And the Academy Award goes to...

Yes, it’s true; we are closed for a long winter’s nap! But last Sunday we all stumbled out of the farmyard, dressed in our best, and set-out to a gala event at the Congress Centre in Toronto.

We are thrilled to announce we are the recipient of the 2012 Retailer of Distinction Award!

Every year the Canadian Gift and Tableware Association recognizes leading retailers in the Canadian giftware industry. Springridge Farm was awarded for our outstanding achievements including excellent merchandising, innovative marketing campaigns and top customer service.

This nation-wide award is assessed by a panel of expert judges whose criteria is vital to success in the retail industry: visual merchandising and store design, business achievements, advertising and public relations, community involvement, innovation and originality followed by a visit from a secret shopper.

The evening started with a cocktail reception, followed by a formal dinner in a ballroom with more than 500 guests. Farmer John, Famer Laura, Farmer Amy, Farmer Tom, Jesse, Niki, Ginny and Susan represented Springridge. After the awards were handed out for Sales Rep and Supplier of the Year, Farmer John and Farmer Laura were escorted on stage to receive the Retailer of Distinction crystal statue! After dessert, the party revved up with a Bee Gees tribute band and we all hit the dance floor to celebrate.

And we’re looking forward to celebrating with YOU! Save the date: our opening day is March 28, 2013. In the meantime, you can follow all the winter updates from our Jam Team on Facebook and Twitter.

The Twelve Days of Springridge

To the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas:

On the first day of Christmas Springridge gave to me a rooster in a fir tree.

On the second day of Christmas Springridge gave to me two sandbox lunches and a rooster in a fir tree.

On the third day of Christmas Springridge gave to me three fruit pies, two sandbox lunches and a rooster in a fir tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas Springridge gave to me four cherry jams, three fruit pies, two sandbox lunches and a rooster in a fir tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas Springridge gave to me five wagon rides, four cherry jams, three fruit pies, two sandbox lunches and a rooster in a fir tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas Springridge gave to me six chickens laying, five wagon rides, four cherry jams, three fruit pies, two sandbox lunches and a rooster in a fir tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas Springridge gave to me seven bees a buzzing, six chickens laying, five wagon rides, four cherry jams, three fruit pies, two sandbox lunches and a rooster in a fir tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas Springridge gave to me eight schools a touring, seven bees a buzzing, six chickens laying, five wagon rides, four cherry jams, three fruit pies, two sandbox lunches and a rooster in a fir tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas Springridge gave to me nine ladies shopping, eight schools a touring, seven bees a buzzing, six chickens laying, five wagon rides, four cherry jams, three fruit pies, two sandbox lunches and a rooster in a fir tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas Springridge gave to me ten lords a-quing, nine ladies shopping, eight schools a touring, seven bees a buzzing, six chickens laying, five wagon rides, four cherry jams, three fruit pies, two sandbox lunches and a rooster in a fir tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas Springridge gave to me eleven bakers baking, ten lords a-quing, nine ladies shopping, eight schools a touring, seven bees a buzzing, six chickens laying, five wagon rides, four cherry jams, three fruit pies, two sandbox lunches and a rooster in a fir tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas Springridge gave to me twelve farmers farming, eleven bakers baking, ten lords a-quing, nine ladies shopping, eight schools a touring, seven bees a buzzing, six chickens laying, five wagon rides, four cherry jams, three fruit pies, two sandbox lunches and a rooster in a fir tree.

Santa Can You Hear Me?

November 1st signifies the ultimate switch of seasons for us at the farm. As we’re packing away all things pumpkin, we’re preparing for parties and presents and everything North Pole!

It’s also the first day of gingerbread cookies in our bakery! Did you know the first recorded trade of gingerbread cookies dates back to monasteries, pharmacies and town square farmers’ markets in the 16th century? The tradition of baking gingerbread is simple, but adds a certain whimsy to the season.  We are honoured to bring Grandma Hughes’ recipe to our on-farm market every November.

This year, Santa Claus is taking time out of his hectic schedule to spend FOUR weekends with us at the farm! Mingle and jingle with the big man at our Christmas Open House with Santa on Saturday, November 17 and Sunday, November 18 from 10am-4pm. This is a wonderful photo opportunity as you can take photos with Santa in our party room.

Beginning the weekend of Christmas Open House and continuing every weekend until December 9, Mr. Claus will be at Springridge to spread his jolly holiday spirit!

