Thiessen Farms

Summer harvest - winter eating

2012-01-24T12:30:00.000-05:00

It's January and I'm hungry for some fresh fruit.

The last of the fall apples are still hanging around - but soft & wrinkly, and without much flavour. It's applesauce this week or out they go!

The chickens have been enjoying the final few Bosc pears - they don't mind that they are mostly brown & mushy rotten. They're hoping for the apples too!

There are still some Christmas clementines left in the fruit cellar - fuzzy grey and without juice. Some boxes were pretty good, but others not.

The grocery stores have been featuring sweet cherries lately, and of course every kind of fruit imaginable is available on their shelves.

But I don't think so ...

We will not buy out of season, imported fruit in winter. Local apples and maybe some oranges and bananas (sometimes) are all we will purchase this time of year.

Right now, what I really crave is one of our own peaches - red, ripe, sweet & juicy, warm off the tree, the kind you have to lean way over to eat so the juice doesn`t run down your shirt!

However, this is what the peach orchards look like today ...

How crazy is it to see green grass in mid-January!

And here is what I wish they looked like ...

And this is what I'm dreaming about ...

Good thing some of the summer harvest was tucked away for winter eating!

While I cannot take much credit for this, I am thankful to Lorie for the effort she put into canning and freezing peaches.

Of course they are not as good as fresh - but they do taste really good this time of year!

Notice the different colours of the peaches.

Some are Babygold peaches. These are our favourites - for flavour, colour & texture - but they are the most work to can. They are not freestone and must be cut off the pit. Even with blanching they do not slip their skins and must be peeled by hand with a potato peeler. When there were still canning factories in Ontario, Babygolds and similar varieties were the peaches that were put into cans. But we do not even grow Babygolds and have to get them from another farmer.
Many customers who can peaches have their favourite variety - Redhaven is the best known & loved. Others prefer Starfire, Jayhaven, Loring ...
Jubilee is an old cultivar that we stopped growing probably 35 or more years ago. But some people still remember how well they canned and ask for them.
Lorie will can any kind of peach. She will use whatever is available when she has time to put some away.
The palest peaches in the picture are white flesh peaches. While they may not look quite as pretty in the jar, their taste is just fine.
Most of our peaches were canned with the peels - saves a lot of work and they also turned out great!

We also freeze peaches.
Wash them, slice them - don`t bother peeling them - and place on cookie sheets in a single layer. Freeze them overnight, then scoop them off and bag them. They stay loose and we can use however many we need. This sure beats freezing them by the bag or container and then having to thaw the whole frozen clump, and watching them turn brown as they defrost.
I like to put some in a bowl and microwave for a few minutes. Usually I eat them plain - no sugar or anything.

Sometimes I will drizzle a bit of maple syrup on top to satisfy a super sweet craving,

... and I`ll pretend it`s August and I`m eating fresh peaches off the tree.

Winter harvest

2012-01-04T14:44:00.000-05:00

I like winter!

I like the more relaxed pace of life - a welcome relief from the summer's gruelling schedule.
I like that the work can usually be done today ... or tomorrow ... or even next week.
The constant push of the harvest is just a memory!

So when there is talk of growing & harvesting crops throughout the winter (an increasingly common practise), I get really uncomfortable.
I enjoy the seasonality of our farm - planting, growing, and harvesting in spring, summer and fall.
Not winter!
Winter is for catching our breath, relaxing, planning, dreaming, rejuvenating ourselves.

As long as we just grew fruit, winter farming was never an issue. Fruit trees are set in their ways and only produce in the summer. The winter was for pruning not picking.

When vegetables were added to our farm, we could push the seasons. What & how could we grow & harvest sooner in spring and later in fall? With many farmers' markets now opening sooner and closing later in the year, stretching the harvest season becomes a necessity.

And so the other day I was out picking spinach - fresh from the garden.
Our last seeding of lettuces & spinach was so beautiful in fall, that in a moment of weakness we covered it - just to see what would happen.

With our incredibly mild winter so far, it has done very well.

Of course, even the greens left uncovered are still looking pretty good.

We're still digging carrots too. And then there's the kale ...

I have mixed feelings about it all. While very exciting to be picking fresh greens in January, do we really even want to consider doing it on a larger scale? Should we start thinking winter CSA?

I guess I'm getting old - and probably lazy too!
Perhaps I should lie down, have a rest, and think about it some more.

.

Oh Christmas tree!

2011-12-21T12:42:00.000-05:00

I confess ...
We've never had a real Christmas tree.
At least not recently.
The last time I remember having a real tree was probably about 40 years ago!
Then my parents discovered the pleasures of the artificial.
Mom liked that it never shed needles, didn't need watering, and always looked good (?). Dad liked going to get a tree from the basement instead of shopping for one in town, and paying for a tree only once rather than every year.
Us kids liked that we could set up the tree early in the season and it would last & last ...

Lorie & I have continued the family tradition.
Our first Christmas tree came in a box, purchased with wedding money. Most of the decorations were wedding gifts (that's what happens when you marry in
mid-November).
The tradition continued for 25 years.
Then it ended!
Set up & decorated in our living room right now is a real, living, great smelling, needle shedding (not much), water sucking, genuine Christmas tree.
And it was cut on our own farm!

Here's how it happened ...
Living on a fruit farm, we grow lots of trees, thousands of trees, fruit bearing trees - but not evergreen trees.
I like growing trees. We've planted lots of shade trees around the yard, added nut trees & paw paws in the orchards, transplanted & nurtured volunteer seedlings that have sprouted in the garden, and even gathered throw-aways from a nearby nursery.

Quite a few years ago I bought some tiny little evergreen trees - cedars & spruce. They came in the mail and were only 3-4 inches tall with just a few roots. The plan was to enjoy growing them and then someday use them for a windbreak. The plan worked well and so I bought some more. As they have grown I've moved them around - to get them out of the way, and to slow them down until they were needed. Some have died, others were set out to their permanent spots, and some were left to keep growing - unwanted, unweeded, uncared for - squeezed between the greenhouse that's never been finished (don't ask), and a compost pile. Their purpose seemed only to provide shade for the chickens in the heat of the summer.

Until now!

Despite being crowded & therefore somewhat misshapen, someone saw potential, even beauty in their greenness.
We examined them from every angle, used our imaginations, then chose & chopped. Dragged into the house and set up, we again examined it from every angle, used our imaginations, and finally decorated it.
Perfectly shaped it is not. But we think it's beautiful - our very own, grown at home Christmas tree.

May your own Christmas traditions - new & old - bring you pleasure and happiness as you celebrate the holiday season.

Merry Christmas!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Anniversary trip

2011-12-08T20:51:00.000-05:00

I like to be at home!
I like my farm ... I like my bed ... I like the comfort of my daily routine ...

But I also like my wife - actually I love my wife.
So when a trip was suggested - to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary - I decided to like travelling too.

We compromised ... driving, not flying ... away for more than a week, but less than 2 ... looking at farms, but also the ocean ... no cooking allowed!

We began with a few days in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, driving around and enjoying the beautiful Amish farms and taking in a live show "Miracle of Christmas" at the famous Sight & Sound Theatre ( www.sight-sound.com ).

covered bridge

pumpkins (musquee de provence?) left unpicked in the field

Amish farmer mowing corn stubble

Then it was on to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where the weather was sunny & warm, the ocean beautiful, and the week very relaxing.

The ocean in front of our hotel

Sunrise from our balcony

This was in our hotel. Our morning routine included

a coffee and a long walk on the beach.

Here's a crop we don't grow on our farm ...

Fields of cotton in South Carolina

Bales of cotton ready to be shipped

Combine on a busy highway

So glad we don't farm terrain like this in Virginia

A popular picture spot - Mabry Mill along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia.

We both agreed - it was a great trip!

... It's also great to be back home!

CSA 2011

2011-11-06T20:25:00.000-05:00

There's nothing left to pick.
There's almost nothing left to sell. (anybody interested in some really big squash?)
Markets ended just over a week ago.
Our CSA program finished about 3 weeks ago.

We really have not said much about our CSA - check out an earlier post "Marketing at Thiessen Farms" from March 16, 2011 and the CSA 2011 page at the top of this blog for more information.

The CSA went well this season.

65 people or families purchased shares - either a full share or a half - and came to the farm each week (half on Tuesday & half on Friday) to pick up a box of our fruit & vegetables. First pick up of the season was not until the 14th of June (remember the wet & late start to our spring) and we concluded on the 14th of October.
Pick up days were always busy with lots of picking & prepping of the produce and then preparing the boxes.

Lorie enjoyed meeting & getting to know our shareholders.
The families with children often stayed longer to look around & visit the chickens, rabbits & cats.
Everyone was invited over one Saturday in July for a tour of the farm, and some raspberries & ice cream. We enjoyed the opportunity to show our members where & how their food is grown, and they enjoyed seeing it!
Each week we sent a newsletter out by email with a listing of produce that would be in the box that week. We also tried to include an explanation of any uncommon or less known fruit or vegetable along with a recipe or at least a suggestion on how to eat it.
This was also our opportunity to inform how the crops were growing & explain why there were shortages, or an abundance, or quality issues, etc...

Here are some pictures of our fruit & vegetables ready for CSA pick up .

To complete the 2011 season we sent out an online survey & questionnaire this past week to all our members. Response has been good, and the answers helpful. Most comments were positive & favourable.

And so we begin the planning process for 2012, affirmed & encouraged.

Garlic planting

2011-10-24T20:34:00.001-04:00

It's the end of garlic season.
It's the start of garlic season.

Our garlic is just about gone. Sales have been steady at market, and we've filled the orders we had at the farm. Now we must remember to keep enough for ourselves for the winter!

Last Monday - a week ago - we finally got next year's garlic planted. We planted about 4600 cloves, a little more than last year. It's not a lot really, but enough for us.
We plant the smaller bulbs and the bulbs that have split. Breaking them takes a bit of time - good rainy day work.

Planting is done by hand - each clove pushed into the ground, pointed end up, a couple inches apart. Then we cover them, using a rake to pull the soil over them. Once the ground freezes - probably December sometime - we'll mulch the entire garlic patch with a heavy layer of straw or hay. Come spring, the green shoots of garlic will poke through the mulch, but hopefully the weeds won't.

The rows were made by the tractor & cultivator - easier than marking them out with pegs & string. They're as straight as I managed to drive.

Some people prefer to kneel & plant ...

Others bend ...

And some aren't any help at all!

Windy - Wet - Weary

2011-10-15T09:50:00.001-04:00

Missing a farmers' market is not an option ...

... Today we missed the Georgetown market!

We can count on 1 hand the number of times we have missed a market in over 20 years of selling produce at the farmers' markets. The reasons were sickness, funerals and weather. While sickness & funerals are acceptable reasons, weather rarely is.

But weather was the excuse today.
Our forecast for home included a wind warning with gusts up to 90kph, rain, cold ...
Georgetown's forecast while less dire, but called for strong winds, rain & cold temperatures.
Throw in our weariness, slow fall sales, and a big 60th wedding anniversary party for my parents tonight and it didn't take much discussion to make the decision - no market!

Last Saturday - Thanksgiving Saturday - the weather was perfect. Sunny, cool & comfortable, we didn't even put up our canopy but enjoyed all the sunshine. Sales were great too!

So this morning I awoke to the sound of ... no rain and only moderate winds blowing.
Wonder what it's like in Georgetown?
Have a great market guys. See you next Saturday!

Elderberries

2011-09-26T20:53:00.000-04:00

Are they sweet?

This is the most common question we get at the farmers' markets. People ask this about all our fruit, berries and many of our vegetables.

This past week, that question was most often asked concerning elderberries.
Along with that, we were asked - "What is an elderberry?" and "Can I try one?"

It seems that elderberries are not that well known.
Seniors know them best & remember picking them years ago.
Many customers have tasted elderberry pie or elderberry jam but had never seen a real berry.
And some mentioned elderberry wine ...

Elderberries are not actually a crop we cultivate on our farm. There is but one bush - small tree almost - growing in the far corner of our yard, alongside the lilac, snowball & rose of sharon bushes. It's been there as long as I can remember, but only in the last few years have we harvested it.
It started when a local chef called to ask if we might know where he could source some elderberries. We did & picked him what he needed. That was easy money! The next year the birds ate most of the berries & the chef went without. So we attempted to cover the berries with netting which worked well - but what a pain!
Lately the birds have left the elderberries alone and we are able to harvest plenty - for our chef friend and for the market.

