Harvest to Hearth

Sick

2012-05-14T21:31:00.001-03:00

My tomatoes were sick and we lost more than I care to think about. Now I am sick and everything around the farm is piling up. I hope to be feeling better soon so I can put my nose to the dirt and get things going. We have our back field started. It was such a lucky find. We bought this place without knowing that in the middle of the property (we have 40acres most of it woods.) was an old farmers field. We cleared all the scrubby trees that popped up during it's fallow years and now we are ready to plow.
Our strawberries are kicking butt and taking no prisoners. We almost tripled the beds. Excited to make pies and jams and my absolute fav. homemade tea biscuits, strawberries and whipped cream yum!

Sick

2012-05-02T10:48:00.000-03:00

While I am normally a very healthy person I have finally succumbed to the worlds worst cold. It was bound to happen. I wish I could lay on the couch and drink tea, but my garden is calling me. You take a day off in the spring and you are behind by a week. I don't know how that works, but it does happen. In fact writing this post is really just an excuse to stay inside. Where it is warm and close to the kleenex. I am going to do my Nan's trick of stuffing a couple up the old sleeve.
Hope everyone has a germ free day.

2012-04-30T07:34:00.000-03:00

Spring Has Sprung

We are beyond busy here at Harvest to Hearth. Our strawberry patch has exploded and we have been selling as many plants as we can. We still have some left if anyone is interested. Our rhubarb has come up and we should be harvesting that anyday. Our peas have started to sprout and we are expecting a bumper crop.

There is a lot of clean up to be done and readying the beds for planting is taking up most of our time. As you can see above our chives are looking very healthy.

Anyone who wants rhubarb let us know through here or facebook. Steve goes into the city everyday. Strawberry plants and chives are available too.

strawberry plants $2 each or 3 for $5

chives $3 a bunch

rhubarb $3 dollars a bunch or $5 for the same amount cut and cleaned

Hope everyone is enjoying this gorgeous spring.

Ground Cherries

2012-02-21T07:51:00.002-04:00

This year we will triple our ground cherry production. We are starting them from seed this week. We are hoping that the field in the back of our property will prove to be the perfect place for them to grow. Last year despite the slow start to the season we had a bumper crop. Ground cherries like a well drained soil and lots of sun. Anyone who experienced last years spring and early summer knows that our weather was wet and not so warm. It shows that these plants are hardy creatures who can make a comeback.
They grow close to the ground in papery husks. These husks turn from green to a tan to clear where you can see the berry inside. When the berry is ready to be harvested they fall from the plant to the ground. A ripe ground cherry is a beautiful golden color. The taste has been described as a cross between a pineapple and a strawberry. I believe they have their own unique flavor, but that description is as accurate as any I have heard.
They are delicious raw right out of the husk. You can use them in any recipe you would use a blueberry. I have made ground cherry pie, ground cherry buckle and crisp. My favorite by far is ground cherry jam. I make it plain and a spicy version. One is a beautiful yellow color and is good on toast, tea biscuits, heated up over ice cream. The spicy version shows off all the richness from the cinnamon, all-spice and ginger. Typing this is making me want to go into the kitchen and put in a piece of toast and have some. Mmmmm!
I hope that everyone who comes by the farm will at least try one. They are more than worth the drive.

above: ground cherries in the husk and out.

Logo

2012-01-26T17:17:00.002-04:00

After a lot of work we finally have a logo. I made about 10-12 before I finally came up with this. It isn't as easy as you would think. The actual putting it together isn't the hard part.We bought a program that helps you make logos. It takes time to become familiar with all the bells and whistles, but once you are familiar with the program it is easy to use. The hard part is deciding on the right shape, the right font, colour, etc. Basically we made a whole pile that we didn't want to find out which one we did want. Hope everyone likes it.

