Old99 Farm week of May 8 2022

The list of greens we can offer is growing each week, up to 20 now.

we have available
Arugula, Mizuna, Tatsoi green, Tatsoi purple (Arc-en-Ciel), Mustard Greens (Tokyo Bekana), Red Romaine, (Rouge d’hiver) Green Romaine, Buttercrunch Lettuce, Frilly Lettuce (Kale baby leaf. Kale bunches, Salad mix bags, HealthKick salad mix, Claytonia, Arugula bags, Turnip Greens bunch, Green Chard, Rainbow Chard, Tong Ho (salad green), Bok Choi green, Spinach, Cilantro,and Rhubarb.

Some of these will be new so I’ll explain a bit and give a link for more info.
Let’s start with Tong Ho, a salad green very popular in Asia, tho it’s in the daisy family from the Mediterranean area.

The entire above-ground portion of the plant is edible. In general you’re only likely to encounter the the small, unopened flowers on the younger stalks sold in grocery stores, and these can be cooked right along with everything else.
Can I Eat it Raw? Yes, though this is definitely a less common choice. The flavour is likely to be considered a bit too intense for most raw applications. I put a bit in my custom salad mix along with some other delightful flavours.

Storage: Short Term : Refrigerate (unwashed, 3-7 days in a breathable bag in the crisper)
Long Term: Blanch in boiling water 2 mins, drain and rinse with cold water, then freeze.

More info here or just google it!

More sign ups for the Summer Harvest basket keep coming in. Weekly or bi-weekly, delivery, 2 missed weeks, and other features. See my brochure here

Pick up day for orders is Thurs 4 to 6 or by arrangement. The greens keep well in my cooler for a few days.
Click here to start your order.

Healthy eating
Ian, Cami and Kenzi

Old 99 Farm week of may 2 2021

Another week of great growing weather here in the Golden Horseshoe. Wish it were so elsewhere in the world that is already under oppressive heat and/or flood.
Here’s the list of available vegetables this week:
Arugula
Chard, Perpetual Green
Chard, Rainbow
Claytonia baby greens
Collard, Baby Greens
Kale, Frilly Green, Baby
Kale, Red Russian
Kale, Red Russian. frozen
Lettuce, Buttercrunch
Lettuce, Buttercrunch Potted live
Lettuce, Grand Rapids
Lettuce, Health Kick Blend
Lettuce, Rouge d’Hiver
Mesclun Salad Mix
Mizuna
Mustard, Tokyo Bekana
Rapini
Rhubarb stalks
Spinach
Tatsoi
Turnip Greens

Click here to place your order by Wed midnight.
Still openings for spring harvest basket which runs till June 5 week. Summer Basket for 20 weeks starts June 12 week.

Please click here for brochure on Harvest Basket.

Yours in growing healthy food,
Ian and Cami and Kenzie

Old99 Farm week of Apr 24 2022

It’s lovely to see the greenhouses filling up with green plants at all stages from just sprouted, to ready-to-harvest.
Each week some more are ready: like turnip greens and claytonia and salad mix this week.

Call me if you have special requests for transplants as I may well have extras for sale.
Available this week:
Lettuces: Buttercrunch, Rouge d’hiver, GrandRapids,
Salad mix: HealthKick
Brassica greens: Kale, Baby Collards,
Mustards: Mizuna, Tatsoi (Arc-en-ciel), Tokyo Bekana
Claytonia
Turnip greens
Spinach
Arugula
Rapini
Rhubarb
Parsley
Rainbow Chard and
Perpetual Green Chard

Our categories:
Garden Transplants, seedlings (6) more coming each week
Oils (14)
Other (compost, trees)
Vegetables (22)
Herbs (4)
Eggs (3)
Meats (42)
I have full freezers of beef and pork.
Please look at our CSA Harvest Basket offering, for $32.45 per week for 10 weeks. Community Shared Agriculture works for producers and eaters alike. It started April 4th week, ending June 6th week, so 5 weeks remaining.

Click here to access our on-line store.

Healthy eating
Ian, Cami and Kenzi (our helper)

Old 99 Farm week of Apr 10 2022

Reminder, hop over to the online store to pick your selection of vegetables from the greenhouse. Our categories:
Spring Harvest Share basket (1)
Fruit (1)
Garden Transplants, seedlings (2) more coming each week
Oils (14)
Other (Soil amendments, trees) (5)
Vegetables (18)
Herbs (4)
Eggs (3)
Meats (42)
And your first steak for the bbq. I have full freezers of beef and pork.
Please look at our CSA Harvest Basket offering, for $32.45 per week for 10 weeks. Community Shared Agriculture works for producers and eaters alike.