So ... are they sweet?
The flavour of an elderbery is more tart than sweet. Some can even have a slight bitterness. They really aren't that good to just eat fresh. But made into a pie or jam the taste is wonderful.
Several customers use them to make a syrup - cook the berries down, strain them & add just enough sugar to make it palatable. This is then used as a cold remedy. Apparently elderberries are high in vitamin C.

At market this past week we handed out out lots of elderberry samples, watched a lot of people make faces, and even sold some.

This week we'll hear the same question - Are they sweet?
But instead of elderberries it will be about pears, or squash, or peppers, or ...

Signs of fall

2011-09-13T17:49:00.000-04:00

Summer is definitely over ...

There is only 1 row of peaches left to be picked.

Most of the orchards look empty, like this.

We are still picking tomatoes, but the plants are weary & fading fast.

The blackberry canes are mostly empty - only the odd plant still has berries worth picking.

The vegetable patch has been mowed down except for some lonely swiss chard, carrots ...

Yes, summer is definitely over ... but fall is here.

And fall means squash & pumpkins & gourds.

Remember the crooked rows of squash all newly planted 3 short months ago?

Those squash plants grew & flourished.

The weeds grew & flourished.

Whether or not there was any squash under all the greenery was a mystery. Busy with the fruit harvest, we took no time to check and see. The odd runner headed toward the pathway and a few squash appeared. Was there more?

Then about a month ago the mildew appeared and the plants started dying back.

We began to see the crop.

Now the plants are dried up and here is what we see ...

Our fall harvest looks abundant and bountiful !

Coralstar peaches

2011-09-03T20:29:00.000-04:00

Today at market we heard several complaints about our peaches.

It wasn't that the peaches didn't taste good - they did.
It wasn't that the quality was poor - it was excellent.
It wasn't that they had no colour - they were beautiful.
It wasn't the price - surprise!
It wasn't that the peaches were too small - they were rather large.

In fact that was the complaint. Our peaches were too big!

Coralstar was the variety we were selling today. It is a newer cultivar that crops well, has few blemishes, is very colourful and quite large.
With the school year beginning next week, there would be lunches to prepare. The peaches were too big for a child's lunch. Others worried they could never eat such a large peach by themselves.
But of course most customers were well pleased with our Coralstar - we did sell out!

So how big were the peaches?

Pretty big!!

For the birds

2011-08-23T20:19:00.002-04:00

I have an agreement with the birds ...
I feed them in the winter, they don't eat my crops during the summer.

I'm pretty good at keeping my end of the bargain, however I'm not at all sure the birds have ever agreed to anything.
But they are happy when I feed them!

Usually things work out okay. The birds eat some cherries but not too much of any other crop ... until this!

My sunflower shoots ready to take to market.

Of course sunflower shoots are not a major crop on our farm, but they are something that we grow & sell.

The culprits are a family of bluejays living in our maple trees in the back yard. We grow the sunflowers under these trees thus providing a very convenient & handy snack for the hungry jays.

They don't touch the pea shoots...

or the cabbage shoots...

but even the newly seeded sunflowers are eaten.

So for now the boxes of sunflower shoots are languishing in the hot greenhouse, though I'm sure the bluejays will even find them there.

Today at market sunflower shoots were on sale - damaged goods!

And while we're talking birds ...

You may have seen this tree before in pictures on this blog. It is a large tree that is located at the back of our farm. It marks the boundary between 3 different farms.

A pair of hawks has set up house here and can often be seen soaring in the sky or sitting on a post in the neighbour's tomato patch.

These are beautiful birds

and fun to watch - we do get tired of their endless shrieking though.

But at least they don't eat the sunflower shoots!

The week in review

2011-08-14T15:11:00.001-04:00

We picked a lot of peaches this past week.
We sold a lot of peaches this past week.

We picked a lot of tomatoes this past week.
We sold a lot of tomatoes this past week.

That alone would be a pretty good summary of our week here at Thiessen Farms.
But of course a lot more happened as well.
We also picked beans, zucchini & summer squash, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, beets, kohlrabi, basil, nectarines, blackberries and flowers.
We hoed & weeded, seeded, planted & transplanted, mulched, suckered & tied, watered, sprayed, washed & packed, fixed broken equipment & machinery, loaded trucks, delivered to restaurants, went to markets, and prepared CSA boxes for pick up.
We even got to see family who were visiting from Calgary & Winnipeg.

The days were long & the nights short - but it's August, and what we expect.
August is the culmination of our year - the harvest that we have worked for.

Here are some pictures to illustrate our week...

A lot of tomatoes to sell at 1 market.

Different kinds of eggplant

The blackberry jungle

fixing ? the rotten jitney platform

It was an interesting week at our farmers' markets ...

Tuesday began well. Shoppers came early & sales were brisk. A few showers hardly slowed things down, but the showers became rain, and the rain turned into a torrential downpour. But East York customers are die-hard farmers' market supporters and our sales ended up okay for the day. We did lose a lot of baskets & containers though, as all our produce is packed in cardboard.
The best part of the rain was that it also happened back at the farm - not as much as in Toronto but enough to benefit the fruit trees and certainly the vegetables. And of course the weeds loved it!

Thursday at North York was much drier - but much windier. Most of the day was spent serving customers with one hand & hanging on to our canopy with the other - very tiring, but we only lost a few bags and some signs. Sales again were quite good.

Our final market of the week in Georgetown was incredible - perfect weather and terrific sales. It was our best market of the year so far. We came home with only a few herbs, a small basket of plums and some tomatoes - everything else was sold.

Peach season

2011-08-07T19:30:00.000-04:00

Of all the fruit & vegetables we grow here at Thiessen Farms, peaches are the crop everyone looks forward to the most.
By everyone I mean both us & our customers. Since May when we started at the farmers' markets and June when our CSA began, we have been hearing questions about peaches. How's the crop? How did the trees come through the winter? Is all the rain affecting the trees? Is it too dry? And the most important question of all ... When will peaches be ready?

Now it is peach season - and a good one at that!
The crop is good.
We are dealing with some disease & insect pressures, but overall the quality is quite good.
Most importantly, the hot, sunny & dry weather of the past few weeks has made for colourful and very sweet & delicious peaches.

We grow more than 20 varieties of peaches in order to stretch the season as long as possible. These include old favourites like Redhaven & Loring along with newer cultivars such as Starfire, Blazingstar & Harrow Dawn.

This year our first peaches were picked on July 25 and we will probably be finished by the middle of September.

Each peach tree is picked 3 or 4 times, over the course of 7 - 12 days. When the weather is sunny & hot, we may pick every 2nd or 3rd day. Cooler weather - especially cool nights - might stretch the interval to 4 or even 5 days. Drier weather makes for sweeter but smaller fruit. Insects are often more active too. Rain helps the tree grow larger fruit, but too much rain cause a loss of flavour. Rain also makes the fruit more susceptible to rot.

Our trees are looking good right now, but a couple of inches of rain would be very welcome.

Here are some photos of Garnet Beauty peaches I took about an hour ago. We picked these trees once last week and will pick them again tomorrow.

They look good and taste great! I know because I've been eating a big bowl of these peaches sliced up with some ice cream as I've been writing this blog post.

Peaches - fresh, ripe, juicy, sweet, warm from the orchard ...

What could be better!

Hot enough?

2011-07-23T20:09:00.001-04:00

Of the 3 farmers' markets that we attend, I don't have a favourite - except maybe Georgetown on Saturday.
And that's really because it's on Saturday - last day of the week, last market before Sunday, our day off.
And after this very hot week, Sunday cannot come fast enough!

How hot was it?
Check out this shot of our van dash with temperature displayed ...

This photo was taken Thursday afternoon on our way home from North York market - while we were parked on the QEW for close to an hour waiting for a truck fire to be extinguished (the driver was not injured).

Actually that was the 2nd truck fire we saw this past week. Coming home from East York on Tuesday, we saw the box of a pick up truck in flames, with the panicked driver standing by, talking frantically on his cell phone.

Back on the farm this week, everything was wilting - plants, animals & humans. We all started work early & ended early to try and beat the heat. But we managed to get the essential work completed.

Along with the intense heat are the drying winds & lack of rain. The crops could really use some moisture - a long, slow, all night rain would be ideal!

Despite the drought things are still looking okay. This is the time when we can see the benefits of our soil management/improvement program. Our use of mulch (both hay & straw) to conserve moisture and build the organic matter in the soil along with manure means our soils are better able to hold the water and nourish the vegetables & trees.

Here are some photos of the farm taken just a few minutes ago...

zucchini & tomatoes

sweet peppers & eggplant

cherry tomatoes - the curling leaves indicate the plants are beginning to suffer from lack of water.

beans

We continue to be amazed at how well the vegetables look. (This is all without any irrigation or watering. We have no access to water except what rainwater has been collected in our several large cisterns - and they are getting low. Irrigation means buying water by the truckload - not something we are anxious to do yet).

The peaches are also looking good - we will start the harvest this coming week.

Remember back a couple months when we thought the rains would never end.

Compare these pictures - then and now ...

Here's hoping that temperatures will moderate and the rains will come.
Until then we'll drink lots of water & hide out in the cold storage.

The top temperature is inside the barn this evening. The bottom temperature is inside the cold storage.

Where would you rather be?

Japanese Beetles

2011-07-12T20:31:00.000-04:00

They're back!

Japanese beetles, those very miserable bugs that turn the raspberry leaves into lace & then munch on the raspberries themselves.

They return each year during the raspberry season, causing their damage and bringing grief to farmer & picker alike.

Chemical control is out of the question, and so we hang traps that attract the beetles and catch them in the bags. Perhaps they attract even more beetles. Some say to hang the traps in your neighbours farm to lure them there.

Other than the multitudes of Japanese beetles, the raspberry harvest is going well. The crop is good, the quality is good and they taste fantastic!

Suddenly summer

2011-07-04T21:33:00.000-04:00

Suddenly it's summer ... with the hot, humid southern Ontario weather that we all love, and the crops ripening!

Until now, anything we have harvested has been green - lettuce (well, also red), spinach, arugula & other herbs, garlic scapes & snow peas.

Now we begin to see some colour - and we're excited!
We are picking sweet cherries and raspberries.

The crop is poor on the first variety - it was too cold & wet during blossom time for the bees to pollinate them. Trees like these are only yielding

1 or 2 baskets instead of 12 - 18.

The wet weather first caused the blossoms to rot, and then the cherries, and this has continued till now.

The birds are also enjoying the cherries.

The crop looks more promising on some of the later varieties.

The raspberries are looking real good - a great crop with good quality. If the drier weather continues, we can expect a fine harvest!

We found our first ripe cherry tomatoes - Sungold of course.

There is zucchini & swiss chard ready, with beans, beets & carrots not far off.

The harvest has begun!

The straight & narrow

2011-06-21T19:56:00.000-04:00

Does a crooked row of vegetables grow as well as a straight row?

We've been asking this question or a variation of it quite often these past few weeks as we continue planting vegetables here at Thiessen Farms.
The answer is perhaps not as obvious as it would seem.

We seeded our first vegetables - snow peas - on the 25th of April. (We finally started picking these snow peas this past Friday). Since then we have been seeding, planting or transplanting every week. Sometimes it's just a few rows of beets, carrots, lettuce or spinach ... seeded for our CSA.

Other vegetables are a larger task. We put in about 1700 tomato plants (90+ varieties), 400 eggplant (23 kinds), 1200 squash & pumpkins (34 kinds), 200 hot peppers (23 kinds), 350 sweet peppers (only 4 varieties). All of these are seeded in the greenhouse in 4" pots and transplanted outside by hand. We measure out the rows, rototill the ground, punch planting holes with a 4" pipe, and carefully transplant each seedling from it's pot to the soil by hand. Then each plant is fertilized & watered to give it a good start.
It's a lot of work, but we do it this labour intensive way because we like the results - full rows of good, sturdy plants that produce quality vegetables. There is also a feeling of satisfaction & accomplishment that comes from handling each seed & plant and putting it into the soil with your hands.