Making Pots and buying Ground

2012-01-20T09:45:00.001-04:00

I have been putting off making my pots to plant the seeds and this weekend I have to stop my procrastination. I make the pots from newspaper and it is a messy job. Good for the environment, but messy. I have some left over from last year so that should get me started.
I have decided to make my own potting soil this year. I usually buy it but you can't get it this time of year in big enough quantities. So I thought I would make it using my own recipe. If it works out I will share it with you. I am going to use some of the worm compost in the mix. Apparently 20% is the golden number. I always add some cinnamon too. It is an organic way to ward off dampening off.
I also have to order my greenhouse and look around for a stove. We are getting one for the basement. I will make all the preserves down there and I won't have to worry about making jam in 35 degree weather. The basement is always cooler and I won't have all that mess upstairs. It will be nice to have two kitchens. Next year we hope to renovate and build extra counter tops and a small store to sell all our goodies from.
All very exciting new things.

Seeds to be Sown

2012-01-18T11:10:00.000-04:00

My favourite time of the year is selecting seeds and planning this years garden. It is a time when all things are possible. The ultimate garden is in my imagination, where no bad weather, no bad bugs, or no bad bacteria live.
This year like the others we are mixing somethings old with somethings new.

New

edamame -these soybeans will likely not produce enough to sell the first year, but we are really excited about trying them out. The whole family loves them baked in the oven with a sprinkle of salt and olive oil.

hardy cherries- these are grown on a bush instead of a tree. They can get to be 7-8 feet tall when they reach maturity in 5 years. One plant can produce 20 kgs of cherries. These guys won't be ready to produce for two years but we are quite excited about them. They will do double duty by also providing us with a sound buffer between us and the road.

Back by Popular Demand

green and yellow beans- our bush beans were our biggest producers last year and resulted in some very yummy fresh eating, freezing for the winter and a huge batch of dilly beans. We hope that our crop this year does just as well.

carrots- the carrots last year were so sweet and tasty that despite having frozen an enormous amount they are now all gone. I am ordering rainbow carrots that come in several shades from almost white to deep orange. I have also ordered two other varieties that should make your mouth water.

ground cherries- these yellow fruit that come in husks are also know as the cape gooseberry. I have heard them described as having a pineapple flavour, but I have find they have a flavour all there own. I make jams and pies with them. I love them fresh as well. These are a very tasty berry. They are high in protein for a fruit and very low cal so they make a perfect snack.

garlic- we hope our garlic comes back this year it was very tasty and easy to grow. Planted some in the back field. We shall see if deer like garlic.

peas- our peas liked the cool damp weather last year. We had a very large crop. The kids love to eat them fresh off the vine. Now that is fresh food.

pumpkins- we are growing baby pams. We have tried pumpkins before, but they didn't turn out very well so this year we will try again. They will be more for pies then carving. I will have those available before thanksgiving.

gourds- we grew these last year. They were very cute. They are small ornamental ones that look good as a centerpiece for the table. They don't even look real.

tomatoes- we always have a great harvest of tomatoes. Cherry, beefstake, and romas, all love the soil here. We make spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, and salsa. So sweet that you can eat them right off the vine. My favourite are the golden cherry tomatoes.

green peppers- trying these again. Last year they had a slow start and that meant only a few could be harvested. I hope we have a nice spring.

Herbs- we are bringing back parsley, dill and chamomile and trying sage and basil. Basil I try every year and every year it dies. No one ever said I wasn't stubborn. We also have oregano, thyme, lemon balm, mint, catnip and chives. Chives being some of the first things that pop up. We also sometimes let the chive flowers come out. They are tasty in a salad and pretty too.

I am sure I am forgetting something but if am I will add it later. Let me know if you don't see anything you would love to have grown. I don't always take requests but you never know. Also if you would be interested in any of the above as a plant for your own garden let me know.

Plants are sold in the spring when they are ready to be planted and sold at $2.00 each. They are grown using organic practices. Our plants always do well. If you can let me know if you have a specific request or large quantity that would be great. We sell them from our farm, but I am always in the city so I could probably drop them off too.

Get Your Worms Here

2012-01-16T07:25:00.000-04:00

After a roll call that took the better part of the weekend, we have decided we have too many worms. The little buggers like to reproduce. Good for us as we have a record amount of vermicompost for our garden this spring and good for you as we need to get rid of some of them.
We will be selling the worms for $25.00 a pound and $15.00 dollars a half pound.

