About twelve years ago I was immersed in Permaculture. I had been working in organic gardens for over ten years prior, both in Ontario and abroad – from Mississippi to Costa Rica to Argentina and Jamaica. I also participated
In the summer of 2005 I decided to take my farm apprentices to visit Kurt Streckheisen, a beekeeper who was known to be ‘au naturel’, as one of our monthly farm tours. I knew nothing about beekeeping at the time
I farm 75 acres of organic land situated in the Tay Valley, Perth, Lanark County. The main income of the farm comes from five acres of vegetable production, supplying produce to Ottawa and the surrounding areas via CSA and Farmers
Farmers markets are finally over and the field is cleaned up. It’s time to kick back with a seed catalog and start choosing what to grow next year. It’s always fun to dream of all the new varieties you’re going
My partner and I have been operating an organic vegetable farm in Western Quebec for almost 25 years. During all these years, the most persistent problems are weeds and staffing! We started farming with just the two of us, but
… and making compost that will do that! As my own way of addressing the climate challenge in retirement, I am making, sharing and applying a particular form of compost called fungal dominant compost (FDC). My teacher through YouTube has
The first question you should ask yourself is: what do I hope to accomplish? Is this a hobby or a commercial enterprise? Only you know the answer to these questions. In my case I began growing garlic as one of
Adding Value by Creating the Upper Canada Creamery Motivation, dedication, passion, risk taking & good old hard work are key factors that we have relied on through the past 7 years. Our journey to date has been a short and
Good Results Come with Challenges I am a 4th generation “seedsman.” My great grandfather was a Scottish immigrant who established the Wm. Ewing Seed Co. in 1869 in Montreal. My father expanded the business (from garden, horticultural and agricultural seeds
One Farmer’s Contribution to Climate and Wildlife Health The Dobson family began farming in the 1830s. The current farm location, in the Upper Ottawa Valley near Cobden, was established by my great-great grandfather in the year 1857. Cattle, along with
