Skills Building Farm Tours

FarmStart  is offering three series of Skills Building Farm Tours:

Ecological Livestock
Market Gardening
and
Orchard Care

If you are in the early stages of your farming career or just exploring the possibilities this is a great opportunity to visit a farm, learn from experienced farmers, and network with other new farmers!

FarmStart Skills Building Farm Tours give you the chance to get out on a farm, see first hand how the farm operates, and have your questions answered by the farmer. This is a brilliant way to get lots of great ideas for how to design your farm! Part of the tour is reserved for a discussion on the focus topic, often this portion of the tour will include a short demonstration, or handouts to take home.  We keep the numbers low so you can ask questions & learn, so sign up now before the tours are full!

Farm Tours run from April to November.  
Cost: $40 (including HST) per person or $68 (including HST) per family

Want to take 6 or more tours? We will discount the cost by 15%

Market Garden Tour Series:

Topic: Weed Management Techniques for Small – Mid Scale Organic Vegetable Farmers
Host: Jeff Boesch, Cedar Down Farm
Jeff Boesch, and his wife Leslie have been farming for 10 years, and operating Cedar Down Farm since 2010. They manage a 7.5 acre market garden, and sell their vegetable through a Community Supported Agriculture program with 165 summer shares, and 100 winter shares. Jeff will take you on a tour of his farm, demonstrate how they manage to tackle to never-ending onslaught of annual and perennial weeds, and grow amazing vegetables for their CSA members. He will demonstrate the proper use of both mechanical and hand tools used for weed control.

When: Saturday, June 22, 1-4pm
Where: Cedar Down Farm 222145 Concession 14 RR# Neustadt.View Map.
To Register: click here!


Topic: Small Scale Market Gardening
Host: Cathy Hansen, Bernway Farms
If your dream is to farm a small acreage (2-3 acres), provide your community with fresh food and feed yourself year round, then this is a tour you don’t want to miss! Cathy and Kaj Hansen have been living, and farming 3 acres (3/4 acre market garden) in Erin since 1987. They specialize in organically grown vegetables and eggs from their flock of free-range hens. Using biointensive production techniques they feed 100 families through Community Support Agriculture shares, year round. Their experience with the organic principle “feed the soil and let the soil feed the plants” and their years of marketing through the CSA have created a sustainable model for farmers who operate small intensively managed acreages.  This tour will highlight the tools and techniques Cathy and Kaj employ on their farm, including how they prepare the land, plan their garden, organize things for ease and efficiency, and market their CSA shares.
If you wish to bring your lunch, and eat on the farm after the tour!

When: July 27, 9:00am – 12:00pm
Where: 5499 2nd Erin Line RR#3, Acton. View Map.
To Register: click here!


Topic: Organic Pest Management
Host: Kevin Hamilton, Shared Harvest Community Farm
Remember the cucumber beetle decimation of 2012, or the potato beetle destruction of 2011? If those memories just made you cringe, then you understand why this topic is an important one! Kevin Hamilton has over 10 years of experience in organic farming, and is a respected educator in Ontario. He will go over all the major insect pests common in Ontario, show you methods of protecting your crops, and ways to minimize crop damage that can result from pests.

Shared Harvest Community Farm is a certified organic farm with a mission to provide families with organic produce that is environmentally sustainable, locally desirable and socially responsible. The farm is in its third year of operation. On approximately 7 acres of fields and mixed gardens they are cultivating over 40 types of vegetables and close to 100 different varieties for an 80 member community supported agriculture box program.

When: Saturday, August 17, 1-4pm
Where: 834 North Shore Dr.,
 Dunnville. View Map.
To Register: click here!


Topic: Tools & Equipment for Small Scale Vegetable Growers
Host: Yehuda Nestle, Plowshare Farm
Plowshare Farm is an organic, horse-powered vegetable farm located in Salem, Ontario. In the 4 acre market garden they grow more than 65 crops, with 150 different varieties of vegetables, herbs, cut-flowers, and microgreens. Plowshare Farm sells their produce through a Community Supported Agriculture program of 75 full shares, as well as restaurant sales, and farmers markets. During this tour Yehuda will show you a variety of inventive labor saving devices that he uses on his farm including their walk behind tractor, a Japanese paper pot planter, and other hand made innovations such as  a custom made drip irrigation cart. For market gardeners having the right tools, and machinery can make all the difference when it comes to timing and efficiency. If you are struggling to get everything done by hand, this is a great way to get some ideas for tools you could build or use to improve your operation.

When: Saturday, October 5, 1-4pm
Where: 456 Wellington Rd #7, Salem. View Map.
To Register: click here!

Ecological Livestock Tour Series:

Topic: Setting up a Small Dairy for Sheep
Host: John Slack, Golden Innisfree Farms
Located on the beautiful Orangeville Moraine, Golden Innisfree is a family owned and run organic farm providing a number of locally produced products.  The Orangeville Moraine is a unique glacial feature resulting in a complexity of soil minerals, pristine spring water, abundant protective wetlands and forests culminating to produce a distinct growing environment.  The farm establishes the essential link between this unique landform genesis and food quality.

Golden Innisfree is a grass based farm that is working towards intensive pasture rotation, permaculture hay fields and growing winter forages to supplement winter diet.   Currently Friesen, Lacaune Romney cross sheep are being milked. Meat and milk production is only produced on grass.  Complementing the livestock operation is biointensive market gardening and organic field potato production.  An integral part to maintaining and increasing the health of the farm is establishing bee colonies strategically placed around the property

When: Saturday, July 6, 1-4pm
Where: 9767 27 Sideroad Erin Township. View Map.
To Register: click here!


