About our farm

Hoople Creek Farm is the family farm of Jamie and Stacey Creskey, and our three children, Kyle, Lindsay and Spencer. The farm is located near the St. Lawrence River, in Ingleside, Ontario, about 85km South-East of Ottawa, and is named for the creek that runs through our area. Our farm is on the homestead of one of the original settlers, which our road is named after. Old iron nails and horseshoes are frequently being uncovered as we dig the fertile clay-loam soil.

We bought the farm in 2007, and by the spring of 2008, we were selling our first produce at the Ottawa Farmers’ Market. The support and encouragement we received from our first customers at the market convinced us that we were on the right track, and inspired us to continue building the farm. We believe in an integrated approach to farming, using the time-tested model of livestock and crops working symbiotically to harvest the sunshine and soil nutrients.

We have benefited greatly from the knowledge, advice and talents of those working in and supporting agriculture here in the Seaway valley. With it's micro-climate moderated by the St. Lawrence river, good soil, and welcoming people, we feel priveledged to have the opportunity to live and farm in Eastern Ontario.

What is Local Organic?

We use the terms together, because we think they are just as important, and in fact, address the same problem. We don’t believe that buying ‘organic’ lettuce grown on a giant corporate farm in California, using migrant labour and dwindling irrigation water, and then trucked all the way here is an earth-friendly or healthy choice.

In a time in which energy use has become the defining issue, how and where we grow our food is a big part of the solution.

There are many benefits to growing crops organically, but the biggest advantages are yet to be fully appreciated. Growing organically means working at nature’s pace, which involves accepting a certain amount of give and take with mother nature, and relying on local resources rather than imported nutrients gained from chemical sources.

We never use chemical pesticides, herbicides or fungicides on our crops. We believe that by building our soil and growing the strongest plants possible, pests and disease are greatly reduced or completely eliminated. It is an ongoing process, but we think that knowing with certainty that the food we eat is safe from any kind of chemical contamination is important. The benefits to the soil, water, and wildlife on the farm make it that much better.

We fertilize only with natural sources, which includes compost, naturally-occurring rock minerals, and cover crops to fix nitrogen from the air into the soil. Natural soil amendments create a healthy environment for microbes and worms which are instrumental to building and maintaining a fertile soil. Year after year we continue to be impressed by the results of growing crops in the way that was considered the ‘conventional’ method until only recently.

We pick all of our produce fresh, usually the day before we bring it to market, and wash, chill and pack it with care. We eat what we grow, and view our customers as an extension of our family. The taste of freshly picked organic produce never ceases to impress us, and the feedback from our customers tells us that we are on the right track.

What are Heirloom vegetables?

Most of the crops that we grow are refered to as ‘heirloom’ or ‘heritage’ varieties. We never grow GMO crops (Genetically Modified Organism), and almost all of our crops are grown of seeds from right here in Ontario. Heirloom crops are grown from seeds which have been passed down for generations, and offer a huge variety of delightful tastes you won’t find at the grocery store. Industrial agriculture has narrowed down the crops that are grown based on criteria such as shelf-life and yield. But a world of variety and taste exists outside of the narrow list of crops that are grown commercially. You haven’t tasted a tomato until you’ve had a Black Brandywine!

Another benefit of heritage varieties is that they support a network of seed growers, and offer the benefit of saving your own seed because these plants can grow 'true' from their own seed, and aren't owned by any company. They are in the ‘public domain’ and belong to all of us, so to speak. Most of the seed that is used to grow food industrially is produced using GMO or hybrid varieties that are owned by an increasingly small number of large companies. We don’t believe that life should be patented, or that having the seed of what we eat owned by corporate interests is good for anyone.

As we begin the 2010 growing season, we look forward to seeing the gardens come to life again, the sheep back on green pasture, the children running in the grass, and welcoming our customers for another great season of healthy eating. We look forward to your comments and questions, and wish you good health and happiness throughout the year.

Best regards,
Jamie & Stacey Creskey & family.

Hoople Creek Farm
14251 Dafoe Rd.
Ingleside, ON

(613) 537-8871

Jamie and Stacey at the Ottawa Farmers' Market in September, 2009. Our display features beets, 3 different varieties of carrots, radishes, swiss chard, fennel, leeks, lettuce and garlic.

Lindsay and Spencer, closely followed by Sydney, running through the orchard we planted last year.

Lindsay with a bunch of Strawberry Spinach.


We move our flock of Khatadin sheep to new pasture every day, so they are never on the same spot more than a couple of days a month. This naturally keeps parasites down, and allows the grass to fully regrow.


Kyle bringing some trays of stransplants into the hoophouse in late April.

Despite the cool, wet conditions, the soya beans did well last year. We pick them fresh for 'Edamame'. Makes a nutritious and great-tasting snack!


Stacey picking basil in the herbs patch.


Lots of rain brings lush grass to the pastures.


Jamie cultivating the greens garden using a wheel hoe, a simple, but effective tool.

Spencer with a prime specimen Brandywine tomato.

The kids and a friend bringing in some loose hay with our 1951 Ford 8N.


The all-important compost pile, cooking up a fresh batch of plant food for next spring's plantings.