Gaelic Garlic
Ashburnham Farms raises grass-fed Angus and Blonde beef and garlic on the shores of the Otonabee River, East of Bensfort Bridge and South of Peterborough Ontario. We take pride in farming the natural old fashioned way. The farm is situated on a high drumlin backing on the shores of the Otonabee River, with views to the far side of Rice Lake and into Peterborough. The property backs onto the Otonabee River, great for canoing and swimming in the summer months.
We are offering 2 to 3 interns an opportunity from April to November to participate in a process of farm reclamation that is very similar to what the pioneers did on this farm 180 years ago. You will be part of turning around a farm that has been in decline for 40 years. For the last 11 years we have been working to salvage the farm, re-clear the meadows, rehabilitate the fields and create a viable ‘all natural’ farm environment. You are welcome to participate in this transition and to see the impact of the process.
Romeyn, whose family settled in Peterborough in 1833, had a vision when he first purchased the farm, which was to take this very neglected farm house and fields and turn them into a thing of beauty in the style of the well maintained British farms. This is still a work in progress and will always be a work in progress as we constantly strive to improve the farmhouse and the fields. One by one the pastures for our cattle become more attractive and sand turns into great soil as we put back into the ground a steady supply of manure from the cattle and turn down the weeds for green manure. Christine brings the Scottish passion and enthusiasm to the operation, which keeps she and Romeyn working 7 days per week 16+ hours per day.
Interns will stay in a bug proof gazebo in the barn where we slept for years while restoring the farmhouse. The restored bank barn is one of the largest in the county of Peterborough—with a spectacular, million dollar view each morning. Our meals etc. are all held in the main house that was built starting in 1842.
Interns will enjoy almost every aspect of a typical family farm – this spring and summer we expect to see about 40 calves, we will be harvesting 62,000 garlics – which all have to be weeded and harvested – along with rhubarb and asparagus for the market. Market is three days per week – two markets in Peterborough and one in Lakefield – so your experience here on the farm will be quite diverse.
We cut and bale hay on two farms; help some older farmers who are living in a subsistent existence in their old age; and cut about 7 cords of wood a year culling dead trees from our 70 acre woodlot.
We’ve planted 20,000 porcelain music garlic and about 10,000 mix varieties, Polish, Ukrainian, German Spanish and French Racanbole garlic – all seeded from naturally grown stock. In the 12 years that we have had the farm we have not used any herbicides, pesticides or used any genetically engineered/genetically modified organisms on the fields. Rather, we till the fields and remove many weeds such as thistles by hand. It is into these fields that we planted the garlic.
Contact: Christine and Romeyn Stevenson
Peterborough, ON,
Email: cstevenson at i-zoom dot net
