End of the day. End of the week

Well here it is 4:05 PM on Friday. I just finished entering new CSA members into both the accounting program and the spreadsheet program. Justine is done for the day and the kids are jumping around on the trampoline.

We have finished week 4 this week and I finally feel like I have a handle on names, spreadsheets and numbers. So finally, a bit of order to it all.

I think having order it the key to many things. It is sometimes hard to maintain order when there are lots of things going on, but finally today I feel that there is some resemblence of order in the office.

Tonight we are gathering together with a group of friend who are interested in viewing the film DIRT. If you have a group of friends and you;d like to use the movie, just let me know. I can't lend it out until after the DIRT showings are finished but starting in June - we can pass it around.

And on Saturday night there is a Grand Reviaval at Sutton Oak Farms on Church Street. A great list of performers will hit the farm, the Hupman Brothers included. It is looking like a full weekend.

If there is anyone out there who has a love for staining and varnishing floors, let me know. Swallows Nest is coming along so nicely - walls painted, bathroom in, new floor upstairs and newly varnished floor down stairs, newly tiled shower. And brand new beds. I am so excited for when everything is in place.

Oh, it is starting to down pour - the kids are running in, gotta go.

Enjoy the weekend!

Blueberry blossoms

Just on a walk about and see these blueberry bushes are blooming. They are next to Swallows Nest. I am just checking out the new paint job and floor in the house.





- Farmer on the go!

Lots of nettles

Get ready for some stinging nettle soup next week:) We are fortunate to have such an endless supply of the green.



Calvin just finished transplanting the rapini in the tunnel. It is our first time growing it so I am not sure how long from now until it is ready.

The Slow Food Canada leaders were just here for a tour. If you'd like to learn more about the events surrounding their visit check out the slow food Mova Scotia website.

Enjoy your evening.

Tuesday happenings

It is 11:23 AM and we are rushing to get the shares done in time. Right now we have 43 bunches done of the garlic so the push is on:) We need 88.

Crab Meal arrived

On Thursday the 4 ton of crab meal arrived. Friday Josh was able to get it spread, chisel plough the fields and tunnels, and this morning the harrow passed through. Calvin has been transplanting Swiss chard and kale and direct seeding carrots, radish and cilantro.

Yippy!!! Seeds are going into the ground.

It is a beautiful today. Both farms, Canard and here are bustling. Josh is planting corn and covering with clear plastic for a second planting of early corn.

Enjoy your day!

On the road

Today has been a day of driving and talking. This afternoon I presented at an agriculture event in Truro. I talked about CSA's and about how ours works. It was a good few sessions I took in and there were great questions after my talk.

I jumped in the car and headed to Mahone Bay were at 7pm the film Dirt is showing. Tonight, Earth night, we are showing the first of four viewings. I am enjoying the art in a lovely bistro called Cheesecake Gallery.

A glass of wine and a great meal will hit the spot before heading to set up the movie.

Enjoy this lovely spring evening!

Out for a walk

Checking out the gardening results at swallows nest. Valarie and crew were very busy today and did a fabulous job!

Share day

- Farmer on the go!

Try it again

This is our nicely organized seeds

Office work

Josh is learning how to make a blog posting. He calls this - the gals in the office on the inside end of the farm work.

Annual Jarvis Lecture

The Friends of the Public Gardens present the Annual Jarvis Lecture :

Dr. Susan Guppy
Community Gardens: >From Traditional to Contemporary
Ideas to inspire the urban gardener and community groups.
Thursday 6 May 2010 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Doors open at 6pm for viewing of information displays
Scotia Lecture Theatre,
Saint Mary's University
The lecture will be preceded by a showing of
My Urban Garden , dir.Polly Bennell,1984,N.F.B.

All are welcome. Please feel free to forward this to your members and anyone who might be interested and to post it on your website.
After the lecture there will be light refreshments in the lobby .
There are a limited number of tables available for information displays. If you would like to promote your group at this event, please contact Ann Kitz (annkitz@ns.sympatico.ca) before April 29th.

