision to remove all our fruit orchards and only grow vegetables. This didn’t go over well and we lost over half our CSA members in 2016.
• COVID was a boon to our CSA as our numbers increased by around 70% from 2019 to 2020. It has since settled at around 90-100 shares most years.
• The majority of our CSA members live in St. Catharines and Lincoln.
• Our closest CSA members walk to the farm to pick up their shares.
• Our furthest members drive from downtown Hamilton. Other live as far as Stoney Creek, Grimsby, & Niagara Falls.
• CSA delivery was an option we offered for several years. We stopped because it took too much time, and we never developed a relationship with these members since we never saw them. They rarely stayed with us for more than 1 season.
• We sometimes barter CSA shares. In the past we have traded for working on the farm, meat, wine, shoes, osteopathy treatments …
• We have had a small fall CSA these past 2 years which has been very well received. With our autumns getting warmer & lasting longer, this makes good sense, and we plan to continue this.

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Around the farm …

The garlic patch, under snow & straw.

Sage also winters well! But unlike the cats, she prefers to be outdoors enjoying the snow.

We would welcome you to join us and give CSA a try.

Please email thefarm@thiessenfarms.com if you have questions.