It is over here

Our days on Blogspot are now over. You can keep up with us at Taproot by going to our webpage www.taprootfarms.ca and clicking on blog. We have it embedded in our site now. Hopefully this will make things easier to manage.

Sorry for any trouble this may cause you! I very much appreciate your contributions and following! Please start following us over there too.

It will take me a bit to get use to the new program - but I hope it will be as friendly as this has been. Thanks blogspot!

Patricia

Photo catch up

It seems like it has been weeks since I uploaded some pictures for you. Now I will play catchup:)
The youth team - with the fresh garlic and scape harvest on Monday.

My Grandmother Sandy and my Father Andrew at Franks 3rd b-day party - 4 generations of farmers in we include the kids:)

Louise and Gerald on back with Calvin at the wheel - Transplanting cabbage


The Farm - Canada Day Picnic - Izaak front and centre.
Onions and weeds
Tomatoes coming along well
Peppers coming along well too.

Have a great day!

Walk about

This afternoon I have been weeding a patch of cilantro, dill and then I took a long, slow walk about to see how things are coming along.

The broccoli is getting ready to harvest. Some heads are ready and Calvin is spot picking each day. We will not have enough for everyone on this first harvest, so what I am proposing is we give the Monday group the first lot, Tuesday the second lot, etc.....so that everyone gets broccoli.

The tomatoes look great a few of the golden nuggets are nice and ready. Only a few handfuls at a time right yet. The peppers are sizing up too. The hungarian wax look great and will be the earliest I think.

The basil is in full production how. The artichokes look very interesting. I can not wait to see how they turn out.

We had a lovely day on the farm yesterday with all of those members who came. Thanks so much - the kids had a great time and I hope the adults were happy too.

Frank is 3 today. We are having a birthday supper tonight. It sure will be a great evening.

The plants are growing well here and we are looking forward to a great variety so very soon.

Happy Canada Day and Farm Day

http://nogginsfarm.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html#4843301072064060507

I posted pictures today but I posted them to the wrong blog. Opps....

Here you will see a few shots from the picnic today. We had a wonderful turn out, the sun was shining the kids were playing and the day just felt great.

Thanks so much!!

Happy Canada Day and Farm Day

Good Morning - It is 9 AM and the weather is beautiful here on the farm.
We will see you later this morning for our strawberry shortcake picnic.

Looking forward to some fun on the farm.

Saving the Season Workshop Series

Taproot Farms Saving the Season Workshop Series
email me to register

Sunday July 11th 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Strawberry JamCost: $35.00 per personSpace: 5 peopleYou bring: 12 250 mL Jars with lids - clean and ready to use, liquid, certo, sugarWe provide: berries, equipment, snack

Sunday July 25th 1:00 PM - 5 PM
Canned BeansCost: $35.00 per personSpace: 5 peopleYou bring: 12 500 mL jars with lidsWe provide: beans, equipment, snack

Saturday August 14th 1:00PM - 5:00PM
Basil PestoCost: $50 per personSpace: 8 peopleYou bring 4 ice cube traysWe provide: basil, all other ingredients, equipment, snack

Saturday August 28th 9:00 - 5:00
Canned Plums and PeachesCost: tba - depends on price of fruitSpace: 5 peopleYou bring: 24 1 litre jarsWe provide: fruit, all ingredients, equipment, lunch and snacks

Saturday September 4th
Canned TomatoesSession one: 9-12Session two: 1-5Space: 4 people per sessionCost: $70.00You bring: 24 1 litre jarsWe provide: tomatoes, equipment, snack

Saturday September 18th
Farmers Market SalsaSession one: 9:00 - 2:00Session two: 3:00 - 8:00Space: 4 people per sessionCost: $60.00 per personYou Bring: 12 500 mL jarsWe provide: all veggies, all ingredients, equipment, lunch/dinner

Saturday October 2nd 9:00-12:00
Sauerkraut and KimchiSpace: 8 peopleCost: $35.00We provide: all ingredients, equipment and a snack

Saving the Season Workshop Retreats
The retreat workshops will take place at the farmstay, Swallows Nest. Each retreat weekend includes 6 meals, (Friday night supper, breakfast, lunch and supper on Saturday, breakfast and lunch on Sunday.) Participants have access to the sauna, the farm, the walking trails and the jacuzzi tub.There is space for 8 participants. The workshops will begin at 6 PM on Friday and end at 2:00 PM on Sunday. You will leave with a smile, a rest of sorts, and with 48 1 litre jars of preserves for the winter. Cost per participant is $414.00 taxes included.

