Old 99 farm, week of Oct 9 2016

Cool nights are upon us, even some risk of frost, though normal for this time of year is 5 to 15dC.
Lots of freshly harvested vegetables for you here as usual, including newly dug potatoes: Russet, Purple, and Redskin. We have about 10 bushels (35L) in total. Still have some vine ripened tomatoes, slicing and yellow cherry, lots of eggplant too. Try New Zealand spinach this week. We’ll be digging Sweet Potatoes soon, then curing them for sweet flavour. Egg prices are up a bit as supply dwindles.

CIDER MAKING DAY SAT OCT 15 2PM

This weekend is the cider pressing day at Old 99. Starts 2pm till 6, bring your bottles and apples. I’ll have apples here for $10/bushel. A bushel (20Kg) makes about 2 to 3 gal (8 – 12 L) cider. It’s a kid friendly day, so bring your young’uns.
Some people may want to come early to help set up and start picking in our 100 yr old orchard.

I have to put in print: you are here at your own risk, it is a working farm and I can’t be held responsible for accidents, etc.

CHEESEMAKING WORKSHOP

The Art of Natural Cheesemaking: two day workshop Sat Nov 12th and Sun 13th with David Asher, of Cortes Is, BC. Cost is $100 per person. 9am to 4 pm both days. We will have a lecture format presentation on Friday evening, 8pm at cost of $20. Come for one or both. You can register online here at locallygrown and pay a deposit when you come for vegetables and meats. Limited enrollment due to space.

Here is what David says about this workshop.

This comprehensive course begins with a session on dairy fermentation, covering Kefir, Yogurt, Creme Fraiche, and Cultured Butter. In the afternoon we make lactic cheeses such as Cream Cheese & Chèvre, and then we take the same curd and age it into Crottin, Valencay and Saint Marcellin.

On the second morning we look at rennet cheeses, preparing the basic curd that can become many different styles of cheese, including Camembert, Blue Cheeses, Washed Rind Cheeses, Mozzarella and Feta. On the second afternoon we make an Alpine Cheese. And with its leftover whey we prepare a batch of fresh, warm Ricotta.

Two days of learning allow students to see many cheeses through the beginning stages of their evolution, and provides insight into how all styles of cheeses evolve from the very same milk.

Look up David’s bio here.. His book is The Art of Natural Cheesemaking, 2015, 300 pages. He will have some for sale here.

Healthy Eating
Ian and Cami

Old99 farm week of Oct 2 2016

Late reminder, not too late to get your order in for friday market.

We have dswiss chard, beet root, beet tops, green onions, leek, rhubarb, kale, arugula, tomatoes including cherry, beefsteak and roma, carrots, string beans (yellow, green and purple varieties), potatoes (cobbler, dakota and purple), garlic, and herbs: chives dill, spearmint, bronze fennel and lovage.

And lamb, chicken, and goose.

Healthy eating, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend.

Ian and Cami

Old 99 farm, week of sept 26 2016

Reminder… much produce, chicken, lamb, goose, eggs, 66 items all produced here.
Market day is still Friday, but I’d like to know preferences for Thurs. comment on the order form please.
As always, we’ll try to accommodate pick up times to suit.

Healthy eating
Ian and Cami

Old 99 Farm week of Sept 18 2016

This week something different: Cami is running the farm solo! I’m away for a men’s conference in Minnesota till sunday next.
So please get your orders in by friday 9am so she has time to pick and sort.

The cool weather is helping the vegetables growing outside, but the greenhouses are now needing close up at nighttimes.

We have tomatoes, peppers, sweet and hot, green and yellow, cabbage, sorrel, potatoes, carrots, beans (three colours), kale, arugula, spinach, lettuces, garlic, leek, onion, eggplant, herbs (basil, lovage, sweet cicely, parsley, cilantro) and beets and chard. Hows that for a lot?

The lamb sausage is picking up aficionados, if you’ve never had it time to try. Chicken in halves and quarters, grown here, no wholes left. The pigs are fattening up quickly and very friendly towards humans. We’ll soon be moving them to the orchard to clean up groundfalls.

