THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO SIGNED UP AND ARE INTERESTED IN OUR WINTER CSA, WE ARE NOW SOLD OUT.
Please find us at the Orangeville Winter Market (dates on the right hand side bar).
Because seasonal and local eating doesn’t end at Thanksgiving! Let us keep providing you with delicious and nutritious vegetables throughout the winter months! Our Winter CSA starts on November 7th and runs every other week until mid-February.
Check out our Winter CSA share options – serving Mulmur, Orangeville, Shelburne, Alliston and Creemore!
We started an organic vegetable farm as a practical form of environmentalism. An opportunity to put our wishes for how the earth should be treated into practice. To set an example for the changes we need to see in the world and to inspire an appreciation for the wonders of the natural world.
We felt good about how we were growing delicious and nutritious food. But we also found ourselves using a lot of plastic bags! We pack our weekly vegetable shares in totes that are reused every week, but any item inside that needs to be portioned (salad greens, beans, peas, cherry tomatoes) is packed in a plastic bag. For years we cringed about our use of plastic bags in the CSA shares. We estimated that we were using up to 4000 bags for our Summer CSA alone, and likely another 2000 for the Winter CSA. We hated it, but felt like we had no choice. And then we received feedback from several members that they would really appreciate us investigating alternatives. So we dedicated some time last winter to research in this area and decided to aim for a plastic-free CSA for 2019!
We considered all sorts of options and weighed the environmental footprint of each one. We consulted with a group of concerned and well-informed community members. Paper bags come with their own problems of deforestation, and would get soggy with freshly washed produce. New cotton bags were going to be expensive and come with the footprint of any new textile.
We were considering changing our CSA model to avoid pre-packing shares. And then Graham broke the zipper on his work jacket (seems unrelated, I know, but you’ll see…keep reading!) I asked around for a recommendation for an alterations/repair service. This led me to find Ev Pell, a local seamstress. In chatting with her, I shared my current research into making our own cloth produce bags by up-cycling sheets and pillow cases. She was intrigued and offered to give it some thought and quote us a price. I guess she liked the flexibility of the project, that the bags didn’t have to match, the drawstrings could be made from anything she had already, and that we would contribute as many sheets and pillow cases as we could. She bravely took it on! She started sewing and we were really happy with how they were turning out.
Next we recruited friends and community members to join us to stamp and heat-set our logo onto the bags. Evenings spent in good company, with good food, conversation and plenty of laughs made it feel slightly less like a sweat shop (we hope!) And at last the first bags were ready!
We are now closing in on the final weeks of our Summer CSA and, while I would be lying to say it’s been glitch-free, we would consider it a successful initiative. We feel much better about our weekly packing of vegetable shares. We have a CSA membership that are very grateful that we made the change, and who are encouraging us to continue.
If we can get enough additional bags made and stamped in time, you’ll be seeing them on our market table at the Orangeville Indoor Farmers’ Market in the weeks leading up to Christmas…what better gift that a one-of-a-kind up-cycled reusable produce bag, proceeds of which will support an environmental initiative taken on by a local, organic farm in your area! Wow, now that says “I love you!”
Orangeville Farmers Market
May 4 onwards – Opening Day Market in Orangeville, we’ll be there every Saturday until October, 8am – 1pm!
Creemore Farmers Market
May 18, May 25 & June 1 – Seedlings and Spring Crops for sale at the Creemore Market, 8:30am-12:30pm
Seedling Sales on the Farm
May 19, May 26 & June 2 – SEEDLING SUNDAYS on the Farm! Come and shop right out of our greenhouse, 10am – 3pm
June 8 – Weather dependant, either one more week in Creemore or our first week at Toronto Brickworks Market
Brickworks Farmers Market
June 15 – Officially first week at Toronto Brickworks Market!
Summer CSA Shares
Our 2019 CSA Vegetable Shares will begin in the third week of June (exact dates are weather dependant) so there is still time to sign-up to reserve your share!
You plan to shop at the Farmer’s Market regularly.
You like the convenience of shopping cash-free at the market.
You want to show your upfront financial commitment to a local farmer but aren’t interested in the CSA option.
