Chef's Farmer

Chef's Farmer Chef's Farmer grows colorful salad crops, radishes, herbs and flowers in Calgary on a quarter acre patchwork of urban yards.

We supply restaurants, grocers and CSA's with our greens as well as produce from other small, local farms that we love.

Garlic day 2 out of 3Here's my method - all constructive criticism is welcome.1. Lay measuring tape down middle of bed.2...
10/18/2023

Garlic day 2 out of 3

Here's my method - all constructive criticism is welcome.

1. Lay measuring tape down middle of bed.

2.) Place 1 row of garlic along measuring tape @ desired spacing.

3.) Remove measuring tape and fill in remaining rows by using the first row as a guide.

4.) Stab hori hori knife 6" into ground with one hand and simultaneously push garlic into the hole with your other.

5.) Ensure garlic is fully covered*.

6) Remember to work on your hamstring flexibility this winter so it won't hurt so much next time.

*Planting depth is dependent on many factors, but I've chosen to plant fairly shallow (papery stem covered by an inch) because I will be covering every bed with a pile of straw.

Deeper plantings provide more protection in our cold climate and allow the garlic to access a more regular source of moisture since the deeper soil (ie. clay) holds moisture much longer.

Moisture and nutrient retention is actually one of the benefits of clay soil - I mention this if you're like me and always dreaming of softer soil in a far away land.

Hopefully just one more day to go 🤞

Amazing day at  for Soupalicious 2023!My partner Kris turned the veggies from my farm into a delicious minestrone to hel...
10/02/2023

Amazing day at for Soupalicious 2023!

My partner Kris turned the veggies from my farm into a delicious minestrone to help us win the First Place Pot.

Can't wait till next year!

We grew ginger!Not a ton, but without a fully enclosed greenhouse I'm pretty happy with the results.In order to not wast...
09/25/2023

We grew ginger!

Not a ton, but without a fully enclosed greenhouse I'm pretty happy with the results.

In order to not waste any of this precious crop, we boiled the stems to make a ginger syrup and are drying the leaves for future teas.

Fresh ginger teas with honey and fresh squeezed lemon or lime have been so refreshing with the brisk fall weather.

Kale for days! After some early (and sometimes ongoing) bug scares this crop is giving more than we could ever hope for....
07/14/2023

Kale for days! After some early (and sometimes ongoing) bug scares this crop is giving more than we could ever hope for. Lost quite a few individual plants, but tons of resilience with the rest.

2- Marigolds are the best companion plant based on nothing else but how much I love to look at them.

3- First brocolini harvest today! Lots more coming.

4- 75lbs of Kale dropped off for Kale Ceasar . Go get some!

First row of ginger in. Today has the amount of heat I'll need a lot of to get a good crop. If you want to experiment wi...
05/19/2023

First row of ginger in. Today has the amount of heat I'll need a lot of to get a good crop. If you want to experiment with me, many more plants like these available on online store.

Go check their store out for my seedling peppers, tomatoes, herbs, lemon grass and more. Lots of fun varieties!

Kale from last post is in the ground and going strong - not 100% transplant success but since this isn't my backyard I have no idea which critters might be illegally snacking.

Back in full swing! Part of 3k of my Kale plants vs. +300k cabbage and even more trees at Water Valley Forest Nursery. T...
04/25/2023

Back in full swing! Part of 3k of my Kale plants vs. +300k cabbage and even more trees at Water Valley Forest Nursery. The scale is staggering.

Beautiful day to be a farmer.1.) Watering in carrots, salanova, and cilantro after harvesting the remaining salad turnip...
07/12/2022

Beautiful day to be a farmer.

1.) Watering in carrots, salanova, and cilantro after harvesting the remaining salad turnips. Cilantro, dill, and green onion in the foreground.
2.) New carrots! Juicy and sweet Mokum variety.
3.) Dianthus. Edible flowers I think?
4.) Walla walla onions. Look to be worth the wait.

Obligatory beet season is here pun: nothing beats beets! Trying to make some bunches as nice as the best beets I've ever...
07/11/2022

Obligatory beet season is here pun: nothing beats beets! Trying to make some bunches as nice as the best beets I've ever seen and tasted from - long way to go but pretty happy with this first harvest.

Good Morning! Everything is looking nice and green from all the rain, we can't wait for our carrots and beets to be read...
07/06/2022

Good Morning!

Everything is looking nice and green from all the rain, we can't wait for our carrots and beets to be ready!

Huge thank you to Josh for giving us a massive pile of mulch and taking down some trees for us.

What have we been up to this past week? Thinking about all things green! Grapes and greens!
06/27/2022

What have we been up to this past week? Thinking about all things green! Grapes and greens!

Back to planting! Grow lettuce grow!
06/09/2022

Back to planting! Grow lettuce grow!

