8. March 2010 by David.

Greetings, from a sunny and cheerful farm!

It is absolutely marvelous out here. A full week of sun has already begun to reveal patches of brown, yellow and even green! As much as we can all appreciate the warm weather, the chickens are extra happy. After two or three months of beeing cooped up (literally) they have started their daily excursions up and down the barnyard.

I hope this early thaw will help dry out the barnyard, which will make an early start to spring clean-up an easy task. And if this weather holds up there could even be crops in the ground by month’s end!

My thanks go out to all those who have already submitted their registration forms. The group is already more than half full, but there are still 2010 harvest-shares available. Joining a CSA is a great way to help sustain a local, sustainable food system in Ottawa.

My seeds are on their way, and the crop list this year is very exciting! I’m looking forward to a larger variety of hardy greens and herbs, more broccoli, more onions, multi-coloured salad tomatoes, almost all open-pollinated varieties of vegetables, and no conventional seed whatsoever.

2010 Registration Package

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4. January 2010 by David.

Hello and best wishes from everyone at Riverglen Biodynamic Farm!

I’m happy to write that I had a fabulous time during my Christmas and New Year holidays. I was able to enjoy some well-deserved rest in the company of my loved ones and it was absolutely terrific! It’s nice to put aside a few of your more tedious responsibilities, if only just for a few days.

That’s not to say we’ve all been farting around over here. Just doing a little hiding out… You know how it is! So, since the last time I’ve entered a blog entry… well, the big field was plowed. I’m lucky to have a good relationship with my neighbour Kevin, with whom I often exchange favours. Kevin brought over his equipment in mid-November to turn over the soil in one of the garden areas. This will help break down both garden crop and cover crop residue, as well as expose the roots of any perennial weeds that are trying to take hold of the garden.

Kevin plowing

There has also been a good deal of wood cutting. Thanks to the generous help of my brother, my friends, Johann the mason and the good people from Canada World Youth, we were able to pack the porch with a few cords of wood. We’ll need to chop more to make it through the cold weather, but what a great start!

CWY gathering  CWY chopping

My neighbour Kevin also does another kind of plowing at the farm. Snow plowing! He does a fabulous job opening up our lane-way, as well as clearing out the farmyard and the barn entrances. He only comes out every now and again, however, and sometimes perhaps a little later than sooner… We got a tone of snow over the weekend and even my AWD Subaru (thanks mom and dad) had trouble getting through. Thankfully, it only took a little digging to get through the offending snowdrift. And not that I can complain about the snow. It has been an incredible winter for cross-country skiing!

subaru stuck

As for the critters out in the field, they have all been moved to their winter homes. The paddock on the North West side of the barns acts as the temporary home for my Highland cows and Shetland sheep. There they find shelter from the wind, a big heap of hay and a bathtub full of water. An electric tank heater keeps the water in the tub from freezing. A similar system of heated buckets ensures a supply of fresh water for my flock of chickens. I’m very impressed with the dozen and a half eggs I still collect daily. I’m also quite impressed, as were our Christmas guests, by the quality of their meat. Caro and I slaughtered, plucked and cleaned 4 roosters, on Solstice, to share with friends and family. The full-textured meat was bursting with flavour.

caro wire  indoor flock  plucking feathers

So what about buying harvest-shares of delicious biodynamic vegetables this season? Stay tuned; I’ve got a little something up my sleeve…

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15. November 2009 by David.

Hello again!

It’s nice to be back at the keyboard after somewhat of a hiatus. Did anybody else fall flat on their backs after the last CSA pickup? Luckily it was muddy and the landing was cushy…

Much has happened in the last month or so. We’ve been picking surplus vegetables here and there and packing them away in the basement. A few members have been visiting and participating in a little gleaning. Even the cows, who now have roam of the entire field, have discovered the tasty tops of carrots, kale and broccolli.