Lots of eggs, chicken and duck.

Cami is making sauces and preserves, like tomato sauce and juice, so if you want some, give us a note on your order.

We will be having our cider making day in early October. No date finalized yet.

Remember the cheese making workshop, Nov 12-13. $100 registration.

Healthy eating,
Ian and Cami

Old 99 Farm, week of Sept 11, 2016

We had fun putting up the tomatoes last weekend:now have juice, sauce, and a garden cocktail, all recipes from the 1977 Rodale classic, Stocking Up. (You can still find it used online.)

Last nite was first 10dC low temp which means outdoor tomatoes will become scarce. We’ve got lots in the greenhouse but the romas will now get about a week on the vine before we bring the rest in.

Oh, I harvested Asia Pears from our orchard, one of the few fruits that produced this summer. And a bushel of crab apples, for jelly. I can sell some too if you’re interested.

How about trying that honey garlic lamb sausage? Tasty on the bbq or baked.

It’s a long list of available offerings this week: eggplant, spinach, swiss chard, beet root, beet tops, green onions, leek, rhubarb, kale, arugula, tomatoes including cherry, beefsteak and roma, carrots, string beans (yellow, green and purple varieties), potatoes (cobbler, dakota and purple), garlic, and herbs: chives dill, spearmint, bronze fennel and lovage.

Healthy eating
Ian and Cami

Old 99 Farm,week of Sept 4 2016

Roma tomatoes on special for canning by the half bushel.
Lots of choice in greens, root veggies, fruit veggies, time to start thinking about freezing some organic goodness for the winter months. As of Sept 4th , we can offer the following crops: swiss chard, beet root, beet tops, green onions, leek, rhubarb, kale, arugula, tomatoes including cherry, beefsteak and roma, carrots, string beans (yellow, green and purple varieties), potatoes (cobbler, dakota and purple), garlic, and herbs: chives dill, spearmint, bronze fennel and lovage.

Day length is now a tad under 13 hrs of daylight we approach the autumn azumith. Chickens know what that is, cuz they start cutting back on laying eggs. We moved the pasture flock to the barn this weekend for that reason.

From Environment Hamilton fb page:
Without bees, we wouldn’t have tomatoes, grapes, blueberries, cranberries, cocoa, vanilla, tamarind, eggplant, sesame, raspberries, rosehips, pears, currants, pomegranates, almonds, peaches, guava, plums, cherries, apricots, avocados, beans, alfalfa, mangos, apples, sunflowers, cotton, soybeans, strawberries, figs, lemons, limes, carrots, squash, cucumbers, melons, hazelnuts, coffee, coconuts, tangerines, turnips, canola, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, canola, cashews, onions, celery, kiwis, and many more, even apart from the fact that we celebrate biodiversity in all its forms and feel every creature has a right to exist even if we weren’t dependant on it. We also know we are far from the only people that feel some urgent attention is needed to support and protect our pollinators.

http://www.earthintransition.org/2013/03/coming-soon-no-more-honeybees/#.UVm2sX472IA.facebook

That’s why we’re creating a “pollinator corridor” of native plants that will provide food and shelter for pollinators across the city of Hamilton, Ontario. We’d like to thank everyone who’s already contributing, and encourage others to learn more about how we can help support local pollinators.

http://www.hamiltonpollinatorparadise.org/

Why not volunteer to help out?

Reminder about natural cheesemaking workshop Nov 12- 13, sat and sunday. Cost will be around $100. Learn from David Asher, Black Sheep Cheesemaking School, how to make many kinds of cheese with no special cultures, just natural fermentation and aging. We’re bringing David to Old 99 so you can learn firsthand. Pls give me a nod if you’re interested, two nods if you’re in for sure. Will take payment now at the store or online.

Healthy Eating
Ian and Cami

Old 99 Farm, week of Aug 28 2016

Posted on sept 2, 12:18am. Better late than never I decided, and put this in the ether before heading to bed! Sorry to you all, about 200 addresses, who wait for my weekly post to remind you of the wonderful foods we offer here at O’99.

