Sources of Inspiration & Suppliers

Sources of Inspiration and Suppliers

This list is meant to provide you with a starting point of resources into the wonderful world of growing healthy food and soil. Sources with a "W" at the end indicate they are a wholesaler for medium to large scale operations (or are applicable to them), "R" indicates they support retail sales (or are applicable to them). Please note we do not particularly endorse any group or organization listed, they are listed alphabetically.

Advanced Compost; high quality compost, a great option for those local to Wilmot Township. W/R

Apricot Lane Farms; these fine folks created The Biggest Little Farm documentary, a must-see for permaculture inspiration! W/R

Black Swallow Living Soils; source for organic neem oil and other soil amendments in ON. W/R

Fiddlehead Nursery; edible perennial plants for small-medium spaces. Wonderful selection, we recommend booking a guided garden tour with Ben, it's awesome! Based in ON. R

Field and Forest Products; organic mushroom spawn material with very simple instructions for production of any size. W/R

Fungi Perfecti; trees and fungi are a package deal, you can't have one without the other. Paul Stamets, renowned mycologist is a great resource on everything mushroom! W/R

Ground Covers Unlimited; cover your orchard floor with native (some options are edible) perennials. Family owned, excellent source for plant/soil knowledge. Based in ON. W

Holistic Orchard Management; our go-to troubleshooting teacher, Michael Phillips. We recommend his book, DVD or the HON forum, all are filled with a plethora of useful information. W/R

Huckleberry Hives; need any queens, nucs, candles or honey? Jodi (Steph's sister) breeds high-quality nucs and queens, focusing on ORHBS tested (pest/disease resistant), gentle and cold-hardy genetics. Based in Perth County, ON. Jodi manages our orchard hives. R/W

Irrigation Plus; from Dramm hoses to planting equipment to all your drip needs, we usually go with the fine folks here; they are lovely to work with and very knowledgeable. W/R

Les Fermes Miracle Farms; we were so intrigued by Stephan Sobkowiac's N-A-P orchard, we copied it in our new (2019) test orchard. Based in PQ. W/R

Nurture Growth; our favourite local source for Effective Microbes. This company is based out of TO, and brews food waste into a biological fertilizer, with a few bacteria strain that deter certain pests too! W/R

Of Apples and Cider; renowned for his cider and book, Claude Jolicoeur is the authority on growing Canadian-hardy cider apples. Based in PQ. W/R

OMAFRA fruit tree problem identifier; a useful source to help figure out what's eating/affecting your tree(s). W/R

Orchard People; Great resource for fruit tree care, excellent free info for pruning tips, pest management and how-to-everything for backyard orchardists. Based in ON. R

Organic Gardener's Pantry; we get our effective microbe mother culture here for the 3 spring sprays. Great source for certified organic soil amendments. Based in BC. R/W

Rittenhouse; we bought our 50 gal. sprayer here years ago, a reliable source for tools, sprayers, etc. Based in ON. W

Stranks Bee Farm; Patrick and Miriam operate a wholistically-managed apiary, as well as sell beekeeping equipment that is designed to support the overall health of the hive. Based in Meaford, ON. R/W

The Apple Orchard; a lovely u-pick just off Hwy 6 near Hamilton. Not organic, but a good selection of apples including the hard-to-find Cox's Orange Pippin. R

The Savoury Institute; planning to incorporate animals into the orchard/food forest? Allan Savoury's book on Holistic Management is fantastic. We use his approach in planning our business, as is applicable to every business, no matter what kind. W/R

The Urban Orchardist; For the backyard and community orchardist, Matt is offering specialized fruit tree care, consulting and more. Focused in Guelph, ON. R

Tropic of Canada; ever wanted to grow your own pineapples or black pepper? Specializing in container friendly tropicals that can be grown in Canada (indoors in winter), great selection, great service. Based in Wainfleet, ON. R

Vanden Bussche Irrigation; all your irrigation supplies in one spot with timely delivery. Based in ON. W

While this list leaves out many great resources, it's a start; there are more and more local permaculture-based farms, craft cideries, and related businesses opening up with fantastic offerings and a focus on local, natural farming and fermenting. We encourage you to visit your local cidery, chat up the farmer at your local market, and support whoever is growing food/drink the way you think is right, closest to your home.