Besides putting all the toys away, cleaning up, wrapping up, packing up and battering up all the hatches, there’s a mighty chunk of administration work to do. My understanding, and appreciation, of accounting is once again expanding in leaps and bounds. There’s a pile of wood expanding on the porch and a pile of garbage shrinking in the barn. The chicken coops have been cleaned-out, stack with fresh hay and sealed up for winter. One by one the machines are getting a cleaning, oiling and hanging.

We’re also loosing two very special people on the farm. Jean-Leon and Kristina have moved into their new house on the Quebec side. There’s a big hole left behind which Johann and I are trying to patch up, one step at a time. Over the year and a half that Tina and J-L have been around, they’ve put a tremendous amount of energy into renovating, fixing and upscaling Riverglen. They’re presence will be missed!

But even in the cold and rain, there’s always something about November that is somewhat re-assuring. Amidst the calm crumbling of the delicate structures erected over the summer, there is a sense of returning home. Energies are now clearly directed inward as friends and communities come together to ensure each others’ warmth and comfort. Thank you for your patience as I take some time to settle a few loose ends.

In the coming weeks, you can look forward to a survey with a few feedback questions from myself as well as from our coordination group. You’ll also receive information about next year and how to go about saving your spot for a 2010 harvest-share!

Keep cozy,

-David

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6. January 2009 by David.

Riverglen farmers are busy at work organizing a fantastic growing season for 2009. Stay tuned as the Intentional Eaters Community will be accepting new memberships as of next week. Registration information will hit the mailing lists this weekend, and you will also be able to find a membership package online.

In the meantime, start looking up yummy recipes and enjoy the improvements to our website. Posting pictures here is still a challenge for me, but here is a taste of Riverglen snow. I am constantly amazed by the sights and sounds of my first full winter on the farm!

Snowy driveway

snowy driveway scene

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15. December 2008 by David.

It’s getting chilly. There’s a good coat of ice on the lane, luckily covered by a pad of snow on which car, truck and bicycle tires can grip. The woodstove burns, and heated buckets keep water from freezing outside. Animals roam snow covered fields, munching on snow, stubble and hay. They are leaving behind a very valuable contribution to the fields. Chickens are not so bold, preferring to keep their toes out of the snow.

There is much brewing planning another year for the Intentional Eaters. Send in an e-mail if you’d like to receive membership information early in the New Year.

-David

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17. July 2008 by David.

Today was a good day. Sylvie learned to drive the Grillo with trailer and we got the chicken coop cleaned out. Then I got to ride my bicycle to Almonte for a meeting with other small farmers from the area. It was a terrific afternoon and I left inspired and encouraged by their company.

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23. June 2008 by David.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Kathleen Petty from Ottawa Morning and Moe Garahan, director of Just Food Ottawa, last Tuesday, June 17th. We discussed how Community Supported Agriculture works, how it’s supposed to work, and how people can get involved.

You can listen to a recording of the 10 minute interview by clicking on this link:

http://cbc.ca/ottawa/media/audio/ottawamorning/20080617farm.ram

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26. May 2008 by David.

We’ve been very active at Riverglen and several fun things are on the go. The garden just seems to get bigger and bigger as more people get involved with the Demo Garden.

Otesha has come and gone. Quelle belle gagne! Une vingtaine de cyclistes ont passe une semaine a Riverglen pour preparer leur tournee. Parmis les jeux et les exercises, ils ont pu donner un apres-midi a planter des arbres pour le jardin demonstratif. Leur enthousiasme et excellente  humeure fut un bonheur durant tout le sejour.

Un espace des jardins demonstratifs a ete consacre a un effort communautaire. Quelques groupes differents viennent tourner le gazon pour pouvoir y planter des legumes cet ete. Zion, Windrose et Achillea viennent mettre leur coups de pelle dans le sol.

The trailer is the newest recruit in Riverglen’s machinery fleet. Designed and built by Jean-Leon Morin, this recycled metal/angle frame device carries impressive loads of compost or whatever else I desire. Drop sides and a dumping feature seal the deal.

