General
Our ‘Outstanding Young Farmer’ Journey
Our lives forever changed the day we found out that Dana Thatcher of Thatcher Farms nominated us for Outstanding Young Farmer Award in Ontario. We found this out through email in January of 2018. None of the four family members knew what this meant. A few of us had heard…
The January Pause
Oh, January. How unique you are. Not four weeks ago we were in the midst of a busy Christmas season, using the opportunity to catch up with family and friends after an even busier season on the farm and at the markets. A flurry of farming must-do’s before the snow…
Sweet and Sappy: The Story of Maple Syrup
History Maple syrup is a novelty that has been around since before the Europeans settled on Canadian soil. Discovered by Indigenous peoples, the practice of collecting maple sap from sugar maples is a tradition that has lived, and will continue to do so, for very many years. How exactly was…
Meet the Strawberry: Keeping it Fresh for Berry Many Years
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… strawberry season! The months of June and July gift Ontario with fields full of fresh, sweet, mouth-watering strawberries- perfect for making jam, baking pies, topping cereal or just eating by the hand. It is safe to say that strawberries are loved among…
What the Heck is Lambing Season?
Every January on Willowtree Farm, lambing season begins. Lambing season means that the ewes give birth to all the baby lambs. With 40 ewes, you never know how it’s all going to go down. We all bet on which ewe is going to be the first mom of the year….
Mushroom Compost
Mushroom Compost This year we have started to use a new means of natural fertilizer for the soil. Spent mushroom compost; from the big mushroom farm that was put up just behind the back of our farm on the 6th concession. Spent mushroom compost is the left over substrate that…
Early Everything
Early Everything This year has been an exceptionally hot spring and summer as I’m sure everyone has noticed. Since March almost everyday has been warm and sunny, which has meant a lot of growing degree days for our crops. Our crops require a certain soil temperature to germinate and…
Spring Firsts
Spring has to be the most exciting time on the farm. It is an energizing start to a new season, as things on the farm come alive again. Once the weather starts to change we start to get to work on preparing for the new season. To me the…
Spring has Sprung
As the spring sun soaks in, life comes back to everything. Spring is the time of rejuvenation and new growth. Spring maybe the most exciting time on the farm because we are buzzing with anticipation to get things started. As the snow melts away the fields reappear and we start…
Becoming a Sheep Farmer
In the fall we decided we’d try sheep farming for the winter. We purchased 25 bred ewes that are due any time before February. Purchasing the ewes was exciting as we were able to choose the ewes that we wanted from the lot. With the farmer we ran all the…