But measuring out the rows & stretching out a string to ensure a straight line can take a lot of extra time & effort. Often this spring we seemed to be hurrying to get things planted between the rains. We found ourselves eyeballing it, estimating, and guessing, rather than measuring. Some rows ended up being straighter than others.
But of course a crooked row of vegetables grows as well as a straight row!
Where it matters is cultivating with the tractor. A straight row is a definite plus, making cultivation much easier & more effective. Crooked rows mean missed weeds & missing vegetable plants!

Here's the view from our tractor when cultivating.

Eggplant

Hot peppers

planting squash

The completed row (there are 9 of them, each 400' long).

Straight enough to cultivate, and in a few weeks when the squash

send out their vines, we won't even know where the row is.

Wide rows of peas are carefully measured & seeded.

But when they mature the wind blows them around

and the row ends up very crooked!

Here are 2 rows of tomatoes planted in a somewhat straight line.

Then we mulch them with hay.

Finally we stake & tie each plant to a bamboo stake.

Now they look really great - and really straight.

But as they grow and get all bushy, it won't matter anyways.

One spot where I insist on rows being almost perfect is in the CSA garden near our house & barns. We see it whenever we are outside & I don't want to see crooked, sloppy rows.

One final picture - the end of a long, tiring day.

What can I say?

Following the straight & narrow - a challenge in life ... and on the farm.

Ready or Not!

2011-06-09T20:18:00.000-04:00

Our farmers' markets have begun.

Actually, the first market began almost a month ago.
Last week our 2nd kicked in, and this week we are up to full speed with 3 markets.
(for more details of our markets & marketing methods see blog post "Marketing at Thiessen Farms" from 16 March 2011).

The crazy season has started!

Crazy in many ways ... driving into Toronto (and especially the drive home in mid afternoons), the early morning start times (the alarm is set for 3:30 AM), and of course the weather. I was going to try and write a blog post without talking about the weather - but I guess I can't! I will only say that out of 6 market days so far, we have had showers or rain 3 times, strong winds 3 times, the threat of storms 4 times, great weather for 1 day, and pretty good weather for parts of 4 days. A crazy mix!

Presently we are selling plants - herbs & vegetable plants. Each market day we offer more than 50 different herbs, 15-20 different kinds of tomato plants along with zucchini, cucumber, eggplant, pepper & bean plants. Selling plants this time of year is fun, though customers are already asking when the fruit & vegetables will be ripe.

Our stall at Mel Lastman Square, North York today.

Our East York market.

We hope that plants will continue to sell well for a few weeks yet - we still have plenty more available.

Actually some years we sell plants every single market day from May until November.
Basil plants are in demand all season. Ornamental & hot pepper plants are popular for houseplants and in fall we offer rosemary and scented geraniums.

But we are the first to admit to our customers that selling herbs & plants is just to put in time until the good stuff is ready - cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines, raspberries, tomatoes ...

We can hardly wait!

Growth

2011-06-02T21:04:00.000-04:00

We finally appear to be back online, so ... I guess it's time to blog - to show some pictures and talk about what's happening here at Thiessen Farms. Where to begin ...?

The blossoms we showed in our last posting are long gone now and the fruit is forming and growing quickly. These pictures were all taken within the last week.

apricots

pears

sweet cherries

While the weather during blossom time was often cloudy, wet, and cool, it appears that most fruit had a decent set and we can expect a reasonable crop. We are told that the bees only need a couple of hours of sunshine & warm temperatures to do their work and pollinate the blossoms. I guess that's really true!

The trees we planted about a month ago are mostly growing well too.

apricots

peaches

I am not sure if these 2 pear trees will make it or not, as they were sitting in water for quite some time.

The weeds are especially growing well. All the rains we have received and now the sunshine and warmer temperatures are causing a real weed epidemic. They are growing faster than the vegetables and some major work will be required. It is finally dry enough that we can begin hoeing and hand weeding.

In the orchards the weeds are also growing very rapidly under the trees.

But some weeds are more beautiful - and we actually enjoy them!

The Winds of Change

2011-05-14T19:40:00.000-04:00

The extreme winds we experienced just over 2 weeks ago brought several lasting changes to our farm.

First of all, we experienced no damage to trees or buildings from the storm. For this we are very grateful.

We are still without internet access, thus the reason for not updating this blog for so long. The winds knocked down a tower of our internet provider and they are in the process of rebuilding it. While we realize that this is not our internet provider`s fault, we are disappointed in the lack of accurate information they are willing to provide their customers.
This blog entry is being written at my inlaws house. Travelling to someone else`s house to read email, check farming news, the weather forecast... certainly is inefficient, inconvenient & ineffective. Hopefully within a week things will be back to normal.

The good change that the wind brought was to dry up the ground and allow us on the land to carry out the necessary work of spring - discing, cultivating, seeding & planting. We are even able to drive around the farm without the danger of getting stuck! We have enjoyed some days of sunshine and increasing temperatures. Things are moving in the orchards and we are excited!

Here are some pictures of the changes & growth happening at Thiessen Farms.

These are plum blossoms. Notice the difference in the amount of blooms between the 2 rows. The trees on the left yellow plums - Early Goldens, and the trees on the right are red plums - Vanier.

The pink blossoms are peaches - some have larger, pale pink blooms, while other varieties are smaller and a darker pink colour.

Sweet cherries.

We feared for our hoophouse during the wind storm but it is still standing.

The vegetables are starting to really grow!

More news to come - once we are back online.

April showers ...

2011-04-26T21:47:00.000-04:00

My obsession with the weather is reaching new levels this week, as it rains, and rains, and rains.
I am constantly checking - the sky, the soil, the forecast...
The results - the sky is grey, the soil is cold & wet, and the forecast promises more clouds, showers & rain.

Where is the sunshine? Where is the warmth? Where is spring?

Around the farm it looks like this...

Rubber boots are the footwear not of choice - but of necessity.
Driving anywhere on the farm cannot even be considered with anything except the tractor, and even then the route must be carefully planned to avoid the wettest areas.

And yet ...
For all the stressing & anxiety I know we have little to complain about. Our weather is just an inconvenience compared to the extreme weather events happening elsewhere.

The good news ...
- The buds on the fruit trees are advancing - slow & steady.
- I was able to get an oil spray on the pears & plums Monday. This is an important spray as the oil covers & suffocates insect eggs before they can hatch, reducing pesticide applications later in the season.
- Yesterday I was able to get another planting of snow peas in the ground. Good thing too, as it rained again overnight & today.
- The first planting of peas is finally up.

- In the greenhouse the herb & vegetable seedlings are looking good.

The spearmint especially likes the cooler weather.

The tomato plants are small - but that's okay since the ground is not ready for them yet.

- Today we were able to work outside for much of the day - pruning raspberries, tying blackberries, and raking brush in the cherry orchard. When it rained we would dash into the greenhouse and transplant tomatoes.

The rains are supposed to continue for the next few days, along with thunderstorms and even the possibility of hail.
But the 7 day forecast shows a bit of sun and mild temperatures.
Good news indeed!

Spring yet?

2011-04-19T18:58:00.000-04:00

Spring is here - at least by the calendar.

On the farm the fruit trees are slowly coming to life. For those of us that feel things are happening way to slowly, I took some pictures today April 19 and compared them to the same shots taken 1 year ago - April 18, 2010.
See for yourselves if spring is slow or not.

The garlic patch

2010

2011

Sweet cherry trees.

2010

2011

Plum trees.

2010

2011

Last year the bee hives were already in place for pollination.

I think the bees would be freezing this year!

2010

2011

Of course 2010 was a very early spring - things were almost 3 weeks ahead of average.

This spring is more normal or slightly behind the average.

Fruit and/or Vegetables!

2011-04-11T20:30:00.000-04:00

We 've never been serious about growing vegetables!

Thiessen Farms has always been about the fruit - cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums and pears.

We have always grown some vegetables though...

- Growing up, my brother, sister & I grew potatoes for a few summers, together sharing the work & the profits.

- My parents always planted plenty of sweet corn so there would be enough for our stomachs and the freezer and our cousins as well.

- For a few years we were big into field tomatoes growing thousands of plants each summer.
- And of course we have always had a vegetable garden for our own use.

All these vegetables were grown in the orchard between the rows of newly planted fruit trees - something we still do. This picture shows garlic growing between young plum trees in 2010.

The number of new trees determined how many vegetables we had room for. Real fruit growers would never, ever consider taking prime tender fruit land out of fruit production to raise vegetables!

Things change...

When we left the wholesale world and began retailing our fruit at farmers' markets, we realized our focus had to shift from growing as much fruit as we possibly could, to growing only as much fruit as we could sell. It took quite a few years to reach that point. We ended up downsizing our farm, removing orchards and ... growing more vegetables.

But not seriously!

We added a few tomatoes to make our display at market more colourful, a few zucchini because they were quick & easy to grow and sell, some winter squash to put alongside the pears in fall to keep the tables full, and might as well take our extra pickling cucumbers to market rather than tossing them to the chickens. And so it went ...

A local winery restaurant was also buying our fruit. They asked if we would have some vegetables for them as well? Things they were having difficulty sourcing - maybe some snow peas, pac choi ...

Anything that grew easily, sold well and could fit in with our fruit harvest was attempted. If it worked out - great, if not we tried something else.
We started to use more land for vegetables. When we removed old orchards we used the land to grow vegetables for a few years, rather than replant to fruit trees immediately.

Nowadays vegetables are an important part of our farm, bringing in a significant portion of our income. We grow them for market, the restaurant and our CSA - more than 30 different vegetables in total.

Our lineup for 2011 includes - 93 varieties of tomatoes, 29 kinds of hot peppers, 23 eggplants, 22 different winter squashes along with 8 kinds of pumpkins. We plan to grow more than 50 kinds of lettuces & assorted greens, 19 beans, 15 carrots, 11 beets, 9 zucchinis and many, many more ...

I guess it's fair to say that now, Thiessen Farms is not just about the fruit.

But are we serious about growing vegetables ...
... or just seriously crazy?

Signs of Spring

2011-04-02T19:17:00.000-04:00

Last week we had the snow.
This week we had lots of sunshine.

Spring is bursting out all over!

The garlic is poking through the mulch.

Today I tilled the garden and seeded the first snow peas. It felt so good to be working in the soil outside.

The first flower of spring.

Salad burnett - not a common herb, but a beautiful one with the taste of cucumber.

Oliver sleeping - a common sight, but one of his first naps outside this spring.

Only Meesha is sad to feel the return of warmer weather. She much prefers winter and is hanging on to the last of the snow!

March snowstorm

2011-03-23T19:50:00.000-04:00

Last week it felt like spring and we were enjoying the first flowers.

This is what we awoke to this morning - looking out the back door.

Last week when I needed the tractor, I removed the snow plow. Good thing I left it close by. Tomorrow I may have to plow snow again!

Meesha was the happiest creature on the farm to see the snow. She spent much of the day running around & rolling in it.

Oliver played the sympathy card, trying to look cold & miserable enough to be let into the shop & greenhouse.

While inside the greenhouse it indeed looks, feels, and smells like spring.

The seedlings are growing well.

To speed the coming of spring - or at least to give the allusion, I went shopping at my favourite garden centre earlier this week and purchased some pansies. I'll pot them up in planters and put them out on the deck as soon as possible.

Looks like spring to me!

Marketing at Thiessen farms

2011-03-16T13:21:00.000-04:00

We aren't used to receiving money this time of year.
Our regular income stopped 4 months ago when the farmers' markets shut down, and won't resume until the markets start up again in late May & early June.

Of course the bills keep coming all winter, but never cheques - until now.
Many days there is a cheque in the mail, along with an application for our CSA (community supported agriculture) program.
We really like this!

CSA in a nutshell means that customers or shareholders, pay us now for fruit & vegetables that they will receive throughout the coming summer. (For all the details see our CSA page on this blog). The big benefits to the grower are a guaranteed market for our produce & money upfront when we need it. Benefits for the customer include a box of fresh produce each week during harvest, knowing where their food comes from, supporting local farmers, and all at a reasonable cost.
Last year was our first experience with running a CSA. It went well! We had 24 shareholders - mostly friends & people we knew. It was a success and so this season we are continuing & expanding. We are planning to grow more kinds of vegetables and are offering a choice of 2 pick up days. So far 39 shareholders have signed up and another dozen or so have asked for applications and are considering joining.
Thus the cheques in our mailbox.

