Sent: February 28, 2011
Tis is the Season for Planning
Every year we make a point of trying (or retrying) a new family of crops. To avoid becoming overwhelmed with researching seed varieties, we take a close look at only one or two types of vegetables in any one year. Last summer we successfully trialed some of the new heat tolerant Shelling Peas; and last fall we trialed some of the new Chicories that have been selected for performing well in our more extreme Canadian climate.
One of our very first variety trials (20 and 21 years ago) was for peas. We tried many Sugar Snap and Shelling Pea varieties. We selected a Sugar Snap Pea variety that would successfully start in colder soil, meaning that the peas could be harvested prior to summer heat really setting in. Shelling Peas took so long to mature that in our climate that the harvest season was too short to reliably get them onto our chef’s menus. For many years we successfully grew delicious hand-picked Sugar Snap Peas. But in the past few years, the seed quality has been declining to the point the peas taste so bland we no longer want to grow them. My cynical view is that the (now multi-national) seed supplier is diminishing the flavour so it can re-release this old variety as a wonderful “new” (more expensive) Plant Patented Variety (PPV). I say, “If they require more profit, please just raise the price.”
Last summer we trialed some of the new “heat tolerant” Shelling Peas to see if we could supply fine fresh peas through the summer. Being the hottest summer on record, it happened to be a good year to try them. They remained wonderfully sweet and tender through most of the summer! We already feel confident you can start planning to incorporate these emerald gems into this coming summer’s menus.
Last fall we had great results experimenting with various Chicories. Since they love fall weather, and global warming is providing us with ever-longer falls, they could become a great addition to our local food basket. Through the years we have periodically grown these, but our chefs have remained hesitant to serve bitter greens to their customers. Now, chefs like Buca’s Rob Gentile are demonstrating that Torontonians are indeed ready for these beloved Mediterranean specialties. They are quite tricky to grow, and there is not much experience doing so in our part of the world. But with a likely steady demand, we have been searching the world for promising seed varieties to trial. With your support, we hope to add this whole “new” family of vegetables to our local Ontario Cuisine.
Think of Puntarella Chicory as a fall version of asparagus.
What would you like us to grow?
If you have any vegetables you would like us to try growing this year, now is the season to PLEASE LET US KNOW. To provide you with some ideas of what could be available, here are a few links for seed suppliers we enjoy working with. Wild Garden Seed is our favourite place for salad green seeds. Frank Morton does a lot of old-fashioned open pollinated breeding to fill the special needs of quality salad green growers. Seed Savers Exchange is primarily an organization of volunteers who adopt particular varieties to maintain and share with the world. To meet the needs of small-scale farmers who maintain varieties by creating markets for them, the exchange produces and sells seeds for some of their favourite endangered varieties. William Dam Seeds is the Canadian seedsman we work most closely with. Bill is in close contact with seed producers around the world and is able to obtain varieties we like but which are not included in his catalogue. He lets us know when any of our favourite varieties will be in short supply or of poor quality in order that we will have time to produce our own seeds. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds has a wonderful collection of fascinating seeds from around the world. Johnny's Selected Seeds operates in Maine, but supplies the world with superior cool season varieties.
Sent: February 21, 2011
There’s a lot of activity under the snow
When I first heard Dr. Elaine Ingram speaking about the mysteries of the soil beneath our feet, I was gobsmacked. All of us in the room at this 1993 California Eco-Farm Conference could relate to what she was describing. Through the years we had heard many university professors, but few really grasped the whole picture that we were observing on our ecological farms. For several hours after Elaine’s presentation she was surrounded by excited inquisitive farmers.
Upon my return to Ontario, I mentioned her ideas to professors at Guelph University. But they only had scepticism. Ten years later I took another class from Dr. Ingram, this time at Guelph University. I told her how much her presentation at Eco-Farm had fundamentally changed the way I farmed. She also remembers that day well. Prior to then, presentations to academics had always been met with scepticism. That audience fundamentally changed her confidence in what she was doing. She now operates Soil Food Web, a very beneficial service for anyone trying to grow better tasting and more nutritious foods.
At this time of year, there is a lot of obvious activity in our greenhouses, root cellars and packing room. Not much seems to be going on under the snow blanketing our fields. But there is. Our most abundant helpers – tons (literally) of bacteria and fungi actually speed up their activities as the soil temperature falls to freezing. Since their larger predators slow down from the cold, through millennia of generations they have learned that with less predatory activity, winter is a very good time to multiply. This is the reason such energetic growth can take place in the spring.
This simplified diagram illustrates how bacteria and fungi
are fundamental to our food system.