Christmas activities during these weekends include:
Make a Springridge Farm memory painting a glass ornament - $5
Decorate a freshly baked gingerbread cookie - $5

Bring your Christmas shopping list too! Our fantastic and festive selection of ornaments, decorations, giftware, gourmet items, baking and gift baskets await you. This month we’re also introducing our brand new Springridge Farm gift card…just in time for gift-giving season!

Ho Ho Hope to see you soon.

Turkey Time

It’s just about time to snap the turkey wishbone and reflect on all the things you’re grateful for this year. At our farm table, we often give thanks to things like the weather, harvest, staff and all the visitors we’ve shared memories with.

As we move toward Thanksgiving weekend we hope that we can help you and your family celebrate in some small way. Here’s a list of Springridge Thanksgiving must-haves that will make your turkey dinner go down just a little more smoothly!

1. Cranberry Orange Sauce – This homemade sauce is the perfect accompaniment to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Equally sweet and tart, this sauce will make turkey time all the more tasty! Farmer John says it tastes just as good on a left-over turkey sandwich the next day.

2. Pumpkin Butter – Turn ordinary turnip and squash into a festive side dish. This spread has hints of warm, seasonal flavours like maple syrup, vanilla and brown sugar. Try it on toast, bagels, English muffins or ice cream too!

3. Cookbooks – Find a new recipe to indulge in this fall. Our cookbook selection is ever-expanding and we recommend hunkering down and learning the art of using a slow cooker or making pasta sauce from scratch.

4. Seasonal Décor – Romance the season with rich colours and unique decorative accents for your Thanksgiving table. Fill your cornucopia with vibrant gourds available in our Barn Market. Create your own centre piece by hollowing out a pie pumpkin and placing a bouquet of fresh flowers or a small mum plant inside. Bring all the scents of autumn inside your home with cranberry or pumpkin candles.

5. Homemade Pie - What makes the perfect pie? We think it’s using fresh, local ingredients, a golden crust, a little sugar and the love of baking. For some people, “making the perfect pie” involves a visit to our bakery!

We’re delighted to be a part of so many Thanksgiving dinners.

Gobble gobble.

Fallridge Farm

Give your front porch a blast of fall colour with Springridge Farm’s harvest season garden mums. When selecting the perfect pot of mums to take home, make sure you choose one with tiny buds so you can enjoy the explosion of colour in your garden…plus they’ll last longer too! Keep your mum plants watered and they’ll surely last right through the season.

Our hardy mums are a great size for filling a large outdoor urn, especially if you include some tall grasses for height. We also have purple fountain grass, corn stalks and straw bales available for turning your porch into an autumn oasis.

As the month of October approaches, it’s fun to start adding some gourds and pumpkins into your outdoor décor. Springridge harvests a wide variety of pumpkins including the ghost, tomato, goosebump, pie, Cinderella and the traditional orange jack-o-lantern.

Celebrate the pumpkin crop at our annual Harvest Festival taking place every weekend beginning September 22 through to October 28, including Thanksgiving Monday.

Harvest Festival provides fun for the whole family with wagon rides to a giant corn trail, professional puppet show, spooky Boo Barn and the Fun Farm Yard. Admission is $10 per person, ages 2-92.

This year’s festival is kicking off with a special event with Food Network Canada celebrity chef, Michael Smith. On Saturday, September 22 from 2-4pm Michael Smith will be at the farm for an exclusive book talk and signing and to celebrate the release of his brand new cookbook, Fast Flavours: 110 Simple Speedy Recipes. RSVP as space is limited.

Romance the season with rich colours and unique decorative accents for inside your home. Springridge Farm has a fantastic fall selection of new wall art, wreaths, candles, botanicals, lanterns, throws, pillows, giftware and more. You can always count on Springridge for ideas about dressing up your Thanksgiving table too!

Gobble Gobble...

Join the Springridge Farm Team

Springridge Farm is recruiting for the Fall Season!

We are searching for outstanding people to become a part of our dynamic team.

Have you always dreamed about working with us?

Do you know someone that’s a perfect fit for the farm?

Apply today to join the Springridge family!

We are now accepting applications in the following areas:

Harvest Festival Event Staff – you have a passion for pumpkins, excellent customer service skills and are available to work weekends

School Tour Guides – you are a natural leader, enjoy working with children and are available to work weekdays

Food Service – you are excited about local food, have excellent customer service skills and are available full time weekdays/weekends, part time weekdays/weekends or weekends

Retail Sales – you love the Springridge Farm brand and home décor, have excellent customer service skills and are available to work weekends

Wondering what it's like to work at the farm? Here are some words our staff use to describe their experience here:




If you think this sounds like an exciting opportunity, fill out an online application now!
Feel free to share our information with friends, family and neighbours.

