March
2012
The
Mall is Currently Closed
We
Re-open on May 19-21, 2012
For
Our Annual
Plant
Sale
Well we sure haven’t had
much of a winter though February is heading out like a lion.
As I sit here typing on this 29th day of February I just
don’t even want to venture outside – though Bauer keeps giving me this
sad-eyed look letting me know that it’s my duty as a dog’s mom to at least
get him outside for a walk in the forest.
Things at the farm are once again coming
together for the 2012 season. The greenhouse has been cleaned up and
I’ll be working on starting the first seedlings on March 2nd, our interns have
been hired and they’ll be moving here in early spring, our lovely goats will
be kidding out in April and May and the bread oven is ready to go. Last
August we dug a large pond and now that it’s full of water we will be
installing a drip irrigation system this season so we won’t be stressed about
lack of rain. We are also bringing in a truckload of certified organic
compost to help enrich our soil so that we can have the best year yet!
I’ve been keeping my eyes out for honeybee
action in our hives – the weather has been so mild this winter that they’ve
been out several times on a warmish and sunny day. This gives me great
encouragement that they have survived the winter this year and the hive colonies
should only become stronger over the summer months.
Again this season we will be raising chickens
on pasture for meat. I will keep you posted as to availability so you can
get your orders in quickly. They tend to sell out fast and we certainly
want everyone to be satisfied.
Elaina
with Indirha and GingerLee
Community
Supported Agriculture
We are now accepting applicants for our
2012 CSA weekly food box program.
Customers will receive a box of certified organic produce from our farm,
which can be picked up at specified locations locally including Port Hope and at
our farm gate stand. We also deliver
to
Toronto
in the Leaside neighbourhood.
Our food box program makes available 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. They are not sitting in a distribution
warehouse for weeks nor have they been on the road for days. They are
picked and boxed up for your immediate enjoyment. 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.
New for this year - your home can become a
depot for our box program. Sell 10 boxes in your neighbourhood and you get
your CSA box for free. Please see our website for how this can work in
your local area.
Also on the agenda for our CSA customers this
summer - I will be hosting a “Cook Your Box with Elaina” cooking class at
the farm. Sunday July 15th and Sunday August 26th are the dates to mark on
your calendars. Cook your box will begin at noon and we will wrap it up
around 3…or later as your interest permits. These sessions will be an
informal, hands-on cooking, eating and discussion around food, organic farming
and perhaps even a tour of our farm. There is no cost for our CSA
customers though there will be a limit to the number of people that we can
accommodate.
The 2012 CSA program runs for 18 weeks and
costs $550 per share. We will supply our shareholders with an average $35
value each week. This works out to $630 of vegetables for only $550 for
the season. Pay in full by March 31st and you get your CSA share for $525.
The first box delivery starts the third week of June and runs until just after
Thanksgiving weekend.
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 still have some items available for pre-arranged pickup.
Give us a call at 905-355-5260 if you need any:
EGGS
Smoked
Sea Salt
Dried
Tomatoes
Smoked
Tomatoes
Our eggs are from the
heritage breeds Rhode Island Red and Barred Plymouth Rock and they eat
‘certified organic’ grain. They
are happy chickens. Please
note: effective
March 1st, 2012 our eggs will be $6 per dozen due to increased
certified organic grain prices.
Upcoming
Events…
Celebrating
100 Years of the
Carnegie Free Library in Port Hope
100th Anniversary Author
Series
Saturday, March
31 at 2 pm
Mary J. Benson Branch, Port Hope Public Library
Join Lynn
Ogryzlo the
author of “The
Ontario
Table”.
Lynn
will
give a talk about local & seasonal food.
For
more info see the library website at: http://phpl.ca/
Optimism…
I can’t believe it’s
already time to begin the growing season again.
We are looking forward to this, our seventh year, of farming.
I spoke to a ladies group in
Toronto
this week about the benefits of eating certified organic food and one woman
asked me “how do I know all this stuff?”
Well, by being voracious readers, both Gregory and I, researching topics
of interest (bees, goats, the soil food web, tools) while being hands-on working
the farm and I guess we’ve absorbed a great deal of information.
Of course, we still don’t feel that we know near enough but we keep on
learning, testing ourselves, stretching ourselves and one day we may even get
that PhD in growing carrots.
I just saw a flock of red winged black birds
migrating through and that is a sure sign of spring. Did you know that the
males migrate first to establish their nest and the females follow when the work
is done? Usually the first sighting at the farm is the 3rd week of March
– early spring indeed!
We look forward to seeing you all soon,
Elaina
& Gregory
March
2012
www.WicklowWay.ca
“We
abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we
see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and
respect.”
Aldo
Leopold,
A
Sand
County
Almanac