The Greenhouse, it will be....

Gabriel and Katie in 1996 about to begin construction of the first greenhouse (courtesy: Paul Smith)

The Beginning

We tucked all our belongings into a van and left behind an art studio and urban comforts to find and build a place of our own.  Our hopes and plans bumped and clattered down a dirt road and emerged into a clearing where we could imagine an orchard for peaches and just begin to taste the first ripe tomatoes from our future garden.  At last, we could live artfully with the changing seasons.

What We Grow

Since the early years, our farm has expanded beyond tomatoes and our orchard is full of a variety of fruit.

In the Garden:

Heirloom tomatoes:  Black Russian, Brandywine, Jaune Flamme, Amish Paste, and Costoluto Fiorentino are just a selection of the 50+ varieties we grow.

Basil:  a large leaf Italian variety, rich in flavourful oil that can only come from growing in our dry, hot region.

Cucumbers:  Mid-East, Lemon, and Suyo Long; all grown for their sweet flavour and tender, edible skin.

Fennel Bulb:  Zefa Fino is sweet and tender

Onions:  Walla Walla sweet....need we say more?

Shallots:  Picador, Armador, Conservor..all varieties we've come to rely on for their strength in flavour

Eggplants:  Rosa Bianca, Listada de Gandia, and Diamante...we stick with the Italians who seem to know a thing or two about the aubergine.

Peppers:  A rainbow of sweet reds, oranges, purples, browns, and yellows

Zucchini:  Golden and Cocozelle are our favourites...creamy and tender

Squash:  Buttercup, Red Kuri, and Butternut...rich, dense, orange, and lovely

Radiccio:  A bitter surprise to any dish...this is a new addition to our garden

Beans:  Romano, Dragon's Tongue, and Yellow Wax...some classic and versatile beans

Beets:   Golden, Chioggia, and Cylindra...earthy sweet

Celeriac:  The most beautiful harvest vegetable; a mix of celery flavour with a potato texture.

 

In the Orchard

Cherries:  many varieties such as Vans, Bings, and Lamberts to extend the season for the sweetest fruit North of the 49th

Plums:  an amazing variety of plums beginning with the earliest, Santa Clara, to the grand, old favourite Prune Plum.  In between, we offer June Blood, Black Amber, Shiro, Friar, and Presidente.

Peaches:   From Early Red Haven to Harbright to Oh Henry, the season of peaches is pure dreamland

Apricots:   Velvet in texture; the earthiest of fruits

Pears:  Bartletts and Russets to welcome Autumn

Apples:   Summer Reds to winter russets...a large selection to prepare us for Winter. 

 

Stay tuned for our weekly fresh sheet which will begin when the cherries are perfectly ripe (late June or early July).

 

Quyen feasts on cherries (courtesy: Shannon Harris)

 

Our Philosophy

Life is movement and change.
Farming is an active reflection on the temporal nature of life;
an intrinsic connection to movement and change that is manifested by Beauty.
                       

 movement by Gabriel