Adult Application

Student Application

We thank all applicants for their interest. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

School's Out for Summer

The end of a school year signals so many fun things: vacations, staycations, swimming pools, keeping cool, fresh fruit pies and wagon rides.

If you're planning on spending your summer days in the Springridge Fun Farm Yard...here are the top 5 reasons why a season pass is a great option:

-you visit the Fun Farm Yard more than 5 times a season (you will save $!)
-you live close by
-you have small children or a busy family that can only stay for short visits
-you love fresh air and exploring outside
-you are looking for a fun, educational, safe place to spend an afternoon

An individual season pass is $20 and a family pass for 4 is $70. See Judy, Donna or June at our admission booth for more information.

The month of July also means that summer fruit is in season! Freshly picked raspberries, blueberries and sweet peas are available in the Barn Market.

Did you know that 1.3 million pounds of raspberries are harvested in Ontario each year? According to our friends at Foodland Ontario, that's enough raspberries to make 1.7 million tarts! Both raspberries and blueberries are a good source of Vitamin C and fibre.

Sweet peas are best eaten as soon as they are picked! Grab a bag and shell them on your patio on a hot summer evening. Try them in our light, flavourful recipe for Summer Sweet Pea Quiche:

1 9-inch single crust pastry shell
3/4 cup Ontario sweet peas (shelled)
1 cup grated Ontario swiss cheese
2 tbsp Ontario chives or 1 green onion, chopped
4 Ontario eggs
1 ¼ cups milk
2 tbsp Springridge Farm Lemon Dill Mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a medium-sized pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add peas and cook for just 30 seconds. Drain immediately into a colander and transfer peas to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and set their colour. Once cool, drain peas thoroughly. Spread mustard over bottom of pie shell. Add grated swiss cheese, peas, and sprinkle with chives or green onions. In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs and milk, season with salt and pepper. Pour over quiche (you may not need all of the egg mixture – don’t worry). Set quiche on a parchment-lined baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake in preheated 375F oven for about 40-50 minutes or until puffed and set in the centre. Enjoy!

The Berry Blog III

The most anticipated, mouthwatering, magical season at Springridge Farm is just around the corner!

Strawberries will be available freshly picked and ready to go in the Barn Market beginning the weekend of June 2, 2012.

Our kitchen team loves to bake with strawberries too! They are making our traditional strawberry custard pies and tarts as well as sweet strawberry muffins.

And boy do we love the smell of strawberry muffins in the oven! We have two options for making fresh strawberry muffins at home. For the culinary armatures among us, pick-up a package of Springridge Farm Strawberry Muffin Mix! The only kitchen skills required are adding chopped Springridge strawberries, mixing by hand and baking!

For the more adventurous, we suggest our delicious yet simple Strawberry Muffin recipe:

1 cup fresh Springridge Strawberries
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
1/3 cup sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
¼ cup melted butter or margarine
1 egg
1 cup milk

Stir dry ingredients together. Add melted butter and beaten egg to milk. Add liquid ingredients to dry, stirring only to moisten. Cut up strawberries into small pieces and gently fold into batter. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full and bake at 375F for 15 minutes. Makes 12.

The coolest place to hang out during Strawberry Season is the new 'Chill Barn' in the Fun Farm Yard. Too hot from hiking up to the Lookout? Visit the Chill Barn and keep your temperature down with a refreshing mist of natural spring water!

After more than 30 years of offering pick-your-own strawberries, we are discontinuing strawberry picking at the farm. We've experienced a major shift in our strawberry harvest with more and more visitors choosing to purchase freshly picked berries and  fewer choosing pick-your-own. We are still growing and harvesting the most delicious strawberries in town!  We appreciate your support as we grow forward and begin another delicious strawberry season.

Book it!

Springridge is your local destination for cookbook shopping and rubbing elbows with celebrity chefs! With a variety of cookbooks from beginner to advanced, on a variety of topics such as BBQ, vegetarian, world foods. family meal prep and healthy eating, we have a cookbook that appeals to every palette.

