Willow Bend Farm
41 Hard Island Rd. K0E 1B0 Athens, ON, Canada

A little later than I’d hoped but there’s corn out & ready for the taking! We’re 1km down Hard Island rd. (Athens) on the right hand side (41). There’s 2 large willow trees in the yard & the corn is tucked just underneath out of the rain! $5/doz, 50cents/cob.

Our First Sweet Corn Harvest Is Happening NOW! Pretty exciting stuff! $5.00/dz. or $0.50/cob at the farm gate later today!

How neat is this? If you want to see more posts about Agriculture in Ontario give Farmer Tim a follow! https://www.facebook.com/614335515362749/posts/2144360709026881?s=520002152&v=e&sfns=mo

We’ve already lost count of the baskets of beans our garden has given us! Grateful for all of the lovely fresh Veg! Now we just need some more rain . Stay tuned for sweet corn!

If you’ve ever experienced the struggle of trying to peel farm fresh (like day old) eggs you know, it’s not pretty! You often peel more egg white than shell. Well next time you pick up eggs at our stand, try this ! It made a tremendous difference for us. Happy Friday everyone

** update - just sold out of freezer packs! Thanks everyone! Stay tuned, more available soon. **** update - just sold out of freezer packs! Thanks everyone! Stay tuned, more available soon. **

**ASSORTED BBQ VALUE PACK** Best time to stock up on steaks & hamburger! $75 ($25 off) & only 3 packs available! ... First come first serve! We also have ground beef for sale separately. $4/lb, avrg of 1.2lbs/pkg Comment or pm for yours!

Did you know Athens has a Farmers Market? 9am-1pm each Saturday you can swing by and pickup local baked goods, crafts & soon veggies & other produce! It’s easy to spot the tents set up in the lot across from Luke’s Harvest Café or across from Sundial Secondhand, right on Main St.! Give their page a like! We hope to participate in this market later on in the season.

Look who showed up! Our first ever sweet corn seedlings! It’s been a tricky spring with wet conditions, but all of our fertilizer is on & now we get to watch corn pop up in picket-fence rows! I’ve always found corn so neat. Corn is a monocot, which means the seed pushes up 1 shoot. From that shoot you can see a tightly wrapped whirl of teeny tiny corn leaves. Each day the seedling will try to push out a new leaf from the center of the whirl. All of this work entirely powered... by the seeds own energy reserves. This tiny seedling is also smart enough to start setting root depths based on where it emerged from the soil. And should a late season chill or frost hit, the little seedling has its growing point pretty safely protected inside that whirl so it can grow on. Kind of impressive work for something so small! Stay tuned for fresh picked cobs later on this summer

Some fun in the sun this weekend around the farm! The steers have a fun new game - how fast can we flip the hose out of the tank when she walks away? Our little Olde English Silver Duck Wings are a source of constant entertainment. There’s nothing like their mini cocka-doodle-doo! Photo cred; Chelsea Ferguson Our Jr. farmer apprentice program is underway this guy was keen to help his Uncle get some rocks out of the sweet corn patch.

Happy Easter from our family to yours! Photo credit: Ontario Farmer

It was a beautiful night on the farm! Thankful for this place & the simple pleasures it brings. This is one of our steers. He felt the need to be incredibly photogenic for us tonight! If you’re looking for local, pastured beef let us know! We have steaks & hamburger available for pickup. Hamburger $5.00/lb ... Various Steaks $8.00/lb See more

Spring is in the air & the hens are working hard! Stop by our fresh egg stand & you’ll probably spot them frolicking & free ranging full time! Our eggs have beautiful golden yolks & they’re distinctly fresh compared to store bought eggs. Pick some up today, just $3/doz!

Today is Canadian Ag Day! Farmers big & small work hard every day to provide safe, healthy choices for their families & yours. Let’s be thankful for all the wonderful things #CdnAg gives us, from employment to good whiskey! Looking for something to watch other than Netflix during the snow storm? Check out beforetheplate.com & watch their documentary for FREE for the month of February! They do an excellent job telling the story of Cdn food link in the comments!

Are you noticing this cooler weather? The season for warm dishes of simple comfort foods is upon us! At our house that means our Ground Beef is going into lots of tasty dishes! If you’re looking to fill up your freezer & save yourself those last minute trips to the grocery store drop us a comment or message! This Ground Beef is locally raised & harvested in a CFIA inspected facility. ... Cattle are raised on a pasture based system & supplemented with grains & hay grown on the farm. $5/lb & preferably 10lbs minimum per order please. Photo cred: Valerie’s Kitchen, recipe link below! https://www.fromvalerieskitchen.com/slow-cooker-beef-and-b/

The hens have been working hard these past few weeks! Give our fresh eggs a try & I’m sure you’ll notice the difference their rich golden yolk makes! Delicious, nutritious, local, free run/loose housed, hand gathered daily, budget friendly food! That’s hard to beat $3/doz

If you’re already buying local, you know the effect your dollars are having on your economy at home. But when you go to the store, this is SO important! Purchasing power is real - show wholesalers & super markets that you want Canadian meat, dairy & egg products! We have some of the HIGHEST food quality & safety regulations IN THE WORLD ! How awesome is that? Let’s support our own economy & buy Canadian by looking for these logos when you shop!

The garden is winding down & the nights are getting cooler! Beautiful weather outside for picking this little garden haul! Hope you all had a great weekend!

We will be here at the Mallorytown Country Market for a couple more hours (until 4pm ) stop by and say hi!

This Sunday Aug. 5th Willow Bend Farm will be back at Mallorytown Country Market from 1-4pm for the Blueberry Social! We’ll have our farm fresh hamburg, whole chickens, an assortment of other meats & some fresh Veg! Hope to see you there!