To make it easier for everyone to get into composting with worms Steve and I will turn a Tupperware tote into a worm bin, big enough to easily handle a pound of worms, we will add worm bedding (shredded newspaper), a pound of worms, an instruction booklet,and a spray bottle. All of this for the low price of $50.00. Then all you have to do is add food.
Anyone who is interested please contact us and we will get you started on making compost for your garden or houseplants.

Our Worms have been Busy Little Creature

2012-01-14T08:25:00.000-04:00

Our Worms have been very prolific this year. We bought half a pound when we moved in two years ago. Now we have three very large bins and could divide again if we wanted. They are healthy and giving us some really good worm compost. I used the compost and worm tea last year in the garden and I really believe it made a difference.

The worms take up very little of our time and have no smell. I have an extra sensitive nose and it is nice to have something that is a fertilizer that doesn't smell. We keep ours in the basement, but I could see keeping them in your kitchen if you had the room. It would smell a lot better than keeping a green bin on the counter.

Our worms have been so successful that we are going to start selling them. I am a 100% convert.

If you have any kind of a garden big or small and you compost, whether by city pick-up or on your own then this is for you.

It is a chance to turn something you don't want into something that could give you a bigger crop or a bigger flower. It really does make a difference. The best part of it all is once you are set up and your worms are healthy and happy then everything else is free.

I'll add more information next blog along with a list of prices. Also all the information you may or may not want to know about worms.

A Beginning of a New Season

2012-01-11T09:25:00.000-04:00

In light of last season's struggles we are optimistically cautious about this season. Steve was away fro most of our growing and harvesting season. I made an executive decision to do the best I could with the time I had. We had a fairly decent drop despite the weather and time constraints. The ability to to transfer that harvest into selling was what we had to sacrifice. I did a lot of canning and even sold a few bottles. In the end I was happy with what we accomplished, but this year we hope to go further.
We have started to expand into our back field and our ground cherry production should be in full swing. They have becoming more popular. My ground cherry jam has received some rave reviews and I hope to sell more than a couple of bottles this year.
Please keep posted for what I am planting and how things are progressing. With the addition of our road side stand this year we hope to see everyone this summer.

Strawberries, Raccoon and Scarecrows

2011-07-21T09:27:00.000-03:00

We were hoping to have enough strawberries this year to sell, but even though we had a very good crop, the bed wasn't big enough and the raccoon that seemed to think we were his personal takeout service dashed those dreams. We did manage a couple of good feeds and they were sooooo good.

We have harvested some peas and herbs. Enough to make an amazing tabbouleh salad. We used garlic, mint and parsley from the garden. We are also drying Chamomile, lavender, oregano, lemon balm and catnip. All can be used for teas, but after smelling the cat nip I think I will save that for the cats. So in the next month we hope to be selling teas, tomatoes, herbs, salsa, stewed tomatoes and jams. I will keep you updated.

Fisher Spider

2011-07-21T09:14:00.000-03:00

This little Lady is living in our shed. We thought she was a boy, but we saw her carrying an egg sac. She may be the biggest spider I have seen around here.

Perennials Galore

2011-07-21T09:05:00.000-03:00

We were so lucky that the previous owners loved flowers. In the city I had a small flower garden, but this plethora of flora is insane. I have been neglecting them, because of the vegetable garden, but I think the next time I have a few hours free to myself I will work with some flowers. It may take me into the winter but I vow to get it done this year.

Strawberry Patch Etc

2011-06-03T11:34:00.000-03:00

My strawberry patch is doing amazing. We won't have enough to sell this year, but I can't wait to eat them. The strawberries have been one of the easiest and most prolific things we have planted so far. Speaking of prolific, our rhubarb patch seems to be on steroids this year. We picked the patch about a week ago and it is huge again. If everything grew like rhubarb we wouldn't have a food crisis. The other two pictures are my chives and oregano. They along with the rhubarb were a nice surprise last year when they came up in the garden. The previous owner had not mentioned them, but we were very pleased they had planted them. It brings a smile to my face just to see the first signs of an impending harvest.