Sometimes even the most experienced cook in the kitchen needs a little inspiration to try a new recipe. For that, we turn to our cookbook author friends! Every book event at the farm includes an exclusive talk, where authors reveal their baking secrets, cooking tips and culinary thoughts. If David Rocco says you can make a gourmet pasta sauce in less than five minutes using his recipe, you whip those tomatoes into a sauce! If Lynn Ogryzlo describes the most delicious blueberry crumble she’s ever made, you go pick those blueberries at a local farm! You're inspired to try something new.

When authors visit the farm, they also stay for a personal meet and greet book signing session. This is a wonderful opportunity to purchase a signed cookbook for a hostess, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthday, Christmas, wedding shower, house-warming, anniversary or graduation gift.

On the Springridge website, you will find information about author events past and present. We’ve also created a photo gallery with delicious highlights from our events with Anna Olson, Elizabeth Baird and Mairlyn Smith to name a few.

Upcoming:
Springridge Farm Presents: An Evening with Frankie Flowers
Tuesday, May 8, 2012 5:30pm-8:00pm
Join Springridge for an evening of gourmet food sampling, exclusive giveaways, great Mother's Day shopping, book talk and the opportunity to purchase Frankie Flowers' new book, Pot it Up, for an exclusive signing. RSVP required: events@springridgefarm.com

Patio Season at Springridge

Springridge is opening for the 2012 season with all the latest merchandise for throwing an unforgettable patio party! If you love patio weather as much as we do, you won't want to miss these items...

The RedNek Wine Glass is perfect for your favourite pinot grigio, champagne, martini or margarita. Each mason jar glass comes with a lid to keep you from spilling on your plaid shirt! This trendy stemware has been a bestseller on Amazon.com and made headlines across North America. Ideal for adding a little something to talk about at family barbeques. You might be a redneck if...

The Corkcicle keeps your bottle of wine at just the right temperature. When you're entertaining guests outside, it's such a hassle to go back and forth to the kitchen every time someone needs a refill. Ice buckets chill wine at too cold of a temperature (plus the ice melts quickly on a hot day!). The Corkcicle is a clever, reusable chiller that's been tried and tested by Springridge staff!

Invite the Queen to your garden party! Kikkerland Design has a figurine of Her Majesty that has a solar activated twist of the wrist. The waving Queen is a wonderful accessory for high tea parties and pairs well with Springridge Farm Diamond Jubilee Jam. The Solar Waving Queen is available from our British display, honouring the Queen during her Jubilee Year!

Replace the boring old toothpick for serving fruits and cheeses with a smart bamboo pick by cobistyle! The loop at the top of the stick makes for easy pick-up and empty platters. Each set contains 50 sticks.

Fresh from our gourmet department, we have Belvoir Raspberry Lemonade. Belvoir Fruit Farms in the UK use pressed raspberries and lemon juices to create this refreshing alternative to traditional lemonade.

Time for tapas? Springridge's Grandpa's Pickled Eggs are new in our farm market and will add an interesting element to cheese and crackers. We are also featuring a selection of Belazu olives. Taste the Mediterranean in your own backyard with Harlequin (pitted green and purple olives with red pepper and herbs de Provence), Pompeii (cracked green olives with chilli dressing) or Pistou (cracked green olives with basil and garlic).

Bella Cucina Tradizionale Pizza and Foccacia Mix and Pomodoro Pizza Sauce are a thoughtful hostess gift this season. Just as good as pizza in the vineyard as long as you have a RedNek Wine Glass in hand!

Springridge Farm is opening for the season on Thursday, April 5.

News from the Jam Team

Over the winter, our dream team is our jam team! If you follow us on Twitter, we are always updating about what flavour the #JamTeam is making as well as sharing photos of the ingredients. Jam production is a long-standing tradition at Springridge. All of our jams are made in our farm kitchen and are stirred, poured, lidded and labeled by hand.

One of the best things about working in the barn during jam production is the sensational smell of citrus and berries. On many days, we all go home perfumed with oranges from cooking marmalade. Other days we experience Eau de Garden Fresh Chili Sauce, which is slightly more fragrant than the fruit jams!

Every year, we add the excitement of creating a new, limited edition jam! Two years ago we developed 50th Anniversary Jam and last year we made our infamous, Royal Wedding Marmalade. This year, we are honouring Queen Elizabeth II with a special Diamond Jubilee Jam. This majestic strawberry jam features a splash of celebratory champagne and will be available when we open for the season on April 5, 2012!

Royal Watchers will find that Diamond Jubilee Jam is the perfect accompaniment to tea parties, brunches and special occasions throughout the year as well as an extraordinary treat to enjoy during the Queen’s Jubilee Weekend in June.

