Frankies Ristorante

Not all that much to do with the farm but this is a fantastic restaurant for anyone with a gluten or nut intolerance. The food is absolutely exceptional, even to someone who can eat wheat. My sister has a gluten intolerance and we are always looking for places to go to buy her good tasting and healthy food. Frankies is a fantastic restaurant with a great selection of special gluten free products. If you have a gluten or nut intolerance or know someone who does and has been looking for a place to go, this is it! I have posted a link for the restaurant in the links below, it's in Uxbridge so it might be a bit of a drive, but it is worth it!

Building a Field

The sun is shining and it's beginning to feel a lot like spring again. Much of the ground is no longer white but a mix of brown and green, and you can actually spend the day outside in a t-shirt. Yes it is feeling like spring, and soon enough we will be back out in the fields tending to what is coming this year.

Currently we are dividing up plots of the field, now being just before the growing season, it is the time when we have to decide on the fruits and vegetables we are going to carry this upcoming season. As a farmer, proper usage of your land is key to running a profitable farm. If you are growing carrots and no one wants carrots then it will not end up paying off! So farmers at this time of year carefully review what their most popular products were last season and what is currently in demand by the public. This way they can keep up with the changing markets and stay in business.

By planning out fields farmers are much better equipped for this task(you have a limited space and although you might like to grow all the weird veggies, a lot of the time you can't!). It is also important to plan out fields so that they are balanced to contain both animals and plants. Allowing animals to have space to live and pastures to graze has always been important to our family. So to find room for them we choose a section of field that needs to be revitalized. In other words anywhere that has been grown on for several years and has had its nutrients used up. Generally this applies to plots where we grow temporary crops such as strawberries but pastures can be adjusted to include more permanent crops such as our apples.

Fencing is strung up on all sides of the planned pasture and a specific mix of cover crops that includes different grasses and legumes(these prevent cows from bloating and are exceptionally good at renewing the soil) is planted. When the ground hardens up a bit the cows and pigs will both be left to graze and root in the pasture. This benefits the farm on many levels, the animals are allowed the space and diet that is essential for them to stay healthy and they also keep tabs on the weeds in the field. One of the best features of this method is that while the cows keep the grass nice and low, pigs will seek out more pestilent weeds such as thistles and eat their roots, saving us the weeding!

If it has been done right this process will improve the overall health of the farm and limit the amount of synthetic products a farmer needs to add to their fields. That is why it is so important, especially on organic farms to plan out their crops. It also provides a humane and ethical way of raising livestock that is lost in all these factory farms. If you want to prove this to yourself take a walk into a properly planned field and the difference can be stunning.

In the end this journey to becoming sustainable has lead us to all sorts of new practices and ideas and a lifestyle that just makes sense. I am happy to say that the new growing season is just about here and I can't wait for it! Someone once said you are what you eat and if what you eat is healthy, then it certainly can't do you any harm! I hope everyone is keeping in good health, and until next time everyone,

Good Health and Good Eating!

Fighting the Flu and Ginger Tea

Well it has been a long Winter so far and I thought i might be blessed by not catching the flu at all this winter, however unfortunately I still managed to get it! In fact a lot of people seem to be coming down with a cough or sore throat of some kind. Well today I would like to share with you some of the benefits of the miracle herb ginger.

Ginger root is an excellent source of vitamins and nutrients, something essential when you are feeling run-down. It also contains some natural antibiotics and it is rich in anti-oxidants which help boost your immune system. Personally I love the taste of ginger and always have and so ginger tea is always one of my first choices for a cold and flu remedy. Ginger has also been proven to be effective in treating nausea and settling the stomach(as long as you don't eat to much!). I was curious about any other possible health benefits of ginger and after doing a bit of research, it's obvious why it is called the miracle herb! Ginger contains many beneficial compounds that make it's health benefits range from powerful anti-inflammatory to a possible cure for several types of cancer. Many studies have been done that show ginger does not only benefit people who have a runny nose but also seems to help with conditions such as arthritis. Ginger like many natural herbs may soon prove to be much more beneficial for the body then people think and if you would like to learn some more about it's effect on the body please visit:

Ginger

I have also recently come across an article about milk. Milk is generally accepted as a healthy thing to drink, it is loaded with proteins and beneficial chemicals that can help your body. Many of these proteins are naturally formed to aid growth in the young and increase disease resistance. There was an article in Acres magazine that introduced me to the idea of caseins. Caseins are one of the most important proteins found in milk, they are primarily responsible for the development of children. There have been over the course of history two types of caseins; alpha and beta, both are essential to your health. However over the years the gene pool of cows (our number one source of milk) has been limited by selective breeding and made many cows genetically 'closer'. Many years ago a defect occurred in a cow somewhere that turned the traditional A2 beta casein into what they call A1 beta casine.

Now this didn't really seem to mean much then and I doubt anyone knew about it at the time. Over the years however, the gene that produces this mutation has been widely interbreed into other cattle, especially in areas such as the West where selective breeding has been practiced for generations. The only problem is that the A1 type of beta casein is now being linked to heart disease and autism, which could partially explain why we have such high rates of both in North America. Countries like New Zealand now force livestock owners to test their cows before they are allowed to sell any milk and Australia forces producers to label what type of milk they sell. This story really gives support to women who breast feed their babies, it may be more important then previously thought! For more info on proteins found in milk and their benefits visit: Milk Composition - Proteins and if you would like to further read on links between the A1 type casein and your health visit: Beta casein A1 and A2 in milk and human health: Lay Summary

Besides the health stories, I have quite a few things to tell you from our farm!

Our cow gillian has finally calved, giving birth to baby Willow and we now have added three piglets to the farm for the upcoming season! As some of you may be aware, our family is trying to source only local foods, and this means growing the majority of our greens and raising most of our meat. This will be our second time raising pigs and honestly it is great to have more. Pigs are fantastic animals to have around the farm. Now that we have three more we no longer send out any green waste and our compost piles require a lot less work! As well I can now say I have tried milk fresh from the cow and it was an experience, (Although I did not do the milking, it was good!).

As far as farming in Ontario goes, we are now closing in on a key time for farms around the GTA. Many of the perrenial crops (such as apples and raspberries) need to be pruned before coming out of dormancy in the spring. Home gardeners should also be checking their patches right now. If you are a raspberry grower now is an excellent time to clean up your canes.

• If you are growing raspberries you need to prune them within the next few weeks, while they are still in dormancy. If you wait too much longer, sap will start flowing through the plants again and pruning may cause more damage then good. You must also identify whether or not you are growing early or ever-bearing raspberries.
• If your raspberries produced earlier in the summer then they are an early variety and you must selectively prune. Cut out all the dead canes from the previous year, then you should thin out your canes to about 11 canes per meter.
• If your raspberries produced right up until the first frost they are ever-bearing. This means that it is probably best to simply cut down and remove all the canes and let the plants start fresh in the beginning of the season. You should dispose of all waste canes as they can cause the healthy plants to catch diseases.

Things are also starting to shape up for this years growing season. The farm is being cleaned and we are in the process of planning out what we are growing this year and where we are going to plant it, things are beginning to get busy again! Unlike the majority of people, our family is spending super-bowl sunday building a new pig pen... all part of the journey back to real food! I hope everyone has managed to stay healthy over the past month and if your coming under the weather, you might want to give ginger tea a shot! Until next time,

Good Health & Good Eating!