by Erin Day-Johnson | Sep 27, 2021 | Farming
Hi everyone!
Over a year has passed since the last post, and I think it is about time I post an update. It has been quite the year!
The 2020 crop-year packing season went by so quickly, and we finished packing our product the earliest that Day’s Century Growers has ever finished. We were so happy to have all of product packed and shipped so efficiently. Having an early finish allowed for some much deserved rest before the farm needed to wake up in Spring.
A very exciting development that happened at the end of 2020… the daughter of the farm found out she was pregnant; with twins! The Day family is growing even bigger! Despite her huge belly, Erin ensured all of the gardens were planted on time. The gardens flourished and produced beautiful produce for the 2021 fruit stand season. On April 30th, 2021, Grace and Beau were welcomed into the Day family.
The pear crop is just about fully harvested and either in our coolers or already packed and shipped to the stores. Soon we will be able to put the farm to sleep for the winter and focus on the packing house. Riley, our Operations Manager, has the packing line working so well, and we are shipping product quickly. The quality of the pears this year is great, thanks to top notch orchard management. We have packed nearly half of our Bartlett crop, and some of our Bosc as well. Soon we will start on Red D’Anjou’s and of course Green D’Anjous. Keep an eye out in the stores for our pears!
Until next time… which will be sooner than a year from now!
-the Day family
by Erin Day-Johnson | Sep 3, 2020 | Farming
Hello all,
It has been a while since I have posted. Life on the farm has been very busy, with our vegetable garden and stand in full swing, the Bartlett harvest, and our packing house waking up.
It has been an interesting season in the vegetable stand with the new COVID-19 protocols. We have been so used to the old ways, and so have all of our customers, however we all worked together to create a safe environment for everyone where we can all enjoy the bounty from my vegetable garden.
Our Bartlett’s have all been harvested and are in our coolers waiting to be packed and shipped to the grocery stores. It has been difficult as we have been a bit short on labour, but all the fruit is off the trees and we are happy. We are in full swing in the packing house, moving as many Bartletts as we can in preparation for the Anjou crop and my crew is happy to have the work. With the no pears needing to be harvested (for now) we have a full and smiling (behind masks) crew.
Really looking forward to all the fruit being off the trees, and the focus being strictly on packing product.
I hope all is well with everyone, and thank-you for your continued support and interest.
-the Day’s
by Erin Day-Johnson | Jul 26, 2020 | Farming
Life on the farm has been very busy! The gardens have grown beautifully, our corn patch is spectacular and we began harvesting our first planting this past Thursday… which means… the stand is open for another season!
It has been relatively busy for us in the stand, and everyone has been very patient with our new rules in regards to COVID-19. We have developed a new layout for the stand that allows a flow of customers in one direction, we have created a new exit off of the property to make the flow traffic one way. Lots of changes, but it has been good! We are really looking forward to where this harvest season takes us.
Thank-you to all who give us the support! It is much appreciated.
-the Day’s
by Erin Day-Johnson | Jun 12, 2020 | Farming
Another rainy day.
An upside to all this wet weather, we haven’t had to irrigate our crops much.
We started cutting down part of the first crop of alfalfa this week for silage, and luckily got all of it into the bags before the rain hit. Good timing on the master farmer around here, Kevin Day! We are still crossing our fingers for some dry weather so that we can take down the rest of the first crop.
The gardens are really loving this rain; everything is so green and happy! When the clouds part and we getting a little bit of sunshine, the plants are going to just burst with energy.
We are still actively working on our online Market Garden, and are very excited for the harvest season for you all to try it out. We can’t wait to make it easier for our customers to get their favourite local produce!
Until next time!
by Erin Day-Johnson | Jun 5, 2020 | Farming
Hi everyone! We can’t believe that it is already June! This season is really moving!
Lately a lot of our energy has been going into tending to our youngest orchard, spreading the limbs and training the tree to grow to ensure good production in the future. The pear crop is looking great, the pears are sizing up in the heat we have been having the last few days.
As for our gardens, things are looking really great! Our weed control is paying off and the gardens are beautiful, the plants are thriving. The image posted with this update is our potato patch; I love the straight lines with the buildings in the background. You can look forward to our beautiful red, white, and yukon gold potatoes this market season!
Soon we will be taking our first crop of hay off; the alfalfa fields are tall! We are crossing our fingers for the weather to stay dry.
Until next time!