Retreat 1: September 10, 11, & 12th
Tomatoes (12 jars), Pasta Sauce (24 jars) and Bread & Butter Pickles (12 jars)

Retreat 2: October 22, 23 & 24th
Canned Corn (12 jars), Canned Pears (12 jars), Salsa (12 jars) and Canned Apple Sauce (12 jars)

Thursday June 24th

School is out. One last day next week, but really it is over. This will add an element of family to the summer which feels great. Izaak and I got the market all set up at the end of the drive this morning. Then he collected the eggs and did some transplanting.

The other day, I missed taking a picture of it, but Calvin was driving the tractor with Louise and Gerald on back transplanting with a mechanical transplanter. Whow, they were excited, we were excited. It was so quick and all of the cabbages went in that day.

Things are growing well on the farm and there a few new things on the go - Canning workshops. I finally have a list of workshops for this year. Also, we are entering into an arrangement where we are going to test the waters with dehydrating some fruit and veggies. I am excited about this project. There are lots of projects and fun days ahead.

I hope you are loving the scapes, you know it means garlic to come. Yippy!!!

Friday the 18th of June

This morning I woke up to the blating of a sheep, the sound of our little tractor and a bit of chatter between the guys so early in the morning. Josh is up and gone. The farm is still this morning with a haze over everything as the sun comes up. I think it will be a hot day. My mind is spinning already with the lists of things to do today. First task is to get the kids fed and off to their activities, Izaak to school. Lily and Frank to preschool.

My todo list is long, but it is exciting. We are welcoming guests to the farmstay for the weekend. This afternoon Drea will be here to work in the kitchen making rhubarb jam and it is time to get our end of driveway market stand opened up. It is the beginning of another great day!

Farm Stay - Available Weeks

If you are interested......

Only week remaining open in July is 18 - 25

In August we have 7th - 12 and the 22 to 28th available

September there are some openings for a few days at a time.

October is wide open. Consider a Thanksgiving on the farm????

Here are some pictures. Also a whole bunch of walking trails have been mowed now that the threat of distrubing the nesting is over. It is so beautiful here so I hope all of you have a chance to come. Even if just for the day on July 1st for our Farm Day.

This is a shot of the upstairs room. The couch pulls out. There is also the Queen bed shown below in the south windows. Behind the couch is a twin bed and the toys are in containers behind the couch. The crib is hidden away in the other bedroom. This room is also the grand room where events take place.


The awesome sauna that I love!
The 'master suite' with a king bed, two person tub with jets, shower, fireplace and washroom and large door that opens to the gardens.
The kitchen and dining area and sitting area too. This room has a large fireplace, not shown in the picture, a cozy place to curl up. Just to the right of this picutre is a dining table and chairs.

Mary Beth's Workshop Series

Intro to healthy eating

3 Week Workshop

Presentation, cooking demo, tasting, and recipes

June 16, 23 & 30 at 7pm

or

June 15, 22 & 29 at 10am

$85 for all 3 or $30 per session

Phone MaryBeth 670-9355


Week 1

Concious Eating -

Learning to listen to your body and the messages its sending

Digestion guidelines- eating properly

Cooking - Gluten free grains


Week 2

How food can affect your mood -

good/bad mood foods

Balancing moods - understanding sugar, flour and fiber

Cooking - breakfasts, variations on oatmeal, homemade granola


Week 3

Raw Foods

Superfoods

Cooking - Nutrient rich dessert treats

www.nofarmsnofood.ca

Dear Friends of Farmland and Supporters of Food Security. Please click below to visit the No Farms No Food webiste launched yesterday.

www.nofarmsnofood.ca

In the weeks immediately ahead a decidedly pro-development municipal council in Kings County is set to rezone close to 600 acres of agricultural land for residential, commercial and/or industrial uses. This municipal council has been described by external reviewers as dysfunctional and lacking in ability to plan for either the short or long term benefit of Kings County. These councillors continue to push their individual agendas having dismissed the CAO and "let" key planners "go" in response to the external review.

