Our farms received some much-needed rain this week. The hot, dry weather was beginning to stress some of our plants, and the soaking rains have refreshed both plants and soil.
We have big news to share: our Webstore is now closed permanently and all of our products are moving over to Harvie. It might take me a couple of weeks to get everything listed, but you will continue to see more choices to fill your shares. You should be able to see more information about the products, including the farm they come from as well as a description for products that warrant it. Value-added products will also have ingredient lists.
What is the difference between swaps and extras?
You may have noticed that some products are only available as extras and can't be swapped into your share. First of all, we fill your share with only produce during the summer/fall season (we allow other products in shares in the winter and early spring when produce is more scarce). If you want to, you can swap some or all of your veggies for meat, baked goods, maple syrup, honey, etc., from farms that are members of our cooperative.
We also offer products that are produced by other non-member local farms and companies to give you even more options to fill your box. However, the products from non-member farms are only available for an extra charge so we can support our member farms. Some of the extra products include milk, cheese, fish, and coffee.
Where can I see my delivery schedule?
You may want to check out your upcoming deliveries, especially if you are on an every-other-week schedule, in order to plan for vacations. You can see that info here: Upcoming Deliveries - Harvie. On this page, you can see the dates of upcoming shares, as well as how much you will be charged (before swap and extras charges) if you're on a payment plan. You can also place a hold, reschedule your share, or change pickup locations for a week. Note that if you're making changes to the upcoming week, they must be made before the customization period ends.
Extended customization period
Since we have eliminated Webstore ordering, we have extended share customization until Sunday at 10 p.m. This will be the usual time going forward. You can customize your share on Friday after you receive the initial email, but your order is still pending until Sunday night. So feel free to make more changes throughout the weekend.
Email issues fixed
We believe that the issue with emails being rejected for zoominternet.net email addresses has been fixed (finally!). It took me 2 weeks and many emails and phone calls to finally get this resolved. Please remember that if you ever don't receive an email from me on Friday morning announcing share customization, you can always go to your Harvie dashboard and customize your share from there.
Farm News
Derek from Glacial Till Farm took a short vacation this week, between harvesting for CSA and this weekend's farmer's market. What did he do on vacation? Read about farming, of course! A good farmer never stops learning.
Derek says, "This book is an absolute pleasure to read. There is something special about generating your own observations through experience, then having those observations confirmed and discussed with in depth analysis. It feels like you develop a connection to the culture of growing, a wisdom you want to share through the produce you grow. Truly, you desire to take pride in your farm and share it with anyone willing to participate."
Grateful Life Farm: Happy 4th of July Weekend! The pasture grasses and vegetables are happily soaking up all the rain we've gotten this week and the cooler temperatures have been very pleasant for the animals and the farmers. Lately we've been seeing so much wildlife in the woods and pasture. Yesterday morning as we drove into the pasture to tend to the chickens, we startled a mama raccoon, who sprinted into the woods carrying her baby in her mouth. At the other side of the pasture, two turkey hens and their adorable, tiny poults scurried into the tall grass. On our drive through the trees back to the house, we saw three owls, perched on low limbs, blinking slowly at us. A few yards away, a deer munched on the lower leaves of a tree, looking over her shoulder at us as we went past.
We wish you a happy and safe Independence Day.
Amy Philson
