Seasonal and organic local FRUIT [General]

2014 Sep 12
Hi friends!

I frequent the Organic Farmer's Market on Bank St. every Saturday. However, I notice that there is basically only vegetables available. I know that this is because the climate and such here is more.... acclimatized to grow vegetables rather than fruit.

However, is there anywhere in the city that I can buy ORGANIC and SEASONAL fruit?

Thanks. :-)

2014 Sep 12
Interesting you mention this. I have been asking all my farmer friends today what their fruit harvests have been like this year, and generally, I'm hearing the same answer: lousy.

Last year there were more apples than we needed for ourselves, our customers, our cows, and our pigs. My kids would climb up into a tree and eat their fill saying how much like bubble gum the apples tasted.

This year, most of our trees are bare, and the fruit that is on them isn't very pretty. Our berry harvests earlier in the year were pretty sad too. I've also noticed our wild grapes, cherries, service berries, currants and other trees/vines/bushes are almost completely barren of fruit this year.

It was a very late spring followed by a very wet and cool summer. Even the trees we see along the roadsides are bare, whereas most years the trees are heavy with fruit. Might be a tough winter for the wild critters out there.

2014 Sep 12
I think apple trees alternate years too, giving more every second year. We got lots of grapes this year, but animals got about half of them.

2014 Sep 12
I had to stick with buying organic U.S.A berries from the groceries stores this summer, it was so upsetting. I was hoping for a good fall crop of apples, but it looks like I may be out of luck. :-(

So unfortunate.

2014 Sep 12
Try the Ottawa Farmers Market at Brewer Park on Sunday. Halls Apples, & the vendor from Niagara region. We had wonderful fruit from Niagara (from family, not market). Many area farmers are organic, they just aren't certified because it is costly.

I bought farm gate strawberries, raspberries, corn, & garlic but haven't seen good tomatoes - or any tomatoes- from my usual sources.

2014 Sep 13
You can also sign up to volunteer with Hidden Harvest and pick some of your own fruit from local trees. They have also been seeing smaller yields this year, but have had harvests for elderberries, chokecherries, grapes, crabapples, sour cherries, plums, and have an apple and pear pick on Monday.

2014 Sep 15
I paid a visit to the Byward Market after work last Friday and Halls apples were available. Rochon Farms had bluberries and raspberries available.

2014 Sep 16
One of our local orchards has this posted this on their website: "This year due to a severe winter, a short pollination and fewer bees we will not have any apples available for sale this year. We are, as you would expect, very disappointed that we could not provide our usual abundance of great tasting apples to our customers and friends this year." jasperapplefarm.ca

There are two other orchards near by I have't been able to reach yet to see what their apple yields were like.

There are as hipfunkyfun suggests lots of farms out there that have organic food, but just aren't certified. Just be sure to ask them more about why they aren't certified. I always find the 'it's too expensive' argument a bit bullish!ty when I hear it. Certification on our two farms with grain crops, gardens, orchards, pasture, and a substantial quantity of animals costs us not much more than $10 per week. Going to a weekly farmers market is far more costly for us than certification is.

Try to find farms that aren't certified because they have a very established customer base, or don't feel certification is important, or are honest enough to say that most of what they do is organic, but they don't follow all the organic rules so couldn't be certified.

For some folks and farmers, certification is very important. For others, it's not important at all. There is no right or wrong, just make sure you know what you are getting.

For example, Hall's is not organic, but they use Integrated Pest Management, so they only spray for things they must depending on the season. This means some years there is lots of spray, and some years there is only a small amount of spray.