Producer

I have been selling flowers, tea and sensitive diet aware baking for the past few years, first in Haileybury, Ontario, then in Ancaster, Ontario - always with backyard/home production.

We moved to the Morninglory Farm in December 2021. From the Morninglory bio: Morninglory Farm, founded in 1969 near Killaloe, is an off-grid intentional community of 25 residents (16 adults, 5 children) co-operating in 12 separate family households on 100 hilly acres of woods, fields, gardens, orchards, pond, and stream. There are three generations living on the farm. We have learned a bit from the previous farm families who lived here and next door, how they did things on the farm in the pioneer days, some precious knowledge that we would like to use and preserve.

We grow and produce using organic and natural methods and ingredients. Our homes/home businesses are powered with solar electricity, and heated with wood and solar, one home is strawbale & natural plaster. We use hay mulch on vegetable gardens and fruit trees, using grass cut by hand scythes, as well as hay and straw from neighbouring farms. The soil in gardens and orchards is fed with our kitchen & weed compost, and composted manure from our farm animals and neighbouring farms' horse manure.

We often have young adult helpers join us for a few months each year from the 'WorkAway' program to apprentice and live on the land, receiving room & board, and learning various homesteading and organic gardening skills in return for their help.

I grow flowers at Morninglory Farm using sustainable and ecologically-friendly methods. Consistent with the rest of Morninglory Farm, I use no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers and no genetically modified seeds. I fertilize with composted manure and composted vegetable waste with kelp and rock powders, grow crops in raised beds mulched with straw and hay, and use untreated seeds (some heritage & most open pollinated) and make my own comfrey tea.
I grow almost everything myself from seed or tuber. I don’t opt for pollen-free varieties and the majority of flowers are left for the pollinators. As I use mulch, I am able to water less frequently. I manage for pests using manual methods but occasional insect holes are a badge of honour! I choose flower varieties for their colour, heritage (heirloom), and longevity of vase life. I also forage for foliage on the Morninglory Farm using sustainable harvesting methods.
I am a certified Permaculture Designer.