Other jams our team is making include Blueberry, Summerberry, Chocolate Raspberry, Cherry Brandy and Strawberry to name a few!

And…drum roll please…we are delighted to announce that Royal Wedding Marmalade is back by popular demand! Now you can relive the memories of the Royal Wedding on your toast every morning!

Look for new sauces, brie toppers and pickled products on the shelves this spring too.

The Retail Department

The Springridge staff is still busy preparing for the 2012 season, even though the farm is closed for the winter! Aside from cleaning and setting up the farm market, we’re hard at work making jams, chutneys, sauces and pastry from scratch. One of our favourite events during the winter is the Canadian Gift and Tableware Association Show. The annual show is a fantastic opportunity for our retail team to meet with existing suppliers, scout out new merchandising ideas and most of all go shopping for our store! So, if you’re curious about what it’s like to be a Springridge merchandise scout at a trade show with more than one million square feet of exhibition space, we present you with…

A Day in the Life of a Springridge Scout

We start our day at 8am, carpooling to the Congress Centre in Toronto. When we arrive, we obtain our Gift Show ID badges and begin sifting through the guidebook. As we walk the aisles of the show, we pass by complimentary massage stations, tearooms and concessions. There’s no time to stop for these luxuries, but we do make note of a delicious food court with taco salads…we’ll be back for lunch!

We’re searching for the latest trends in home décor like bright colours, Reallite candles, rustic wood pieces and interesting wall art. We’re also combing through the exhibits for Canadian-made merchandise because we are always looking to further our commitment to the ‘buy local’ movement.

While visiting some companies we already work with and checking out their new merchandise for spring, we constantly make notes about interesting items we could introduce to Springridge customers.

“What about cast iron teapots? They’re beautiful, functional and last a lifetime!”

“Rustic paddle wall hanging – great for the cottage.”

“New distressed white framing option for pictures at art company…nice for light, neutral decorating.”

Just before lunch, we step into the Abbott Giftware booth – a company we know well! In fact, there are nine skids of Abbott merchandise waiting for us to unpack back at the barn! This exhibit is where everyone wants to be: pop music, doughnuts, strawberry infused water and sparkly Abbott swag.

In the afternoon, we are on a mission to find new Canadian-made merchandise. We head over to the International Centre and discover an exciting new company from the Waterloo region. We collect the product details and a catalogue for future reference. The company makes colourful metal wall art and planter stakes – perfect for gardening season!

We say hello to an exhibitor who make hats out of Canadian wool socks and visit with another vendor who refashions barn board into furniture. We’ve gathered information from jewellery suppliers and forecasted the trends for Halloween and Christmas. We are armed with new business cards, catalogues, DVDs and ideas to take back to the buyers at the farm!

At 6pm, we depart the show, buzzing about our favourite findings from the day. Next up on the agenda is to present our Gift Show “hot list” to the Springridge buyers: Farmer Laura, Amy and Susan!

We can’t wait to re-open in April with the 19th century barn all decked out for spring!

The Year in Review, Part Two

We made some wonderful memories at the farm in 2011 and we’re happy we could share so many of them with you. From our Royal Wedding Marmalade campaign to rubbing elbows with celebrity cookbook authors to whizzing down the new 40 ft pipe slide, we enjoyed every minute of life on the farm! Even our resident rooster Rocky had fun this year shaking his tail feathers in the barnyard!

Without further adieu, here’s our end of year ‘round up of our favourite farm moments!

Best use of a Chuck Wagon
Randy & Sandy at Harvest Festival

Favourite Literary Work Available at the Farm
How to Survive a Gnome Attack by Chuck Sambuchino

Hottest Jar on the Shelf
Royal Wedding Marmalade

Favourite Twilight Shopping Night
Town & Country Christmas House Tour

Most Photographed Farm Guest
David Rocco

Best Early Morning
6am with Lori De Angelis from CHCH

Best Farm Word Coined by Springridge
Jampaign, noun: a series of organized actions done for a purpose (with jam)

Most Likely to be your Best Friend
Tie between Hudson and Rocky

Favourite Local Foodies
Tourism Burlington

Best Kept Secret in Town
The Gift Loft

Best Twitter Connection
@VGonzee for taking our Royal Wedding Marmalade to London!

Fan Favourites
@HeartofOntario loves the food, the staff, the book evenings, the Easter & Harvest Festival!
@jesselauzon loves the cover of YFM magazine, December 2011!

