Let’s all take a moment to appreciate the hard work of our farmers and thank Ontario’s agri-food sector for the incredible bounty of fresh, safe & nutritious food we get to enjoy everyday 🙂  

BACKYARD POULTRY — ORDER FORMS & PRICE LISTS

***PLEASE NOTE:  New policy that payment is due when ordering for all Backyard Poultry Orders of day-old birds and ready-to-lay hens.

Chicks & Turkeys — Day-Old — 2019 Order Form & Price List                               Download our order form & price list for pricing and pickup dates.  Please allow 4+ weeks lead-time on orders for the pick-up date you require. 

Ducklings, Goslings, Guinea Keets & Pheasants — Order Form & Price List Download our order form & price list for pricing and pick-up dates.  Please allow 5+ weeks lead-time on orders for the pick-up date you require. 

Ready-to-Lay Pullets — Order Form & Price List Download our order form & price list for pricing and pick-up dates of ready-to-lay pullets.  We anticipate monthly pick-up dates throughout spring, summer & fall — TBA

Place an order for your desired month’s waiting list and we will contact you when we know when order pick-up date to our store will be — You can decide then if the pick-up date works for you.   Order frequency depends upon adequate order volume, the availability of pullets from supplier and timing of third-party delivery services.   NB:  Birds must be picked up in Blackstock on confirmed pickup day – Sorry, no carry-over of birds to the following day or beyond.  Please bring poultry transport crate(s) or large cardboard box(es) for the transport of your birds.

For your Information:  In Ontario, backyard laying hen flocks may have up to 99 hens without purchasing quota.  Ungraded eggs can only be sold from the actual farm gate location; Graded eggs (through a licensed grading station) may be sold anywhere, even from small flocks.

FOLLOW US on FACEBOOK and ‘LIKE’ our page for updates, promotions, tips & tricks for your farm, garden & home.  

GARDEN CENTRE SALE!!  50% OFF Bedding Plants

We’re proud to offer premium, locally-sourced ORGANIC Garden Soils and Potting Soil Mixes from the “Delicious Dirt” brand from Pefferlaw Peat Products.  

BACKYARD BIRDS:

For feeding your feathered friends, we have a great selection of bird feeders for wild birds, hummingbirds and Baltimore orioles.  We also offer our Wright’s Premium Wild Bird Seed Mix, black oil or striped sunflower seed, safflower seed, peanuts, suet and other backyard wildlife supplies to keep them visiting your back yard.  Follow this link: ‘YOUR BIRDS & WILDLIFE’ to visit our page where you’ll find valuable information on both feeding/hosting and also deterring backyard wildlife.

BACKYARD WILDLIFE:

For those who enjoy seeing deer graze on their property, Wright’s Feeds ‘N Needs manufactures their own custom Deer Mix that will attract deer to visit plus we stock whole corn, grains, deer & salt blocks — ***Watch for our custom deer mix available during fall & winter seasons when there is less access to food for deer in the wild.

LAWN & GARDEN:

THINGS TO DO THIS MONTH  — with excerpts from gardening gurus Mark & Ben Cullen’s Newsletter

If you’ve spent any time in the woods this year, you would know that the damp spring was good for bug-breeding. The same is true of weeds, which don’t wait for the soil to dry out before planting themselves in the garden.

Get out there and weed. Like a lot of jobs, Ben tends to procrastinate with the weeding. With wild and cut flower mixes germinating from seed, it’s easier to tell what is and isn’t a weed once they’re a little more mature. That’s the excuse, anyway. By now, the seeds – and the weeds – are in full flush, so go whole-hog on weed removal before they totally take over. Your veggie crops are probably starting to seek out more space now, too, so reducing weed pressure will improve your harvest.

Apply bordo mixture to prevent early blight in your tomatoes, if you haven’t already.  We repeat this treatment every two weeks until harvest.   Also, stake your tomatoes (if you haven’t yet) with 4′ – 6′ wooden stakes or sticks or try our 6′ tall curly green metal stakes — It will double your crop of tomatoes and help prevent fungal disease from developing as it improves airflow around your tomato plants/patch.

Sow late season crops such as leaf lettuce, mesclun, radish, broccoli, carrots, onions and peas for successive harvesting right into the fall.  A lot of us lost the seeds we started for this spring with the late cold snaps.  It’s not too late to fill in the gaps that left in your garden with lettuces and colder-season crops.

