P & H Farms

200-acre P & H Farms is located on the high plains just northeast of the beautiful town of Port Hope, near the homestead community of Zion, whose little church and cemetary still mark the old village site. More than two-thirds of the land is arable; woodland forms its natural eastern perimeter. Over its years of use for nursery and green cropping, the land was drained and carved into a dozen 10-acre or so fields, enclosed by cedar hedges or bush.Each plot is ideally isolated and can be easily monitored for specific plant culturing, pollination, and disease control. Over the last five years one large plot has become a hazelnut grove of about 1000 trees, another plot is a new fruit orchard.2010 is the fifth year of P&H Farms. A propitious site for organic tree fruit of all types, its nut and fruit trees are beginning to provide yield. In 2009 the farm received organic certification. Its vegetable harvest was abundant and in rich variety. Its lettuces and squash were profiled by food writer Lynn Ogryzlo, and its tomatoes, selected for chef preparation for the '09 Annual Slow Foods Picnic at the Ever Green Brickworks site in Toronto.In addition to organic certification, the farm has a provincially approved environmental farm plan and pursues the ecological philosophy through its membership in the central branch of the Ecological Farmers of Ontario. A huge, old barrel-roof barn and two distinct stone houses grace the property.