Blog - Thompson Potato Farm - Thompson Potato Farm

The Hypnotic Harvester

10/1/2023

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years working at the farm, it’s that people are utterly fascinated by the potato harvester. It’s huge, it’s impressive and there are a lot of moving parts to watch. This aerial video I shot using my new drone gives you a rare insight into how the harvester works.

Our harvester is operated by my husband RJ who also has to coordinate the windrower and the truck driver while he runs the harvester. The harvester digs 2 rows of potatoes while simultaneously collecting the potatoes left in a row by the windrower. As the potatoes roll up the belts, field debris is sorted out and shot rather emphatically out of the back of the harvester. You can visit “The Wonderful Windrower” if you’re wondering what on earth a windrower is!

The Wonderful Windrower

9/27/2023

This implement is called a “windrower” and it’s something to get excited about as we rock ‘n’ roll through the fall harvest. Our windrower is operated by our son John and it plays a vital role in our potato harvest. It digs up four rows of potatoes at a time and piles them neatly into one long row where they will be collected up later by the harvester. It actually digs more potatoes than the harvester even though it doesn’t look as impressive.

Here’s a fun fact about how the windrower got its name: A “windrow” is a long line of material heaped up by the wind or by a machine. So our potatoes are piled in a “windrow” by the “windrower.” Interestingly enough, it also is the official name for the piles of snow left at the end of your driveway after the snow plow has cleared the road. Now you know!

You can visit “The Potato Windrower” to see another video of our windrower in action.

Sweet Corn Fields

9/7/2023

Have you ever thought about how perfect sweet corn gets to your dinner table? We start planting sweet corn in May and continue weekly plantings for roughly 2 months. This staggered planting ensures that we always have a section of ripe corn. When it’s time to pick the corn, every cob is handpicked by our team of migrant workers. They’re experts at selecting the best quality corn.

This aerial video clearly shows our different sections of sweet corn and gives you an insight into how much sweet corn we grow annually. (I promise I’ll get better at using my new drone for future videos!) Don’t miss out on our September sweet corn – it’s usually the best of the season.

You can visit “Summer Sweet Corn Salad Recipe” for a truly tasty salad made from fresh local produce that’s available this time of year in Ontario.

Long Weekend Entertainment

8/7/2023

Sometimes you need to make your own entertainment when you can’t leave the farm on the long weekend in summer. So here are two completely different videos of some of the fun we had here.

After endless debates with John & Curtis, mathematical calculations and hypothetical “what if” scenarios, RJ decided to go ahead and knock down the cattle pen with the backhoe. As you can see, it went quite smoothly. The big barn will be demolished by experts and then we will rebuild a new shop.

The second video is a clip of live music at a local restaurant. Mike Chianelli and The Lost Truck Drivers performed a perfect mix of original songs and cover songs on Saturday night. I am very proud of this entire group of talented young musicians, but I do have to admit I have a soft spot for the back-up singer/lead guitarist. Who is of course, my son Curtis.

You can visit “Busy Long Weekend” to get a glimpse of farming jobs that typically occur around the August long weekend.

Planting Sweet Corn

6/23/2023

Hidden inside the yellow buckets of this planter are one of the most anticipated items we grow here at the farm. Sweet corn seeds! Our phones are already starting to ring with anxious customers calling in to find out if our corn is ready. Not yet. Curtis has been planting our sweet corn for many weeks now. He staggers the planting so we always have one patch of super fresh sweet corn to pick for our customers. Looking forward to seeing you at the produce stand in August! You can visit “Out-Standing In Their Field” to learn more about the men who hand pick all our corn.

Bone Dry

6/7/2023

Yes. We need rain. In fact, I can’t even remember the last time it rained. This video of Curtis preparing land to plant a cover crop makes me feel like I’m living through the famous Dust Bowl of the 1930’s in the USA. Our next job is going to be irrigation if it doesn’t rain soon. And since everyone hates irrigating, please do us a favour and do a little rain dance today! You can visit “Baby It’s Dry Outside” to learn more about how irrigation works at our farm.

The Pumpkin Patch

6/2/2023

Whenever I hear the words pumpkin patch, the image of Linus waiting patiently for “The Great Pumpkin” to arrive comes to my mind. Welcome to our pumpkin patch! John and Curtis are planting this field using our corn planter that has been adjusted with a few modifications. The video pans out to show our entire pumpkin patch where they will plant 5 different varieties of pumpkins as well as butternut squash, pepper squash and spaghetti squash. You can visit “Pumpkins & Squash” to learn more about how John & Curtis figured out how to modify the corn planter in the first year they grew fall produce.

Fields To Forks

10/28/2020

“In challenging times, it’s the things we take for granted that matter the most.” This commercial poignantly defines what is needed to keep the food supply chain running from the farmers to your kitchen table. And why am I putting an ad for a trucking company on our social media? Wait for it. If you would like to learn more about our farm you can visit “BJ’s Radio Interview” to hear her speak on 105.9 The Region.

BJ's Acting Debut

11/22/2019

This video was shot in the fall for a segment in Snapd magazine that featured the farms that were participating in the East Gwillimbury Farm To Fork Tour. Perhaps some people would call this an infomercial. But since I am writing this blog I choose to call it my acting debut! Not bad considering there was no script and the only sets were the ones we picked that day as we roamed the farm in the Kubota. Many thanks to Mack for capturing the essence of our farm in this 26 second clip. To find out more about what we offer at the farm door to the general public you can visit “What We Offer – At The Door.”

What's For Dinner Tonight?

8/16/2019

What’s for dinner tonight? We are open all weekend and are proud to offer some of Ontario’s freshest and finest produce at the farm door. Hope to see you soon! Our address, hours of operation and directions to the farm can be found at “Contact Us.”