Online Marketplace is right for you if:
You want to choose exactly what you get each time you place an order.
You know you can’t always make it to the Farmer’s Market and can’t commit to a CSA share.
You are away too much during the summer to get a CSA share or commit to regularly shopping at the Farmer’s Market.
You like the idea of checking our list regularly to see what is available.
You’re happy to pay a little extra for the convenience of shopping from home, having your order packed and delivered, and getting only what you want when you want it.
Have a CSA share and want to add extra items.
Of course you can have it all! Have a CSA share, shop at the market on occasion and whenever you want, you can add items to your share by placing an order online!
We are here to make your vegetable dreams come true!
Winter weather is holding strong on the farm, with a thick blanket of snow, but we can feel the warmth of the sun and the lengthening days! We will soon be starting the first seeds in the greenhouse, new staff will be joining us on the farm, and the next growing season will begin to emerge from our minds and into the fields!
If you would like to join our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) membership and share the adventure of a season of fresh, organic and locally grown vegetables, we would love to hear from you!
Our CSA registration will be ready to go as soon as we finalize a few new offerings for the 2019 season: Alliston and Creemore pick-up locations on Wednesdays, paying by credit card as an option, and the possibility of placing an order for additional items in your share via our new online marketplace.
Until CSA sign-up is available here on our website, we invite you to share your contact information using the “Join Our Mailing List” button on the right side-bar and you’ll be among the first to know when we are ready for registration!
In other news: Graham will be among a group of farmer panelists discussing Regenerative Agriculture coming up on March 18th at the Mono Community Centre, 6:30-8:30pm – CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO
The fall colours are here, the gardens are slowing down and the summer markets are finishing. But there are still LOTS of great winter vegetables to be harvested and kept for the colder months ahead! Sign up today for a Winter CSA share and some of them will be yours to enjoy!!
For more information CLICK HERE – you’ll find all the details regarding share contents, cost and our online sign-up form. Tell all of your (local) friends!
We are excited to announce that we are hosting a Pop-Up Dinner Fundraiser on the farm on Saturday June 2nd. Proceeds are going to support the local food education work done by Headwaters Food and Farming Alliance (HFFA) and in particular, their Farm to School initiatives. We greatly appreciate the work they have been doing over the past several years to boost enthusiasm about local and seasonal eating and want to see their programs continue with success!
A vegan specialist chef will be preparing a delicious meal, which we will enjoy while overlooking the newly planted fields! We will also be offering a farm tour before dinner.
Bring your own beverages to the event.
For tickets ($80 each or $150 for a couple), please visit Joy’N Us Events
There are LOTS of ways to buy
from Fiddle Foot Farm…
Choose the Best Option for You for 2018!
We are happy to announce that there will be even more ways to enjoy Fiddle Foot Farm fare this coming season! This will be our 10th year growing organic and biodynamic produce for our local communities. We want to help you find an option that suits your unique vegetable purchasing preferences!
1) CSA Membership
* BEST VALUE *Sign up and choose from many options:
SMALL or LARGE
WEEKLY or BI-WEEKLY
Add GREENS / FREEZER
GETAWAY – 2 weeks off
Pick-Up Locations:
Orangeville
Shelburne
Toronto (NEW!)
On Farm (Mulmur)
2) Custom Orders
* NEW OPTION *Purchase FARM BUCKS and access our new online store to place and order! We’ll harvest and deliver to a pick-up location or market or the farm!
This year, we will be at the Orangeville and Toronto Brickworks Markets Saturday mornings 8am-1pm
We will bring a diverse selection of seasonal vegetables. Follow us on Facebook to find out what we’ll be bringing.
Hands-on learning about ecological and biodynamic agriculture, physical activity in the outdoors, team-building and of course delicious organic food!
We are accepting applications now for positions available for the 2018 season (April – November). For more information, visit our Farm Apprentice page.
The fall colours are here, the gardens are slowing down and the summer markets are finishing. But there are still LOTS of great winter vegetables to be harvested and kept for the colder months ahead! Sign up today for a Winter CSA share and some of them will be yours to enjoy!!
For more information CLICK HERE – you’ll find all the details regarding share contents, cost and our online sign-up form. Tell all of your (local) friends!
