Ingredients

• 10 ounces baby spinach
• 2 large apples, cored and thinly-sliced
• half a small red onion, peeled and thinly-sliced
• 1 cup walnut halves, toasted
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries
• 5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
• a generous pinch of salt and black pepper
• (optional) 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup, to sweeten

Tips

• If prepping in advance, toss the apple slices in some lemon juice so they don’t brown
• Feel free to incorporate or substitute the spinach with kale or other greens you have in the fridge
• Substitute other nuts like toasted pecans
• Any soft cheese like goat, blue or even brie can be used
• If you don’t have apple cider vinegar on hand, substitute champagne vinegar, rice vinegar or balsamic
• To make this salad into a meal, add baked chicken

 
Directions

1. Add spinach, apples, red onion, walnuts, dried cranberries, and half of the feta cheese to a large bowl.

1. Add all ingredients together in a bowl and whisk to combine.  Or, add all ingredients to a mason jar, cover, and shake to combine.
2. Drizzle with the vinaigrette, and toss to combine.
3. Serve immediately, garnished with the remaining feta cheese.

​
​This delicious, tangy red cabbage makes a great side dish with savoury beef dishes and was a traditional vegetable my mother 'Finni' served with stuffed turkey too.

Directions:
​

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Cut off the tough, leatherlike skin from ham (if it has it; some hams will not), and score the fat in a crosshatch pattern. Stud ham all over with cloves, put in a large roasting pan, and loosely tent with foil. If pan has a roasting rack, pour 2 cups water into bottom.
2. Bake until a thermometer inserted in center of thickest part (not touching the bone) registers 135°, about 20 minutes per lb. or 2 to 2 1/2 hours total, basting occasionally with any accumulated juices.
3. While ham is baking, whisk together the Apple Cider Syrup and Dijon mustard until smooth.
4. When ham has about 40 minutes left to bake (internal temperature will be 120° to 125°), brush generously on all sides with glaze. Continue baking until ham reaches 135° and glaze is well browned.
5. Baste with remaining juices and allow foil-covered ham to rest 15 minutes before slicing.

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 - 19oz can chickpeas
• 4 cucumbers - chopped
• 2 small red bell peppers - chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon shelled hemp seeds
• 1/4 cup pepita seeds (shelled pumpkin seeds)

​Vinaigrette Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• juice of half a lemon
• 4 tablespoons Chive Blossom Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon liquid honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

• ​Combine salad ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
• Combine vinaigrette ingredients into a jar.  Cover, and shake vigorously to blend.
• Pour vinaigrette over salad ingredients and mix well.  Cover and chill for 1-2 hours before serving to let flavours blend.

These days, we have been focusing on dormant pruning, taking advantage of every possible day the weather permits.  Pruning is an important part of orchard maintenance to maintain the structure, health and productivity of the trees. 

 SWhile pruning is important for the health of the trees, all those cut branches and twigs create a large amount of debris on the orchard floor! We maintain a dense cover crop of grasses and native 'weeds' in the orchard to reduce rain runoff and soil erosion and to help preserve moisture in the ground. ​In 2021 we invested in a new flail mower, a specialized mowing machine shreds biomass and prunings and distributes them in the orchard rows as a mulch. This not only keeps the orchard floor neatly mowed, it also recycles nutrients from the debris back into the soil. All part of sustainable farming. 

And there they are! Still-dormant fruit buds waiting for the spring sun and warmth to coax them into developing lovely fragrant apple blossoms!  With good weather, proper pollination and further protection from pests and disease, they will grow into beautiful apples.  

There's lots more orchard work to come during the rest of the growing season till we get there...Be sure to come back and see us during the fall harvest to see how these little buds came along!

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat bread
• Sliced cheese - Smoked Gouda or Extra-Old Cheddar work very well
• Apple Butter
• Butter 

Directions:

• For each sandwich, butter the outside of two slices bread.
• Spread inside of each slice with a generous layer of Apple Butter.
• Arrange sliced cheese over Apple Butter.
• Top with second slice of bread (Apple Butter side goes next to the cheese).
• Heat a non-stick frying pan and grill the sandwich on each side, flipping with a spatula until both sides are nicely browned and the cheese has melted a bit.
• Remove to plate, cut into quarters and enjoy!