A Post About Parties

It's December 1st and the invitations are already rolling in. You're invited to a plethora of holiday parties with work colleagues, neighbours, family, friends - wow, you're popular! With a tight social calendar you might need some help from the Springridge elves!

Glitz and Glam from the Gift Loft
Adorn yourself with faux diamonds from our Gift Loft! Our modestly priced costume jewellery will add sparkle to any little black dress. The crystal beaded cuff bracelet is our top pick for the season - perfect for taking you from daytime Christmas shopping to holiday-happy hour crantinis! Looking for a practical party accessory? We have a stylish selection of purses and handbags with a little somethin'-somethin' like colourful satin materials, beads and bling! We also have a dazzling collection of necklaces, earrings and brooches in winter designs.

Holiday Host
The invites are piling up but you're hosting a Christmas party of your own too! We are a one-stop-shop for everything appetizer to dessert. One of our easiest and most delicious appetizers is Raincoast crackers with brie cheese and roasted garlic red pepper jelly. For another palate pleasing hors d'oeuvre you can bake our frozen sausage rolls (cut into 1 inch pieces) and drizzle raspberry honey mustard over them before serving. For a main course, we have gourmet quiches, lasagna and savory meat pies in our frozen section. And for dessert, a platter of freshly baked gingerbread cookies. Voila, dinner a la Springridge Farm!

Don't be a Grinch Guest
We all know it's etiquette to bring something to the host or hostess of a party. Our staff is ready to help you select the perfect hostess gift! We can add some holiday cheer to a bottle of wine with a glass elf wine stopper - or pair your regular paper napkins with a Spode cheese knife set in their traditional Christmas tree pattern. For a host: we recommend our beer can chicken roasting set (sure to score you an invitation again next year!).

Party on!

Springridge closes for the season December 24 at noon.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Save the date! Mr. Claus is making his first stop of the season, right here in Milton.

For one weekend only on November 12 & 13, Santa is helping us kick-off our Christmas activities. Bring your letter for Santa and your camera because he's here to visit and take some jolly old photos with families in our party room.

Christmas activities continue every weekend until December 10 & 11, 10am-4pm. Join us at the farm and make a Springridge memory painting a glass ball ornament or decorating a freshly baked gingerbread cookie.

Our barn is all decked out with holiday home décor, ornaments, gifts, gourmet foods and gift baskets. Fraser Fir Christmas trees are available mid-November.

Once you've selected the perfect tree to take home, we want you to decorate it in style! So, we present to you our top 5 tips for making your Christmas tree shine.

1. Immediately place your tree in water and remember to water it throughout the holiday season. Let the branches open up and settle before decorating. Your tree will look full and have a naturally healthy glow!

2. Use LED lights. Make your tree radiant with energy efficient lights that last longer and don’t burn out like regular incandescent bulbs.

3. Add a little sparkle – we have glittery ornaments, picks and decorative balls available in our gift shop. Dress up a traditional tree with several ornaments that stand out!

4. Adorn your tree with sinamay. We have a wonderful selection of colours so you can use this crafter's fabric to create a theme or go wild!

5. Keep your tree shining by using it as kindling when Christmas is over.

Visit us for ideas and inspiration for entertaining and gift-giving this holiday season.

Pumpkins Pumpkins Pumpkins Pumpkins

Picture this: it’s an eerie Halloween night. The fog is rolling into Milton off the Niagara Escarpment. In the distance a coyote howls. You’re getting the kids ready to go out trick-or-treating. You gaze up at the dark October sky and the moon looks exactly like… a pumpkin you got at Springridge Farm!

For the first time ever, we are featuring Full Moon Pumpkins! These white pumpkins are as big and bright as the moon and will surely eclipse all other pumpkins on your neighbourhood block!

Now in stock:
Orange pumpkins – great for Jack-o-lanterns
Ghost
Knucklehead
Red warty thing
Tomato
Cinderella
Prize winner

One of our favourite ideas for carving pumpkins this fall is ‘the Twinkle Pumpkin’. This idea will add sparkle to your Thanksgiving décor or light the way along your porch stairs at Halloween. First select pie pumpkins or jack-o-lantern style pumpkins from Springridge Farm. Cut an opening around the top of the pumpkin. Scoop out the seeds and guts. Next, use a drill to make holes 1-2 inches apart around the entire pumpkin. Place candle inside and admire the Twinkle!

It’s no secret that Martha Stewart has some of the most creative ideas for celebrating holidays. Get inspired by her pumpkin carving photo gallery.

