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 Common-Tater
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!
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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. 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. 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. 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.
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