Grayden, Jess, Lilli, and Louie have moved to the farm and are settling into the main farmhouse. The studio is completed and when the snow subsides Grayden will be able to finish moving in. We are planning a small family vegetable garden and will be ordering seeds this week. What a change from a few years ago! Grayden has ordered Christmas Trees seedlings to plant out for future Christmas Trees sales. It is something he is familiar with, because it was one of our farm enterprises when Grayden was growing up.

Ken has been doing maintenance on his skid steer loader and is cutting down beech trees for next year’s fire wood. Unfortunately, the beech trees in our woodlot are dyeing due to disease. It is important to take them down before the tree is totally dead and the limbs start falling off. Ken will get the horses back to work, after their winter break, skidding out the logs to be bucked up for firewood.

Ken is doing a presentation on his EFAO No-Till Organic Potato Trials later this month at the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Conference. (I think it should really be called low-till…) He is also doing presentations to organic agriculture classes at the University of Guelph and Ridgetown Agriculture College. He still does a bit of consulting making recommendations to farmers on soil amendments for different crops after looking at soil test results. One of the more interesting projects was for some gardens in indigenous communities as far north as Fort Severn on James Bay.

I am gearing up for my next season of eco printing and natural dyeing. See the dates for workshops on the Indigo and Botanical Dyeing page of this website. I can feel my energy increase as the days grow longer, after enjoying a bit of hibernation in the winter months. Matching my physical work to the rhythm of the seasons is one of the things I enjoy most about the farming life style.

A new era on the farm has begun with the emptying out of our greenhouse to make it into a studio for Grayden. Ken has promised to make a hot bed for bedding plants in the spring to take the place of the greenhouse. When Ellen and I began the CSA in the 1997 we used a hotbed to start our transplants. The horse manure heats up under the hotbed and keeps the plants from freezing at night. It is fun to think of coming full circle with this old method. It beats cutting a lot of extra firewood and having to stay up late to stoke the wood stove in the greenhouse. For a small garden it makes sense, however I would be lying if I didn’t acknowledge a degree of sadness at saying goodbye to the greenhouse and the many hours of joy that I spent there nurturing young plants. It was a wonderful space in the spring when was still cold and brown outside. I hope that the positive energy will carry over to make Grayden’s studio a joy filled space.

My nephew, Stefan, and the crew that he works with at M&D Contracting have been instrumental in moving the rennovation along. Some of the walnut, maple, and ash from our woodlot, that Ken sawed on his sawmill and stored, has been used for a beautiful hardwood floor in the studio. A local Amish woodworker processed the rough lumber into tongue and groove with three different widths. Ken and Grayden helped around the edges and worked on the siding and laying the floor. Ken is happy that he did our major building projects when his body was a few years younger.

The entire time growing up my brother and I begged for a puppy – it would be so cute! We would totally take care of it and everything, etc. I called a family referendum to negotiate for a pet and finally got a cat.  And then miraculously, when Grayden and I were off to university, mom and dad got a puppy, Caesar. Beloved by our parents and every CSA member and intern. Not the sharpest tool in the drawer by any means, but it wasn’t until this year when he couldn’t chase the hawks from the laying hens that I realized how much he did do around the place (we lost like 10 chickens). Over the years, his mild manners and predictability has turned many a canine-averse toddler into mere skeptics of any other dog. ‘The only dog I like is Caesar.’ 

I think his acceptance and approval of pick up days during the CSA was entirely based on the access to the floors of minivans (rife with snacks), errant baguettes and the dog treats brought especially for him. The last few years he’s dedicated himself to guarding Aaron’s 4-runner with an alarming passion. Sometimes we would have to strategically park it so that he wouldn’t bark at cars driving close to it for 4 hours because he would make himself hoarse. He would sit with Aaron for hours, and always begged for a ride in the back. 

May he go on many more walks, eat all the treats and chase hawks and cats on the other side. Thank you for sharing your life with us, Caesar.  

Got some green things in the fridge that you need to use up? Same old dinners getting tired? Make a pesto! I love a pesto – I go into detail below. Once it’s in the fridge you’ll wonder what you did without it.

We are busy on the farm – the change in the weather is welcome – it was feeling mighty chilly there for a few weeks. But now we have to set up irrigation! The small plants and the freshly planted seeds need moisture to get established and it’s been a little dry for a little too long.

Ken has been working (in his ‘retirement’) on some research projects with EFAO and Living Labs – so we have insect tents set up around the farm, researchers are running tests on what might set back wire worms in potatoes, Ken has set up cover crop trials for different crops, and they have been doing extensive testing on our soil. One of the interesting things that came out of the tests is that our farm had zero levels of pesticide residue. Seems like a no brainer, right? That was my thought – we have been using organic practices for about 30 years, I would hope there are no pesticide residues! But ours was the only farm that had zero, and I’ve come to find out it’s actually kind of unusual. Ground water run off, spray drift & residues that reside in the soil from previous applications could all contribute.

Pesto Template

I’m a little loose with my definition of pesto – you could call it green sauce, sauce verte or pistou if you’re feeling French, zchoug if you’re feeling middle eastern. Once you have it in the fridge you’ll find a million ways to use it – this week alone we had an arugula-cilantro pesto on a lentil soup, in a potato salad, as a dip for roasted potatoes, and finally, mixed into some yogurt and mayo as a kid dip for cucumbers.

Step One: Choose your greens (about 2 cups, rough chopped)

All the flavorful green leaves and soft herbs work – arugula, parsley, basil, cilantro, tarragon, watercress. I love a spicy green like arugula with cilantro because the flavors lift each other up. Tarragon is a pretty strong one but a small handful makes it taste very Paris-in-the-spring and tastes great with asparagus. Equal parts parsley and cilantro bring a middle-eastern vibe.

Step Two: Choose an allium (1 tsp-2 Tbsp)

Garlic is classic, green garlic works great because it’s nice and mellow. Minced shallot or green onion works well if you want the greens to shine rather than garlic flavor – also will make it feel more French. Wild leeks are fantastic. Add roasted, grilled or sautéed onion for a sweeter, saucier, richer taste.

Step Three: Toasted Nuts/Seeds/Cheese (1/4 cup)

These are optional! I often use pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds, but pine nuts are delicious too. Cheese – try parmesan if you’re traditional, but also try something unconventional like goat cheese!

Step Four: Salt (1/2 tsp)

Throw it all in the food processor (or mortar and pestle if you’re feeling old school), and pulse it until everything is coming together and getting chopped up. Drizzle in:

Step Five: Olive Oil (1/4-1/2 cup)

Just add it until it’s the consistency you like. Taste for salt.

Optional –

Spices (1/4-1/2 tsp) – I like to add toasted and ground coriander and a pinch of cumin to any pesto with cilantro in it, sometimes a dash of hot pepper, or hot sauce.

Lemon (or Lime) zest and/or juice – Add the juice of a lemon or lime and taste how it brightens the flavours!

Make one up and tell me all about it.