Marketing our produce here at Thiessen Farms has changed considerably through the years.

When I was small, most of our fruit went to the canning factories here in the Niagara Peninsula. I remember riding with my father to factories like Arkells, Cudneys, Culverhouse, Canadian Canners and Brights in such far off places like Winona, Stoney Creek, Vineland Station, St.Catharines and Niagara Falls. My memories include watching the pavement throught the gaping holes in the floor of our rusted out stake truck, sticking my head out the window as we drove around the QEW traffic circle at Stoney Creek and yelling at my Dad when there was a break in the traffic, fighting my sister for the window seat (she always won), and my favourite - being bored while waiting at the canners and pressing my thumb to the truck`s cigarette lighter to see if it was hot (it was!).
My father would tell me that by the time I was old enough to drive, we would not be delivering fruit to the factories anymore.
He was right!

When I was a teenager, most of our fruit went to the Vineland Growers Co-op, a local shipper just 5 minutes from the farm. They shipped it off to grocery stores throughout eastern Canada. Once my cousin called from Nova Scotia to tell us that she bought a basket of our peaches at her grocery store there. We also had a few truckers who came to the farm and bought our fruit for their fruitstands, markets & stores. Marketing was quick, easy and running smoothly. We expanded the farm and grew more peaches. Things continued for years...

Farmers`markets always appealed to us but we had never attempted them. It was about 1990 when we saw an ad looking for vendors for a market at City Hall in downtown Toronto. We tried it out, quickly got hooked and that was the start. From there we added other markets mostly in the Toronto area until we were selling at various farmers`markets 5 days a week. By then we had stopped selling through the shipper and some of our truckers had quit. Margins at the shipper were small and the little guys like us were having a hard time. They also wanted the fruit quite firm (if your peaches don`t bounce when you drop them, they`re too soft, is what we were told), whereas the truckers demanded softer, tree ripened fruit. It was difficult to please everyone. Farmers`markets seemed a better fit for our farm and our personality. Good tasting, high quality fruit was appreciated, we enjoyed the interaction with the customers, and the money was way better.

Now more than 20 years on, we continue to sell at farmers`markets. This year we will be selling at 3 each week (East York, North York & Georgetwon). It was a hard decision but we are giving up our Thursday afternoon market in Grimsby, in order to concentrate more on our CSA. We still sell to 1 trucker - the same guy for more than 30 years. And the restaurant at Vineland Estates Winery purchases fruit & vegetables from us. It is really interesting, even fun to watch how a restaurant works and to deal with the chefs! Their high standards for taste, appearance and quality have taught us a lot & encouraged us to improve our game.

So that`s our marketing plan for this season.
Gotta go get the mail - maybe there`s another cheque!

Pears, pruning & planting

2011-03-09T19:17:00.001-05:00

With the snow finally melting, and the temperatures easing, I've been able to get out into the orchard and prune trees.
Monday & Tuesday were wonderful days - lots of sunshine and comfortable temperatures. I made good use of them and got a lot of pruning done.
With all the snow we've had this winter, and the way it stuck around, I have got little pruning done - and so I am behind. Not a big deal really! When it's cold & snowy, I prefer to be inside catching up on my bookkeeping and office work, or puttering in the shop. Pruning is best left for fairer weather. A week or two and I can be caught up.

I've been pruning pears.
We have 2 small pear orchards on the farm.

The "old" orchard is just behind the barn and was mostly planted in the early 1950's. It was all Bartlett & Bosc and I've interplanted some dwarf Flemish Beauty a number of years ago. Pears are often planted along ditches because they can take the heavier wetter soil where peaches or cherries will not grow.

The ditch is running quite full after all the rain last weekend.

The "young" pear orchard (planted in 1999) is at the very back of the farm. It takes up about 2/3 acre. There are about 120 trees, made up of 7 different varieties of pears.

This small patch of ground - separated from the rest of the farm by another drainage ditch - has always been a problem spot.

When my father bought the farm in 1947, this area had only just been cleared of the original forest. The stumps of the trees were still lying in a windrow along the property line. Dad buried the stumps at the lower part of the field - and nothing has ever grown very well here (we've tried peaches several times, and dwarf pears) until this pear orchard now, some 50 years later. It is a beautiful block of pear trees and we are proud of it.

Along with the pruning, I have started seeding vegetables in the greenhouse - tomatoes, broccoli, leeks, onions - and herbs - lemon balm, salad burnet, sage, oregano, sorrell, angelica, chervil, parsley, chives and catnip. The vegetables will be planted outside later. The herbs will be potted and sold at market in spring.

The first seedlings are up already - always an exciting time!

A few days away

2011-02-28T11:13:00.000-05:00

It's always good to get away!

With winter almost over, and vegetable seeding starting this week, Lorie & I realized we were running out of time before things got busy on the farm.
So last week we headed south for a few days - no, not Florida, not Myrtle Beach, but Ohio.

Why Ohio?
1. Amish country - Holmes county is the largest settlement of Amish in the USA.
2. It's close - just over 4 hours from home.
3. Relatives in Cleveland to visit.

It is a beautiful, scenic area, very hilly with narrow winding roads, lots of farms and small businesses. Many of the towns (Millersburg, Berlin, Walnut Creek ...) also cater to tourists with shops, restaurants, tours ... all building on the Amish theme.

We enjoyed driving around the countryside checking out the farms. It's interesting to see how the Amish farm - their crops, animals, buildings, which farm equipment & technology they use - and compare it to the way we do things. We got some ideas & inspiration!

Sleeping in, swimming, relaxing in the hot tub, eating at the many Amish restaurants, checking out the many bakeries & cheese factories - we had a great time!

But it's good to be home - today we seed the first herbs & vegetables. The season has begun!

Aw Nuts!

2011-02-10T13:56:00.000-05:00

Quite a few years ago, a friend offered me a small english walnut seedling he found growing on his farm. I accepted it eagerly!
Mindful of the size it might someday become, I found an open spot alongside the railroad tracks and planted it. The seedling grew & flourished, becoming a good sized tree.

Every year we watched & waited, anticipating the crop. How great would it be to harvest walnuts from our own farm!

And still we wait ... and never have we picked even 1 single nut.
Why? The tree is healthy. It's plenty big enough to bear fruit.
Finally it occurred to me. Our walnut tree needed a friend - another tree for pollination.
Why I never thought of this I don't know. We only have acres & acres of fruit trees, so I know that trees need pollinators in order to produce a crop (except for peaches & nectarines). When planting cherries, plums, pears, & apples, several varieties are always planted together for this reason.
So we purchased ( http://www.grimonut.com/ ) and planted a persian walnut tree, and while we were at it a few heartnut and hazelnut trees as well. They have grown for 2 summers now and are coming along quite nicely.

Since nut trees - especially the heartnuts, can get rather large they are planted quite far apart. In between we have planted some quince trees.

It's always fun & interesting to grow new crops ... and await the harvest!

Cherry picking & the train tracks

2011-01-26T15:08:00.000-05:00

Walking on the railroad tracks this winter (see previous post) has reminded me of my younger days & the fun we used to have playing on the tracks.

Nowadays there is just 1 track, but when I was growing up there was a double track plus 2 sidings.

Often there would be empty trains parked on the sidings, sometimes for weeks.

We had a row of sour cherry trees planted along the tracks, the whole length of the farm. I remember that my Dad was always pleased when the CNR would park a train on the siding around the time these cherries were ripening. The parked train helped to block the wind and prevent the cherries from bruising as bad.

Cherry picking always involved my siblings, some neighbourhood friends and an assortment of cousins. During our breaks, lunchhours and even after work, we would play on the tracks - and the parked train cars. Empty auto carriers were our favourites. Back then they were open with 2 or 3 levels. The bigger & braver kids would run along the top level and jump from car to car. The smaller of us would run along the lower level and across the hitch from car to car. It was always a race!

The car carriers are now completely enclosed to protect the vehicles.

My brother likes to tell of the time he & a cousin were playing in an empty iron ore car, oblivious to the fact that a locomotive was hooking up to the parked train. Only when the train began to move did they realize what was happening and jump off in a panic.

And once, when a train stopped right beside where we were picking, my cousin negotiated a tour of the caboose - in exchange for a basket of cherries. Certainly that was a highlight of our summer!

We used to check the railroad ties for these metal discs that had a number stamped on them - the year that the tie was installed. They don't mark them anymore but it is still possible to find some older ties like this one from 1962. We would try to find ties with our birth year on them.

Today the sidings are gone - at least the rails are. Most of the ties are still there, but overgrown with weeds and scrub growth. CN which used to meticulously maintain the tracks and the land alongside, now does the minimum of upkeep. Only the track itself is maintained (barely).

There is just a single track now. The 2nd track was removed maybe 10 years ago. No one seems to know why, but some say the old trestle over Jordan Harbour was too weak to support 2 trains if they happened to pass while on this bridge. The single track is only for about 30 kilometres or so - from right at our farm and west to Grimsby, so there are often trains idling beside our place waiting for their turn to continue down the tracks.

Many trains pass by each day - both freight and passenger. Most have CN locomotives, but the train cars themselves have very many different logos on them, with names from all over North America.

The VIA passenger train passes the farm just after 7:00 am on it's way to Toronto and returns in early evening, each weekday.

The Amtrak can be seen at 10 am each day on it's route from Toronto to New York City. It also passes by in early evening heading the opposite way.

The GO train uses the tracks on summer weekends, carrying passengers from Toronto to enjoy all that Niagara offers, and passengers from Niagara to Toronto to experience the big city.

I still enjoy living and working along the tracks - watching the trains, waving to the engineers, walking along the rails ...

And there is nothing like being on the tractor, totally engrossed in your work (or perhaps dozing), oblivious to the train sneeking up behind you, and then blowing it's whistle from a few metres away!

Really gets the old heart racing!!

Snow, Seeds, and Simplify

2011-01-17T10:34:00.000-05:00

The temperature was -17 C this morning. That's pretty cold for Niagara. But the sun was shining - a beautiful day! Walking around the farm this morning, the snow was crunchy and the air crisp. There's enough snow that it's more of a trudge than a walk but Meesha & I enjoy it anyways. We cheat and walk home along the train tracks where there is less snow & the walking is easier.

Now that there is too much snow to be out pruning trees, much of my time is spent in the office - catching up on book work, planning for the coming season and my favourite - reading seed catalogues & ordering seeds.

I have been known to get carried away, so this year my goal was to simplify - order less varieties of vegetables & herbs, from less seed companies. You know, stick to the basics from a couple places.

The results ... I ordered seeds from 11 different companies - in Ontario, BC, PEI, and the States. I kept the varieties down to 15 kinds of carrots, 21 winter squash, 23 eggplants, 27 lettuces, 30 hot peppers, & only 93 kinds of tomatoes. And just a handful of most other things.

Somewhat of a success I guess!

The problem is that it's only the middle of January. I may cave yet and order just a few more ...

2010 - Top 5 ...

2011-01-08T13:31:00.000-05:00

The turn of the year seems to produce a proliferation of lists - the best of this, the worst of that, the top 10, the greatest ... In that spirit, Thiessen Farms has it's own list - the top 5 of 2010. I'm not quite sure what to call them - top 5 issues, top 5 stories, top 5 things that affected our farming year ...? Whatever!

5. New neighbours.
For as long as I can remember the farm next to us has been in fruit orchards. Now the trees have all been removed and the land rented out. My new neighbours grow vegetables, and raise sheep, ducks & chickens ( http://www.creekshorefarms.com/ ). It's a whole new world next door, and it will take some getting used to. The animals are great (as are the neighbours), but I really miss the trees. Our farm feels so open & exposed now. I'm used to being surrounded by orchards, seeing only trees, not open ground.

4. Farmers' markets.
We started the marketing season with a cautious optimism. After slower sales in 2009, we hoped things would pick up in 2010. However it was not to be. Sales declined very slightly, despite our best efforts & great tasting produce. I guess we've been spoiled though, with increases of more than 10% for several years. Some say there are too many markets in Toronto now - the Toronto Farmers' Market Network website lists more than 30. But I think more markets are a good thing. Customers have more choice and become more discerning, which leads to better quality & variety at the markets, which means better markets. Selling our fruit & vegetables at the markets is still the best way for us, and we're already dreaming & planning for the coming season.

