Posted On: By: Margie McLean
The 2025 growing season is off to a vibrant start at Our Farm, and we’re excited to share what’s been happening in our fields, gardens, and trails.
Beginning at the end of May, people living in our Inclusive Living homes and those supported in Supported Independent Living have been invited to visit Our Farm to pick up fresh and seasonal vegetables to create their weekly menus. We have flowers available now that they are in season, and folks are invited to either build their own bouquet or take a pre-made one to enjoy at home. This season, we have also been lucky enough to have a once a month egg donation from the Egg Board of Ontario. The weekly pick-ups from Our Farm is one of the many ways we support healthy, local food access for the people we support.
We launched our second CSA membership this season with both new and returning members joining our community-supported agriculture initiative. While shares are currently sold out, we’re thrilled to see the excitement and commitment from our community to local, fresh, and environmentally conscious food.
When CSA Members pick up their weekly produce, they’re always invited to step into the gardens at 115 University Avenue East to see where some of the vegetables are grown and to experience the care that goes into every seedling we nurture.
This spring, we were busy planting seedlings, preparing beds, spreading compost and weeding our fields. Throughout the growing season we practice succession planting by planting carrots, lettuce and beans every two weeks and beets and green onions every 3 weeks. This ensures that we have continual harvests of each crop all season long.
We were also busy harvesting our early spring crops such as broccoli, arugula, radishes and lettuce. With the heat we have been having through June and July, we have been keeping a close watch on the crops that prefer cooler weather to prevent bolting (when plants prematurely flower), ensuring all of our veggies are harvested at their peak. Some weeks we are harvesting produce 3-4 times to make sure everything we send out from the farm is at its highest quality.
Our Farm has built so many great connections with our community and it is such an important part of the work we do. Each week we donate leftover vegetables to The House of Friendship to use in their kitchen and any vegetable scraps from harvest are taken to the local Humane Society.
We have had many community members reach out to donate towards the work that we do at the farm and we have been fortunate to receive many things including:
Our Farm thrives because of with the help of our local community. This spring, we have welcomed volunteers from Definity Insurance, AVP Insurance, the Soirée Sistas, and other community members. They have helped us weed beds, repaint the mural on our shed, sift compost, and refresh our raspberry beds. We also opened five community garden plots at our rural growing site, expanding opportunities for people to connect with growing fresh food for themselves.
We are incredibly grateful for the time and energy these groups have shared with us.
While we’ve been busy in the fields, we’ve also been grooming and maintaining our 1.2 km walking trail at our rural growing site. The trail features a gazebo for lunch breaks, benches for resting, and a fun new scavenger hunt for all ages.
We’ve noticed that the best weed management for our trails is having walkers on them, so we warmly invite you to come out for a stroll. Enjoy the sights and sounds of the fields, and see the pollinators at work.
This season, you can also find Our Farm’s produce at Relish Cooking Studio’s Veggie Pop-Up Fridays, helping bring fresh, local produce to even more kitchens across the community. We’re so excited about this new partnership and we hope you’ll drop by their studio to check it out!
Only a few spots remain for our Strawflower Balls session using strawflowers from our farm to create a fun craft. Anyone is invited so sign up, so if you’re interested, grab your spot quickly!
Thank you for being part of Our Farm’s journey this season. Whether you are picking up your CSA share, helping as a volunteer, supporting us through community markets, walking our trails, or just staying updated online, your involvement and support makes a meaningful impact.
Our Farm has two locations. Our University Avenue site (or Urban growing site) is located at 115 University Avenue East. While not open to the public, if you drop by and happen to see one of our farmers, you’re welcome to pop in to say hello. Our Rural growing site is located at 995 Erbsville Road, Waterloo. There you’ll find our 1.2 kilometer trail and you’re welcome to take a stroll on the trail where you’ll see an incredible view of the crops we have planted and growing at Our Farm.
