It is a busy time of year at River Bell Market Garden in Dresden.
Joseph Grootenboer, owner of the farm at 559 Sydenham Street, said some new options are available this season along with their annual “box” program.
Grootenboer said the boxes will be available shortly, but the demand is high for the program.
“There is a few last minute people we could add but we are pretty close to what we want. If you are too late signing up you can always get on our waiting list and if people back out you can take a spot or jump in on a winter box.”
Some cold storage carrots, beets, potatoes, fresh kale out of the fields are all items included in the boxes, depending on what is in season.
“Spinach we are probably picking in the next few days. Looks like rhubarb is coming soon, which means asparagus will be around the corner and than we are into strawberries and summertime,” Grootenboer said.
The River Bell crew is also busy stocking their store up with more and more organic supplies for gardeners.
“People want organic products for their garden. We have to bring in just the most useful tools. What we would use here on the farm, the really good ones and also the ones that are not necessarily available at your common tool stores. All this we are adding to our organic vegetables which we’ve had for sale in previous seasons as well. We have built the shop up, renovated it, decorated it. Just trying to make it a nicer experience.”
Grootenboer said they have always carried unpasteurized honey from a local bee keeper.
This year, which is soemthing new, River Bell has chickens.
“We are keeping laying hens here, out in the yard, we moved them around so they are pastured and so eggs are for sale.”
Grootenboer said he is encouraging people to e-mail him for more information about their chickens: e-mail@riverbell.ca
Other new products are available as well, including: trees, nut trees, berry bushes, a selection of native tree species.
“We are selling them for Liz Marshall over at Heavenly Earth, who has a wonderful nursery out by Bothwell. So people could grab them from here or we will gladly send them over to her business, which is just a neat little place where you can get all kinds of native species trees and bushes.”
Grootenboer said River Bell is teaming up with Paul Watson, who grows organic sweet potatoes in Tupperville.
“We rely on him to supply our box customers with sweet potatoes. We don’t grow our potatoes. The potatoes we have come from Pfenning’s Organic Farm in Guelph. They are a larger organic farm.”
Another new development is a partnership with Rob Salter, who has just launched Humbled Bee Meadows.
“He will be growing some of the vegetables that go into our box so it will be a partnership on our box program with him contributing to it. He also has other interesting products to develop and test out and see what he can grow, what works and kind of build his business up from there.”
Grootenboer added: “This year we have shifted the focus in the nursery more and more on vegetable starts for the garden and herbs, more varieties, more heirloom etc. In flowers, we are more on pollinator-friendly and medicinal.”
For more information about River Bell Market Garden in Dresden, visit their website here.