We will indeed have a market here later today, from 4 to 6.

Healthy eating
Ian and Cami

Old 99 Farm, week of Aug 21 2016

We have five fresh lambs, honey garlic mutton sausage, soup bones, organ meats in the freezer now. Lambs wrapped weight from 25 to 35lbs, cuts include frenched rack of ribs, deboned leg roasts, shanks, loin and sirloin chops organs bones and ground lamb. We have lamb stew/kabobs, sausage and bones for dogfood.

The advanced orders for roasting chickens have been picked up, there are lots left, whole, halved or quartered. Twelve weeks old, about 6lb avg weight, raised on pasture with organic grain rations. Very flavourful.

The veggie garden is lush with bounty, it’s a long list: cuccumber, young chard, beet root, beet tops, green onions, leek, rhubarb, kale, arugula, tomatoes, string beans (yellow, green and purple varieties), potatoes (cobbler and purple), garlic, and herbs: chives dill, spearmint, bronze fennel and lovage.

I have spared y’all any climate news of late, as I shift my perspective again to stay current with developments. The pace of climate upsets is increasing, as you would expect with any natural system.

But here’s a sample of the main dilemna of our time, being ‘what can one person do?’ to make a difference in the climate crisis that is upon us.

Jane Braaten was traveling in India and was confronted at one village with this graffiti: Protect the earth. Live simply. Act with compassion. Our future depends on it.. Then upon returning to the United States she writes, "I’m wondering what cultural, social or political resources we have, especially at the local level, that can help us to see ourselves as part of a common effort to ensure everyone is taken care of. I’ve seen and heard of towns and small cities that have strong social service networks, engaged congregations, and municipal leaders who pay attention to quality of life and stresses in the community. I still think we could do a better job of spreading the spirit of openness and compassion, of taking more responsibility for the conditions we live in, and of building our stamina for participation and engagement. Only through building some trust and confidence in each other, sharing burdens, and making sure that all our needs are met, will we truly find the motivation to protect the earth.

How far is this from our situation in the Hamilton foodshed?

We are taking reservations for the Natural Cheesemaking workshop Nov 11-12. Please tell if you’re interested.

Healthy eating
Ian and Cami

Old 99 Farm, week of Aug 12 2016

Reminder, lots of fresh picked vegetables here now: beans (yellow, green, purple, broad), potatoes, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, eggplant, chard, beets, garlic, basil, parsley.
Eggs are in good supply.
Roasting and soup chickens crop for 2016 now in the freezer.
Lamb including honey garlic sausage will be here Friday.

Cheesemaking workshop Nov 11 and 12, with David Asher, Black Sheep Cheesemaking. $100 limited to 10 people, get deposits in early.

Enjoy healthy eating,
Ian and Cami

Old 99 Farm, week of Aug 7th 2016

As of Aug 7th , we can offer the following crops: cuccumber, young chard, beet root, beet tops, green onions, leek, rhubarb, kale, arugula, tomatoes, string beans (yellow, green and purple varieties), potatoes (cobbler and purple), garlic, and herbs: chives dill, spearmint, bronze fennel and lovage.

The new roaster chickens are in the freezers, whole halves and quarters. Same price as last year.

Could “we the people” handle a bit more of the truth? One would certainly like to think so. As it is, the US and the rest of the world appear to be sleepwalking into history’s greatest shitstorm of an election. The candidates bode ill for the immediate future. Given the absence of helpful leadership at the national level, our main opportunity for effective preparation and response to the wolf at our doorstep appears to lie in local resilience building. Check out Hamilton 350, Hamilton Permaculture Guild, or Environment Hamilton for local efforts and community building. All have facebook pages.

Surf over to Resilience.org for more on this.

We’d like to go ahead with the natural cheesemaking workship with David Asher, (google Black Sheep Cheesemaking) on Nov 11/12. There will also be a public lecture on the Friday evening. Could you indicate your interest in attending? Cost likely $200 for the weekend.

Healthy Eating
Ian and Cami.