Fairwind Farm is...
an ever evolving patch of the "Good Earth" located in Sherkston, Ontario. Our property locaton, (close to the north shore of Lake Erie and buffered by treelines to the north and east of us), provides us with a protected and moderated growing climate. It also places us inside a geographically small area that has been blessed with fabulous black sandy loam soil. From this incredible starting point we have worked hard to refine our crop and seed selections, our crop rotation schedule, our use of companion planting and green manuring practices, and to incorporate more perennial food crops into our overall garden plan.
"Ever evolving" means just that. In our next "evoluton" will include increasing our use of season extension methods, expanding our operation to include more CSA shares and a commitment to supporting our local food banks and soup kitchens.
2010 will be our eleventh year as producers and purveyors of top quality, organically grown produce. We are looking forward to gettin' down and dirty once again in spring to offer up a tasty kaleidescope of your favourite veggies, and ours!
Our one-acre market garden nurtures an average of 30 different crops each growing season. They are tended to the old-fashioned way: we use no chemical inputs, we use minimal tillage, companion planting, green manuring in the crop rotation, and "cook" our own compost from our livestock's manure and our garden residues. We hand seed, hand weed, hand harvest our produce, storing it for an average of only 24 hours before it reaches our customers hands. Because we believe that's the way it should be done.
We strive to produce a harvest that is as pleasing to the eye as it is to the palate. Fairwind's carrots are purple, yellow, red, pink, white and orange, our beets are golden, striped, white and red. We are not certified organic but follow organic and ecologically sound growing pracitces. We firmly beleive in the "know your grower" philosophy and welcome farm visitors.
"How we eat determines, to a considerable extent, how the world is used." -
Wendell Berry