sosnicki organics

Everyone is anxious to receive word when we'll be back at markets and what is coming.... well folks - not for a while. It's cold and a bit late this year. (That's the field crops- better news in the 'covered fields'.....) Good news is we've broke soil! Ben plowed and cultivated readying the ground for seedlings.  We have to watch it, as you don't want to jump the gun. If you can't smell the soil and the earthworms aren't around, your early plantings are just going to sit and not grow too well. Peas will go in, but I think we'll wait a few more days for onions, lettuce, kale etc. even with row covers (that are a must for us this year) the plants will thrive sitting on the wagons, drinking fish and hanging out for a few more days. MarketBaby Sadie has been tractor riding a lot with Ben ;) Market veg is going along the east side of the house this year. My absolute favourite place for the veg! Looks amazing when I walk out the door and have a monster...

It would be easy for me to whine about the hard winter, cold spring, all our various hardships - but I'm not going to do that. Ben and I decided that we would kick ass the best we could paying off the mortgage and deal with all that farming brings so that when we are 60 years old we can inspire young farmers and show them how to get through the rough patches.  We are going forward with optimism about the rest of this growing year :) Just check out the plants! Whooo!!  These giants are the heirloom tomatoes  that will be planted once again in our covered fields (this time two greenhouses full!) Seeded in between the tomatoes are beets for extra early bunches. Usually these toms would be in the ground by now but it's just too cold. It was below 6 last night and the water pipes were frozen so I had to wait until mid morn to water. Ben had to drain the big water tank and the pump to ensure they didn't freeze last night. Warmer temps from now on I hope!  We've created the...

While Sadie naps the paperwork continues and I finalize seedling orders and order more seeds. Did I ever mention how I lothe being attached to a desk? It is my least favourite job ev-er.  And though I never let cabin fever set in around here, I can't take Sadie out on these very cold days. Today was an exception for a quick outing, however! And we had fun!  The year is exceptionally cold and snowy. Usually by this time of year we are ready to almost fire the middle greenhouse. Not this year. It would cost a fortune to heat the old glass cold frames in these frigid temperatures. So we wait. And trim cabbage. And grade potatoes and onions. And more cabbage. I am not good at waiting and to me a successful season begins with robust, healthy large plants. I have this internal spring clock that is urging me to get ready to seed! If we have to postpone early seeding - then look out! Come March I will be a seeding demon out there! Lololol And that my friends is no lie. I will be in hi...

I always get excited this time of year, as it's planning time! The time when you start fresh, make changes according to how last year went and how you predict this year will go.  To start the year of right, we are one of the proud recipients of  The Big Carrots 'Nature's Finest Fund'  ! This grant money will help with the purchase of a new seeder we need for the direct seeded crops so we can afford to grow more wholesale for The Big Carrot and other specialty retailers.  So if you live in the west end and shop at the Carrot, you'll be sure to see more of our homegrown veg in store! We've never received a grant before, so the whole concept is wild, but I can tell you that we are happy, humble, grateful and will no doubt work harder for The Big Carrot because of it.  We would encourage new, small organic farmers to seek information regarding these incentives. We should have been doing this for a decade now! Start by having a chat with  Dave Cohlmeyer .  ...

(Big Panzer, Ben & Sadie January 1st, 2014) Well, we certainly won't forget 2013. A year full of the most amazing happy moments with the birth of our awesome Sadie Bug, to moments of sheer sadness with the death of Ben's mom Sophie. The farm is definitely not the same anymore. Sophie is gone so that extra pair of strong hands to seed and greenhouse grow, hoeing, grading, smiling, laughing, complaining....has gone silent. Her minivan no longer creeps about the farm to see what she can help out with next. The Mexican guys lost their ride to town. The one thing we didn't lose were her recipes and her advice. I made a lot of her food for Christmas and while Ben ate, he smiled. And we'll never forget her smiles and her points of view. We've got the time invested and all those awesome memories. And Sadie is the newest rockin' soul around here. Now crawling everywhere and pulling herself to a stand, any day now she'll be walking! It all happened so fast! She...

We've got a decent amount of storage crops this year to keep us pretty busy. Please don't forget about visiting the markets this winter! We need your support! Our farm will be at Dufferin Grove Thursdays and Evergreen's Brickworks on Saturday mornings. We grew our sweet carrots again this fall and have enough stored for Christmas sales. Same with Beets.  Celeriac (root celery) is also in abundance! Stored with roots and field soil, it takes a bit to clean these guys. Eat mashed, roasted, in a slaw or a creamy soup :) Bins and bins of cabbages! Our own winter staple should be available at markets until April 2014.  Also available are Potatoes, Onions (sweets, reds & cooking), Garlic AND we'll be field harvesting infamous KALE for as long as we can! Will be picking it out of the snow!! Bundle up and come enjoy real food!