Farintosh Farms 3.28

Our farm story begins in an unlikely place........
As one of six kids growing up in depression era Toronto, my father, John Farintosh, constructed a backyard chicken coop. In it, he kept a few hens for eggs to supplement his paper route income. He's pictured here in 1934, (with a chicken under his arm) in the backyard of the family home at 105 Wheeler Ave., in the Beach area of Toronto.

In 1958, after some years working in the construction business, my father finally purchased his dream; a farm on Warden Ave., just north of Elgin Mills Rd. That land is where my interest in farming started; surrounded by crops, animals and a large vegetable garden.

Roadside marketing always held particular appeal. The combination of meeting new people, satisfying repeat customers and selling produce "borrowed" from your parents' garden was pretty heady stuff for a young kid. That's yours truly in the nifty checked shirt, along with my neighbors and business partners circa 1965.

I sold produce grown by me from the back of a pickup truck at Warden and #7 Hwy. for several summers as a student,before graduating in Agriculture from the University of Guelph in 1976.

A small farm stand and Pick-Your-Own was then started at the original home farm. My mother put in countless hours looking after customers; we are blessed to have her continue to do so to the present day.

I had an opportunity to purchase a 100 year old post and beam barn slated for demolition in the mid 80's. We took it apart and reconstructed it for a new life as our farm market. It was placed on our present farm, on Warden Ave., south of Stouffville Road, purchased in 1984. It's been a lot of fun fixing up this property and equipping our "new" market with old farm memorabilia to complement our farm produce.

We take pride in the fact that, last year, 96% of our gross farm income came from produce grown right here on our own farm, picked each and every day throughout the growing season. We continue to try new crops every year.

Customers are the lifeblood of any business. Over the past 41 years, our customers have seen the farm and family grow; heck, one of them even introduced me to my wife!

The same things that drew that 12 year old boy into selling vegetables at the roadside haven't changed: I always enjoy seeing familiar faces each season and welcome the new.

Why not stop by and tell us your story?

Guy, Karen and Geoff Farintosh