The Spring Harvest Basket program is ready for sign-ups, notice some innovative ideas we learned from LaFamilleFermiere, a collective effort in Quebec to get farm fresh food to families and strengthen local agriculture.

We simplified to one basket size, available weekly or biweekly. If you order weekly you get a discount on top of the discounted price of the contents. Price is $32.45 per week for 6 to 8 vegetable items. You get alternatives to choose from and an exchange table for pick-one,leave-on. Season starts when you sign and runs for 10 weeks. You can pay 50% up front and balance at mid season. Our basket typically contains 6 to 8 different organic vegetables that are freshly harvested and in season.

You can choose to pick it up every week or every 2 weeks (bi-weekly. With the bi-weekly basket you will get 5 pickups/deliveries, scheduled on alternative weeks. Delivery is new for us, beta-testing so to speak. We think we can do it for $15 a week within 10km radius from the farm. If you want delivery, add $15 to the basket x number of weeks (5 or 10) by picking the Spring 10 delivered option on the menu. Likewise for Spring 5 Delivered.

Another change for this year: vegetables are not pre-boxed. Members make up their own basket by following a blackboard list with the basket contents, and making their choices. We also provide an exchange box where you can trade unwanted items.
Please bring your own bags or boxes! We minimize packaging, our vegetable basket is a great way to reduce packaging and waste!
Wondering about Tokyo Bekana, our fav mustard green this year? Here’s a picture and a recipe.
1/3 cup slivered almonds To prepare greens, cut the very end of the stems off the Tokyo Bekana stalks. Coarsely chop remaining leaves & stems into 1/2-inch pieces. Chop up the scallions and cilantro and add to the Tokyo Bekana (use as much or little scallion and cilantro as suits your taste).

Corrected Apr 3 Old99 farm reminder

Reminder, hop over to the online store to pick your selection of vegetables from the greenhouse.
And your first steak for the bbq. I have full freezers of beef and pork.
Please look at our CSA Harvest Basket offering, for $34.25 per week for 10 weeks. Community Shared Agriculture works for producers and eaters alike.

Stay Healthy,
Ian and Cami

Old 99 Farm week of Apr 3 2022

Reminder, hop over to the online store to pick your selection of vegetables from the greenhouse.
And your first steak for the bbq. I have full freezers of beef and pork.
Please look at our CSA Harvest Basket offering, for $34.25 per week for 10 weeks. Community Shared Agriculture works for producers and eaters alike.

Stay Healthy,
Ian and Cami

April 1st 2022 we're back

After a couple of weeks off while the new crops germinate and size up, we’re back.
We had Strathcona Market owners here for a visit this week to check us out. Here’s a reel on instagram

We’ve got some crops now ready for harvest. The spring 2022 greenhouse crops are: lettuce, arugula, mizuna, parsley, kale, collards, spinach, chard, tatsoi and special salad green called Tokyo Bekana. Coming soon: baby salad mix, Tong Ho (what’s that you say?), claytonia, cilantro and baby carrots. We have a few winter storage selections: potatoes, turnips, beets, rutabaga.

Our orchard produces apples, peaches, raspberries, blackberries, aronia berries, mulberries, asian and european pears, currants and juice grapes in season.

Be careful, don’t all stampede back in here! We’ll offer fresh picked to first come.

The Spring Harvest Basket program is ready for sign-ups, notice some innovative ideas we learned from LaFamilleFermiere, a collective effort in Quebec to get farm fresh food to families and strengthen local agriculture.

We simplified to one basket size, available weekly or biweekly. If you order weekly you get a discount on top of the discounted price of the contents. Price is $32.45 per week for 6 to 8 vegetable items. You get alternatives to choose from and an exchange table for pick-one,leave-on. Season starts when you sign and runs for 10 weeks. You can pay 50% up front and balance at mid season. Our basket typically contains 6 to 8 different organic vegetables that are freshly harvested and in season.

You can choose to pick it up every week or every 2 weeks (bi-weekly. With the bi-weekly basket you will get 5 pickups/deliveries, scheduled on alternative weeks. Delivery is new for us, beta-testing so to speak. We think we can do it for $15 a week within 10km radius from the farm. If you want delivery, add $15 to the basket x number of weeks (5 or 10) by picking the Spring 10 delivered option on the menu. Likewise for Spring 5 Delivered.

Another change for this year: vegetables are not pre-boxed. Members make up their own basket by following a blackboard list with the basket contents, and making their choices. We also provide an exchange box where you can trade unwanted items.
Please bring your own bags or boxes! We use very little packaging, our vegetable basket is a great way to reduce packaging and waste!

Please go to the market page for examples of what the baskets might look like at different times during the summer season. The spring basket will be more limited.