Raspberries and cherries are coming on strong. Make sure to stay ahead of the harvest to minimize waste. Mark likes his raspberries stewed just a bit and poured over ice cream. Ben goes with pie or crumble.

Tree fruits such as apples and pears can fall apart if you don’t stay attentive.  Mark applies End All and Green Earth Garden Sulphur to keep insects and disease at bay. These two products are safe chemical alternatives which can be applied together to save time.

Harvest! If you didn’t have so much going on in your life, you could almost watch the produce turn ripe in your garden on a good growing day. Make sure you find time to walk the garden daily so you don’t miss anything at its peak.

If you’re looking at an excess harvest, remember to check with your local food bank whether they’re participating in the Plant a Row, Grow a Row program (https://www.growarow.org/).

Canada’s gardening gurus, Mark Cullen & son, Ben, had a great time shooting new videos in the garden.  Here are a few  gardening videos that will inform and entertain you — Check them out:

How-To Deadhead Annuals and Perennials

The Benefits of Mulch

Plant Selection for the East Side of Your Home

News and Events:

Enjoy family friendly fun at the 10th annual Farmers of Uxbridge Night on August 29!

Durham Region Agriculture and Rural Affairs is proud to support the 10th annual Farmers of Uxbridge Night. Bring the family out to the Uxbridge Arena Community Hall on August 29 and learn all about farming in Uxbridge. From 5 to 8 p.m., you can meet local farmers, buy local produce and participate in a farming question and answer session. Admission is free. For more information, please call 647-467-3105.

New Rural Economic Development (RED) program opens July 29

The Ontario government has updated the Rural Economic Development (RED) program, which aims to help rural and Indigenous communities attract investment, create jobs and boost economic development. This year, two new project categories will be introduced: economic diversification and competitiveness and strategic economic infrastructure. The first intake for the new program will begin on July 29.  Learn More

The 2019 Durham Farm Fresh brochure is now available!

The 2019 Durham Farm Fresh brochure is available and features helpful resources and references for residents and visitors to Durham Region. The brochure includes a list of members, on-farm experiences and activities, a farm fresh map and a seasonal produce availability chart. The brochure is available to download online, and is also available at different location across the region, including The Regional Municipality of Durham Headquarters.  Download the Brochure

Video:  The Real Dirt on Farming

The Clarington Board of Trade produced a a home-grown, engaging video to highlight agriculture in Clarington. Told by members of the Clarington agriculture community, the video describes the realities and rewards of farming as a business and as a passion. The video aims to inspire and encourage viewers to learn more about the importance of farming.  To view the video, visit youtube.com.

Celebrate the season with upcoming fairs in Durham Region:

Soak up the sun and enjoy some local fun at one of these upcoming fairs in rural Durham:

Climate adaptation strategy for Durham’s Agricultural Sector

Growing Resilience, the Durham Region Agriculture Sector Climate Adaptation Strategy, has been approved in principle by Regional Council. The Strategy is intended to strengthen and support Durham’s agricultural community in proactively adapting to the impacts of climate change. Growing Resilience identifies anticipated risks and presents actions to address these risks, proposed under four broad themes: building community and research capacity; increasing local awareness of agriculture and climate change adaptation; enhancing policy support for agriculture and climate change adaptation; and building on the partnerships, programs and initiatives of Towards Resilience, the Durham Community Climate Adaptation Plan. The Strategy also outlines an action plan to help Durham’s agricultural sector remain resilient in the face of the changing climate and increasing occurrence of extreme weather events.  FIND OUT MORE

The Durham Region 5 Million Trees Program is part of the Durham Community Climate Change Local Action Plan, with the goal of increasing forest cover in the region by approximately 2,800 hectares.  To be eligible, landowners must have 2.5 acres of non-agricultural land to plant.  Forests Ontario plants the trees at a highly subsidized rate and checks their survival at various intervals in the following few years.  Learn more about Durham Region’s 5 Million Trees Program.

The On-Farm Childcare Program, offered by Durham Farm and Rural Family Resources (DFRFR), is designed to provide quality child care for farm families who reside in Durham where at least one of the parents’ primary source of income is through a farm operation.  The program operates from May to September and allows parents to concentrate on farm work during peak times, without having their children in the workplace.  Learn  more about the On Farm Childcare Program.