However looking back there were some fantastic moments and I would like to believe we made the best of what we were given. To start the season we built a small greenhouse allowing us to start our own transplants on the farm. There was a wood stove to keep the plants warm on those cool nights. In 2011 we will be doubling the size of our greenhouse and adding a set of solar thermal heat panels to help with heating.In 2010 I finally started a CSA. I have been thinking a CSA would be a nice fit in our operation for a year or two now. "CSA"
Stands for Community Shared Agriculture. It is a way that families interested in local food can share the risk of production with a farmer. How it works is that families purchase a share, prior to the growing season, in a vegetable garden that we plan to grow. In return, throughout the summer, we harvest from the garden and make deliveries of fresh vegetables to the share families. This is a picture of our delivery in Calgary. We started with 66 share families this past year. It went so well that we will be expanding to nearly 300 families in 2011. There is loads of info on our website where you can learn more about our CSA and sign up for a 2011 share. We make deliveries into Calgary, Olds & Red Deer
Potatoes.... I love Potatoes. A friend asked me a couple days ago what my favorite crop is. "Most definitely potatoes" I replied. They are easy for new gardeners to grow, fun & quick for kids to pick, can be cooked in so many ways, and come in so many shapes and colours. My father has been growing potatoes for over 20 years and we now grow over 30 varieties. We sell our seed potatoes to home gardeners across Canada who share my passion in this fantastic crop. Anyone can purchase seed potatoes from our online catalogue between Mid December and April every year. You can view all 30 varieties we have available for 2011 on our potato website, seed potatoes.ca
Ultimately we could not have accomplished everything we did without our staff. The farm is humming with people throughout the year busy with planting, harvest, deliveries, working the farm store or spending time showing you around the Gardens.
Hope to see you all in 2011. I have a feeling it is going to be a great year.
John Mills
