Aug 8

So a quick note to everyonr that the garden will be open for u-pick as of tomorrow, no all vegetables are ready but I think 80% of what we planted is ready to go... hope to see you out.

Aug 5

well this weekend should be nice, the weatherman says its supposed to cool down a bit so that should be great for everyone comming out to the park. Have a great weekend what ever you are doing!!!!

Aug 2

So I hope everyone had a great long weekend, today we worked on trying to get control of the weeds in the garden.......... sheesh...
If there are any people out there that are looking for a rest of the summer job let me know, we could definately use the help.

July 27

So we were finaly able to put in our last 5000 strawberry plants, so this year we planted 60,000 in total!!!

Cam, John, and Stephan planting strawberries

July 26

I have received a comment from a couple about their disappointment with our strawberry festival and the lack of strawberries that we had available to pick. We really do our best with planning and organizing to try and ensure that everyone coming to Kayben has a great experience and I am truly sorry that this couple or any one had to be told that we were sold out and that they were not able to pick on Saturday. The fact is, even if we had 10 acres of strawberries that were in their 2nd or third year of production, with the amount of people we had on Saturday morning we still might not have had enough. At 9 am on Saturday we had people lining up at the gate, and by 10 am I would guess that there were 75 to 100 cars waiting.
If there are any kids that were not able to pick on Saturday because we were sold out by the time you arrived please let me know and perhaps what I need to do is have a pick strawberries with Farmer Jim morning.

July 14

What a nice day!!!
Today we had a few people out maybe 25 or so, to pick strawberries but not nearly enough. We have a lot to pick and are going to be picking tomorrow and Saturday, hope to see you out.

July 11

Here are a couple pictures of the raised strawberry beds with new growth

Picking has now begun, check the website for our picking days..

July 5

Whew.. what a past week. The sun is out and is in charge.
We have been trying to catch up on weeding in the strawberry fields and also I have noticed our first ripened strawberries for this year!!!

The strawberry festival is coming up and hopes are high that there will be lots to pick.
Tomorrow looks to be plus 30, now thats what I'm talking about.

Wed. June 29

So I was out watering this morning and took a couple pictures of the progress in our raised strawberry beds.
They are really coming along..

Remember our strawberry festival is July 23

Monday

This past Saturday was a nice day, and very busy. We had 5 birthday parties that took place and for a change the weather did cooperate.

First Day Of Summer !!

I looked at the calendar and noticed that it is indeed the first day of summer....... I don't recall having a spring. The park is very green with all the rain and the strawberries and blackcurrants are thriving as a result as well.
With the first day of summer the greenhouse is having a big sale today until 9pm tonight so if you are looking for some great deals I encourage you to come down.

Have a great day!!

Friday June 17

Today turned out to be a pretty nice day, I was able to plant my pineapples and I will keep you updated as to how they are doing.
Tomorrow is the parade in Okotoks, hope everyone has a terrific weekend!!




Newly planted pineapples



The great hanging baskets everyone that comes here and says how much better they are than enywhere else.



New Additions To Park

So we now have a new pig and lamb here at Kayben !! They are fitting in great with the rest of the crowd.

Saturday

So today was yet another wet day...

We did have a birthday party that braved the elements and had a great time, and Jo Jo's was very busy as was the green house. By the way I have been told by several customers over the last week, that we have the best hanging baskets by far. Not only the quality of content but the price as well.
Come have a look !

Hope you all have a great weekend!!!!!

Wednesday June 1

Kind of a weird day today... some rain, some sun, more rain, then...... more rain... and now just clouds. Good news is we got a great start planting pumpkins today!!
The potatoes are almost planted and next we plant onions.

The weekend is supposed to be nice, gives you something to look forward to.

Saturday Afternoon

Well the sun has come out finally, and it looks like it will be a great afternoon....
The greenhouse has been busy all day and I have been in the park looking after regular maintenance.
I was over by the animal display area and took a few pictures.

The ducks have really grown

The horses are just daring the cow to jump the fence



She looks like she is planning her next escape...



The rabbits are hiding from the sun

Saturday

So this morning started out a bit wet but it's supposed to be nice this afternoon.
Once again our cow Daisy escaped during the night and for the third time this week we have had to gather her and her calf up and put them back inside their pen. The funny thing is she looks so innocent when you find her... or is that a guilty look?
I'm new with animals so I haven't figured that out yet.
Have a great Saturday!!!!!

