BELWOOD – Joe’s Home Farm and Greenhouses is getting ready for their 2023 season after three years in business, offering a variety of farm grown vegetables, potted flowers, poultry, and other farm fresh products.
The property is owned and operated by Joseph Lozinski and Calen Whitford and is located in Belwood, ON.
“We didn’t know what the future was going to look like, so we turned Joe’s hobby farm into a business, which was one of the intentions when we bought this property,” Whitford said.
Lozinski was taught by his mother at a young age and has grown produce ever since. He is a firm believer in sustainable farming and understands that it’s become increasingly important as the world continues to face environmental challenges such as climate change, soil degradation and water scarcity.
The greenhouses are crucial to the farm because of the short growing season. The temperature is controlled by an onsite computer monitoring system.
“I start with 10x20cm trays with 96 cells.The plants are grown from seeds which stay in the trays for 45 -50 days before being transferred into bigger pots,” Lozinski said.
“I just enjoy growing things and providing healthy things for my kids to eat. It’s important to me that they have a place to pick things from the ground to eat instead of having to wash their food and worry about what’s been sprayed on it. I don’t use any pesticides or herbicides.”
Whitford admits she does not have a green thumb, but strongly supports Joe’s passion for growing and contributes to the farm however possible.
“Joe’s a farmer at heart. I grew up in the city, but this has always been a dream of mine. That’s really what drew me to him in the first place. It’s been his hobby and his interest to grow things whether it be livestock or plants,” she said.
“I like to say that we use the balance of nature and biodiversity. For example, we had gypsy moths here last year, but we noticed the wasps would eat the larvae and the caterpillars themselves and it didn’t end up being a problem.”
Lopinski has implemented the use of aquaponics in his greenhouse and hopes to scale the operation over time.
“Aquaponics is the process of using fish to fertilize plants. Over a two week process the ammonias break down into usable liquid fertilizer. You can have a closed system where the water runs through the plants and is returned as clean water. Eventually we’d love to have a big aquaponic system, but it’s expensive,” he said.
The couple has decided to add potted marigolds to their line of products this year.
“This is our first year trying to grow flowers. Typically, we like to grow things that have a very useful purpose, but we thought flowers would be a nice addition. We’re hoping to have the potted flowers ready in time for Mother’s Day,” Whitford said.
Lopinski and Whitford try to collaborate with local businesses as much as possible and are always looking for new partnerships. The couple have worked with food banks in the past and are constantly looking for ways to give back to the community.
For more information on the farm visit joeshomefarm.com
