Field Notes

Little Tadhg has energy to spare (if you’ve seen him, you know what I mean) so his favorite thing to say is “fast, fast”! Thankfully, this is an important motto on the farm because the clock is always ticking. We have to seed, plant, harvest, and set up as fast as our little hands and feet can muster as rule #1 dictates, the plants don’t care. This year though, the time warp was a little more striking with everything going on and I dropped a bakers dozen worth of balls along the way. I was determined to keep everyone more involved with newsletters,...

As is no surprise, it’s hot outside. I’m hot, the dog is hot, the kids are hot, and Seann is pretty hot too 😉 Mostly though, the plants are hot which is awesome and worrisome at the same time. We have a 25′ x 80′ propagation house for the seedlings and had to pull the shade cloth over it in June this year, a month earlier than we normally would have done. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve lost an entire succession to a scorching hot greenhouse so we water the plant babies at least twice a day in...

We have one big world and a lot of mouths to feed. Unfortunately most of those mouths aren’t human! We try to warn people when there is extra pest pressure or some items are irresistibly tasty to certain critters but sometimes it’s just going to happen because that’s what organic farming means, especially when you avoid the sprays. Coyotes like watermelon (and chewing sprinklers), flea beetles LOVE brassicas, crows snack on the corn (they also like to poke holes in the drip line for little daytime showers), and the list goes on. Don’t get me started about ducks and geese...

Hi Everyone, We hope you are all keeping dry and getting cozy for the holidays. First off, a big thanks to everyone who supported us through the 2018 season. It was wonderful meeting all of you and we hope you enjoyed experimenting with all of the fruit and veggies! We are still around at the winter markets (Qualicum Beach, Riley Park, Hastings/PNE), so feel free to come down and say hi. Because of our wonderful members, the 2018 CSA went so well that we’re increasing our share sizes and offering a more robust membership for the 2019 season. We will now be offering...

CSA Week #1 We hope you’ve all been taking advantage of the early summer we’ve had so far this year, our weeds certainly have! From this point on, you will be receiving updates on the farm and what’s in store for the weeks ahead. As those of you who have been with us since the beginning know though, our summers are sunup to sundown and sometimes we don’t get the opportunity to open a laptop but we will do our best and please don’t hesitate to send us an email or give us a call at the farm if...

CSA Week #24 It was our last week, last week!  We’ve been together for 6 months and we hope you all enjoyed the share this year.  Our farm has grown significantly and we couldn’t have done that without members like you. The direct farmer to member relationship is important to us and we hope you will join us again for another season. Our 2018 Share goes on sale December 7!! Made By Land, Salt & Harrow Salt & Harrow 2018 Field Note I’m just back from the National Farmers Union Conference in Ottawa and sending this note to thank all of our...