3. Weather
As Canadians, farmers and vendors at outdoor farmers' markets, the weather is of utmost importance to us. Weather can make or break our year. This past season we were blessed with good weather - enough sun & heat to give the fruit amazing flavour & sweetness, enough rain to give good, healthy growth, and none of the extreme storms & conditions that some of the country received. Sure we had some rainy market days, but overall we can't complain at all about the weather - not bad for a farmer, eh?!

2. Farm repairs & maintenance or Is there anything left to breakdown?
Our farm repairs & maintenance bill was uncomfortably high in 2010. Poor management? Perhaps. Certain repairs had been put off repeatedly as we waited for a "better year". Those repairs finally caught up with us and together with unexpected breakdowns made for a wild year of fixing things. The list includes painting the barns,
replacing the aging culvert, fixing the helphouse where our workers live, cold storage repairs, 2 tractor clutches, new truck tires, new engine for the rototiller. The good part is that things are in pretty good shape overall now. 2011 should be problem free (right!!). The downside is a serious cash flow problem right now. Did I mention what a great guy my banker is?

The helphouse with a new a hydro stack, 2 new walls including windows, new roof and some new siding - plans are to finish it this spring.

1.CSA
The biggest story for Thiessen Farms is that we started a CSA in 2010. We have a page on this blog that explains CSA (see above) so I won't repeat it here, but it's a new way for us both to connect with our customers and sell our produce. It went really well for us - and I think for our customers too! It gave us the chance to grow more vegetables which we really enjoy. We also learned how to be more disciplined in our seeding schedules, seeding amounts, weeding ... all in all a good experience. And it sure was great to have the customers come to us instead of loading the truck & driving to them. If we can grow it large enough, we can eventually do less farmers' markets - an important consideration as we age!!

Happy new year, and all the best for 2011!!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T11:35:00.000-05:00

It's almost Christmas!

We have family home this week and are enjoying visiting and just spending time together.

Kailey & I took some pictures around the farm ...

Merry Christmas!!

Failure & Success

2010-12-12T17:46:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it's hard to distinguish between failure & success.

Or rather - whether something is a failure or a success depends on how you look at it.

Here is a small example ...

This past season was an early season. Beginning in spring when the fruit trees blossomed, right through the harvest, crops were about 10 -14 days ahead of the average. Thinking ahead of our marketing season, we became concerned that we could run low on produce to sell before the markets shut down for the year.

What to do?

So we continued seeding vegetables later than we usually do and experimented with a few new fall crops ... like ornamental cabbages & kale. We purchased some seed, planted them, nurtured the seedlings, transplanted them - and waited till they were large enough to sell. They looked beautiful! Who wouldn't want some bright, colourful plants to liven up the fall garden?

Apparently many people wouldn't want our bright, colourful plants to liven up their fall gardens! Sales were so slow! I realized that we had started our cabbage & kale too late & they were too small to attract customers.

What to do?
Load them on the jitney, head out to the orchard and dump them!

Oliver wasn't concerned at all about the slow sales & lost income - it was a beautiful fall day and he was going to enjoy it!

Eventually he lost interest and just sat dreaming in the sun ...

But then he heard something ...

looked into it ...

and success! He caught himself a little snack!

What about the cabbage & kale - failure or success?

- while we didn't sell many plants, we did sell enough to cover the cost of the seed.
- there was some labour costs for transplanting which we did not totally recoup.
- our window boxes and planters looked great all fall filled with cabbages & kale.
- we offered the plants to our CSA members and many took some.
- we gave lots away and made people happy.
- I learned a lot about growing ornaments cabbage & kale which will be useful next season.

All in all, I'm willing to call it a success!

Butchering days

2010-12-08T18:54:00.000-05:00

There is a feeling of satisfaction when one completes a task and can cross it off the
to-do list.
Some jobs warrant a greater sense of satisfaction - difficult jobs, jobs I don't enjoy, jobs that take a long time to complete ...
Such was the case today when I could stroke off the list the most unpleasant & least looked forward to chore on the entire farm, one that I had been putting off for several weeks - butchering chickens.

Those cute little balls of fluff that arrived on the farm as day-olds back in June

were now not so cute, much larger birds eating us out of house & home. The grass in their fenced run was gone and the only produce left for them to eat was softening squash & leftover pumpkins.

The old hens in the chicken tractor were slowing down their egg laying and looking slightly cold on these chilly mornings.

(obviously this picture was taken back in summer)

It was time to take action!
Actually I started last week when I spent 2 mornings butchering and today I finished.
Twenty-six chickens in total. (and that's all I'll say about the process - neither will I post any pictures!)

Seven hens are left. They will live quite comfortably in the henhouse for the winter, wandering outside on sunny days, eating their chicken food, with treats of pumpkin, squash, pears, apples & kitchen scraps. In return they will provide us with plenty of eggs for eating.

I enjoy having chickens around. I like the sound of the roosters crowing, the contented clucking as they scratch & peck at anything & everything, and the loud, raucous shrieking when the hens announce that they have laid an egg. The butchering portion I don't enjoy, but that's a part of it too - at least for me. No one else in the family will participate. They do like their chicken dinner though, and the flavour & texture of our farm raised chicken is far superior to store bought birds.

So another job is completed, crossed off the list - with satisfaction and relief!
The daily chore of providing food & water for the remaining hens is very pleasant & enjoyable - as are the fresh eggs for breakfast!

Dining at Vineland Estates Winery

2010-12-01T21:06:00.000-05:00

Growing great food is what we do here at Thiessen Farms.
Eating great food is also something we really enjoy!

This past Saturday we enjoyed an evening of fine dining at The Restaurant @ Vineland Estates Winery. The occasion was their "Cellar Masters & Artisans Dinner - the inspiration behind the cuisine." The chefs invited several of their food suppliers to be their guests at this 6 course dinner that featured our products paired with their fine wines. Each course was introduced with information and stories about the food, the supplier and the accompanying wine.

We have been growing fruit & vegetables for Vineland Estates for many years.
Their desire for the best tasting, colourful & unusual, weird & wonderful, locally grown produce is what started us growing many of the things that we grow. It has been a beneficial and satisfying partnership for both them and us!

Saturday's dinner included our squash in the "Hand-Stuffed Fazzoletti of Thiessen Squash, Upper Canada Ricotta with Local Fall Vegetables, and White Meadows Maple Accent." Needless to say it was my favourite course! The full menu is still available to be seen on the Vineland Estates website at http://www.vineland.com/. (Their website is also where I borrowed the pictures from.)

The coolest part of the evening was the "Taste Party: Playing with your food..."
We were given a small pill to dissolve on our tongue. It was made of dried miracle berries, an African fruit that has the extraordinary property of changing the taste of sour foods to sweet. After dissolving the pill, we sampled lime, lemon & orange slices, goat cheese, cherry tomatoes, cranberries, mustard ... The lemons tasted like sweet lemonade, the goat cheese like cheesecake - everything that is sour tasted extremely sweet. It was wild!! If you ever have the chance to try this miracle berry pill go for it!

Without a doubt, everyone who attended this dinner (probably around 50 people) - customers & suppliers alike, enjoyed it tremendously.

Thank you Chef Jan & Chef Justin!

It's all about us!

2010-11-25T07:30:00.002-05:00

This is the 50th post on our blog!

It has also been exactly 10 months since our first post.

Who knew our blog would still be going?

Who knew we would have something to say almost once a week?

Who knew anyone would actually read it?

Thank you!

The blog has always included many pictures of the farm but few of the Thiessens.

Today we'll show the people running the farm ...

Ron - who does most of the blogging

& Amy - marketeer & certified picture framer

Lorie - farm boss

Darren - champion blackberry picker & university student in Winnipeg

Kailey - enjoying high school & photography

Peter - founder & patriarch of Thiessen Farms

The beauty of November

2010-11-19T06:22:00.000-05:00

It's November and the colour is gone.

Gone are the leaves - the vibrant reds, oranges & golds have fallen and blown away.

The flowers have faded. The last of the fall mums, the rich burgundy blooms that I got at market in exchange for some pears, hit the compost yesterday.

Our Thanksgiving display in front of the barn - orange pumpkins, gourds of every hue, and the blue, green, beige & yellow squashes - was starting to ooze, and is now breakfast for the chickens (except for the gourds).

September & October were riots of colour on the farm. As we worked to complete our harvest and marketing season, colour surrounded us - enough colour to enjoy, even if we hardly had time to look at it.

In November our pace along with the colour has slowed considerably. The colours are there but not as apparent. Now we have to stop and look to appreciate them - the shades of brown, grey & blue, with bursts of yellow & green. The fog & mist the other morning added to the beauty.

Saving some heat

2010-11-11T20:28:00.000-05:00

3 hot pepper stories from market

1.A group of students on a class trip stopped to admire our hot peppers. One lad wanting to impress his friends, asked to buy 1 pepper to eat. He was warned of their extreme heat, and possible consequences but was not deterred. He made his purchase and took a bite. A short time later he was rolling on the ground crying. Security came, followed shortly by the paramedics. He made an impression all right, but not the one he wanted.

2."Are your peppers really hot?" asked the customer. He chewed one thoughtfully, allowing that there was some heat - but not a lot. Then beads of perspiration appeared on his bald head and he admitted they were indeed quite hot and promptly made a purchase.

3.A homeless man who regularly declined our offers of sweet & delicious fruit, asked if he could perhaps have some hot peppers instead - and then returned each week for more.

I love growing hot peppers - but not so much eating them!

However, many people love eating them!

Shortly after market begins in spring, customers start asking when the hot peppers will be ready.

Peppers require a long, hot growing season in order to mature and have heat. For the past few seasons I have grown them in the hoophouse to ensure I get a good crop regardless of the weather outside.

This year they grew well. We began harvesting in mid-August and were still picking when markets ended in late October. Plenty of time for the chili-heads to get their fix & fill!

We grew more than 20 varieties of hot peppers - many different shapes, sizes, colours and degrees of hotness. There were early jalapenos & jalapenos, belizean heat, fish, chile grande, orchid, golden hot, baccio di satano, bulgarian carrot, black hungarian, caribbean red, habanero ... to name a few.

About the only ones we ourselves ate were some fairly mild red jalapenos - sliced open, seeds removed, covered with a slice of pear and topped with some goat cheese and then broiled till the cheese melted. Delicious!

Our colourful pepper display attracts a lot of attention at market, causing people to stop and look - and then hopefully buy. What's interesting is that many of our peppers are bought by artists who will photograph or paint them rather than eat them.

It's the middle of November and there are still good peppers in the hoophouse.

I picked my Thai peppers yesterday.

Then I dried them in the dehydrator.

A great way to save some heat for a cold winter day!

What's up?

2010-11-05T20:00:00.000-04:00

It's been our first week without markets, and we're going through market withdrawal. We miss our fellow vendors, our customers - we even miss Toronto and all it's energy and activity. We don't miss the 3:15 am alarm - but we still wake up early anyway (and will for quite some time!)

So what have we been doing?
Volunteering at a 10,000 Villages Festival sale which is held annually in nearby Vineland and put on by the 3 Mennonite churches in the area. (see www.tenthousandvillages.ca for info).

And on the farm, the fall clean up has begun. Pictures are probably better than words so ...

I have started to clean up the tomato patch - cut & gather the string, pull the bamboo poles, pull the steel posts, mow down the plants, and roll up the irrigation hose.

The back hoe came and pulled all the stumps, including those big cherry stumps I talked about in a recent post.

All the branches and stumps & roots from the trees that we cut down are in a pile drying, and waiting to be burned - except the cherry wood which is good firewood and will heat our workshop next winter.

The garlic finally go planted! Demand for fresh garlic is great so it was hard to keep enough to plant for next year's crop. I managed to plant more than double the amount I had this season - about 4500 cloves.

The fall leaves promised to be quite colourful pretty this year - until all those strong winds the other weekend blew all the leaves off. Here are some shots of what it looked like ...

The end of markets 2010 - now what?