Dr Guppy ,Associate Professor of Planning at Dalhousie University, has had a varied educational and professional career. First trained as a chemist and limnologist, she worked in Ontario with companies like Hough Stansbury and Associates. After managing academic programs and teaching at the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie she returned to Columbia University to study architecture. After practicing as an architect in New Jersey and Quebec, she returned to Nova Scotia to take a position at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, before joining the School of Planning at TUNS (now Dalhousie) in 1993.With teaching interests as varied as her background, Dr Guppy teaches courses in Urban Ecology, History and Theory of Landscape Architecture, Planning Studio, Introduction to Community Design, and Reading the Landscape. Her research focuses on urban ecology, the environment of the suburbs, and food in the city.
In Polly Bennell's short film, Halifax gardener Carol Bowlby harvests a mouth-watering crop from her small backyard plot. In considering soil quality, lack of space and a short growing season challenges rather than obstacles, she offers a wealth of practical growing tips for urban gardeners. By heeding Bowlby's advice, bountiful organic gardens work equally well on apartment balconies, in small or large city lots or in a rural setting.
Presented with the support of St. Mary's University and the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Farm Visit Day

Well it is noon time and the rain is coming down. We will still be here to go for a walk about, but just want to you know that rubber boots and a rain coat are required.

I will plan for another farm day in a few weeks when the weather is better for those who wish to come but will miss today because of the rain.

For those who are still planning to come - see you soon :)

Saturday afternoon

Calvin got this tunnel ready for planting.



Josh and Ron got the chicken house cleaned out.




The garlic is growing fast!

Clean up day

Good Morning - Josh is off planting corn again this morning before the rain flies again. Yesterday we moved some leeks out of the greenhouse to make room for more seeded trays. We moved them in again late last night in case of freezing temp's.

Today we are getting things tided up before the visit tomorrow. It is good to have visits throughout the year to give us that little boost to get things put away. I am like that at home all the time, if we invite people over for dinner the house get really cleaned up:)

At Swallows Nest we are almost finished the fix up work. The floors have been redone so they are beauitful. New windows to replace some old ones. I am really excited for you to see it.

Today Calvin is planting out some pac choi. The swiss chard and kale need to be transplanted out and crop cover put over them. They are in need of the soil to provide them with nutrients.

All of the tomatoes and peppers in the green house need to be transplanted into larger trays. They have out grown their little trays.

There is lots to do and lots happening:)) See some of you tomorrow.

Enjoy your Saturday!

Greg and Josh

This Greg Gerrits talking with Josh about various farming things. Greg has been farming for 18 years, but grew up on the farm so really for 30 some years.



- Farmer on the go!

Busy Friday April 16th Morning

Good Morning - As I look out one window this morning a large lime spreading truck is spreading lime on the farm. Lime corrects the pH so the soil has a suitable pH for growing veggies, we strive for a pH in and around 6.5 . Out the other window a bull dozer is moving a large burm out of the way so we can use the whole field. I have pictures that I'll load after I get the kids ready for the day. Tim, Conall, Justine, and Calvin are all here today.
It will be a great Friday - with lots of activity!

Enjoy your Friday.

Family Farm Day

Sunday - 2 -4 PM Rain or Shine - farm visit day.

Please bring weather appropriate attire. If it rains we can still walk about and check out the crops, greenhouse and new farm stay.

Bring the kids, the kites, the friends, the grandparents.

We will just walk, talk and enjoy the farm.

Bring your own cup/mug for some coffee, tea or cider.

1736 Church Street

Hammonds Plain pickup

We are starting a new 52 week pickup location at 1421 Hammonds Plains Road at Springvale Nurseries. It will be from 4:30-6:30 PM on Thursdays.

We are starting today!

Head colds all around.

Sorry for the challenges with the pickup yesterday. For those who were not affected, I didn't do my math correctly and didn't bring enough shares to the city. It all worked out in the end.

Also, the newsletter mentioned frozen zucchini but we did not have enough so some of you got frozen tomato sauce.

Lily and Frank are both down with bad colds + fevers. We are on our way out to get fresh air to help flush the sickness away.
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Conall is seeding onions, Tim is harvesting spinach and any time now Calvin and Gerald will arrive from their long adventure to Taproot Farms.

Enjoy your day!

Come see Dirt - Spread it around

Kings county federation of Agriculture

The Kings County Federation of Agriculture was recognized tonight by the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board for their contributions of food to the schools as part of the Strive for Five and the AVHPSP Producer Supplier committee work. Peter Eisses accepted the recognition.



Way to go Farmers!!!!

End of the day

I have just finished eating supper after a long day of getting the local shares out the door. It has been a great day with only a few minor computer issues and spreadsheet challenges:)

I just looked up after eating, scaned the room and saw this.....