Old 99 Farm week of Jan 24 2022

The deep freeze is taking its toll, we’ve lost some of the more tender greens in the greehouse. We still have rainbow and green chard, collards and kale. And the root veg in the cold cellar back up the carrots still in the ground.
On the other side, we have 15 flats planted and a couple of rows directed seeded: arugula is doing the best, followed by mizuna. Yet to poke their heads up are lettuce mix, rapini, kale, purslane and spinach, corn salad, bunching onions, chives and pak choy.
As a side note, to the gardeners on this list, if you buy turnips, cut the top off about an inch below the crown, plant it in some soil, even sand, it will grow turnip greens for you in a couple weeks.
All things start to come alive again when we get 10 hrs or more daylight, which will happen here on my birthday! Nice coincidence: Feb 9.

Healthy eating, keep your immune system strong, we’re headed into the home stretch of covid omnicon and most of us will get it without even knowing it.

Ian and Cami

Old99 farm week of Jan 16 2022

Yes we dug out from the snow and deep freeze, vegetables in the greenhouses well protected. I do love winter storms. It reminds me of how winter used to be when I was a boy in Caledon, real freeze up, real snow drifts. Never again.

Most of this blogpost is going to be political. But first, So we have crops for you again this week, fresh harvested and from the cold cellar.
We have available celery, mixed greens (aka mesclun), spinach, chard, mustards, collards and a selection of fresh herbs. Root vegetables include carrots, garlic, leeks, fennel, potatoes, turnip, rutabaga, squash varieties, and beets. Of course the freezers are full of beef, pork and chicken, and the hens lay eggs every day. Link to store here

Our Conservation Authority is about to hold an election for chairman. The current chair, Lloyd Ferguson, longtime councillor for ward 12 Ancaster, wants to run again on a pro-development platform. Recently all CA board members voted against a rezoning application to ‘re-site’ sensitive wetlands to help a developer max out the usable area. Ferguson voted in favour saying ’i’m for jobs, I’m for increased tax revenue’. No. He’s for construction on ecological assets the CA is mandated to protect.

Please write a letter voicing your opinion for/against Lloyd Ferguson using this link provided by Action 13.
Here’s what I wrote:
I am probably known to some of you as an advocate for climate emergency responses for the last 3 years. I operate a small farm in Ward 12 Ancaster since 2007 providing local organic food for the Dundas Valley. I am a businessman by training and 20 years experience as owner-operator of several companies.
I am writing to encourage you to follow through with the effective non-confidence motion on wetlands where no one voted with Chairman Ferguson. Do not re-elect him. You probably know much better that the public does his voting record, priorities and allegiances. Thank Goodness, Action 13 got this messaging tool up and running for people like me to register our deep concerns.
Not only are wetlands important for clean water, they are key component in stabilizing the local microclimate, precipitation and heat waves. They store carbon naturally, which we need to prioritise if we are to get anywhere close to the city’s goals for climate action.

Chairman Ferguson scoffed at the climate emergency motion when it was presented to city council in 2019. He said an emergency is when the house is on fire and you see it and have to act fast. He can’t see slow moving emergencies. He’s not fit to lead one of the key resources the city has to stabilize climate and eco-diversity.
I am asking you:
1) do not support the re-election of Chair Lloyd Ferguson to the position of Chair of the HCA Board at the Annual General Meeting on February 3, 2022.

2) to elect a Chair who has a proven track record of defending our watershed and natural heritage, and not interfering with natural assets management at the core of a CA mandate.

3) to ensure members elected to the HCA Board, especially the Chair, have a basic knowledge and understanding of watersheds, wetlands, biodiversity and natural heritage.

Thank you for reading this, I appreciate hearing from you with your intentions.
Yours truly
Ian Graham

Old 99 Farm, week of Jan 9 2022

We had the coldest night of the year so far, -16C and clear sky. Greenhouses did quite well thanks to the Underground Heating and Cooling system (UHCS for short). Inside temp was -2C at ground level. Crops can survive that especially when the soil is not frozen, soil temp was about 5C in the root zone.

So we have crops for you again this week, fresh harvested and from the cold cellar.
We have available celery, mixed greens (aka mesclun), spinach, chard, mustards, collards and a selection of fresh herbs. Root vegetables include carrots, garlic, leeks, fennel, potatoes, turnip, rutabaga, squash varieties, and beets. Of course the freezers are full of beef, pork and chicken, and the hens lay eggs every day
You can find us on the Weston A Price Foundation website too.

Here’s a picture of me putting the UHCS

The pipes are two layers deep going the full length of the house, giving 5 air changes an hour.

Click here to surf over and place your orders this week.

Healthy Eating!
Ian and Cami