The Fruits of Our Labour

I said back in february when we were starting this whole endeavor that if we grew a single tomato i'd call this year a success. Well, we've grown a whole lot more than that so far, but here it is.



We weren't sure if we'd be able to grow peppers here, but we've since come to the happy conclusion that we most defenatly can.



Here are some other shots of a potato, cabbage, crookneck squash, sweet keeper squash and... CUCUMBER!!

Farm Update

Well, things here are going great. Market has been exceptionally well these last few weeks, mostly i suppose because alot of our crops are finally coming in. Last market we had carrots, beets, turnips, radish, cabbage, brocolli, peas, zucchini, summer squash, parsley, cilantro, sage, lettuce, spicey greens, kale and onions. Really the only major things we're missing are tomatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, beans, brussles sprouts, corn and winter squash. Within the next week or two we'll probably have everything but brussles sprouts, corn and winter squash. Needless to say this is all very exciting. Plus we have 3 markets next week which is gonna be crazy but we should sell a ton of veggies.

So, as promised heres an update of what's been keeping us so busy these past weeks. Basically we have 4 major projects on the go right now. Tilling up the bottom half of our field, building a mobile greenhouse, constructing a root cellar in the bottom corner of our basement, and... CHICKENS!! That's right, as of several weeks from now we may possibly have a few extra friends here at the farm. A local woman who is moving away from St Andrews has about a half dozen chickens + chicks and can't take them with here when she moves. She doesnt want to slaughter them or just leave them for the racoons, so she's looking for a place that will take them. We still haven't decided whether we will take them or not(as we only found out about this yesterday), but there IS already a chicken coop on the property, so who knows.

The other really exciting project is our mobile greenhouse. The idea behind the mobility is that you avoid the build-up of pests and diseases in the greenhouse by exposing it to the elements, as well as getting much much greater versatility in a crop rotation. The mobility in question is provided by a 2x6 rail secured to the ground and a 2x4 sled that slides on top of it. The greenhouse will either be 40ft long by 25ft wide, or two greenhouses at 12ft by 40ft. The advantages of the smaller greenhouses are that we're almost positive we could move it and that we would have greater versatility with rotations, heating, etc. However, it costs almost the same amount to make one big greenhouse as it does to make one small greenhouse. We, havent decided what to do yet, but rest assured we'll have a picture of it once its up.

Speaking of pictures, here are some before and after shots of our field.

Hard at work, Time flying by

It has been a couple weeks since our last post, as Jason pointed out. We've been busy! Lots of weeding, best market yet, building compost, Brad cleaning out the basement, Mike re-organising our crop rotation, planting green manures and crops, planting winter veggies, and much, much, more!

Food is growing, so that's good. Last market we had beets, carrots, lettuce, radishes, kale, peas, and onions. What a party! Deer came for a visit a couple of weeks ago, and chewed a few beet tops, so we're making sure we have someone out there checking on the field past dusk, and someone else before dawn. So far that has been effective and there has been no crop damage, and a few deer sightings. We've also had friends of ours and of Lori and Tony come visit the farm for the tour, so that's been a lot of fun. One time, one of their children said, "Mom, can we save all our extra containers and grow food in them." And also, "Mom, can I turn my bedroom into a garden." So we are already starting to brainwash, which is definitely a highlight.

There is a few new pictures in the photos section of our website. Also Mike claims he will make a post about upcoming projects and possibly some photos as well. Perhaps a picture of our very first hot pepper in our greenhouse!! It looks like a hot pepper! In our greenhouse!

Canada Day and Beyond!

Hello Beautiful People,
Thank you all for taking an active interest in our lives. Someone did a study somewhere proving the need for love and attention in order to grow into a well developed human being. We farmers feel loved and attentioned! That's farmer lingo.
Believe it or not Luke is currently hanging his laundry outside, Brad is putting his in the washing machine and I am here to bring you the latest in Bantry Bay Farm news. MC Hadfield has left the premises for a few days to see his Mummy and Daddy.
Our weekend entertainment(Sofie/Lo/To) returned full force this past weekend with friends from Halifax. We had a booth at the Canada Day market but it was in an unfortunate spot that wasn't great for selling our stuff but was a great picnic area for all the kids! Mike took on the rototiller we borrowed from a local gaffer. That took a little time off our hands!
The guys have started an ultimate frisbee group on Thurdays after our markets and are pumped about that. That leaves me with a couple of hours at the farm to myself which is oh so nice!
Markets have been going well. We are situated between a woman named Liz who sells dainty treats that look so cute and a gaffer named Bob who sells sausages, pop and fudge but plans on selling his business and retiring soon. There are two other farmers who sell produce but we all have varied items and not too much of it either. We've had quite a number of people come to the booth and tell us about how Margo would have loved to have seen what we are doing. I wish she was around for it! I guess she is:)
Our veggies are doing really well. We've been eating peas off the vines, salads, basil, kale, swiss chard and the latest and most exciting!!! BROCCOLI!!!!! We have a cauliflower head coming out and some really tiny tomatoes popping out!!! There are also little baby summer squash poking their bums out at us. The potatoes are flowering so that means new potatoes soon!! Yeehaw! In a couple of weeks our market table will be more varied than a pick pocketer's pocket!
I tell ya folks it's really freakin' exciting to watch all these little critters pop out everywhere. I highly recommend you try growing something. Maybe just a few peas in a pot or a tomato or whatever you really love to eat. You can do it inside you house even! Try it, you'll succeed!
Farmer out~

Back In Business

Hey, the problem has been fixed the website is back up and running! YAY!

I promise an actual post tomorrow night.

Website Down =(

Hello Everyone,

It seems that our website is down for the time being. I do not know when it will be up again, so i am sorry if anyone has been trying to link to it during these past few days. I will post again when the website is restored.