Radish! Coming at you through an  harvest box today. Crunchy and delicious!
06/02/2022

Radish! Coming at you through an harvest box today. Crunchy and delicious!

Check it out! Check it out! Drip line irrigation set up at 2 sites now woo-hoo! Our skills and spinach are both growing ...
05/04/2022

Check it out! Check it out! Drip line irrigation set up at 2 sites now woo-hoo! Our skills and spinach are both growing 🌱

Posted by apprentice Nicole

Why does it feel like 2 people can do way more than twice the work of 1... Awesome to have the help of Curtis who is one...
04/24/2022

Why does it feel like 2 people can do way more than twice the work of 1... Awesome to have the help of Curtis who is one of our farming "apprentices" through this year. Apprentice in quotations because I guarantee he knows more than I do.

With his help we were able to plant out all of red/white/yellow onions and 2 varieties of shallots.

Finally, I love radishes because I know they won't even be phased by the quack grass that just sprouted in their bed.

Spinach finally in the ground! Last year I did spinach by direct seed only, but this year I'm using a soil blocker for t...
04/24/2022

Spinach finally in the ground! Last year I did spinach by direct seed only, but this year I'm using a soil blocker for transplants as much as possible. I'm trying to emulate and for their best no-dig techniques.

With a larger soil blocker I have tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and a couple celeriac patiently waiting for the possibility of snow to go away.

Indoor growing area working hard this year. 400 multi-sown spinach transplants should be ready to go out next week, and ...
04/15/2022

Indoor growing area working hard this year. 400 multi-sown spinach transplants should be ready to go out next week, and flats and flats of onions/shallots for late spring planting. Never grown an onion or shallot before so pretty excited to get them in the ground.

Are you an aspiring farmer looking to gain experience on urban farms, learn about soil health, work with multicultural c...
01/13/2022

Are you an aspiring farmer looking to gain experience on urban farms, learn about soil health, work with multicultural communities, and create opportunities for people to grow their own food – all the while growing nutrient-dense food for CSA programs, Farmers Markets, and restaurants?

Well then, join us in this trifecta of urban regenerative farms across Calgary! We're offering a diverse apprenticeship shared between 3 farms which include Michael Gavin of , Rod Olson of , and ourselves at Chef’s Farmer.

We have 2 spots open! Check out the Young Agrarians website or get in touch with us for more information.

Super excited for this big farm tour on October 2nd! Urban farms are one thing, but the amount of skill, passion, and de...
09/24/2021

Super excited for this big farm tour on October 2nd! Urban farms are one thing, but the amount of skill, passion, and dedication these rural farmers have is what I aspire to in the future.

Come join YYC Growers & Distributors] and me in touring and with a special visit from Mike from . The amount of knowledge these farmers have is second-to-none and I can't wait to learn something from the masters.

This tour is to support YYC Growers & Distributors] crowdfunding campaign, so check out their website, donate if you can, and hope to see you there!

It's a beautiful day for some Neighbourhood Greens! We've got our bulk greens mix and individual clamshells out for deli...
09/03/2021

It's a beautiful day for some Neighbourhood Greens!

We've got our bulk greens mix and individual clamshells out for delivery today.

08/27/2021

Night-night bees :)

 showing us around the hop yard on Saturday for open farm days.  uses their dry hops in Prairie Pride and  has used fres...
08/16/2021

showing us around the hop yard on Saturday for open farm days. uses their dry hops in Prairie Pride and has used fresh hops in a seasonal batch. Hope for tons more to come!

My entry into the sunflower height competition. This one volunteered late in April and has been watching over my yard ev...
08/06/2021

My entry into the sunflower height competition. This one volunteered late in April and has been watching over my yard ever since.

Happy Sunday! I was just watching birds, moths, and dragon flies do some insect control for me. Looked like the birds we...
07/25/2021

Happy Sunday! I was just watching birds, moths, and dragon flies do some insect control for me. Looked like the birds were picking flea beetle off the radishes and dragonflies were scooping up aphids or whatever was a little higher off the crops.

Also trialing some natural insect control of my own. Marigolds behind each ear. If nothing else, they smell nice!

Little bit of colour for this dreary day. - Josh
07/20/2021

Little bit of colour for this dreary day. - Josh

Week 7 of 8 salad box! Our carrots, salad, and beet greens. Having carrots to harvest this week was a nice surprise. wit...
07/15/2021

Week 7 of 8 salad box! Our carrots, salad, and beet greens. Having carrots to harvest this week was a nice surprise.

with the assist on some really nice looking salad turnips. Thanks Michael!

Also, thanks .yogis.wellness for the delicious looking balsamic vinaigrette! Can't wait to try it.

-Josh

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Calgary, AB

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