Wednesday June 1

Today was a great day !! No rain, and the wet areas from the last down pour have begun to dry, hopefully that won't happen again.....
Have you started your garden yet? It's time to start planning and get it going, let me know if you have any questions.
I have a few strawberries left that I can sell to you for 50 cents per plant, they are bare root seascape plants.
Our strawberries are doing great and I have a few beginning to flower.
Tomorrow we are going to start planting our u-pick garden, I will keep you informed as to what we are planting so you can look forward to coming out to see us.

Looking Forward

So I was thinking this morning as I was driving in that there is light at the end of the tunnel, the weather is supposed to clear up maybe Friday or at the very least I am wishful that it is nice for Saturday, which is our first festival.

I found another robin's nest this morning, this time four eggs..

Holiday Monday

Kind of a rainy day today...... :(
Remember next Saturday is our Bunnies n' Blossoms festival, rain or shine it will be a fun event, make sure to mark it on you calendar.

Whats New At The Farm

Over the past week we have had some new developments. The strawberries are planted and are doing well, we planted close to 53000. Our farm animals have arived and seem to like their new home.

Also in the greenhouse things are filling out and thriving !We just got in another shipment of trees and shrubs and the shade house is now packed full as well.



the tomatoes are comming along



A New Nest

I was out looking at trees this morning and noticed a new nest..

Pineapples

So in case you were wondering what ever happened with the pineapples I have had a couple failed attempts at producing roots, so I have kept trying different things and different places where I buy the pineapples from. Today I noticed my third attempt has had some success !!
What I am going to do is make sure my procedure is correct to get them in the ground and then I will let you in on how I achieved success.

What an awesome day today was... and it looks like the rest of the week will be even warmer, spring is finally here!

Pizza Oven Is Ready

Here are a few pictures of the first pizzas to come out last Friday night.

The pizza tastes great and I encourage everyone to come out and try it !!

New Growth

I was up in the garden on Friday and the garlic that was put in last fall has come up and is thriving !!

I also was looking over the strawberry raised boxes and there is new growth from the plants we just planted last week.

Hopefully this is a sign that this year will be a great year for strawberries and for the garden..

Strawberries

Good news for all you strawberry lovers, we completed planting strawberries in our raised boxes yesterday, just under 5000 were planted. Monday we should be in the field continuing to plant, this year we are planting 60,000 strawberries !!!

Pizza Anyone

So this past week we moved the oven...


figuring out the move



maybe a bit heavier than we thought

looking good

placing

the first fire

We still have the brick face an stucco to complete but it's in place and ready to go !!!

Okotoks Trade Show

This weekend we are part of the trade show at the arena, make sure you try to get out and come see us !!

Pizza Oven Update

So today we removed the forms from the final pour of cement......



Alexis & Claude working on the final pour



The pour is complete and needs to set for a day



The oven with the forms removed

So now with the forms removed there is still quite a bit to do but now we can move the oven to its destination which will be outside Jo-Jos.
I can almost taste the first pizza !!





Something New ..... A Pizza Oven

So a while back Stephanie said to Claude " hey maybe we should have an outdoor pizza oven, it would be cool and great and everyone likes pizza " well maybe that's not exactly how it went but anyhow Claude asked me what I thought and we talked about it for about 5 min and well..... what's the worst that could happen.  

first we poured a base



then we layed out the oven



then we built walls for the oven chamber



not yet Stephanie



   

here is Claude working to create the arch

   

at this point we are half way complete



Like I said,  buda bing budda boom ..........

Hopefully we are ready May 6 for opening day.

















Strawberries

Today we began to plant !!!
Here is Rebekkah showing you how it's done.






I stoped in the greenhouse last thing today to take a picture and show you all how amazing it looks !!



Strawberries Day 1

It was a great day yesterday as we were able to get onto the field and start cleaning out the raised boxes and hopefully soon we can start planting.

JoJo's Opening soon!

This past weekend I had a chance to meet the new employees that will be working at JoJo's this year and taste some of their great food.

My favorite dish is the BLT, Stephanie definately created the perfect lunch special.

Starting A Pineapple

 Step 1, after you have picked out a pineapple you need to remove the top, to do this grab hold of the top set of leaves and twist, it should come off with a bit of fruit attached (top right). Now you need to prepare the the crown by stripping off about an inch of leaves and any adhering fruit flesh (top left).

Next you need to carefully horizontally slice small amounts away from the bottom of the crown until you see root buds appear as small dots.The bottom of the root will ultimately look like this when you are finished trimming off the excess fruit flesh (bottom picture).

After trimming and stripping, you will need to let the crown dry out for a few days, this will permit the cut end and leaf scars to heal and prevent rotting So set your pineapple aside for a few days in a dry space and I will reveal the next step in a few days.