Do plan to attend Terroir V
Buy your tickets now for the Tuesday, March 1 Terroir V hospitality industry symposium. Once again Arlene Stein and her team have pulled together a fun and inspirational program. Come for breakfast and stay for lunch. You are bound to take away some terrific ideas for the coming year.
David Suzuki’s Bottom Line on Soil
If you have a spare 25 minutes to learn more about soils, David Suzuki devoted two full episodes in his wonderful Bottom Line series to this very important issue. Click CBC Podcasting then scroll down to Episode 3 (part A or B) or Episode 4 (part A or B).
Sent: February 14, 2011
Is Spring Coming Early?
Our own spring prognosticators seem to foretell an early spring. The first of our indications is the return of the aphids. [Hardly romantic.] Normally they arrive in late February, but this year we started seeing them in late January. An order for and a release of a few thousand ladybugs is already keeping them in check. The aphids (and other sucking insects) are an indication of excess nitrogen in the soil. So whenever there is a forecast for several days of sunshine we will do a heavy watering. The water will leach away the excess nitrogen; then the sun will quickly evaporate the excess moisture. After this simulated rainfall, the aphids soon disappear. We are of course maintaining extra diligence to make sure none of these little green morsels arrive on your plates.
Another early sign of spring is the crows are already making lots of noise as they start building their early nests. They normally arrive the day after Valentines; but this year their raucous calls could be heard, by Groundhog Day. I’ve also seen some small flocks of geese heading north (but I suspect this means nothing).
Edible Flowers in the greenhouses are starting to grow with abandon. We were even able to fill every one of our Valentine’s Day orders for these easy-to-use beauties. Since flowers say “Spring” as well as “Romance”, you can already count on a steady supply to make them a featured addition to your late-winter menus.
Emily carefully arranging Edible Flower Mix trays for Valentine’s Day.
How about a little reading as you recuperate from Winterlicious and Valentine’s weekend?
For a long time we have been talking about our food sector being the 2nd largest in Ontario. The Globe and Mail has now claimed that our food sector is the largest! I hope this development signals our governments to stop treating us like 2nd class businesses. It was over a decade ago that U.S. politicians realized they needed to rationalize their food systems by putting programs in place that could permit farmers to receive fair enough prices that they could remain in business to feed their own food system. Unfortunately for Canadian farmers, their main program is to “dump” their excess (cheap) food into Canada. This means U.S. food prices are on average 20% higher than in Canada; and it provides Canadians with the cheapest food in the world. This is a very illogical and insecure position to leave our largest business sector.
With provincial and federal elections coming sooner rather than later, this is a good year to demand a healthier respect for our food industry. Mark Bittman of the New York Times has a list of appropriate changes to help make the current food system a little saner.
For something a little less challenging, photographer Peter Sibbald has a photographic exhibit Mourning our loss of farm land.
Sent: February 7, 2011
The Sun is getting Warmer!
Last week was Groundhog Day; next week is Valentine’s Day. In Europe, February 2 is Candlemas – the return of light [from the sun]. In Canada we don’t yet really feel the sun, but we do start feeling some sunny heat in the greenhouses. There must be some link with our groundhog ritual. The Valentine’s Day ritual around the world is sweet and red. Valentine Radishes are perfect for this time of year. They even have a heart shape inside.
Winter Radishes are grown in the autumn and harvested just prior to freeze-up. They remain sweet and luscious (with a hint of radish heat) through the winter. Serve them raw, barbequed, sautéed, or briefly steamed. They are also great as a quick pickle simply marinated in white wine or rice vinegar, lemon juice or verjuice. Just be aware that after a few hours they take on a sulphury smell.
For a similar flavour with a complimentary colour, present your valentine radishes with Green Flesh Radishes. They can be prepared in the same ways. Valentine’s Day presentations also benefit from some Edible Flowers—which are doing well in our sunnier greenhouses.
Red Valentine and Green Flesh Winter Radishes
are sweet and luscious with just a hint of heat.
A Farm Conference in the City
You don’t have to leave downtown Toronto to learn more about your food. Canadian Organic Growers (COG) is once again presenting their fascinating one-day conference on Saturday, February 19. Go in the morning and you can be back at your stoves before dinner service.
Is Peak Food is Starting?
In the background to the news coming from the Middle East is that the trigger to the unrest has been higher food prices. This piqued my interest. So I looked up what my favourite commentator has to say about this. Gwynne Dyer: The future of food riots suggests several reasons for this. In his list of causes, I was surprised he did not mention the link between rising oil prices and rising food costs. In a previous commentary Food is going to get a lot more expensive he did address this link. Cheap Global Food now uses seven calories of energy [mostly from cheap oil to make artificial fertilizers and ship products around the world] to produce one calorie of cheap food. As oil prices rise, food prices will rise even quicker. Medium scale Ecological Agriculture, which uses much less energy, will become a relatively more efficient way to produce the world’s food in both poor and rich countries. However, millions of new farmers will need to be trained.
