Farm Happenings at Fiddlehead Farm
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Welcome to Fiddlehead Farm!

Posted on September 2nd, 2019 by Heather Coffey

My name is Heather and I'd like to take a moment to welcome you to our farm's vegetable program. Thank you for signing up for a season of tastiness with us! It's called community supported agriculture (CSA) because by signing up for a season of veggies you, as a community, are directly supporting our little farm so we can plan our season, reduce waste, and better feed you the veggies you like the most fresh from the garden.

We've adopted a web portal known as "Harvie" because the team there has designed a system that lets you customize your veggies each delivery, pay gradually throughout the season, and rearrange your deliveries as needed. Harvie will be sending you a series of training e-mails over the next little while - please take a moment to look them over, or save them for your first delivery week when you're ready to start swapping!

In the meantime, here's a few quick notes and links that you'll find helpful as we go through the season.  If they don't all make sense now don't worry, that series of training e-mails will help explain them more gradually. It is a collection of FAQs that I like to make sure everyone is aware of going into the season.

  • E-mail is our primary means of communication, please make sure you've linked your order to an email address where you'll see messages. (Check your junk to ensure the training series doesn't end up there). Every time you get a customization e-mail, we'll be packing a box for you unless you log in and change something. We also use e-mail if we have to alter delivery details like a store being closed, or rescheduling due to an ice storm so it's important that you'll see them.
  • Each delivery you can expect two e-mails from Harvie:
    1. "Time to customize" will let you know what we've pre-filled in your box, should you want to swap anything now's your chance just click the link. The e-mail will let you know the customization time window, and when customization closes so we have time to pack up your boxes. If you decide you need to cancel, reschedule the bag or pick it up at another spot, now's your final chance to do so.
    2. "Your box is on the way" will be sent as we're packing your box, to let you know what we've packed for you as well as the details for your chosen pick-up location. Your final payment for each delivery, if applicable, will be charged at that time.
  • Is your phone number on file the best way to reach you on delivery day? We'll use that number if it looks like you've forgotten your veggies or if there's any issues with delivery, so a cell phone is usually best.
  • You can log into Harvie at any time to do things like edit your preferences, reschedule a bag by either changing the date or location for pick-up, update your contact information, and see your payment history.
  • There's a handy FAQ page here for Harvie which covers topics like setting your preferences, swapping items after your box has been pre-filled, adding extras or putting your box on hold. It is a little bit of a learning curve, but trust me it's totally worth it! Follow along with the training e-mails and it's easy to get comfortable with the system.
  • Preferences are what Harvie uses to fill your box, so if you find you want more or less of a certain item, just tweak your preferences as we go through the season. If you love or like something, you're more likely to get two of that item before getting something that's just "I'll eat it". You'll never get items that you mark as "Not for me". If you're not a big fan of the whole computer thing, just set your preferences and relax, we'll pack your veggies based on that.
  • To customize week by week, you'll get to swap items in and out of your box. Beside each vegetable is a little smiley face so you can adjust your preferences on the go too - I recommend setting your preferences so you get more of what you want filling automatically into your box! Note that at the bottom of the screen you can also see a payment summary for that delivery. 
  • Adding "Extras" is also an option, for when you'd like to buy a little more one week. We're more than happy to share the harvest with you if you'd like to eat more veggies than the default bag. Harvie shows you what's left over after filling everyone's boxes. First come first served on any extra produce!
  • You can customize as many times as you like till the customization window is closed, so if you change your mind just log in and adjust your order. If you want to check what's currently in your box go to My Shares.
  • Your credit card on file will always be charged when you get the "Your box is on the way" e-mail. There's a simple explanation of the payment plan here, and you can always log into Harvie and choose "My Deliveries" to see what amount will be due each delivery. The amount will be based on whether you're on the payment plan, or paid in full, if you swap above your value, or if you choose to purchase extras and will be updated while you customize your box.
  • Take a moment to check "My Deliveries" to re-arrange them around any planned holidays. I recommend changing the delivery to another day right away, instead of using hold. Change location is for just that, change date applies if you're keeping the same location and only changing the date. There's a full explanation of how to rearrange your deliveries here. If you wait to the last minute to cancel (which you can do from your customization e-mail) the default is to reschedule to the following delivery meaning you would get two next time unless you change the date.
  • If you've got a question about Harvie or can't figure out how to do something, the Harvie team is here to help either with their chat system in the web portal or by e-mail at support@harvie.farm . They've got someone monitoring their e-mail even on weekends and they're awesome, friendly people quick to reply with answers! They have full access to your payments, rearranging deliveries last minute, and the web portal in general.
  • Your primary contact at the farm is Heather. My capacities within Harvie are the same as you, but I'm the boots on the ground if we need to troubleshoot your share from pack line to pickup. If you have any questions about veggies just send them to heather@fiddlehead-farm.ca You've got our Fiddlehead Farm quality guarantee, and we're always happy to replace if something slipped through quality control! Our focus is on good food and getting you the best of what our farm has to offer. We also love fan mail ;) Reply time varies from minutes to days depending on what's happening on the farm - it's certainly not a desk job but I try to keep an eye on my inbox.
  • If you're collecting from a host pick-up location, please direct any questions back to the farm - the hosts don't have any answers for you, all they provide is a spot to stash the veggies in the time window for your location. For delivery day dilemmas, my cell is (613) 970-5034 and text is best as I'm often on the road and unable to take calls.


So with no further ado, welcome and we can't wait to feed you! 

Enjoy the tastiness,
Heather and Stephanie your friendly farmers at Fiddlehead Farm