We are certainly passionate about pumpkins at the farm! This month, our bakery is featuring homemade pumpkin pies and tarts as well as our famous pumpkin face cookies! And the pumpkin doesn’t stop there…we have a delectable selection of pumpkin butters in our gourmet department.

In fact, we love pumpkins so much we’re celebrating this season’s crop at our annual Harvest Festival! Activities include wagon ride, 5-acre corn trail, Boo Barn, face painting, professional puppet show and access to the Fun Farm Yard including our new 40ft pipe slide. Harvest Festival takes place every weekend in October, including Thanksgiving Monday, 10am-4pm.

Springridge Farm is the ultimate destination for pumpkins this fall.

Drive by for a Pie

What did one old apple pie say to the other?
You’re getting a little too crusty!

At Springridge, pies are no joking matter! We make our pastry from scratch, fill it with the most delicious fruit and carefully hand-flute the edges before baking a perfect golden brown crust. Many of our recipes have been passed along from generation to generation on the farm.

September is all about bridging the gap between summer and fall and we’re filling this month with homemade apple crumble! It has a traditional pie shell bottom with a sweet crumble top and it’s our very own version of the satisfying, comforting, old-fashioned dessert.

Oh me oh my, we love pie! We asked some of our staff what their favourite Springridge pie is and everyone had a different one in mind! Sarah chose peach raspberry, Palma selected our classic apple pie, Kathy thought no one could beat our cherry recipe, June loves the spring-like taste of strawberry-rhubarb and Sandy is anticipating pumpkin pie!

Our pumpkin pie is made with a special blend of spices and will be available in the bakery early this month. We recommend a dollop of whipped cream and several forks for sharing! This pie is a true symbol of the harvest season.

Freshly pressed apple cider and apples are already in store. Our barn is brimming with new fall merchandise. Soon enough we’ll have all shapes and sizes of pumpkins available in our barn market as well as potted garden Mums. This could only lead us to one thing: HARVEST FESTIVAL!

This year’s festival kicks off September 24/25 and continues every weekend in October, including Thanksgiving Monday. Join us for tractor-drawn wagon rides to a 5-acre corn trail, face painting, Boo Barn, professional puppet show and fall family activities in the Fun Farm Yard.

Come celebrate good food, good fun and good pumpkins with us!

Make Your STAYCATION Sizzle

Does mid-summer leave you dreaming about that European vacation or relaxing week at a cottage rental you never booked?! While a ‘staycation’ fits any budget, the dog days of summer can be hot and long. Here’s a list of our best suggestions of how to make your staycation sizzle!

Entertain Your Brood

Let your kids rule the roost in the Fun Farm Yard! Rocky, our resident fowl, invites you to come and visit him! You can race on the pedal tractors or hike up to the lookout and see if you can spot the CN tower. Plus, Rocky will show you all around the Animal Barn and introduce you to his best goat friends!

Day Trip

Pick up a copy of Ron Brown’s book, ‘Top 100 Unusual Things to see in Ontario’ from our farm shoppe and choose your own adventure. The book outlines locations that are easy to get to from city centers as well as some for more serious explorers. Say goodbye to expensive plane tickets and visit Ontario’s Stonehenge, Ontario’s Taj Mahal or North America’s longest wooden bridge!

Backyard Beautification

Since you’ve had all the time in the world to hang out in your backyard during your staycation, you must have noticed that bare spot in the corner of your garden or the empty table on the patio. A summer at home is the perfect excuse to spruce up your backyard. We have a wonderful selection of garden statuary (for whimsical, rustic or modern gardens), lanterns to brighten your evening entertaining and trinkets that will add charm and character to your outdoor space.

Eat Local

We addressed the importance of eating local foods in our July blog, but August is a bountiful month for fresh fruits and veggies! Visit our barn market for peaches, corn, blueberries, everbearing strawberries and early apples (call ahead for availability). Farmers' markets are a great place to find fresh summer produce like sweet corn. Collect your harvest and try grilling corn on the BBQ. Pull away a few outer layers of the husk, grill for 20 minutes rotating the cob, peel the rest of the husk, butter up and enjoy!

Tour the Country (Roads)

Take a self-guided bike tour of the country roads in Milton! See the farms, landscape and wildlife as you wind around the back roads of the Escarpment. Make sure you put on the breaks as you whiz down the hill on Bell School Line and stop in for a refreshing drink and a seasonal fruit muffin!

