The name of Milky Way Farm pays homage to Dairy Way Farm, the 5 generation family farm Jesse Way grew up on near Ingersoll, Ontario, and the birthplace of his dream of growing vegetables. Jesse ventured out west to complete a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Conservation, Science and Management at the University of British Columbia. Jesse completed a Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture at the UBC Farm in 2015, and has been passionate about growing food ever since.
Meghan Brandenburg began her vegetable farming dream over a decade ago on her grandparents’ land in Essex, Ontario, and after completing a Bachelor of Integrated Science at UBC has been forging her path back to the garden. Meghan has experienced two seasons growing in the milder climate of Vancouver running Kitchenband Farm, and after moving back closer to home in Ontario spent four years working on and managing Common Ground Farm in St. Thomas.
Together, Jesse and Meghan formed Milky Way Farm, and focus on extending the seasons to be able to offer fresh produce to local markets year round. After moving to the new property in May of 2018, the two have been busy turning old horse pasture into productive permanent raised bed fields, and building a greenhouse, as well as the infrastructure needed to be able to bring you a diversity of fresh, local produce year round.
Our Growing Practices
We believe in putting the health of the soil first, and strive to incorporate environmentally regenerative practices, in order to provide you with the freshest local produce, free of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.
We grow mixed vegetables year round using regenerative organic practices on a small scale in Oxford County. We use minimally heated, and solar heated greenhouses to provide fresh salad greens all winter, and grow in permanent raised field beds for the main season.
We practice minimal surface tillage in order to preserve the soil structure, and to protect and enhance the soil biology, while working towards raising the organic matter in the soil through the application of composted materials.
We do not use commercial fertilizers, but instead rely on our own compost, micronutrients and cover crops for plant nutrition. We opt for manual forms of pest control (row covers, beneficial insects, hand picking), and rely on soil and plant health, as well as crop rotation to prevent and combat disease.
Milky Way Farm 