April
2012
We re-open on
May 19-21, 2012
With Our Annual
Plant
Sale
Here we go with a very early
spring…the dry conditions are making up for the very wet spring of 2011.
We are already in the fields tilling and planting some cool weather crops
of spinach, arugula, Asian greens, kales and cabbages.
We should have some of these items available to purchase when we open up
on the May long weekend.
We’ve had a very engaging first week of April.
Our doe Indirha had twin-buckling kids on the first and is proving to be
an exceptional mother. She is
nursing her babies and I am also milking her out twice a day.
Easter Sunday I made the first of many chèvre cheeses and we’ll be
trying it this week. April 5th
I picked up 75 chickens for meat and they’ll be ready to purchase the second
week of June. They reminded me of my
childhood visits to the local strip mall in
Toronto
where, each Easter, they would have displays of little chicks and all the
children would want to pick them up and cuddle them.
We had lots of visitors to the farm over the Easter weekend and everyone,
adults and children, wanted to hold both the goat kids and the chicks.
There were lots of smiles and happy faces.
It’s lovely how spring and new birth can ground us.
We would like to welcome Fawn, our first intern for the 2012 season, who
started last week. As well, my
childhood friend Lynn, is spending a month with us in anticipation of growing on
her own property in
Nova Scotia
.
Our truckload of certified organic compost should be arriving any day now.
Gregory is picking up our drip irrigation system this week and it is full
farm speed ahead.
One week old bucklings
Community
Supported Agriculture
There is still time to join our 2012 CSA
weekly food box program.
All produce is grown right here on our farm and we bring to you the freshest,
tastiest vegetables you’ve seen in quite some time.
They are picked at the peak of ripeness so you benefit in their fabulous
flavour as well as nutritional value. To
make your cooking life easier we also supply you with easy recipes and
suggestions for what you can make with the items in your box.
The 2012 CSA program runs for 18 weeks and costs $550 per share.
Our shareholders receive an average $35 value each week.
The first box delivery is scheduled to start June 14th in
Toronto
and June 16th at the farm and our local farmers markets.
Check out our website for
more information, drop locations and to sign up for your 2012 CSA share.
www.WicklowWay.ca
What’s Available at
Wicklow Way
…
Though
The Mall is closed for the season we do put our cooler full of EGGS
out by the roadway on weekends.
Our eggs are from the
heritage breeds Rhode Island Red and Barred Plymouth Rock and they eat
‘certified organic’ grain. They
are happy chickens. We have also
ordered 35 more young layers to keep up with production though they won’t be
ready to lay until the fall.
Please note:
effective March 1st, 2012 our eggs will be $6 per dozen due to
increased certified organic grain prices.
Upcoming
Events…
dish
Cooking
School
Third
Annual Plant
Sale
Thursday, May
17th from 4-6 pm
390 Dupont Street
Toronto
Between
Spadina and
Bathurst
www.dishcookingstudio.com
Wicklow
Way
Farm
Annual
Plant
Sale
Saturday, May
19th through Monday, May 21
11
am to 4 pm
Check
our website for available tomato varieties
Also
available are peppers, eggplant, lettuces, herbs & flowers
Optimism…
We have been invited to give some
guidance and direction to the
New
Amherst
Community
Garden
project in Cobourg. Our first
meeting showed great interest and support from the community and we are happy to
see so many people taking an interest in the food they grow and eat.
We are looking forward to helping everyone coax the most produce from
his/her garden plots.
Many thanks to my good friend Jane who gave me a lovely book for my
birthday last week Food Rules, an eater’s manual by Michael Pollan and
illustrated by Maria Kalman. A
charming book, it’s easy to read, with great insight into what we, as
Wicklow Way
, continue to promote.
Into our seventh year we continue to be optimistic for the growth of the
organic and sustainable agriculture movement.
A main component of what we do is to ensure that we leave the land in
better condition than how we received it. It
is better for the next generations, better for the environment and better for
our health. We urge you all to enjoy
good food and share the importance of local organic food with everyone you know.
We look forward to seeing you all soon,
Elaina
& Gregory
April
2012
www.WicklowWay.ca
“The
wise man must remember that while he is a descendent
of
the past, he is a parent to the future.”
Herbert
Spencer,
American
Heritage Thoughts on Wisdom