Topic: Introduction to Beekeeping
Host: Alison Van Alten, Tuckamore Bee Company
Alison Van Alten spent 15 years working for the Ontario Beekeeping Association Tech-Transfer program conducting honey bee research. During this time she started her own business, Tuckamore Bee Company, and has been doing this full time since 2010. Alison sells a variety of honey and beeswax products at the Guelph Farmers Market, and in the surrounding area. She also specializes in selling bees to beekeepers, using her background as a researcher to select disease resistant stock.

During this tour Alison will introduce you to the basics of beekeeping including what materials you will need to get started, where to locate your hives, what kind of preparations to make, what to expect, etc. If this is your first season as a beekeeper, or you are thinking about getting some bee’s in the future then you will find this tour very informative! Weather permitting we will open a hive.  If you have a veil we recommend bringing one, as well as a long sleeve loose fitting shirt.

When: Sunday, August 18, 2013. 1:00-4:00pm.
Where: TBA Puslinch. View Map.
To Register: click here!


Topic: Raising Livestock on the Biodynamic Farm
Host: Graham Corbett & Amy Ouchterlony, Fiddle Foot Farm
After three years of farming on rented land at Whole Village Farm, Graham and Amy  are now establishing a farm on land owned by Amy’s family.  The 2013 season will be the second full season at Fiddle Foot Farm, re-awakening land that has not been actively farmed for fifty years.

Fiddle Foot Farm is a mixed farm with a focus on growing vegetables for a Community Supported Agriculture program, as well as the Creemore and Orangeville Farmers’ Markets. They raise cattle, pigs, meat chickens, and keep a flock of laying hens. Graham and Amy are implementing a holistic biodynamic approach to farming. Biodynamic farming considers the farm as an organism into itself, and focuses on enlivening its soil through the application of specially prepared compost and other preparations. The aim is to produce food that nourishes the whole human being: body, soul, and spirit.

During this tour Graham and Amy will explain their decision to follow biodynamic farming principles and practices, and will focus on why livestock is an important part of the whole farm organism.

When: Sunday, September 29, 1pm-4pm.
Where: 796530 3rd Line EHS, Mansfield. View Map.
To Register: click here!

Orchard Care Tour Series:

 

Topic: Go Nuts! Mix up your Orchard with Nut Trees

Host: Ernie Grimo, Grimo Nut Nursery
Grimo Nut Nursery was established as a 14 acre farm in Niagara-on-the-Lake in 1974.  At that time few nut trees were available and little was known about the potential for nut crops in Ontario, Ernie decided to set up test orchards to evaluate the best nut trees that would grow in the region. With a little help from other local growers he was able to get grafted cultivars and seedling sources from across North America as well as the commercial nut growing regions from around the world. These trees are grown and tested for their individual nut quality. Each tree is evaluated on several factors including flavour, productivity, commercial viability, cracking ability, and disease resistance. The trees that prove to be outstanding are then grafted and sold through the nursery. If you are also joining us for the afternoon on Ecological Pest & Disease Management tour will eat lunch on here then go to Palatine Fruit & Roses.

When: Saturday, July 20, 10am-12pm
Where: 979 Lakeshore Rd., R.R. 3, Niagara-on-the-Lake. View Map.
To Register: click here!


Topic: Ecological Management of Pests and Diseases in the Orchard
Host: Rene & Eva Schmit, Palatine Fruit & Roses
Rene & Eva Schmit, have been in farming the majority of their professional lives, but the decision to enter the tender fruit production as a full time venture started only sixteen years ago. Managing pests and disease in an orchard is really tough. As Rene put it “I regard the sustainable culture of our nine tree fruit crops combined with a walking the earth softly approach, as the greatest challenge in our farming career”. At Palatine Fruits they use a combination of integrated pest management techniques, and soil nutrient management plans to deal with pests and disease. Rene will talk you through his approach during this tour. If you are growing fruit this is one tour you can’t afford to miss!  Join us for the morning tour at Grimo Nut Nursery too!

When: Saturday, July 20, 1 – 4pm
Where: 2108 Four Mile Creek Road, RR# 3 Niagara-On-The-Lake. View Map.
To Register: click here!


Topic: The Permaculture Orchard
Host: Patricia Kozowyk, Baba Link Farm
Baba Link Farm has 3 orchards, each combining trees, shrubs, herbs and other plants. They use a combination of permaculture practices, forest gardening techniques, and native plants in hedgerows to achieve a system that provides a steady supply of fruit from May to October. They sell fresh fruit, as well as make fruit preserves and grow some annual vegetables, in strips of tilled land within two of their orchards.  A portion of the land is set aside to produce mulch from grasses, wood chips or other plants such as comfrey.  The orchards rely heavily on mulch, which decreases the need for water and increases soil health. Patricia Kozowyk will explain how she planned this permaculture forest garden to be productive over a long season, how she manages it, and show you all the different varieties of fruits that can grow in our climate.

When: Sunday, September 22, 1-4pm.
Where: Baba Link Farm. 46 Huisman Lane, Flamborough Centre 
RR 2 Hamilton. View Map.
To Register: click here!

 

• Every farm tour is unique. Tours are not workshops, and do not always include handouts or other take home materials. We encourage you to come prepared to take lots of pictures, and notes.
• For all farm tours expect that you will be outside for the duration of tour. Please come prepared with appropriate clothing, sunscreen, hats, and water. No food or drink will be provided.
• A family rate is for up to two adults and two children under 13 years of age.