My wife, MaryJane MacCallum, and I moved to Prince Edward County in June, 2006. In the spring of 2008, I embarked on my first year of farming our land on Big Island. Working co-operatively with Stonehouse Farms; I learned a lot in my first year as an organic vegetable farmer. For example, I learned the art of creative insect removal without the use of  any chemicals. One day I noticed tiny holes in the leaves of both my cucumber and squash plants, and upon close inspection, I saw little yellow bugs with black stripes along their backs. I did an internet search and discovered that these cucumber beetles would destroy my entire crop if I didn’t act quickly. I called my friend, Vicki Emlaw, of Vicki’s Veggies – who told me that they vacuum them and/or pick them off by hand and then destroy them. So, out I went with my power generator and ShopVac and set out to tackle the task at hand. I also enlisted the help of my young niece who was visiting at the time, by promising her five cents for each beetle she removed by hand and destroyed. She made $5.00 that day.

I accidentally discovered that the beetles are even more attracted to seedlings than to the more established plants, so I sacrificed a row of seedlings to help keep them at bay. The sacrificial seedlings coupled with regular trips to the garden with my generator and ShopVac eventually solved the problem.

Another first in farming lies ahead for me this year as Fairview Farm launches it’s first season as an organically grown pick your own vegetable, fruit and flower farm.

Fairview Farm is located at 1147 South Big Island Road, Demorestville, ON K0K 1W0. Ph. 613-849-7989