Growing government certified potato seed conventionally in Ontario is already a demanding business, requiring the purchase of disease-free seed and several annual farm visits by government inspectors. Why then, would anyone choose to add organic certification, with an additional annual farm visit and extensive record keeping? This month’s article will tell you why Henry Ellenberger took this decision thirty years ago on his Coe Hill farm north of Madoc. It will also explain why Henry is known far and wide for his high quality certified organic potato seed.
Have you ever wondered where seeds that your grandparents planted have disappeared to? The assault on heritage farm crops has been going on for some time, as the multinational seed and pesticide giants gobble up smaller seed companies and trash the seeds that have no ‘commercial’ value for them. In this month’s article Mary Brittain not only describes the severe loss of heritage and other open-pollinated food plants but also shares with us some gems that can still be saved from extinction. Read about them and what you can do to save endangered seeds in her article here.
There are many purported benefits of using cover crops: preventing erosion, improving soil organic matter, reducing compaction, managing nutrients, suppressing weeds, controlling pests and disease, all leading to more resilient crops and increased crop yields.
It’s not uncommon for people to believe that Biodynamic (BD) farming is somewhat ‘voodoo’ or, alternatively, a kind of mystical method that will magically produce food of the highest quality. That is not what drew me to BD. Simply put,
Note: It’s extremely important to be sure about identification before eating any mushrooms. At the beginning of 2023, while still in a winter-imposed gardening hiatus, I was reading in The Gardener magazine an article about growing edible mushrooms outdoors. The
Helping to save the planet one step at a time Climate change is impacting humans everywhere. After 2024, likely to be the hottest year in recorded human history, it becomes increasingly difficult to deny the reality of it. It is
A Conventional Dairy Farm Accepts the Challenge (Image by Couleur from Pixabay) Our farm is situated in Eastern Ontario along the St. Lawrence River, about 10 km from the Quebec border. My grandfather, who is still farming with us, bought
A grocery business that puts people and freshness first Goodfood2u is a local, family-run business in Ottawa, owned and operated by me, Jennifer Williams, and Yannick Carrière. We provide a wide selection of certified organic produce, meat, dairy, eggs,
Old family recipes, traditions and innovations over time I am 80 years old, and I was raised on a small mixed farm on Chelsea Road in western Québec. We had sugar maples, butternuts, wild black raspberries, and wild plums in
