NB Organic Farmers
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Good Spring Farm
Over the years, Karen Davidge has often been the oddball at agricultural meetings; not only was she organic, she was also the only woman! Karen is the main farmer of Good Spring Farm, which she owns with her husband, Brock. Karen and Brock started with a 30 x 50 foot garden in 1980 and they’ve since expanded to 11 acres of land in production. They also have a managed woodlot of 25 acres, all sustainably and selectively cut, from which they built their barn.
Very mixed and diversified, Good Spring Farm has a lot of variety to offer its customers. A 2,000 square foot commercial greenhouse is used to grow different types of lettuce and spinach in the spring, and mixed vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers during the rest of the season. Field crops include small fruit, strawberries, apples, pears, and raspberries. Pastured poultry is another a feature, but Good Spring’s specialty are colourful and delicious varieties of potatoes.
Each year, the farm offers between twelve and fifteen types of potatoes, a number of which are heirloom varieties with Good Spring as the only farm in Canada growing them. Good Spring’s potato varieties include fingerling potatoes, as well as yellow, blue, red, pink and other colours. Their potatoes are CFIA certified seed potatoes too and Karen and Brock work closely with the potato heritage bank, trying to make more disease-free seed varieties available to gardeners.
Three types of chickens are also raised on Good Spring Farm, some of which fall under Rare Breeds Canada. Although the chickens are not certified organic, they feed primarily on Good Spring Farm’s certified organic pasture. Black Australorps are one breed, along with New Hampshires, a dual-purpose bird used for both meat and egg production. Good Spring Farm also has a meat bird that they have worked with long enough for the bird to be considered the farm’s own breed.
Good Spring Farm currently sells the bulk of their products at the Fredericton Farmer’s Market, but Karen also helped to found The Applebin – Exclusively New Brunswick Produce, a retail outlet in Keswick Ridge dedicated to selling local products.
With Good Spring Farm, Karen and Brock Davidge have certainly found what they’re good at. The most unique part of this farm is the owners.
Karen was the 2008 recipient of the Gerrit Loo Award.
Good Spring Farm - Sell Sheet
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Description
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Availability
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| Heritage & Fingerling Potatoes |
Over a dozen varieties! |
Depending on demand, available until June
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| All Blue |
Dark blue skin and flesh. Great for boiling, baking and frying. |
Late season harvest
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| All Red |
Red skin with reddish pink flesh. Good boiler, baker, makes a colourful potato salad. |
Early harvest
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| Banana (fingerling) |
Banana-shaped; small; smooth, light yellow skin; shallow eyes; uniform pale yellow flesh. Semi-mealy texture; very good for boiling, baking and frying; excellent salad potato*. |
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| Belleisle |
Also known as the "butter soaker" the Belleisle potato is a round white, very dry potato, great for baking. Can be boiled but if overcooked it falls apart - so keep your eyes on the pot! |
Late season harvest
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| Caribe |
Purple skinned potato with very white flesh. Great for boiling, roasting, soups, c howders, frying, and makes a moist baked potato. |
Early harvest
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| Carola |
With characteristics comparable to the famous Yukon Gold, this Carola is known for its superior flavour! Beige skin with deep yellow flesh, its cooking properties are similar to Yukon Gold, however it is slightly waxier, and does not make a good mashed potato. |
Late, mid-season harvest
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| Kennebec |
Elliptical to oblong, medium thick; smooth creamy buff skin; shallow eyes; white flesh*. Excellent boiler, baker, BBQ, and masher. |
Mid-season harvest
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| Norland |
Medium oblong, slightly flattened, medium thick; smooth red skin; shallow eyes; white flesh. Very good for boiling, roasting, soups and chowders, french frying and makes a moist baker*. |
Early harvest
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| Onaway Potato |
Round white smooth skin, slightly flaked at maturity with white flesh*. Great for boiling and roasting; good for soups and chowders, an excellent frying potato and a moist baker. |
Early harvest
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| Pink Fir Apple (fingerling) |
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| Rhine Red |
Red skin white flesh, boiler, baker, BBQ, Mash |
Mid-season harvest
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| Rose Gold |
Pink skinned potato with bright yellow flesh with cooking properties similar to Yukon Gold (boil bake, mash, BBQ). |
Mid-season
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| Yukon Gold |
Beige skinned potato with yellow flesh and pink eyes. Medium-dry texture makes it very good for boiling, baking, mashing and french frying and great on the BBQ; unsuitable for chipping; retains its yellow flesh color when cooked*. |
Early harvest
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| Vegetable Crops |
Quantities dependent on demand - Good Spring Farm is willing to work with special orders, especially when given a season's notice. |
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| Basil |
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June-Frost
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| Beans |
Yellow, purple, green beans and some specialty beans |
July until the end of season
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| Beets |
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June-Frost
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| Brassicas on demand |
We are flexible and willing to customize our growing to suit your needs. |
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| Carrots |
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July until the end of season
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| Chives |
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Full Season
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| Cucumbers |
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July until the end of season
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| Fruits - can be some available washed, stemmed and frozen - all frozen on site by Karen. |
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In season
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| Zuchinni (golden & green) |
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July until the end of season
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| Greenhouse lettuce |
An excellent and varied selection of leaf lettuces. |
1st of May-Frost
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| Herbs - thyme, oregano, savory and more |
Good Spring Farm is happy to grow custom herbs. |
Full Season
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| Leeks |
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Fall
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| Lettuce outdoor |
Head lettuce, a few different varieties. |
Full season availability, weather depending
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| Melons |
Good Spring Farm has alimited supply of juicy melons - ripe for our cold climate! Ask about their varieties this year! |
Seasonal and limited supply
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| Mint |
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Full Season
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| Peppers |
Hot banana peppers, hungarian hot wax, bell peppers (red, green orange, yellow) |
Late August through September
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| Raspberries |
Good Spring Farm has a limited supply of raspberries in season and some available frozen. |
Seasonal and limited supply
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| Rhubarb |
Sugary red rhubarb. |
Mid-May until the end of June (weather depending) unlimited quantities
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| Salad mix |
Ready to serve salad - asian greens and dill seasoning make this salad mix unique and delicious with at least three colourful varieties of lettuce! |
end of May - Freeze up (could be available)
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| Snow peas |
Early and delicious. |
Seasonal
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| Spinach available |
Outdoor spinach. |
June-July; late August - Fall frost
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| Squash |
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End of August - Frost
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| Strawberries |
Early, mid-season and late varieties. |
Late June through July
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| Sugar snap peas |
Early and delicious. |
Short early season
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| Tomatoes |
All of Good Spring Farm's tomatoes are unique heritage varieties from saving all of their own seeds. They have greenhouse and field tomatoes available. |
August through October
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| Chicken |
Although not 100% organic, these birds feed primarily on Good Spring Garden's certified pasture and grains that are grown on the farm. Good Spring Farm has bred and raised a breed of meat birds for over 25 years now that could be considered their own breed! |
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| *Information and descriptions found on the CFIA website, www.inspection.gc.ca/english/plaveg/potpom/var/indexe.shtml |
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