This is an easy-to-make snack that both kids and adults enjoy!  The combination of our Apple Butter with its tangy flavour and full-bodied apple sweetness, paired with crispy tortilla chips lightly seasoned with sugar and cinnamon is -- well -- totally 'apple-tizing'! Our Apple Butter is made without added sugar and the tortilla chips are baked fat-free, so it's a healthy treat too! 

Our main orchard on 5 acres is made up of 1100 mature trees and 200 young trees we planted to replace ones that are no longer healthy and productive.  Our trees are semi-standard, semi-dwarf and dwarf types that grow 5 to 15 feet tall. We prune them annually to maintain their structure, health and productivity, paying special attention to encourage apples within easy reach for pick-your-own visitors of all ages including kids.  Larger commercial apple orchards have moved to densely-planted spindle trees grown along trellis and wires for maximum efficiency and production.  We have stayed with traditional free-standing trees to provide a more traditional orchard setting and fun pick-your-own experience. 

In 2009, we purchased more farmland to increase our capacity. After improving the land with drainage, clearing and tillage, we started planting young trees and our new orchard is now up to 900 trees, some of which are now starting to produce apples.

We use a blend of organic and conventional methods:

• A minimal spray program using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as recommended by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture
• Combining organic and synthetic products, selecting those with lowest impact to the environment and beneficial insects
• Managing our orchard to proactively minimize and mitigate pest and disease issues, eg: pruning, mowing, thinning
• Monitor pest levels using special insect traps and lures for determining when and how to use control methods
• Mowing the grass under the trees to avoid the use of herbicides in the Pick-Your-Own area and provide food for bees and beneficial insects
• When planting replacement trees, choosing varieties that are more disease resistant (eg, MacFree, Liberty, Priscilla) to reduce the need for spraying
• Enhancing our farm's beneficial management practices, including several projects via the Canada-Ontario Environmental Farm Plan like planting spruce trees as shelterbelt, constructing two farm ponds for water management and irrigation, and investing in low-drift spray towers to help protect the environment
• Farm-scaping to encourage natural habitat for wildlife and biodiversity, eg: Milkweed for monarch butterflies, clover for bees, ponds and wetlands for birds, frogs and insects

Over the years, we have welcomed thousands of families, couples and groups visiting our farm from the Kingston area as well as Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. 

We work hard to provide a well-maintained orchard, quality fruit and a hands-on apple-picking experience that provides fun and learning for all.   

Our Pick-Your-Own starts early September and runs until about middle of October (while there are still enough apples on the trees!)

A few years ago, a woman called me from somewhere in Northeastern United States. She had bought some apples from us during a vacation in Ontario and raved about them being most amazing apple she had ever tasted - she just had to call us to find out what unique variety it was. 

Based on her description of the apple and the time of her visit, I was able to tell her that she had bought a bag of our McIntosh apples.  She was absolutely astonished and it took some convincing to help her realize that it was indeed the good old 'Mac' that had blown her away!  

This is not an isolated story.  While many of our existing customers love the Macs, just as many new ones come into our store saying 'I hate Macs'. We just say 'Here try one’ -- the fact is they have never tasted this fabulous apple when it’s fresh-picked.  Once they do, many wonder out loud why the ones they buy in the grocery stores are so disappointing, even when they are sold as ‘new crop’ apples in the fall. 

Learn why the McIntosh apple deserves our love and respect! It traces its roots to a tree found by John McIntosh growing wild in 1811 on his farm in the eastern Ontario hamlet of Dundela, about 70 km southeast of Ottawa.  To this day Canada is known around the world for this great variety of apple.  

Here's some more neat facts about the McIntosh apple: 

• 2011 was the 200th anniversary of the McIntosh apple
• Every McIntosh tree and apple in the world is a descendant of the original tree
• Many other varieties stem from the McIntosh - including Melba, Lobo, Cortland, Empire, Spartan and Macoun  - to name a few
• The McIntosh apple represents approximately 25% of Ontario's total apple production
• The last-known McIntosh tree grown from cuttings of the original Mac 150 years ago died in 2011, but more cuttings were taken to keep this great lineage going