|  Ok, so I couldn’t resist a lame attempt at berry humour but I hope you’ll look past that and read the rest of this post.
I’m the proud owner of two quarts – ok, just over one by now – of fresh Ontario strawberries that I picked up at Fraberts Fresh Food in Fergus. I’ve been craving them since I read a tweet by @EatingNiagara yesterday talking about having the chance to taste the first of the strawberry harvest and I knew one of the only places likely to carry them in the Guelph-Wellington area was Fraberts.
Continue reading The berry first of the season – strawberries, that is  To me, the thought of lavender always brings images of the south of France to mind – and a lovely vacation I spent there with my Mom in the late 1990s.
It’s time for me to change my thinking, though, because lavender is set to have a bigger presence as a homegrown Ontario crop as well. Ontario farmers recently formed the Ontario Lavender Association and are excited about the potential of this crop as an exciting addition to agri-tourism in our province, says a recent story in The Grower. Continue reading Lovely local lavender  Last weekend, when I wrote about visiting my friend Jackie’s store in Fergus – Fraberts Fresh Foods – I talked about getting the first asparagus of the season. Now, it was yummy and I could go on and on, but I won’t.
While I was at Fraberts, I also managed to get my hands on some local Ontario rhubarb. I used to eat rhurbarb a fair bit when I was growing up because it grew in our garden…AND…this is the important part, my mom knew what to do with it. I have contemplated buying rhubarb in the past but never did precisely because I wasn’t sure what I could turn it into (and since my husband’s not a big fan of rhubarb, whatever I did make had better be good because I’d be eating a lot of it!). Continue reading Another spring favourite – fresh Ontario rhubarb  One of the things I enjoy a lot about my job as a freelance food and farm journalist and corporate writer is the chance to learn about really cool new things.
The story below about soybeans, which I originally wrote for Ontario Grain Farmer and is published in the May/June 2010 issue, is one of these examples. It’s all about how the hulls of soybeans, leftover after the oil has been extracted from the bean, could be used to treat industrial waste water. Check it out: Continue reading Finding markets for the whole soybean – even hulls For many of us, the Internet is a vital part of our daily lives – business and pleasure. Personally, I have a hard time imagining my life without the Internet in it in some way shape or form. From a work perspective, I’m a freelance writer and communications project manager and my husband and I also have a web-based retail business. Socially, the Internet helps me stay in touch with friends and family far away and makes plans with those who are close by. Where am I going with this, you may ask? Continue reading Connecting rural Canadians to the Internet  An innovative residue extraction process for Ontario ginseng is poised to open up new market opportunities for the high value crop.
The new method allows for the removal of crop protection residues without affecting the structure and quality of the ginseng, a pilot project has shown.
Continue reading New markets for Ontario ginseng Ontario’s farmers are using a town hall meeting in Stratford today to reach out to the public. The Save our Farms forum will focus on the beleaguered state of Ontario’s farming sector and on what the future of an Ontario without farming could look like down the road if nothing is done. Continue reading Plea from farmers: Save our farms | |
