Hello to everyone returning to our web page in 2008!  The spring has been great so far...a little wet as of late!  Our plants are all in and we've been busy tending the fields - it looks like it will be a good year for our strawberries!

   There are a few things that are new on the farm this year, as stated on our home page.  This summer will mark the opening of our wood-fired bread oven, which we are very excited about!  We will be producing organic fruit pies and baking them in our new oven to sell at the farm.  If any of you have been to Quebec, you've probably seen these amazing ovens before, and if you stopped to purchase a loaf of bread or a pie, you'll know how great wood-fired cooking is!  We'll keep you updated on when baked goods will be available at the farm.

  We are also constructing a small farm market building this year.  (Seems David never tires of building things!)  We will be selling our ready picked produce and baked goods from the market and also providing a little shade to those who venture out to pick their own!  Once the town of Markham gives us the thumbs up, the market will be built by the middle of the summer  (hopefully!) 

Pickers Needed!!

  We will be in need of strawberry and raspberry pickers this season.  If you're interested or know of someone who might be, please contact us.  Help will be required around the end of June.

Eat Your Organic Veggies!                                                    

  A University of Washington study concluded that preschool aged children eating organic fruits and vegetables had pesticide breakdown product levels six times lower than children eating conventional food.  The researches findings point to a relatively simple way for parents to reduce their childrens chemical load - serve organic produce.

- From the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada

Organic vs. Cancer

  Salvestrols, natural compounds found in organic produce, have been shown to destroy cancer cells without harming healthy cells.  Fruits and vegetables grown in organic soil manufacture salvestrols to help protect produce from fungal attack.  Salvestrols are not found in produce that has been treated with fungicides.

  Salvestrols activate the body's natural ability to destroy cancer cells.  Trials have shown remarkable reversals of cancerous conditions after incorporating salvestrol extracts into patients diets.

- Carolyn Herriot's summary of a talk by Dr. Gerry Potter; www.salvestrol.ca (Taken from Green Clippings by Pam Irving, The Canadian Organic Grower magazine, summer 2006)

 Even Processed, Raspberries are an Excellent Antioxidant Source

  A recent study from Plant Research International in Wageningen, the Netherlands, shows that despite storage and processing, raspberries can provide up to 10 times more antioxidants than tomatoes or broccoli.  The research looked at the effect of storage and processing on the antioxidant content of the fruit.  While flash freezing in liquid nitrogen and storage at -20 C destroys much of the fruit's vitamin C content, the antioxidant capacity remains.  They also found that while processing into jams may alter some of the antioxidants, most of the valuable compounds remain. 

- Taken from Fruit & Vegetable Magazine, February 2007.

A Word on Black Currants

"Vitamin C is vital to tissue growth and repair and gives a big boost to the immune system but because it dissolves in water the body cannot store it.  People just do not get enough.  Black currants contain more vitamin C than oranges, so boosting that even further can only be a good thing."

 - A quote from Dr. R. Hancock, research leader at SCRI (Scottish Crop Research Institute), Fruit & Vegetable Magazine, September/October 2006.

** Black currants are in folks!

Help Ban Terminator Seeds

  Terminator seeds are genetically modified to be sterile after the first harvest.  For more information and to learn how you can help, please visit www.cban.ca 

There are many articles we'd love to share with you, but only so much room on this page!  Future postings will include articles on genetically modified food, the meaning of "organic" to large corporations and other health benifits from going organic.

  If you're interested in more articles about organic issues, please subscribe to some of these free e-newsletters.

Organic Friends E-Zine from the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada (OACC) www.oacc.info

Organic Bytes: Health, Justice and Sustainability News Tidbits with an Edge from the Organic Consumers Association www.organicconsumers.org/organicbytes.htm