The First Snow

To view the latest from Ridge Berry Farm visit our new blog and site!

First, we'd like to take this opportunity to wish all of our American friends a very happy Thanksgiving.

For us in Niagara, this was the week of our first real snowfall of the season. It did not last long on the ground as we've been enjoying an amazingly warm November. It did however usher in the Christmas spirit.

Our first snowfall of the season....

The warm November was a bit of a godsend for us. Being busy with the Tea Room, our farm duties have been neglected. The nice weather allowed us to clean up our raised beds, while collecting seeds for next Spring (beans, okra, some annual herbs, pumpkins, etc. are so much fun to gather).

This was also the time to "hunt" for the Asparagus that grows wild on the property. This time of year they stand out like delicate yellow-green ferns. We look for these to simply transplant in our Asparagus bed. Slowly, this bed is getting full and should produce a sufficient amount of Asparagus next Spring (perhaps not enough for the restaurant, but certainly for the family),

A beautiful, delicate fern; Asparagus growing wild on the property.

The Growing Dome project has not progressed this year, however the dome is still producing some great Zucchinis from a very large plant that is still to this day flowering. One way or another, this set up is really showing signs of possibilities....if we could only get our Aquaponics system set up!

Another surprise has been the Water Spinach, a new plant we have been working with this year. Being semi-aquatic, we transferred some cuttings from our raised beds directly into the Growing Dome water tank. Not only are the plants surviving, but they have generated a significant root system and have started to grow. This plant may be ideal for the Aquaponics set-up and may prove hardy enough to withstand Winter in the Dome.

Zucchini flowers in November...thanks to our Growing Dome.

The Water Spinach cuttings are also doing rather well

At the Tea Room we're now preparing for our next event: the Slow Food Terra Madre celebration on December 16th. If you are not familiar with Slow Food please check out the website. The local group based in Pelham and now known as Slow Food Niagara is a small but thriving community of like minded people (ie. foodies that are concerned about the impact of "industrial food" and wishing to promote local, sustainable products).

For the Terra Madre celebration, we will be doing a main course of Quails. So for the team, it was time to practice our de-boning skills (real Chefs make it look so easy!). We certainly had a fun time getting a lot more acquainted with the anatomy of a bird.

Time to work on our de-boning skills

We'll close this week with a quick photo of the Carolinian forest in the Fall (our favourite part of the property).

Not a conifer in sight....the Carolinian forest in the Fall.