2010-10-28T20:06:00.000-04:00

We're finished!
Today was our last farmers' market for 2010.
And what a way to end - cold temperatures, extreme winds, lots of clouds, and very few customers. Not the worst market day of the season, but definitely close to the bottom.
We are so ready to be finished!

Here is a short summary of this market season.

- 85 market days in total - including 53 days of good weather, 14 hot, hazy, & humid days, 15 very windy days, and 16 days with showers or rain. (Many other days the precipitation held off until the drive home).
- 88% of our total farm income came from these 85 market days (thus our obsession with the weather).

Some good news?
- We are almost sold out of everything. Just a few pears left (enough for us to eat in the coming months), some squash, along with a bit of kale, chard, hot peppers ...
- Tomorrow the cold storage gets turned off, which should improve our hydro bill considerably.
- No more getting up at 3:15 am to finish loading the truck, to be on the road by 4:15 am.
- No more leaving home in the dark, driving to Toronto in the dark, unloading the truck in the dark & setting up in the dark.
- No more slow & tiring rides home from Toronto in stop & go traffic.

Some bad news...
- Our social life is over! Many of our market friends (both vendors & customers) that we have worked with & visited with these past 5 and a half months, we will not see until next season. We`ll miss them!
- no more trading fruit & vegetables for food that we don`t grow - cider, baking, cheese, baking, honey, baking, soap, baking, meat, baking ...
- no more income until next May!!

We started cleaning out the van today, but you don`t clean up 5 months of market right away. Lots of stuff has accumulated in the truck. Who knows what we`ll find ...

After all the good byes and well wishes from customers and fellow vendors, the question comes - what do you do all winter?

Here`s my standard answer ...

- prune the fruit trees

- maintain & fix equipment

- book work

- prepare & plan for next season

- sleep in & relax!!! Certainly this is the one we are most looking forward to right now!!

Good bye cherry trees!

2010-10-18T20:58:00.000-04:00

One of the fall jobs that has to be done annually is cutting down fruit trees. No tree lasts forever - though some (like pears, apples & cherries) can last a long, long time. Trees eventually get sick, or diseased and have to be removed. I just cut down a Bosc pear tree that was planted back in 1951 (that's older than me!) because it was full of fire blight, an especially bad disease of pears that is hard to control.
Trees sometimes have to be removed because that variety of fruit is no longer wanted in the marketplace. Here are some shots of a sweet cherry tree I cut down last week for that reason.

I actually cut down 3 of these large cherry trees. They were probably planted in the late 1950's by my father, and were still reasonably healthy. But they are a variety of cherry (Valera) that is small and often crops heavily making them even smaller. They are also soft, crack quickly in wet weather, and rot quickly too. In other words they are a pain to grow! (see my blog post from 27 June 2010 "Cherry harvest"). I have been gradually removing my Valera trees but have still kept a few because they are useful for pollination - cherries need other varieties to pollinate & set a crop - and they ripen at a time when we don't have other cherries to pick. So while I should have kept the chainsaw going and cut down at least another 5 big, old, beautiful cherry trees, I wimped out and gave them a reprieve - at least for another year.

What hurt even more was cutting down an entire row (17 trees) of sweet cherries that were only 8 years old - good varieties too! They were just starting to produce a small crop of fruit. The problem - they were the only cherry trees in that part of the farm and were always eaten by the birds. We had never harvested a single cherry from that row because of the birds, and probably never would. I guess there are several ways we could look at this situation. Because the birds ate from these trees the rest of the farm was pretty much ignored. What will happen now that these trees are gone? We also could have invested in bird scaring devices - bird bangers and such - but I'm not convinced of their effectiveness, though I know they certainly scare me! Or we could have let things be, and never harvest that row but leave it for the birds. In the end I got out the chainsaw and down came a row of young, healthy cherry trees.

We had a similar situation at another farm where we have about a dozen cherry trees. One tree was an early variety that ripened before all the others. We never picked this tree because the birds ate it. But that was okay because they left the other trees untouched - a fair trade I told them. But the last 2 years we have picked every cherry from that tree with out any signs of bird pecks or damage. The reason - a pair of cooper hawks have nested nearby and don't allow any other birds to come around - bad for the birds but good for me!

Looking for sunshine at East York

2010-10-07T18:45:00.002-04:00

Checking the weather forecast is an obsession of mine - this I freely admit.
I always need to know what the weather will be like today, tomorrow, even next week. The homepage of my computer is Environment Canada's 7 day forecast.
There are 7 weather sites listed under my favourite websites.

And on the TV, I check CP24 with their continuous forecast - continuously!

I need to know what the day will hold, both on the farm and at the farmers' markets we are selling at.
I also know that the forecast can change frequently and can often (usually) be wrong - like this past Tuesday for example at the East York market. Showers were predicted for the afternoon or evening. We hoped to get a good morning of sales in before the precipitation. But it was not to be. Shortly after setup at 5:30 am the showers began and continued on & off - but mostly on - for the whole market. It was actually the 2nd Tues in a row with rain. The previous Tuesday was a wash out with very heavy rain for much of the day. It cleared for the last part of the market and sales ended up okay.

East York Farmers' Market is a great market. It is located in the east part of Toronto on Coxwell Ave at the East York Civic Centre. A small market, there are only 11 vendors, but many regular, loyal customers who shop weekly - rain or shine! They arrive on foot, by bicycle, public transit, wheelchair, and car. East York customers are the best! Who else would bring us ice cold water on a hot day, frozen water bottles for the ride home, boxes of delicious chocolates, dry socks on wet day, a hot snack on a cold day, barter fruit for art, and promote the market online.
We probably know more customers by name at East York than at any of our other markets!

Here are a few photos of the East York market taken at various times this season.

the flowers beds are awesome!

Our stall - notice that we are set up on the grass. You can see the dirt path our feet have made behind our tables from always walking in the same spot. No problem on a sunny day. Now imagine a heavy rainfall and the result - mud and lots of it!!

It was unbelievable last Tuesday.

Vacation plans & a new culvert

2010-10-03T15:56:00.001-04:00

With the fruit all picked and the urgency of harvest ended, people often ask about our vacation plans. "When are going on vacation?" "Where are you going on vacation?" ...

We usually respond that we have not given it much thought yet and won't - at least not until market is over (30 days from today - if we were to be counting!).

Now however, our thoughts & dreams of a getaway have been set aside (even dashed perhaps) by our latest expense - a new culvert!!

We feel a bit like government right now. It is much more enjoyable to spend money on something showy & attractive - like a new tractor perhaps, or painting the barn (did that) or ... a vacation. But to spend money on infrastucture, like a culvert?! You can't even see it!

Here's the old culvert that we removed.

That shiny piece near the middle of this last picture is all you can see of the new culvert.

Behind our barn is a drainage ditch. It comes to our farm from under the train tracks and catches the drainage water from probably a hundred acres or more of farmland. It then crosses our farm, the corner of the neighbour's farm and goes under the road. From there it meanders through the school yard and many other farms and eventually empties into Lake Ontario. More than 40 years ago my father put about 120' of culvert in behind the barn so we could drive over the ditch and make better use of this area. They were used culverts that he installed then. Now after all these years they were rusting away and breaking. In recent years there have been many sink holes to repair and we noticed that the culvert was filling up with dirt and debris. The ditch was no longer draining the water as it should. Time for a replacement. Not a big deal really - 2 men, 7 sections of new steel culvert, a large excavator, a few hours and it was completed. One surprise was the discovery of some concrete culvert sections. No one remembered using them. Just to add insult to injury, now we have the extra expense of having this hauled away. The steel parts will go to my scrap guy.

So where are we going on vacation? Probably behind the barn to watch the water flowing through our new culverts and pretending it's the ocean or something.
Anyone want to join us?

Adios amigos

2010-09-27T07:20:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday at 3:45 am, our 2 Mexican workers climbed on a bus bound for Pearson Airport in Toronto - the start of their journey back to Mexico. After 4 months working on our farm, they were excited to be heading home.

We were excited as well!
The day the men go home is a celebration day for us. It's not that we are so happy to see them leave, but we are celebrating what their departure means - the harvest is complete and the most tiring months of the farm year are over. Since the Mexicans' arrival in late May, everyone here at Thiessen Farms has been going long & hard. This is because there has been plenty of work to do, and also because they want to work long hours. After all, they come to Canada to make money to support their families back home in Mexico.

Our Mexican workers come to the farm under the "Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program". This is a government program with the terms & conditions set by the governments of Canada and Mexico (and several Caribbean countries). The farmer pays the return airfare, visa fees, provides housing (inspected & approved), guarantees a minimum number of weeks of work and pays a set wage (usually minimum wage or slightly higher). In return the workers leave their homes & families for up to 8 months to work on farms or in greenhouses. Last year over 15,000 workers from Mexico & the Caribbean came to Ontario. The program is available to farmers only if Canadian workers cannot be found to work on their farms.

Working on a farm is never the most sought after job.
Growing up on our fruit farm, I remember the difficulties my parents had securing workers - especially for the harvest. Each morning my Dad would drive to the Farm Labour Pool in St.Catharines to try and get people to pick fruit that day. Some days there were enough workers to get everything picked and some days there were not. It was tiring and frustrating and stressfull never knowing if the crop that you worked for all year would get harvested. We would also try to hire workers for the entire season and even provide housing. Some years we were more successfull than others.
Life is a whole lot easier now that we have good, dependable, consistent workers living right on the farm. One of our Mexican men has been with us for 11 seasons, the other for 5. They know us and how we operate and they know the farm & the work. Whether we are on the farm or away at market, we know the work will be done & done well.

It seems a little ironic - marketing all our produce at local farmers' markets and promoting & benefitting from the "eat local" movement - that we would have to use imported labour to grow & harvest our crops. However in addition to our 2 Mexican workers we also employed 5 students throughout the summer and another 5 locals part time.

But now the guys are back home in Mexico, the students have returned to school and the part timers have been laid off.
Any work that needs to be done is up to us.
That doesn't leave much time for celebration!

Why I have not blogged in 2 weeks ... or, the wilds of September

2010-09-19T15:14:00.000-04:00

Here is what our orchards look like at this time of year. The herbicide in the tree row has long since worn off. The grass has not been mowed since late August when Darren was last on the tractor. (He is back studying in Winnipeg - and the orchards miss him!)

So instead of blogging, I got on the tractor finally and cut the grass.

With the fruit all harvested, we have had time to continue mulching the tree rows.

Now the orchards are looking much better - more like this! Quite an improvement I would say!

All of our students have returned to school - both high school and university. Any work that has to be done, has to be done by the few of us remaining on the farm. The tomato patch looks wild & abandoned, but surprisingly still is producing a respectable amount of tomatoes. Certainly the quality has gone down - we probably have to throw out more than we can salvage & sell, mostly due to cracking and decay. But they still taste great!

So on my non-market days I can be found out picking tomatoes - not blogging!

No students also means no one to pack the remaining fruit. While peaches & nectarines are picked, packed & sold, there are still pears and plums to be sorted, packed and taken to market. So, instead of blogging - packing fruit.

Blackberry season came to an abrupt end on Friday. Monday we still picked and while the quantity & quality had diminished, there was still enough good tasting berries to justify picking. Then on Thursday it rained. Friday I went out to taste test before we sent anyone in to pick - there were no berries to taste. Anything left was rotten, grey & fuzzy from the rain. Only the odd clump of plump berries here & there - not enough to spend the time picking (just enough for us to wander through the patch & eat!).

However, even among the weeds & wildness there is beauty & freshness.

...some flowers we seeded and then forgot about, some self seeded dill, and our first ever attempt at fall cabbages.

...lettuce, kale & cabbage for fall.

Blown away again ... Georgetown !

2010-09-04T19:25:00.002-04:00

Georgetown farmers' market on a usual Saturday morning...

A bustle of activity starting at 6:30 am when Main Street is shut down to traffic and the vendors (usually 25-30) begin arriving and setting up. Customers follow shortly thereafter, and by mid morning the street is very crowded with people.

(These photos give an idea of the set up, but as usual they were taken long before the busy time. They were also taken a few weeks ago - today we were a little more bundled up for the weather)

The atmosphere at Georgetown is very relaxed. Most people are not in a hurry. There is time to visit with the vendors, ask questions & share stories. Neighbours & friends meet and visit, catching up on the latest news. Families are shopping together. Almost everyone seems to bring their dog along. Never have we seen so many dogs of every size, shape, colour & breed in one place at one time.

