We often think of farmer’s market as a place for food which is why I’ve heard many people avoid the early spring markets.  Unfortunately this means missing some seasonal items that won’t be at the market by the time it gets up to full speed including leeks, fiddleheads, spring garlic and rhubarb.

You would also miss this:

So many farmers are selling their plants (we bought this one from Sosnicki Organics at Wychwood Barn’s Saturday market).  Our tomato plants (we bought 8 different types of plants) are already starting to show fruit – a most exciting promise of things to come.

Buying direct from the farmer guarantees some sage advice, care instructions and experience as well as recommendations of their favourites and descriptions of the taste differences between their different plants.  In the case of the Sosnicki’s it also offers heirlooms that we would struggle to find elsewhere.

It`s not something we hear a whole lot of (depending on the circles one runs in I suppose) but I thought this short video was really clever at debunking so many of the common myths of pigs (i.e. that they are dirty, happy in cages, unintelligent, are well suited for life in a pen).

The video above features Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall Of River Cottage in the UK.  He is a celebrity chef, TV host, author, teacher, farmer and restraunteur – much more on him to come in the future.

To see a more local version (and a unique way a farmer can benefit from letting his pigs root in fields, check out last years photos and post of Mark Trealout`s (Grassroots Organics, Kawartha Ecological Growers) pigs (`This little piggy went to the farm.`)

Some things are better seen than described.  I found this time-lapse video on YouTube and, based on the comments, it took 8 hours for 100+ Amish farmers to raise the following barn for community member John Helmstetter (click on the video twice to link to the original if you wish for more detail).

It`s 2 minutes and 34 seconds:

Stunning, in so many ways.

I did not know Harlan Clark – our conversations were generally limited to the weeks price or availability of eggs.  I am not a giant breakfast eater so even these conversations were scattered (or scrambled as the case may be).

I frequently saw him from a distance.  A lot.  Harlan Clark was an egg farmer who, along with his wife Norine worked their egg stand for more than 60 years.

The couple have been a fixture at the market and missed only one weekend at the market over the last 60 years (after Harlan had a heart attack).  Their dedication included getting up just after midnight to make it to the early morning Saturday market and tended to more than 1,500 chickens in their flock.

Dana`s earliest memories of Toronto are of buying eggs from the Clarks in her pajamas as she lived close to the market.  It’s going to be a different market and he will surely be missed by many who were close to him – and many strangers, like us, who were touched and inspired by their passion.

The family has requested that any donations in his name be directed to the Port Perry Hospital Foundation or the Heart & Stroke Foundation.

We ran an earlier post on the Clarks (including a link to a great article from them) in February.  If you want to learn more about this amazing couple, click here.

The video below speaks more than I can possibly explain in words.

The executive summary: a non-profit group transforms an abandoned lot that was zoned for a different non-profit and grows crops for 7 years to feed the hungry, teach people how to cook healthy and get youth involved in farming in Brooklyn. Unfortunately the non-farming non-profit owes money to the city and the city wants to evict, sell the land and move the farm but aren`t offering solutions that will work.

It`s an amazing project that`s in danger of disappearing.

Watch the video below and check Sustainable Table for more info.

It has been over 20 years since I spent 10 days working on a pig farm at a friend’s place.  There were 800 pigs running around and it was a very different place from Grassroots Organics and how they raise their pigs as part of the Kawartha Ecological Growers.

Mark and his family have a small number of pigs – I believe the total is 5.  They have free access to the open air and (literally) muck about the yard.  They are practically domesticated and appeared to run towards us as they were called.

We had a quick lesson on the utility of raising pigs on a farm such as this and I found it fascinating.  A small number of pigs are raised at the farm each year and they are given free range of a different part of the property each time.  As they eat, walk, play, fertilize and dig in the ground, they actually do a wonderful job preparing it for planting in following years.  It is just by living their lives that they transform hardened earth into a garden which can be planter year-after-year.

I love hearing stories of clever farming such as this.  It’s another dramatic reason supporting the idea of diversification on a farm and how one can work with nature to help nurture and grow her bounty.

I also think that the pigs are adorable and, once again, wanted to share some pictures:

Some of these remind me a lot of Babe: Pig in the City.  I recently saw the movie again – it was as bizarre as the first time I saw it!

When we enter the local grocery store we are so often presented with the illusion of choice and plenty.  Garlic is a great illustration of this – there are at least 10 sub-types of garlic with up to 600 variations on those themes yet we are offered one or two.  Grocery stores often choose the food which grows easiest, cheapest, fastest, in biggest quantities or simply travels the best.

There are more than 600 types of tomatoes.  Watermelon has many different types as do peppers and, certainly hot peppers.  There are many different colors of carrots available and potatoes don’t stop merely at boiling or baking.

Livestock is also similar.  Our recent visit to Grassroots Organic farm (one of the hubs of the Kawartha Ecological Growers Community Shared Agriculture Program) was a reminder of this.  A small flock of different heritage breeds of Turkey roam the farm freely.

I loved how different each one was from the other.  They traveled in a small flock group; their attitudes alternated between a proud mob to a scared collective of individuals.

We took some time to take some portraits and thought you might enjoy the photos…

We recently visited the home of one of our favorite farmers for a great Halloween Shindig.  Mark Trealout and family and their band of merry men and women (Kawartha Ecological Growers) have been mentioned here a lot through the summer and fall.  I love the work that this first generation farmer is doing and how hard he is trying to do things the way he sees as right.  When the average age of a farmer is nearing 60, it is hear warming to see someone in their 30s risking everything to follow their beliefs.

The Trealouts hosted a fundraiser at their farm on Halloween.  Cold weather and rain held some people back but those who attended (including us) had an awesome time.  It was a fantastic country party – lots of costumes, big fires, wonderful food, kids, dogs and livestock all running together.  It was a fantastic day.  A full sized piano provided the heart of the bonfire that warmed us all as we ate homemade caramel corn and enjoyed the company of family and new friends.

I grew up in the country for my first 5 or 6 years and spent a fair bit of time visiting friends and relatives in later years.  Summer and fall were always great times and gatherings such as these built communities unlike most I know in the city.  Being invited to kitchen parties, garage parties, beach parties and festivities like these on farms is a rare honor and something that I highly recommend not skipping.  Most of these days center around people, food, food that people make, bring and grow and the occasional libation if desired.  It’s also great family fun.

In a case like this it was also an opportunity to support a group of people who work so hard for the benefit of the rest of us.

Join us in the next three days as we post pictures of the day, the livestock and the bonfire!  I challenge you to think about your local farmers, fishermen and women and the people who work to bring you your food and consider finding ways to support them and their missions!