We have been assigned funding to offer two paid, 6 week work contracts for returning students this summer. E-mail me for more details about the position.

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26. May 2008 by David.

    Once in a while I stop long enough to remember who I am. There was a time when who I am was a very simple question to answer. In fact, the exploration of this question became overshadowed by another question: What am I? Thus began the journey.

And so it has come to the point, it seems, that what I am is fueling my actions, much more than who I am. Perhaps balanced is needed.

I stopped this week because my tractor broke. The lever controlling the Power Take Off (PTO) just sort of gave out, and there was suddenly no way to stop the sharp, metal tines from spinning a couple inches from my shins.

… What had to be done was till the beds. But maybe who I was meant I was a little more relaxed about this, and that risking my legs wasn’t totally necessary right then and there…

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2. May 2008 by David.

The 1st of May, known as Beltane, marks the halfway point between the winter Solstice and the spring Equinox. Celtic peoples celebrated this time as the beginning of summer. Cattle were driven out to the hills and farther pastures, bonfires were lit, and people hung wreaths and coloured eggshells on their doors.

The celebrations took place sometime in the first two weeks of the month. Although the heat has taken a well-appreciated break this weekend, I think we will see a grand start to summer as the skies turn back to blue. I have already seeded peas, carrots, lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, kale and onions, and I hope these begin to sprout as the moon waxes next week.

I enjoy farming this week. I feel close to the land, and my work has meaning. The tractor puts me in focus; I marvel as it travels over the soil. Smells of soil and vegetation pour into my nostrils as it moves forward. The tire walls bend over ridges and straighten out in the shallows, digging their way through the loose soil.

The spades behind it heave tiny clods of soil and throw them onto the metal guard. An explosion of soil peds crumble to the ground in all shapes and sizes. Not a thing is shredded; it’s action seems so violently gentle!

Otesha has arrived. What a great gang! The energy oozing out of the group is terrific. The farm takes on a new life. I’m happy to see people around, bustling about the usually empty spaces. They will be spending a week on the farm gearing up for their cross-Canada tour. They have graciously agreed to plant trees & shrubs with me tomorrow, 160 plants will see our ground!

If you would also like to plant trees, I would love to see you next weekend, on May 11th. As well as celebrating Beltane, we will also celebrate Whitsun. White Sunday is a Christian holliday, which, along with all other Christian festivals, was timed alongside a pagan(peasant) festival. The chrisitians celebrate the 49th day after easter, when the Holy Spirit is supposed to have decended among the disciples.

Whatever perspective you look at it, these festivals are meant to remind us of the richness of spring in its full vigor. At this transitional time, the earthly and heavenly (or female and male, or yin and yang, etc) forces are in balance, and there is great interaction in between! I’m sure you’re all feeling just as giddy as I am

And what a great day to have Mother’s Day! What better time of year to celebrate those who gave birth to us, and nurtured us in our tiny seedling-like beginnings.

Schedule for the day:

12pm: potluck lunch with the Intentional Eaters Community, Achillea Endeavors and friends. Please bring a simple dish to share with others, as well as your own plate and cutlery. A small blanket or a camp chair to sit on may be nice.

2pm: tree & shrub planting. I have 2000 dollars of plant material arriving from Windmill Point Farm on Friday for our demonstration garden. We’ll be planting hearnut, hazelnut, raspberries, Goji berries, hardy kiwi and more! Bring garden gloves and good shoes or boots. If you have a favorite digging spade, that would be very handy as well.

You are welcome to stay for the whole day, but feel free to stop by for just one of the events, too! Contact me if you have any questions, and have a merry May!

-David

Tilling under the winter cover crops
Hail speckled on the dark moist soil
Tent village in the field
The cows saw the big field for the first time this season Its pretty crowded for this grumpy kitty

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