Georgetown market today ...

It even started out wrong - we had to set up on the other side of the street, facing the other direction. It's not that we are set in our ways - but that was just wrong!

And the winds were already blowing. The clouds were threatening, and we knew the forcast.

Several market canopies blew across the street as soon as they were erected - not a good sign. We used every weight & rope we had to anchor our canopy down. It was not enough! Our 30' of metal poles & tarp did the wave continuously thoughout the morning. We served customers with one hand and hung on to our tent with the other.

What blew away ?

...Our white plastic bags which are hung on the tables, looked like a snowstorm blowing down the street.

...The clear lids we put over the pints of berries for the customers - these make an amazing sound as they skip across the pavement (never to be found again).

...Any box/master that was emptied of fruit or even half empty.

...The pieces of carpet that we lay out behind the tables for us to stand on.

...Any container that we emptied of fruit and set down.

...Just about anything that was not weighted down.

Then the precipitation started - first a cold, wet mist, then showers (thankfully not thunder & lightening). Did I mention that it was also cold? And windy!

Wind, rain & cold - we packed it in early and came home.

In spite of all this, we had a reasonably good day. Sold out of peaches & white peaches, most of our pears, and a lot of everything else (except beans - anybody need beans?)

Looking forward to a much calmer, quieter market next Saturday.

Edamame

2010-09-02T21:25:00.000-04:00

Since our beginning in 1948, Thiessen Farms has grown mainly fruit - peaches, cherries, plums and pears. Nectarines have been tried more recently, and apricots have come & gone several times. To satisfy our desire for change and something different we've previously been content to try variations of these - white flesh peaches, Asian pears...

One has to be patient growing trees. Trees are not something to plant on a whim. Peaches are about the quickest to yield a crop - 3 years. Our "new" pear orchard was planted out in 1999. Finally it's producing a nice harvest!

Small fruits used to be common on our farm. Our last strawberry harvest was in 1965. Raspberries were something we tried quite a few years ago and continue to grow. Then we added blackberries, saskatoon berries, tayberries, gooseberries & currants.Only the blackberries are still around.

Which brings us to vegetables ...

When we started selling our fruit at farmers' markets about 20+ years ago, we began to grow more vegetables - both to expand our display at market, and our income. We soon learned that unlike trees, vegetables are quick and CAN be planted on a whim!

Our thirst for change and something different could be satisfied by a seed catalogue, a few dollars, and some packets of seed.

The craziness began!

This year we grew approximately 370 varieties of 31 different vegetables and herbs. We 're always on the lookout for something new & different - maybe something no one else sells at the farmers' markets.

Which brings us to edamame - green soybeans - a traditional Japanese bar snack. We have been learning how to best grow and harvest it for a few years now. It's a lot of fun to bring it to market and hear the customers' comments. Many people are familiar with edamame - but most only know it frozen, not fresh.

Here is our small patch. We planted 4 rows, each about 10 -14 days apart in order to prolong the harvest. The earliest 2 rows germinated and grew well, the latter 2 not so much.

To harvest, we cut the entire plant at ground level. Edamame is a legume and can add nitrogen to the soil if the roots remain in the ground. The cut plants are taken to the barn where the bean pods are pulled off. This is a favourite job for our summer students, especially on these hot & humid days. Anything that gets them out of the orchard and into the relative coolness of the barn is preferred!

We sell the edamame by the pint or half pint. A more traditional way is to sell the whole plant with the beans still attached. This would certainly save a lot of labour & expense, but would be too messy and take up too much room on the market table and in our truck. This week we will be including edamame in our CSA basket - probably the whole plant.

Edamame is delicious to eat as a vegetable - just boil in salted water for 3 - 5 minutes, pop the beans out, and enjoy. It is also great added to salad with other beans or grains.

Healthy too!

Blown away in North York

2010-08-21T20:42:00.000-04:00

It is now mid-August.

We've been doing farmers' markets for 3 months already this season - another 2 months to go. Today was market #51 of the year.

Sure it's still fun - but we're all getting tired, weary even. Four markets a week to organize, plan, pick, pack, and prepare for. Loading, unloading, set up, take down ... good markets, poor markets, great markets! Driving - QEW, 407, 403, 401 ...

East York, North York, Georgetown, Grimsby... Coxwell, Yonge, Main, Ontario ...

Sometimes it can all become a blur.

And then there was this past Thursday - North York Farmers' Market - Mel Lastman Square - North York - just after 1:00pm.

Each market has it's own character, it's own personality, it's own atmosphere.

North York market is a city market right on Yonge Street a few blocks north of the 401. This makes it a noisy market - the constant traffic with all the accompanying horns, sirens, loud vehicles. There is a water fountain at the street and a concrete "ditch" flowing right through the middle of the market, with a waterfall at the end. Our customers are a good mix of office workers, local residents, and seniors from a nearby apartment. It's a small market with only a dozen vendors or so, but a good selection of quality products including fruit, vegetables, honey, cheese, soaps, fruit smoothies, baking, preserves, and meat.

Mel Lastman Square is a beautiful location with flowers, grass, water, trees and wind. The market seems to be in a wind tunnel - which brings us to this past Thursday.

It was shaping up to be a great market. We were on our way to selling out of almost everything. The lunch crowd was still thick when the breezes picked up. The breeze turned into a wind and strong gusts of wind. I put extra weights on our canopy and also tied it to the truck. It was not enough. With 1 hand we served customers and with the other we clung to our canopy. Baskets & containers started blowing. Several vendors had their canopies blow away, always a scary thing with so many people around. A couple of canopies were ruined but fortunately no one was injured. Then came the rain along with the wind. Some customers pitched in helping hold down the fort & running after blowing baskets. We began packing up and throwing stuff into the truck before it was all ruined by wind or rain. And then it was all over - the rain & wind - and the sun came out. Of course we were almost cleaned up and no customers were in sight. A quick end to a wild market - North York, never a dull moment!

Here are a few pictures of the market. (Keep in mind that we only have time to take pictures when there are no customers around at the start of the day).

-facing North York Civic Centre

-looking towards Yonge Street

-our market stall a few weeks ago

-in front of the civic centre looking up towards the market

-the sidewalk on Yonge Street

Beating the heat!

2010-08-12T19:31:00.000-04:00

It feels like a real summer here in southern Ontario - with high temperatures, high humidity and lots of hot sunshine!
By afternoon on most days everything is wilting - plants, animals and people!
We are often asked, "How can you stand this heat?"
One answer we give is ... the cold storage.

Like all fruit farms, Thiessen Farms has a cold storage. It's purpose is to cool down the fruit & vegetables quickly after picking so they last longer and stay fresher - like these nectarines that were picked today.

Fruit that ripens and is harvested in this extreme summer heat is very warm. Once in the basket it actually becomes warmer and begins to break down quite rapidly. Getting the heat out of the fruit as soon as possible is crucial for keeping it's quality. (About the only thing we do not refrigerate is our tomatoes. Tomatoes should never be stored below 10 C, and our cold storage is kept just above freezing. )

My father built the cold storage himself around 1962. It was a concrete block addition to our barn, about 24 x 22'. Through the years we've changed the cooling equipment but the structure remains. In the early 1980's when the original barn needed replacing, we kept the cold storage and built the new barn around it. We also added a 2nd cold storage quite a bit larger than the original. So we actually have 2 cold storages. Now that we have downsized the farm, we usually only run the smaller one, but it's nice to have the extra room and turn it on when necessary.

Here is what the 2 cold storages look like from inside the barn.

So how does the cold storage help us beat the heat?

It's a great place to hang out at lunchtime or at breaks.

There's always a big jug with very cold water for drinking.

In fact, we use any excuse to dash in for a moment and chill - but just for a minute. It gets real cold in there real fast. And then it's back out to the farm and the heat!

Tomatoes

2010-08-03T21:25:00.000-04:00

"Thank you for coming and bringing your beautiful tomatoes. I'd pay any price for them! You're beautiful too and always so friendly & helpful."

"How can you sleep at night charging those prices for your tomatoes!"

Those were some of the comments we heard at market today at East York (Toronto) Civic Centre. Obviously the praise is easy to accept & enjoy. The other kind of comments are a little more difficult to hear.

We take our tomatoes seriously here at Thiessen Farms.
Since the first seeds were so hopefully planted way back in February, our tomatoes have received daily attention & nurturing...
-hauling warm water from the house so the tender seedlings will not be shocked with a cold shower and set back.
-careful mixing of fish fertilizer for proper nutrition & chamomile tea for fungal protection.
-a final check on a cold winter's night to make sure the heating cables are working & warm.
-venting the plastic on a sunny, winter day so the plants don't fry.
-closing the plastic as the clouds gather and the temperature drops.
-doing it all again & again each day.
-moving young tomato plants outside on trailers to harden off on warm spring days, then moving them into the barn for night.
-preparing the soil for transplanting and picking an overcast day to finally plant them outside.
-watching for disease & insects, weeding, cultivating, mulching, staking, tying...
and now... finally... harvesting!!
And what a harvest it is. The crop is generous and the fruit is ripening like gangbusters.

Our display at market is large and colourful - and sales are good!

We are growing more than 100 varieties this season - all sizes, shapes and colours. Most of them are heirloom or heritage varieties, except for some of the smaller cherry & grape tomatoes. Some we have grown for many years like Sungold, Green Zebra, Old Flame, Carmello, Doublerich, and Green Grape. Some we try just for the name - Bloody Butcher, Orange Banana, Red Striped Roman, Moneymaker, Mennonite. How about Tartar of Mongolistan, Cherokee Purple, Djena Lee's Golden Girl or Malakhitovaya Shkatulka.

We try to grow as many colours as possible in small, medium and large sizes - but not the really huge ones. Heirloom tomatoes are a lot of fun! Heirlooms tomatoes can also be heartbreakers. They easily catch diseases, don't always produce a big crop, can crack & split in the rain or even the morning dew and go soft very quickly. But the taste is usually incredible! "They taste like a tomato should taste" is the comment we often hear. Customers return week after week to purchase more tomatoes, admiring our display, and just "talking tomatoes" with us.

In the end it's all worthwhile!

Peaches

2010-07-25T11:00:00.001-04:00

Took a ride around the farm this morning to check out the peaches that will be picked in the next few days. Here are some pictures - but they can't come close to capturing the sight of rows of ripe peaches hanging on the trees, or the aroma of the fruit, or the soft, fuzzy feel of a fat, round peach in your hand, warm from the morning sun. Had my breakfast while I was there and got all sticky from the juice running down my fingers. Are they sweet? Oh yes!! Peaches love the hot & sunny weather we've been having and the flavour is amazing. The colour is great too!

Along with the warm temperatures we've been experiencing very high humidity. Not only does this make it very difficult for working, it increases the insect & disease pressures. Despite careful monitoring of the orchards and timely spray applications, we have been losing a lot of fruit to rot & insect damage. The shelf life of the fruit is also reduced. A return to more seasonable temperatures would be a relief for everyone!

Peaches remain one of the most important crops here at Thiessen Farms. Our first peaches were planted in 1948 and we have had peaches on our farm ever since. Today we grow about 24 varieties to extend the season as long as possible with each kind ripe at a different time. The earliest peaches are harvested usually near the end of July (this year our first peaches were picked on July 12) and the last varieties finish around the middle of September. Each variety is picked 3 or 4 times, about 2 or 3 days between pickings depending on the weather. Peach pickers must carefully choose which fruit are mature & ripe. They are easily bruised and must be handled gently. We always try to pick our peaches tree-ripened for maximum flavour, colour & size. But it must be firm enough to withstand the processes of picking, packing and travelling to market and then still looking good enough to eat!

The heat & humidity this season make it all more difficult - the peaches can get soft before they are mature. Our first peaches were a little too soft we thought and showing some bruises at market. We were concerned about complaints, but instead we got mostly compliments on how great they tasted. This past week we were more satisfied with the peaches, but our customers thought they were too hard. It's always a challenge to get it right. Fortunately we have great peach pickers on our farm who do a fantastic job!

