The Farmer’s Tour AND

 

The Farmer’s Tour AND

Some Really Cold Nights!
Laura and Natalie are transplanting herbs from the field, into the greenhouse.  These have been harvested from outdoors all season, but will still keep going with extra warmth from the greenhouse.
 
Farm Update
 
Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting other farmers for a farm tour as part of the annual EFAO Conference.  We really enjoy the EFAO (Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario) because of the connections we’re able to build with farmers who have similar goals, values, and challenges to us.  It's especially valuable to gain new perspectives and methods as we work on planning for the farm next year.  We’re grateful to have met and connected with so many skilled growers in the spirit of how ‘we all know a little, but together we know a lot’.

Our season continues, though!  We are looking at the home stretch of 2025, and things are moving at largely the same pace here, though the types of work have changed in the last few weeks.  We continue to ‘harvest’ root vegetables from our cold storage, and fresh harvest greens and herbs from hoophouses and tunnels.  We are, of course, hoping to continue to harvest the tender crops we still have in our less robust tunnels, but with some extra low temps, that becomes more uncertain.  To mitigate the risk, we’ve doubled up the row cover, so they have a better chance of recovery from those nights.
We were really glad to make time for digging some of the parsley, rosemary, and thyme plants out of the field before the ground froze.  They're now planted in the greenhouse, where they will take some time to recover before regrowing.  Of these three, parsley grows the fastest (more herbaceous, rather than woody stems), and we should be able to harvest a few times in the winter.  The real growth will happen when the light hours increase towards late winter and when fresh, green anything feels extra special. 
 
For now, we’ll enjoy all the greens we can harvest between deep freezes!
 
EFAO tour group taking a tour of our winter growing spaces.  We discussed growing methods and (equally as important) farm-business logistics.
 

FARM STORE NOTES
 
FROM OUR FARM:
 
Kale and collards: This time of year these are smaller leaves in bags, rather than bunches.  We recommend using fresh within 1-3 days or storing in the freezer.
 
Root roast pack:  A combination of the root veggies we have on rotation.  Chop it all up and roast, use as a soup/stew base, or use components separately.  This is a great way to get a little bit of everything.  Bags are 2.5-3 lbs and a mix of carrot, potato, beet, sunchoke, turnip, and a little radish or two.  
 
From the field:​ Bagged kale, collards.
From storage: Carrots, beets, potatoes, sunchokes, celeriac, rutabaga, kohlrabi, winter radish, cabbage.
From the Greenhouse and hoophouses: Spinach, hakurei turnips, arugula, salad mix, green onion, radish, chard, arugula, dill and cilantro.
FROM OUR SUPPLIERS:
 
Our spinach is limited this week, so we are bringing some in from our friends at Urban Roots who have lots right now! 
Ida Red apples now in from Great Lakes. 
Leeks are brought in from Pfenning's
 
PRODUCE
 
Urban Roots (London): Spinach
HOPE Eco-Farms (Aylmer):​ Tetsukabuto, stripetti (striped spaghetti), butternut,​ and black futsu squash.  Sweet potatoes.
Great Lakes Farms (Port Stanley): Macintosh, empire, gala, honeycrisp, spy, sunpunch, golden delicious, fuji, Ida red.
Forest City Microgreens (London): Fresh microgreens
Daryl Myny (Aylmer): Spanish onions
Pfenning's Organics: Leeks, red onions, parsnips, red, yellow, and russet potatoes.
Through Pfenning's: Ontario Gala apples and mushrooms.  From further away; cranberries, broccoli, lemons, oranges, limes, ginger, turmeric.
 
DAIRY and EGGS
Mistyglen Creamery (Belmont): ​Non-homogenized and vat pasteurized milk, yogurt, and cheese curds.  Seasonal milk: Eggnog and mint chocolate
HOPE Eco-Farms (Aylmer): Eggs.
Through Pfenning's: L'Ancetre butter and grass-fed cheeses
Gunn's Hill (Woodstock): Brie, Handeck and Five Brother's cheese
 
 FROZEN
3Gen Organics (Wallenstein): Ground pork, sausage, bacon, ham, tenderloin, chops
YU Ranch (Tillsonburg): Pasture-raised ground beef, beef patties, stewing beef
New Leaf Foods (London): Plant-based beet burgers
 
BAKERY
Seth/La Houlette de vie (St. Thomas): Organic sourdough bread made using local grain that Seth mills himself. 
Artisan Bakery (London): Sourdoughs and pastry made with local flour.
J&D Peters Tortillas (Aylmer):​ Corn, spelt, whole wheat and unbleached flour tortillas.
Lewis Baked Goods (St. Thomas): Organic flour ready-to-use pizza crusts.
 
PANTRY
Aldred Maple (West Lorne): Amber, dark, or whiskey barrel-aged maple syrup.
Wildflowers Honey (St. Thomas): Unpasteurized honey from hives all over Elgin County, including our farm!
Mat's Fine Oils (Staffordville). Fresh, organic and cold-pressed, hemp and sunflower oil. Store in the refrigerator.

PICKUP / DELIVERY SCHEDULE

Pickup Instore: Farm pickup is Thursday 4pm-8pm. ​Western Fair is Saturday 8-3 pm, Kitchener Market 7-2 pm.

Delivery: Thursday or  Friday in London / St.Thomas.  We will send out the schedule Wednesday.  

RETURNING CONTAINERS

We love to re-use wherever possible!  We can take our CGF boxes and liner bags, strawberry and blueberry baskets/boxes, milk bottles, and egg cartons. 

For delivery, please leave these return items out where you would like your order dropped off.  Thank you!

 
 
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Common Ground Farm 6986 Middle River Road St. Thomas, Ontario N5P 3S9
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