A String of Sun..... I hope

2011-05-26T08:54:00.000-03:00

We have experienced a string of rain as everyone knows. This has made only the slugs happy. Now I am hoping we are going to have a string of sun and warm weather. I am headed out to plant some more green peppers, ground cherries and green beans. The rain we have had has washed my green bean seeds out of the ground and they are growing all over the place. If it does get sunny I will take out my camera as I haven't put up any pictures lately.
Heres to the sun. Come for a visit, stay for a coffee, I have missed you.

Rain GRRRRRR!

2011-05-10T13:37:00.000-03:00

The rain is getting to everyone. Last year we were late planting because we had to literally start from scratch, but this year it has been hard to find more than one day in a row to get planting. The good news is I have been able to gradually build up my leg and arm muscles so I can still walk and feed myself at the end of the day. When you garden for 8 hours muscles you didn't even know were there will hurt.
My husband comes home this weekend and I am so excited to get some help.
Even with the rain and pain and no ball and chain I have planted quite a few rows and have had things come up and if they don't float away then it should be a bountiful harvest.
We have planted so far spinach (sprouting)
arugula (sprouted)
beets
carrots
beans (yellow and green)
anise
chamomile
parsley
roma tomatoes (started inside)
ground cherries (started inside)
peas ( about 2 inches up so far)

Sounds like a lot but there isn't even a dent in what needs to be done. If the sun ever comes out I will take a picture of my progress.

Brrrr

2011-04-15T11:25:00.000-03:00

I am getting impatient at how long it is taking for spring to come. It is only 2 today. I remember last year giving my mother a huge bouquet of hyacinths for her birthday this time last year. So far the only flowers up are a couple of sad little crocus. I can only hope things turn around soon. My fingers are a itching to plant.
The good news is everything I have started in the greenhouse is going like gangbusters. The ground cherries should be another bumper crop and I even started another weird berry this year. It is called a sunberry. It was very easy to start from seed. The package said 50 seeds and I came out with 81 plants. Thank-you veseys'
My tomatoes are very healthy too. I am even growing beefsteak this year. I am not a fan of the large tomatoes, but we had so many requests I couldn't ignore it. So next time I blog I will give a full list of what to expect this year and how you can get your hands on some of our very tasty veggies and fruit.

stupid cat

2011-04-10T09:21:00.000-03:00

Well my cat has destroyed about a hundred plants. I had them planted in one of those plastic flats. Well three of those plastic flats. How can such a cute little thing be so destructive?
So my parsley, chamomile and basil will not be as plentiful as I hoped. He took his little paws and dug for all he was worth. At least he didn't use it for what I thought he might have used it for. If you know what I mean.
Today should be a gorgeous day so I will try and spend as much time outside as possible. The task of cleaning up the garden is not so bad if you take it row by row. The kids usually help too. Of course I am using air quotes around the help, but they do learn something every time and someday that may come in handy. Free labor is hard to come by.

Long Time No Type

2011-04-08T08:26:00.000-03:00

Well I wanted to keep on top of this blog and it is proving to be harder than I thought. It has been a busy spring. I will say busy but satisfying. I am so excited to be entering our second and very glad that I don't have almost an acre of sod to lift up. Weeds don't seem so bad after that.
This winter we lost our greenhouse to a very nasty wind storm. It turn itself totally inside out and left us nothing to salvage.
We have two temporary greenhouses I am using this year, but we are quite excited to have a permanent structure built in the fall. My Dad is going to design and build it so I know it will last.
I am going to take some pictures of our seedlings and send some info about this season's crops. We have switched things up a bit having learn a ton from our mistakes and successes.
So far I can report that Vesey's has come through again and my seedlings are coming like gangbusters. Almost too well. Planting extra always make sense, but when things come so well you start to run out of room it kills me to throw away perfectly goos plants. Next year we shouldn't have that problem as our greenhouse will be big enough to grow into. More later