What a bunch.......:)

Thanks for a great day!

Filling boxes

- Farmer on the go!

Getting ready today

Consl setting up the plywood for the boxes


Meg bagging sprouts


Nickle and Tim bagging spinach

CSA Members day

April 18th at 2PM will be the next farm day. Bring the dogs, the kites, the kids, the grandparents, the friends. We will walk, talk, learn and just be together on the farm. Let me know if you are able to come along.

Your Personal Chef

Brit Podolinsky is willing to be your personal chef. She will prepare healthy, delicious meals for the fridge or freezer. She will cook in your home or deliver the prepared food to you. Eating locally couldn't be easier with Brit on board. If you are interested in learning more about what Brit can do for you send her an email at yourpersonalchef@bellaliant.net or calll 542 9490.
She is located in the Valley and has just recently launched her new buisness.

Rinsing Sprouts

I just finished rinsing the sprouts for the night. They look yummy. Tomorrow will be a wild day of dotting i's and crossing t's for the new deliveries on Tuesday and Wednesday.

See you soon!

Valley members info

I sent this email out on Friday - but just in case....

Hello All New and Returning members of our Taproot Farms CSA:

We are so excited to begin this journey together with you. *Wednesday April 7th* marks the beginning of our 2nd year of CSA pick up and deliveries in the Valley.

If the weather is nice you can expect to pickup at the end of our drive way for on farm pickups. We will provide you with a basket to collect your produce in. Or if you'd rather use your own bags you can bring them along. If it is cold and yucky we will have all the produce in the house. There will be a sign on each item letting you know how much to take of that item each week. And remember to take a newsletter with you.

For those picking up in Kentville at Speed Pro signs (4:45-5:15) or Wolfville at Willow Park (4:45-5:15) your produce will arrive in a waxed box. You can push the bottom up in them and flatten them for easy storage until next week. Next week, bring your empty flat box back and get a full one. If you forget it isn't a problem, we are just trying to reuse the boxes as much as possible to reduce the impact. We have found these work well and are not too expensive.

Justine will be in Kentville and Valarie usually takes the produce to Wolfville. If you are getting a delivery Valarie will deliver to the Wolfville area and Justine in the Kentville area. If you miss your pickup we will put your box in the cooler. We don't mind this from time to time, but typically if you miss a pickup the value of that produce is donated to the local food bank, in this case the Wolfville Food bank.

I find email is the easiest way to keep track of things. My memory sometimes lets me down, so if I get an email I am sure to have a record and seem to keep on track.

You may wish to learn more about our new Farmstay. All of the details can be found on the webpage and we are providing members with some time to reserve space before advertising more widely. www.taprootfarms.ca

I try to keep the blog updated. If you wish to become an author on the recipe sharing blog let me know and I will add you in.

Some people like to know what to expect for the week ahead. On the blog there is a link called - what to expect this week. If you check in there you will see what we plan to provide you the following week.

We will have eggs. They cost $4.00 (the price went up a few weeks ago). They are from Bosvelds Farm in Lakeville NS. They are free run which means they run in a building. They are grain fed. In July we will have our own Taproot Farms organic eggs for sale. If you would like us to bring eggs each week for you just let me know and both Valarie and Justine can bring them along. We will have eggs here at the farm too. We will have 15 dozen to start and if we sell all of them we will start getting more.

Anything else???

Thank you so much for your trust, support and personal commitment in working towards a better system for our health and community.

With great excitement and appreciation,

Patricia

Info for members in City -

This is a copy of the email I sent out on Friday.

Hello All New and Returning members of our Taproot Farms CSA:

We are so excited to begin this journey together with you. *Tuesday April 6th* marks the beginning of our 2nd year of CSA deliveries into the Halifax and Dartmouth region.

If you are picking up at the Grainery you can pickup between 4:30 and 6:30PM. Just so that you are not surprised, we do leave shortly after 6:30PM. With all of the city deliveries we do not have a way to store shares for you if you are running late. If you miss your box the value of the contexts is donated to the local food bank in Wolfville, NS.

Lorrie Rand is the volunteer at the Grainery. She will greet you and mark your name off a master list of members. Make sure you get your name check off so that we can keep track of the shares. Once Lorrie gets to know you she'll be able to mark you off when she see you walk in. For those picking up at the Grainery there are many other local and nutritious items that you can purchase during pickup time. The Grainery takes cash, there is no debt/credit machine.