From Our Own Backyard

We are looking forward to all of the local, seasonal foods Ontario has to offer over the summer! At Springridge, we can’t get much more ‘local’ than enjoying the strawberries grown right in our own backyard on Bell School Line. Even though strawberry season is winding down for us in July, we hope our Springridge friends will continue to 'eat local'.

Over the next few months, Farmer John and Farmer Tom will keep our barn market stocked with the freshest produce, grown in Ontario, by some of their farming friends. The first sweet peas of the season are now available in our market and soon we will have sour cherries, sweet cherries, new potatoes, raspberries, blueberries, peaches and corn.

In celebration of local food, we are hosting an Evening with Lynn Ogryzlo, culinary expert and author of The Ontario Table. With a background in Niagara’s wine industry, Lynn has shared her knowledge as a food, wine and travel writer. She has developed more than 1400 recipes devoted to local and seasonal food. Her latest book, The Ontario Table is more than a cookbook; it is an agricultural journey designed to introduce you to the people, food and culture of Ontario’s local food.

Lynn Ogryzlo will also highlight her Buy, Eat, Drink and Think Local Challenge. She is rallying for consumers to adjust their shopping habits and make an effort to spend just $10 of their grocery budget on local food each week. This will lead to an influx of money staying in our own communities.

We invite you to join us on Wednesday, July 13 from 5:30pm-8:00pm for an evening of hors d’oeuvres featuring local, seasonal farm foods, special guest Elizabeth Baird - Food Editor Emeritus of Canadian Living, after hours shopping and an exclusive book talk and signing. RSVP to events@springridgefarm.com as space is limited.

We are also welcoming our friends from A Taste of Burlington at the event. This summer they are focusing on local food promotion and encouraging restaurants to include Ontario ingredients on their menus. This summer’s A Taste of Burlington is taking place from July 18 – August 1 and is a wonderful opportunity to sample some of Burlington’s finest restaurants that help make the city a growing culinary destination. Look for the ‘Eat Local’ logo on menus.

Click here for A Taste of Burlington event flyer.

Eat local all year ‘round! Try freezing or preserving your Springridge strawberries so you can enjoy them in the depths of winter. Just hull the berries, place whole on a cookie sheet and freeze. Package quickly and return to freezer. Or try Foodland Ontario’s recipe for Freezer Strawberry Jam.

Bon Appetit!

The Berry Blog II

It’s the most wonderful time of the year and it’s not even time for the kids to go back to school yet! It’s BERRY SEASON! With all the cool, rainy weather we’ve been having, the strawberries are taking their time out in the field. We’re expecting this year’s crop to be ripe, juicy and ready for picking mid-late June.

Here’s a list of our best strawberry picking tips:

• Call ahead for Farmer John’s daily crop report! We’ll let you know the picking conditions and we’ll post updates on our website, Facebook and Twitter too.

• We’re sure hoping to see the sun a whole lot more in June! Sunscreen, water and a hat are must-have items for your day in the strawberry field.

• The fields are open 9am-4pm and the farm closes at 5pm daily. We suggest coming in the morning when both the temperature and the fruit are cooler.

• We have wooden baskets available for picking or you are welcome to bring your own container from home.

• Look for plump, firm, fully red berries to pick. They taste the best with whipped cream!

• The price of our pick-your-own berries is determined by weight at the end of your berry picking adventure! This year's price is set at $2.75/lb.

• If you’re not the strawberry pickin’ type – we will have a selection of ready-picked berries in our farm market. It can be just as much fun to pick your perfect berries from a fruit table!

• Keep your berries cool; enjoy or freeze.

Try something new in your summer kitchen! We’ve gathered a few of our favourite strawberry recipes from some of our farm friends!

1. Fresh off our special Evening with Lucy Waverman, we’re keen to try her Strawberry Salsa and Goat Cheese Bruschetta. This savory, sweet appetizer is a refreshing twist on traditional bruschetta and a perfect accompaniment for outdoor entertaining!

2. Elizabeth Baird’s recipe for Strawberry Melon Soup with Mint is sure to add coolness to a summer lunch. The soup can be prepared ahead of time and chilled for up to 24 hours.

3. Foodland Ontario has a wealth of delicious strawberry recipes on their website and they’ve merged two of our favourite things: strawberries and grilling! Serve Grilled Ontario Strawberries as a side dish with chicken or pork.

We’d also like to share with you the ultimate Springridge Strawberry Pavlova recipe! We served this delightful dessert at a special luncheon for local food connoisseurs last strawberry season and it received rave reviews!

See you in the fields.