Electa

Thinking Time

2011-01-03T14:11:00.000-04:00

It is time to think about spring. For those of you who think I am jumping the gun, that is one of the perks of being a gardener. We get to jump the gun on the warmer weather. I love the early planning stages when all things are possible. All things can turn out just as we envision them and that is a special time indeed. I have made a list of seeds that I want to grow this year. I have added beefsteak tomatoes as they were requested quite often last year. This year we should have a small harvest of all things berry. Blue, straw rasp and black were all planted last year and we are hoping this year we will be able to reap what we have sown.
We have planned to increase our ground cherry production. We made a jam last year and it was one of the tastiest. We are also going to sell the berries. Everyone who tastes one thinks they are the best and no two people have agreed on what they taste like. In a pie, jam or right from the husk I think they taste like heaven.
I will keep you updated and when I do my order I will post a list of what I will be growing for the 2011 season.

Tea Time

2010-08-17T07:50:00.000-03:00

Steve and I make our own tea these days. Right now we make it with fresh lemon balm and mint, but we are going to experiment with drying the leaves for winter. We are going to experiment with different herbs to see what different combinations taste the best.

We have been harvesting bush beans like mad. Plus our cherry tomatoes feel like they are all ripening at once. We are also having a bumper crop of ground cherries. As predicted Gracie eats them before anything can be done with them. We bought a ten pound box of blueberries as ours will not be ready until next year. We have made blueberry and blueberry peach jam. Very good. Next up will be spaghetti sauce and salsa. Can't wait.

Paradise Squared

2010-08-11T10:12:00.000-03:00

We are truly blessed to have two places to go that we consider heaven on earth. Both are relaxing peaceful and feel like home. What more could a family ask for.

In-Laws Laptops and Vacations

2010-08-11T10:05:00.000-03:00

We have been away for a while and home with family. Steve's Dad and Vivian were here from Ontario and we had an awesome visit and it was nice to finally show them our home and our farm in person. We have been just doing upkeep around here. Weeding is an everyday chore wit the sun rain sun rain chain , they are growing like crazy. Our ground cherries are finally becoming ripe and we have been enjoying tomatoes and beans for a while. The beans are very tasty and are an extra special treat after they were almost wiped out by bugs.
We had our dog Furgus at a friends house while we vacationed and he loves being there so we let him stay for a couple of weeks. It was time to get him back though, as we started seeing deer scat in the woods close to our house.
It continues to be hot everyday and the sun seems so strong this year. It has been good for some plants and terrible for others. I guess that is what farming is about and we are rolling with the punches. Hopefully we can get enough produce ready at the same time so we can go to a farmers market and actually sell some of this yummy stuff. Although eating it ourselves is not hard to take. Hope everyone is having a good summer.
Electa

It's Raining it's Pouring

2010-07-15T07:45:00.000-03:00

It has been very wet lately and after a long bought of sun and extreme heat the plants really needed it. I have bought some beautiful ribbon to make lavender sticks. When I get a bunch made then I will post a picture.
Everything has just exploded in the garden and I can't wait to start to pick. The peas are ready and so are some lettuces. The ground cherries and tomatoes are not far off.
We are hoping to have the road side stand up and running next friday at 1pm. That is at 2207 Chester Road.
We will have peas, herbs, ground cherries and tomatoes if all goes well. Plus a few lavender crafts.
I read about making fire bundles. You use the stems from the lavender and bundle them up after they are dried and you use them start a fire. The lavender gives off a beautiful smell. They also make a great decorations if you but a basket of them by the fireplace.

Finally

2010-07-07T21:28:00.000-03:00

Finally some progress. I was thinking it was taking forever for anything to be ready to harvest. Now it seems like everything is coming at once and there are still a million things to do. Plus today it was almost 40 degrees. That is just too hot for words. So things take a little longer to get done. Late in the afternoon the kids and I went for a swim and it was heavenly. Here is some of the lavender that I harvested today. It was nice to have my gardening gloves smell like lavender than some of the other things it has smelled like.

We are hoping to have enough produce to sell by next Friday. We are keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that we can finally make a little money.