Members of the Tweed and District Horticultural are planning their spring gardens after the presentation given by Patricia Carrol at the October meeting. Patricia’s 1/3-acre farm called Ten Chances is located in CentreHastings near Ivanhoe.
Growing up, Patricia lived on a farm with her family in Ancaster, Ontario. Upon retiring, in 2015 she drove weekly to Brampton to study organic farming and decided that was what she would do in her retirement.
When Patricia started her farm, she became organically certified. However, with the paper work involved to be certified, she decided to no be longer be certified “on paper”. She does continue to follow the practices of organic farming as she did during the time she was certified.
Throughout her presentation, she provided members with many tips that she has learned in the past years….
-grows everything from seed…usually organic or hybrid seeds purchased fromp William Dam Seeds
-uses a toothpick and a bit of water to pick up tiny seeds for planting
-uses soil blocks to start her seeds
-checks the labels on seed packets for maturity dates so she can schedule her planting; she finds the information provided usually works
-uses a baker’s rack and grow lights for her seedings
-in the garden, seeds by hand and seed planter
-uses a sprinkler hose to help with germination; then she uses a drip tape with automatic shut off
-does not till her beds; finds this reduces the need to weed
-to maximize space, cucumbers, tomatoes and climbing beans grow up so she provides supports to the plants to do this
-she does crop rotation once a year; does succession planting throughout the season in the same bed
–prunes tomato plants August 25; this helps the tomatoes on the plant to grow before the end of the season
-plants flowers in her beds to attract pollinators
Patricia delivers boxes of her produce weekly to families in the area who are part of her CSA program. She always samples her produce to ensure its quality.
Patricia encouraged the members at the meeting to start their planning in November so they can order the seeds that they will need for the spring. And before you know it, it will be time to plant!!!!
Each year, Patricia tries a new “crop”. For 2024, she tried growing everbearing strawberries…. very successful. She brought a flat of these delicious berries to the meeting and within minutes…maybe seconds they were all sold!!
Upcoming Events
November 5…. AGM followed by Christmas decorating ideas to be presented by members, Valerie Foran, Liz Holgate and Nancy Lessard.`