For this week I will plan to be at the CFIA building at 3:40, Ascenta at 4:00 and PBI 4:15 and Peddars Way for 4:40.

At 30 Peddars Way I park on the street in front of 30 Peddars Way. People typically park behind me on the street, walk to the van, pickup and then head down the street to turn around. Please be careful as there is traffic on this street and sometimes they drive quite fast. I will check your names off a master list I will have and in a few weeks I will hopefully remember your names :)

For those at PBI, CFIA and Ascenta, I will contact you to sort of where I will make the delivery to make this work smoothly.

I will bring eggs along with me. They cost $4.00 (the price went up a few weeks ago). They are from Bosvelds Farm in Lakeville NS. They are free run which means they run in a building. The are grain fed. In July we will have our own Taproot Farms organic eggs for sale. I will bring a case with me and if you want eggs they will be in the van with me until they are all gone. For this week I will bring 15 dozen.

Also, for those of you who get your pickups in Dartmouth, I did not do a very good job of being clear on our registration form. I am sorry about this, but once the 26 week shares starts, we will have a second location in Dartmouth, Hawthorne Street Elementary School. All the pickups for Dartmouth for the 26 week time period will be on Mondays. This was an oversight in coordinating, documenting and printing. If this is a major problem for you please let me know. Also, if you wish to switch your pickup between the locations that is fine, just let me know via email.

I find email is the easiest way to keep track of things. My memory sometimes lets me down, so if I get an email I am sure to have a record and seem to keep on track.

Your produce will arrive in a waxed box. You can push the bottom up in them and flatten them for easy storage until next week. Next week, bring your empty flat box back and get a full one. If you forget it isn't a problem, we are just trying to reuse the boxes as much as possible to reduce the impact. We have found these work well and are not too expensive.

You may wish to learn more about our new Farmstay. All of the details can be found on the webpage and we are providing members with some time to reserve space before advertising more widely. www.taprootfarms.ca

I try to keep the blog updated. If you wish to become an author on the recipe sharing blog let me know and I will add you in.

Some people like to know what to expect for the week ahead. On the blog there is a link called - what to expect this week. If you check in there you will see what we plan to provide you the following week.

Anything else???

Thank you so much for your trust, support and personal commitment in working towards a better system for our health and community.

With great excitement and appreciation,

Patricia

New harvest wagon

This is today's find at the Swallows nest. Josh will be able to fix this up and we will use it to bring crops in.

Easter Sunday

It is such a beautiful morning! We just got back from a stroll around the farm. There are so many birds. We saw an eagle in one large tree. It is nice to walk with the kids and attempt to observe nature. It is hard sometimes with 2.5 year old Frank and tired legs Lily, but it is worth all of the carrying. Here are some pictures of what is growing this morning. Have a marvelous day!


Here is the spinach that will be harvested for this week.


Here are the transplants in the greenhouse.


This tunnel is planted with radish, summer turnip and beet greens.


These greens were transplanted this week. They will be ready for harvest in a couple of weeks.

We were in the House today :)

This is kindof neat.....

RESOLUTION NO. 117

HON. JOHN MACDONELL: Mr. Speaker, I hereby give notice that on a future day
I shall move the adoption of the following resolution:
Whereas the Atlantic Region's title for Outstanding Young Farmers was
awarded to Patricia Bishop and Josh Oulton of Port Williams, Nova Scotia;
and
Whereas the couple have launched a successful community-shared agriculture
program as well as developed a new organic vegetable farm for the health of
both their family and their community; and
Whereas as winners of the Atlantic Region's Outstanding Young Farmers award,
which recognizes farmers that exemplify excellence in their profession and
who promote the contributions of agriculture, they now move up to compete
for the Canadian title;
Therefore be it resolved that all members of this House offer their
congratulations to Josh Oulton and Patricia Bishop for being recognized for
their excellence in farming by winning the title of Outstanding Young
Farmers for the Atlantic Region and wish them the best of luck as they
compete with other young farmers from across the country for the national
award.
Mr. Speaker, I request waiver of notice.
MR. SPEAKER: There has been a request for waiver.
[Page 261]
Is it agreed?
It is agreed.
Would all those in favour of the motion please say Aye. Contrary minded,
Nay.
The motion is carried.