Here is a row of peach trees we planted this spring. They are growing well. Next spring we will remove any fruit from these trees to allow them to put their energy into growing bigger & stronger. The following year we will allow a small crop, and then a larger crop each year after that. Peach trees usually last 10 years or so and then are removed and the process starts again. Each year we replace 5-10% of our trees to keep the orchard healthy and continuously producing.

Peaches - one of the best things about summer!

The routine of the summer season

2010-07-18T16:00:00.000-04:00

And so, inspite of my best intentions, the busy harvesting/marketing season has left little time for updating this blog. Two weeks ago was the last posting, and in 2 weeks on the farm in the summer much can & does happen.

The cherry harvest has come and gone. In the end we simply stopped picking - the quality was gone after much rain and then the heat & humidity. The trees that remained unpicked were marked and compared to notes about trees that have remained unpicked in previous years. Where a pattern emerges, the chainsaw will likely be the fate and we'll have open space - to plant a new cherry tree of a better variety next spring, or another crop perhaps. Some of these trees will get a reprieve as they are needed for pollination. Decisions like this, that have a long term effect are best made in 2 stages. An initial decision now when everything is fresh in our minds and a final verdict in fall after we've had time to mull things over.

The raspberry harvest has also come & gone. It was very brief this season. After a promising start, the rains, heat & humidity ruined the berries as well. We choose not to spray our raspberries because that's what the customers prefer - but we may rethink this decision as some spray may have prevented or at least slowed the rot & mold problems & allowed us to harvest more raspberries.

Crops being harvested now include peaches, yellow plums, tomatoes, zucchini, beans, swiss chard, carrots, beets ...Within the next few weeks we'll add nectarines, more plums, blackberries and later pears, along with more vegetables.

The summer settles into a routine for the next 5 or 6 weeks.

It goes something like this.

Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays are the picking days for the vegetables. Five local students handle most of this. These are also prep days for our 4 farmers' markets. Everything that is picked must be sorted and packed and readied for market the next day. Tuesday & Thursdays are for catching up on other jobs - right now that means weeding, mulching, weeding, suckering & tying tomatoes, orchard maintenance (cutting grass, spraying ...) weeding etc... The fruit picking - mostly peaches - keeps our 2 men from Mexico busy almost full time Monday - Saturday. Sundays remain a day off for everyone on the farm.

Market days are Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Some of the produce is loaded on to the truck the evening before. The remainder that needs to be kept in the cold storage is loaded early (3:45 am) on market day. The truck leaves for market at 4:15 am (5:15 on Saturdays, our sleep in day!) On Thursday afternoon a second truck is loaded and heads off to our afternoon market in Grimsby.

Fridays are also our CSA (community supported agriculture) pick up day. The assorted vegetables we grow for our CSA are harvested in the morning, prepped and ready for pick up in the afternoon.

It's a busy time, but also a satisfying time. What we have worked towards the entire year is now happening. Sometimes we get too busy & too tired to really enjoy it, but it's satisfying none-the-less!

Kailey's flower pictures

2010-07-04T17:39:00.000-04:00

Here's a few shots of our flowers around the farmyard.
As per usual, we got way too ambitious in spring, planting way too many flowers which we neglect when the fruit harvest begins and time is at a premium.
But right now they still look pretty good!

Lazy Sunday

2010-07-04T16:59:00.001-04:00

It's Sunday afternoon - a hot, humid, sunny, Sunday afternoon.
Some of the neighbours are busy picking cherries - but not us. Everyone at
Thiessen Farms is relaxing, taking it easy, enjoying the slow pace - and building energy for the busy week ahead.

Here are some good examples of how to relax & chill...

Meesha

Cullen

Oliver

Cherry update
We are still picking cherries - should finish this coming week. The heavy rains last Monday caused a lot of damage - splitting & rotting. Some of the worst trees we are leaving & not picking. Others are not as bad, except the sorting takes a lot longer.
They still taste great though, and sales at the farmers' markets are going well!

We also started picking raspberries this past week.
More good eating!

Cherry harvest - the good and the bad

2010-06-27T17:12:00.000-04:00

The cherry harvest is in full swing here at Thiessen Farms.

That is both a good thing, and a bad thing!

First the good.
Almost everybody loves cherries, and we are no exception. Most mornings (when I am not at market) I am on my bike just after dawn riding through the orchards determining which cherry trees are ripe enough to be picked that day. Of course the only way to be sure is to sample and taste the cherries ... many cherries, from many trees... Call it fast food, breakfast to go, meals on wheels, or cherry smorgasbord - I call it delicious! One of the perks of the job.
At the farmers' markets the customers are also very happy to see cherries. For more than a month now we have been selling plants - herbs and vegetable plants. For more than a month now, people have been asking for cherries. Finally we have them and everybody is happy!
Cherries are our first major fruit crop of the season. Having had no significant farm income since last October, cherries are important for the cash flow.

Now some bad.
Cherries are the most stressful crop we grow. Old timers like to say that you can count on a good cherry harvest 1 out of 5 years. The optimists say 1 out of 3.
Weather is the biggest peril. A cold, rainy blossom time or even a late frost can cause a poor fruit set. Winds can damage the small cherries. And once they begin to ripen, rains can cause the cherries to split or crack, and rot.

Lots of rain and little sun results in cherries that lack sweetness and taste. Shelf life is also reduced. Hail is always a possibility with hot, humid conditions - even a brief hail storm can destroy a crop and a short shower followed by sunshine can cause a lot of cracking.

While picking cherries is labour intensive - all sweet cherries are hand harvested - sorting & grading cherries is likewise. All cherries are sorted on a moving belt. Workers stand on both sides of the conveyor picking out the bad or damaged fruit. Here's a shot of the grading belt - of course no one thinks to take a picture when we're actually using it!

Imported cherries often appear on supermarket shelves shortly before ours are harvested. A good crop in the USA can affect the price Ontario growers receive for our cherries.

Our cherries are not always well received in the marketplace. Consumers love a hard and crunchy cherry. Our climate almost guarantees our cherries will be softer and less crunchy, and less accepted.

For several farmers I know, the bad has outweighed the good in recent years, and they have eliminated their cherry trees. It is always sad to see a cherry orchard being cut down, especially an established orchard that may have been there for 20-30 years.

We are slowly reducing the number of cherry trees on our farm ( presently we have about 150) but will probably always keep some cherries.

More good!

This season's cherry harvest is going quite smoothly so far. Taste is good, quality is reasonable, and the picking & grading is working okay.

Here are some shots of a small cherry orchard we have right beside our house, and in front of the barn. Could we have a better front yard!?

Tomato update

2010-06-20T16:29:00.000-04:00

I keep looking at the calender these days to check the date - it really is still June!
But the crops are talking July!

Things on the farm are about 2 weeks ahead of last season and the work is piling up.
I need my high school students now - but they are still writing exams!

This past week we picked our 1st sweet cherries.
Peaches are being thinned, plums are being thinned, pears are being thinned and suckered. Tomatoes are being suckered and tied.

About 1 month ago I blogged about planting tomatoes.

After planting we received plenty of rain so we have not had to water them yet. We cultivated several times, then we mulched, staked and now we sucker & tie - again & again...

This close up shows lots of small tomatoes already formed. Lots of blossoms too.

The plants are healthy & lush, and we are optimistic for a great harvest!

Jitneys 101

2010-06-12T20:42:00.002-04:00

What is a jitney?

A jitney is the primary means of transporting people and produce around the farm.

What does a jitney look like?

See pictures below.

They look like pieces of junk!! Are these jitneys actually driveable?
Yes. These are all vehicles we use every day on our farm.

What is a jitney used for?
Jitneys are used to move things around the farm - especially workers, ladders and other farm tools & equipment, and most importantly fruit and vegetables.

Where do jitneys come from?
The perfect jitney is a car or truck that runs well, requires few repairs and costs very little. We are always on the lookout for suitable candidates as the lifespan of the average jitney is limited. The work is hard, the maintenance can be minimal. Once a vehicle is found, we remove the body-from the steering wheel and back, and replace it with a wooden platform secured to the vehicle's frame.

Are jitneys fun to drive?
Of course not! Jitneys are strictly for work.
Cruising through the orchards, feeling the sun on your neck, the breeze in your face, speeding down the rows, grabbing fruit off the trees to sample, ducking under branches, splashing through puddles, outrunning the rain ... does this sound like fun?

Each of the jitneys in our fleet comes with a history, a story, a past ...
Former jitneys are often remembered with fondness - especially the ones we learned to drive on.
A jitney that runs well is something to be enjoyed and appreciated,
because ...
A jitney broken down and needing repairs is not uncommon.

Jitneys - gotta have them!

However...
In this day of high gas prices and increasing environmental awareness, and to increase physical activity,
my favoured means of travelling around the farm is...

Sunday - after the rain... and rain... and rain...

2010-06-06T18:22:00.000-04:00

Wandered around the farm a bit this afternoon, just to see what things look like.

Here's what I saw ...

Lots of puddles,

lots of weeds - surrounding the new peach trees...

... and overtaking the sweet corn,

the cherries turning colour - yes, we're already eating them, and no, they don't taste very good yet.

Raspberries,

and peaches.

Everything is growing incredibly fast right now. The hot, sunny weather we have had recently, together with a lot of rain has made for excellent growing conditions.

On this week's agenda:

- finish pruning peaches

- finish mulching tomatoes

- stake tomatoes and sucker & tie them

- weed, weed, and then weed

- seed, seed, and then seed - the ground is so wet now that we are behind in our vegetable seeding

- begin the 4th of our weekly farmers' markets - Saturday is opening day at Georgetown.

But today is Sunday - a day to rest. And that's where I'm going!

Fowl Times

2010-06-02T21:09:00.000-04:00

Our baby chicks have arrived!

We received 25 day old Barred Plymouth Rocks. This is a very old breed of bird that lays an abundance of large, brown eggs. They are considered dual purpose - good for laying eggs and good for meat. We like them because they are a calm, friendly, and usually problem free chicken - and they look good.

Here's the chicken coop where they live - inside for now. When they get a bit bigger they can run outside in their fence and enjoy the fresh air & green grass! It would be nice to let them run free, but their are too many dogs and other animals wandering the farm so they would not last long. Their run is divided into 2 areas so they can be rotated to keep the grass from being totally destroyed.

We kept 7 hens from last year's flock through the winter for eggs. These girls just moved to their summer home, to make room for the new flock. This portable coop or chicken tractor as it is commonly known is pulled to fresh grass each morning. The hens catch on to the routine quickly and trot along as the cage is moved. There is a roost for them to sleep on, and a nest for egg laying. It's a great system - fresh grass for them, no danger from predators, and no clean up for me!

Morning pictures

2010-05-26T21:05:00.000-04:00

I took my camera along on my early morning walk around the farm today.

Just snapped some random pictures - here are some of them...

Our farm is right next to the railway tracks. It's the main CN line through Niagara and quite active. It's just a single track now, but when I was growing up it was a double track plus a siding on either side where they would park train cars and leave them, sometimes for weeks on end. Both the tracks and the empty train cars were favourite playgrounds for us as kids.

It continues to be a very busy track with many freight trains each day, 2 daily VIA trains, 2 Amtracks (Toronto to New York and the return), and now the GO trains on these summer weekends.

CN Rail no longer does much maintenance along the tracks so they are very overgrown

and a haven for groundhogs and other such creatures.

It's been plenty hot these last few days - excellent growing weather for the tomatoes we planted last week. If you think those rows look long now, try picking them in July!

The new plum trees we planted barely 1 month ago are also growing well. We'll be enjoying plums from these trees in about 3 years. Grass has been seeded on the orchard floor and has sprouted - along with weeds.

The sweet cherries have begun to thin themselves. Notice the smaller ones and the coloured ones. These cherries will fall off soon - the June drop we call it.

Here's a sad picture - the end of an era, you might even say. The last of our old wooden ladders piled in a heap ready to be burned. Many of them have been around for more than a few decades and are showing their age. They are unsafe to use for picking fruit anymore. And besides, the pickers much prefer the newer aluminum ladders which are very light and easy to carry compared to these old brutes.

But I'm sure that before we light the match, a few ladders may have found their way back to the barn - if just for old time's sake!

Who knew we could get sentimental about ladders!?