This website invites you to help us stop them from destroying Kings County farmland.

Please spread the word by sending the link to our website to your networks.

Many Thanks in Advance --- Pauline Raven

Taxes

What a beautiful morning.

Last night I met up with Mike who is creating a new and improved website for us. We will have the ability to do add on's and payment processing so you can add on a flat of berries or a pound of basil to your CSA and pay with paypal. I am really excited about this and hope that it will work better for everyone.

Let me know if you would like to be one of the members who test runs it for us to see that we have all the bugs worked out.

The farm is hopping today. We have Tim harvesting some garlic scapes that will be added to the shares going out today. Calvin is harvesting mixed greens, Gerald is harvesting spinach and green onions. Lousie and a new addition Jem are bagging. And Andy is planting two rows of sage plants for next year.

Sylvan is building the moveable chicken house.

And in a few minutes I will be off to the accountants office to file my taxes. Nothing like the last minute.......

Have a great day everyone! It is June 15th - what a wonderful day!

Young farmers forum

This morning Lily, Frank and I joined the NS Young Farmers Forum for an annual meeting and farm tour. Here we are.


Minister John MacDonall, joined the young farmers at Charlie Keddy's farm in Lakeville

Saturday morning walk about

Radish plantings


Herbs and flowers


New haskap plants


Greenhouse


Transplants ready for planting and garlic to the right


Louise weeding spinach


Calvin turning on the water for the tunnels


Chickens out and about


Greens growing
Enjoy the weekend!

Farmer on the go!

The sun is out

Finally the sun is shining. The farm is quite wet but hopefully we will get back into the regular swing of planting in a day or so after things dry out.

Last week, our first week of the 26 week CSA went over okay. We had a few hiccups on Monday and a few on Thursday but overall it was a great week. We are two days into week two and I am finally getting to a blog entry.

I've had lots on my mind to write here but the days are going so fast I can't believe it.

We have new sheep on the farm. They arrived on Sunday. I gave a tour to a small group of University students yesterday. They are learning about food, culture, health, etc. Sounds like an interesting class. They heard all of my opinions on how we eat and the choices we make.

Enjoy the day!

Busy week

We are nearly finished our first week for the 26 week members.

Josh and I took a late night walk to check on the crops. Rapini is such an interesting plant. We thought our plants were done, but they have grown a bunch and we are harvesting some today. It seems to be behaving a bit like zucchini.

Have a great day. I am off to Bedford and Hammonds Plains this afternoon for the final day of pickups this week.

- Farmer on the go!

Edgewood - oxford 1st pickup

Even with the rain ( thank goodness for the rain) we were all smiles at the church pickup.

Here are a few new members.


And Alex who will be doing the majority of driving to the city on Tuesdays.




Have a great week!

- Farmer on the go!

Monday after lunch

26 Weeks begin

Good Morning.
Starting today.....

Dartmouth area deliveries. Hawthorne Elementary School 4:30 - 5:40
Peddars Way 4:40 - 5:30

Tuesday - Halifax area deliveries. Edgewood-Oxford United Church 4:30-5:30
Grainery 4:40-6:30

Wednesday - Local area deliveries and at Taproot pickups - Farm 4:30-6:30, Wolfville 4:45-5:15, Kentville 4:45-5:15

Thursday - Hammonds Plains and Bedford area deliveries - Springvale Nurseries that is now newly named Bloom - 4:30-5:30. Bedford pickup is at St. Ignatius Catholic church on 5 Bedford Street between 4:15 and 5:45PM

Windsor deliveries will be drop on Monday or Thursday we will see which day it works into better. Wilmot deliveries will occur on Tuesday.

Thanks - enjoy the week! Patricia

26 weeks start this week

Over the weekend I will get an email out to remind everyone of the times, places, etc for pickup. I will post it here too. Yippy, ya who, it is the start of the 26 weeks of CSA.