These Healing Plants we call Weeds

I can still hear the voice of my good friend and mentor, Bernhard Hack, in his thick German accent saying “These healing plants… we call weeds.” For a young conventional farmer, which I was back in 1982 when I first met Bernhard, this was a revolutionary concept. Weeds were simply a nuisance, something to get […]

May 2018 Newsletter

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” hundred_percent_height=”no” hundred_percent_height_scroll=”no” hundred_percent_height_center_content=”yes” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” video_preview_image=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” hover_type=”none” border_size=”0″ border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” […]

Life in the Soil – A Thumbnail Sketch

What many of us don’t know, or don’t think about, is that all of this diverse life that we see, and some, like farm animals that we have to manage, is entirely dependent on a community of living things that we don’t see – the life in the soil. A single tablespoon of healthy soil […]

A Brief History of Organic Farming at ZFF

A Brief History of Organic Farming (at Zettel Family Farms) By Ted Zettel Part One: Beginnings In 1982, on the day of my first contact with a real organic farmer,  I was a progressive young dairy farmer working in partnership with my Dad, who had taken over the family farm from his Dad. I got […]

March 2018 Newsletter

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_text] Cold night to be born for this little girlie! Nothing more beautiful to see than a brand new baby calf nursing and bonding with her mother. #grassfed #organic #beef #cattle #winter […]

CSA 2017: End of Season Letter from Mark

  CSA 2017: End of Season Dear CSA members, It is with a mixture of sadness and joy that we have finally come to the end of the second year of our vegetable CSA. Sadness because we will miss the beautiful summer days spent outdoors in the garden, and joy because we are moving on […]

Why Ted Loves Potatoes

Why I Love Potatoes By Ted Zettel Sr. The potato is perhaps the best plant on the planet!  I may be slightly biased toward love of the “pomme de terre”, having grown up on a farm in Southwestern Ontario, within a community descended from German and Irish immigrants.  Throughout my childhood, we ate potatoes every […]

September 2017 Newsletter

September 2017 Newsletter “The White Stuff” The labour day long weekend is upon us – ushered in with a touch of frost as the temperature dips to 4 degrees Celsius overnight.  This has been one of the wettest coolest summers on record for Ontario, perfect for growing pasture, potatoes and leafy greens.  The tomato crop, […]