Sent: February 22, 2010
Exciting News for Chefs
At the Canadian Organic Growers (COG) Conference, I finally had a chance to congratulate Michael Schmidt on his legal victory for Ontarians to purchase raw milk. He said this victory was not about raw milk! The victory is all about being able to choose. I asked if this meant Ontario chefs could now legally obtain flavourful pastured chickens and eggs, rich Guernsey and Jersey milk, and real crème fraiche and properly soft ripened cheeses. Michael replied, “Yes, this is what it is all about.” For more details about Michael Schmidt, read The Bovine.
However, getting these new products into your kitchen will involve much more than just picking up a phone and requesting a delivery. Your restaurant or hotel will have to purchase Farm Shares in order for you actually taste your dreams. You will then have to wait until the crop is produced; and as an “owner” you will also become aware of the real cost of producing food. The process for this investing was broached at another conference workshop. Panellists at Slow Money explained the tremendous need for capital in agriculture; but a Canadian small farm advertising a need for investors is illegal. Given this, I suspect that the first step in making your culinary dreams a reality is that our culinary community create a network that can legally communicate needs and demands. The upside of all this will provide tremendous possibilities for promoting our Culinary Tourism.
(L to R) Percy Schmeiser, Bärbel Höhn, and Michael Schmidt
Photo by Anna Prior
COG Conference discussed GMO failures
The keynote speaker, Bärbel Höhn, was Germany’s first Green agriculture minister. Her real influence is best described by her title: Minister for Consumer Affairs and Agriculture. She was the first parliamentarian to blow the whistle on Mad Cow Disease (BSE); she was a leader in holding GMO users financially responsible for their damages; she added environmental benefits to calculating agricultural subsidies; and despite corporate protests she provided the GMO labelling sought by 80+% of consumers (in both Germany and Canada). Would that we had agriculture ministers with her bravery.
Percy Shmeiser, the international hero for independent farmers, gave an update on his ongoing legal case about GMO canola with Monsanto. I find it amazing that the massive government and university support for GMO’s continues, despite it only really affecting corn (73% of production), soybeans (91%), canola (75%), sugar beets (82%), and cotton (87%). (Introductions of GMO potatoes, tomatoes, squash, papaya and eggplant have all failed.) The only winners have been the promoters of this faulty science. The losers have been the rest of us with visions of agriculture providing flavourful, nutrient dense, environmentally friendly, and carbon negative food and fibre. For more information, see the NON GMO Project website. Since Cookstown Greens probably uses no GMO ingredients, you too could actually be a winner by adding a note in your advertising to the 80+% of consumers who want to avoid GMO’s.
Forth Annual Terroir Hospitality Symposium
Better sign up right away for this always amazing event. Plan to spend March 2 in the stunning U of T Hart House. To learn more and purchase tickets, please visit the Terroir 2010 website. See you there.
Sent: February 15, 2010
George Brown College culinary students visit the farm
On Wednesday, Cookstown Greens hosted a record number of guests (about 60 students). Being unable to speak outside, it was a tight squeeze inside. We hope everyone could see, hear, taste, smell, and feel everything they came to experience. Dave started by giving a brief history of the farm and how he set out to develop a steady supply of exceptionally flavourful specialty produce. With steady support from Toronto’s acclaimed chefs, Cookstown Green’s inspired staff, curious media, and Torontonians eager for new experiences; it has all begun to succeed.
Dave and Deb led separate groups through the greenhouses to see and taste tiny seedlings, edible flowers and baby salad greens. They also went outside (albeit quickly in order to avoid the bitter wind) to view the snow-covered fields. They then crowded into the root cellar to see what remains of the fall root harvest.
In response to teacher inspired questions: Dave explained how it is very difficult for local producers to compete with significantly subsidized imports dumped into Canada; while our governments steadily reduce supports for Canadian farmers. He also answered why mono-cropping is cheaper, but leads to an increased need for pesticides, and diminished flavour for chefs and nutrients for consumers. The other topic of interest was how and why organic matter (Carbon) was incorporated and sequestered into the soil. Dave explained that this is the food for all the tons of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, amoebas, and nematodes which thrive in the soil below their feet. These creatures see to it that the plants receive just the nutrients they require.
Dave Cohlmeyer welcoming George Brown Culinary Students.
