Small Spade Farm is located north of Stirling, Ontario, in Rawdon Township.  
We intensively farm 7 acres of stony farm land and are certified organic.

Small Spade Farm was established in 2013 when Lauren and Eric relocated from Toronto to establish a life in Hastings County. Lauren is an accomplished horticulturist who professionally maintains many perennial gardens in Toronto. Eric is a woodworker and builder of fine things. Together they grow regionally adapted heirloom crops using organic principles that produce nutrient dense healthy food. The farm is also home to a growing herd of Dwarf Nigerian dairy goats and a flock of heritage breed laying hens.

Food | History | Future

Bred for taste, heirlooms are a riot of colours, shapes and sizes. Hundreds of years of cultivation gave rise to thousands of delicious and distinct varieties selected, grown and conserved by our ancestors. These vegetables are luscious in both taste and appearance, and stand in sharp contrast to the hard flesh of a variety bred for uniformity and long-distance shipping.

Heirlooms are living historical documents with their own stories, genealogy and geographic provenance. Varieties such as the Cherokee “trail of tears” bean memorialize the forced relocation of the Cherokee Indians in the mid-nineteenth century. They carried this bean throughout this infamous walk, which became the death march for thousands of Cherokees; hence the name. It is important to conserve these histories as agricultural, personal and political documents.

It is the genetic diversity of heirlooms that matters most to our agricultural future, as this resource is quietly disappearing from our supermarkets and our home gardens. For the past 100 years, fascination with “modern” varieties has resulted in the extinction of countless heirloom vegetables. The disappearance of this specialized genetic stock means that we will lose the ability to breed disease and pest-resistant hybrids from heirloom varieties, and therefore we may potentially lose the ability to feed ourselves.

Dwarf Nigerian Dairy Goats

We are registered breeders of Dwarf Nigerian Dairy goats.  Our goal is to produce healthy animals with excellent milk production and friendly temperaments.  Please check this page for kid availability, or email us to get put on to our waiting list.  All our animals are sold disbudded, tattooed, up to date on shots, and vaccinated.      

 Among the dairy breeds, Nigerian Dwarf goat milk has the highest levels of butterfat - it is extremely sweet and very creamy.  Nigerian Dwarf milk has approximately 6 – 10% butterfat, as opposed to approximately 2 – 6% for other breeds.  Since butterfat is what gives milk its sweet flavor, it’s the sweetest, richest milk of all the dairy breeds.  Among the dairy goat types, Nigerian Dwarves convert their food more efficiently than any other dairy breed so they are very cost-effective to keep, and their small stature makes them very easy to handle.  

Heritage and Modern Breeds

We keep a large flock of heritage and modern breed chickens for their beautiful multi-coloured eggs, and for insect control for our crops.  We hatch the rarer and harder to find breeds ourselves here on the farm.  Our girls take care of all of the organic vegetable scraps from the greenhouses and market garden, and are free ranged both winter and summer.  We sprout barley for them as well as feeding them a balanced GMO-free organic ration, and they get a probiotic kefir treat once a week.  The special attention we pay to their diet results in rich deep yellow yolks, and in the winters their firm whites are superb (and very easily whipped into meringue).  Pastured eggs are naturally rich in folic acid, beta-carotene, and vitamin E.  Our eggs are exceptional, extremely fresh, and they sell out fast. The best way to ensure you get yours is through our Pastured Eggs and Greens CSA.

Barred Plymouth Rock - large brown egg
Cuckoo Maran - dark brown egg
French Black copper Maran - very dark brown egg
Ameraucana - blue or green egg
Harco - brown egg
Buff Chantecler - light brown egg
Rhode Island Red - light brown egg
Barnevelder - dark brown egg
Silver Grey Dorking - white egg
Cream Legbar - blue egg
Columbia Rock - medium brown tinged with pink

Farm Location

536 Salem Road
Stirling, ON, K0K 3E0
Canada

416.897.3462

Seasonal Farm Stand

Toronto

JUNCTION FARMERS' MARKET

 9am - 1pm, Saturdays
(May 26 to November 3, 2018)
 2960 Dundas St W, Toronto