I have become increasingly aware of the importance of connecting with my food chain, and to know where my food comes from. Whenever possible, I shop at farmers markets and try to connect with the people producing and growing/raising my food. To this end, this year I started spending time with Vicki Emlaw and Tim Noxon of Vicki's Veggies in Prince Edward County. We formed an instant bond and these are two of the nicest, most generous people you will meet. Now, those of you who know me are asking yourself "Veggies? This dude doesn't eat veggies!", and you would partially be right. I am a meat and potatoes guy, but if you put vegetables in front of me there is a good chance I will eat them. I had just found that things in my fridge would sit and go bad, and I hate to waste. This year I fell in love with pickling and preserving, and I can thank people like Vicki and Tim for this, because they grow most of the things that end up in the beautiful jars on my shelves and in my fridge and freezer.   

One Saturday morning at the Brickworks I had the great idea to buy 36 lbs. of tomatoes. Ya, 36 f&%ing pounds. Crazy, I know. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but I knew I had to do something. It was besheret. The following weekend, when Vicki was busy talking to her customers and Tim was out on deliveries I just stepped in and started selling. This is where it all began, and soon thereafter, I was spending every Saturday standing behind the table, pushing their veg. What a fantastic learning experience it has been, and it is great to connect with the amazing people that spend their Saturday at Brickworks. I also made it out to their farm for their Tomato Hurrah, and fell in love with their property, which is its own little slice of heaven. 

That brings us to the three days to come where I am going to stay on their farm to be put to work. I think this might be the most shocking part of this post, again, for those who know me. I am allergic to hard labour, and am a total city boy. As I said to one of my closest friends this morning, "this shall be very interesting". I am committed to the people who grow my food, and how better to connect with it than to spend time working with the people and on the land that gives me nourishment? I will try my best to document what I experience and feel in my few short days on the farm, and hope this will be of interest to you all and make you think about the blood, sweat, and tears (hope not) that goes in to producing what ends up on our plates. If I make the cut, this will be the first of a few visits to spend time with this great family learning about farming in Ontario.