***Farm News***
We have three weeks left of farm share goodies for you! After that, you can find us year round at the Old Strathcona Farmer's Market every Saturday, where there is FREE customer parking!
The weekend brought a change in weather, so we've put on sweaters and toques and we are keeping on! We've still got some fresh baby greens for you - the spinach is being sheltered under remay horticultural fabric and the arugula is in a cold frame. You might notice that these crops have extra flavour and a touch of sweetness brought on by the cold weather. Sugars develop in crops when they experience a temperature drop; it acts as a type of anti-freeze to keep the plants alive.
This week you'll likely find some squash in your share, as well as some further options for adding different types to your box. We love the boost of Vitamin A and C from this super nutritious vegetable at this time of year (aka flu season).
We've made a list of field work that remains before we are ready to call it quits outside, and it includes: harvesting cabbage, celeriac, rutabaga, leeks, planting garlic and sun chokes, cleaning up and prepping the no till beds that we used this year, emptying the cold frame of tomato vines, harrowing the potato field that was planted in green manure (aka cover crops)...I think that's all, but it feels like a big list to us, especially now that the mercury is dropping!
Here we are taking in leeks to put into our walk in coolers. We store crops in various ways on the farm - squash in the loft of our barn for the dry warmth and potatoes in their own cooler so that they can be slightly warmer than the carrots and other roots in our other large walk in cooler. Having appropriate storage means that we can feed our community during the cold months as well as the warm ones.
We really enjoyed this weekend of celebration with family - we were spoiled with a delicious dinner made by Jenny's parents, and we were delighted to be able to spend time together on our first day off in a long while yesterday. Below is a photo of our family's newest member, Kestrel, Jenny's brothers little guy. He's way too cute, and look at how much he's enjoying his turnip;)
Please note that you have until tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. to make changes to this week's share.
Have a wonderful week,
James and Jenny
***General Tips***
Please let us know if something is not right with your order when you receive it. We want to know how we can improve, and it is important to us that you receive excellence from us.
Here are some links to help documents created by Harvie for you to learn how to navigate your farm share account more easily. You will find information about swapping, rescheduling, pickup location changes etc.
https://harvie.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/categories/115000048773-Harvie-University-Members Link to Harvie help documents if you are not signed in to your account.
https://www.harvie.farm/contact Link to Harvie University for members (found in your accounts)
What To Do if You Are Away
This is a question we get asked often. You have three options:
1) Have someone else pick up for you. In our experience, friends assigned this job sometimes forget, so help them remember!
2) Cancel your share for the week. This can be managed on your Harvie account page. It must be done before the Wednesday morning cutoff time of 6 a.m. The disadvantage here is that you lose whatever you have invested into that share. So if you've paid 50%, then you forfeit that amount.
3) Reschedule your share. This is our recommended option because it means you get your full value. What we suggest is that you reschedule your share to a week near the end when you will get more storage-friendly items that will last longer in your fridge, though you're welcome to reschedule to any date that works best for you. When you reschedule, you will get the scheduled share as well as the rescheduled share or shares, so be prepared for a lot of food.
Pick up Location Days, Hours and Flexibilities (For more information about what to do when you miss a share, please read our Farm Happening from August 8)
King's University (East Edmonton)
Friday pickups, 12-4, some flex if you have to come a bit later. We will not retrieve any shares left here.
Breadlove Artisan Bakery (St. Albert), Saturday pickups, 10-2, no flex & closed on Sunday.
Awn Kitchen (Southwest Edmonton), Saturday pickups, 10-2, no flex, we will bring missed shares to farm.
Uproot Food Collective (Central Edmonton), Saturday pickups, 10-2, some flex, but please respect the pickup hours.
Strathcona Farmer's Market, Saturday pickups, 8-3, no flex, but we bring missed shares to farm.
The Butcher Block (Sherwood Park), Saturday pickup, 10-2, some flex
The Fort Distillery (Fort Saskatchewan), Saturday pickup, 10-5, no flex
Sundog Organic Farm (near Gibbons), Saturday, 9-2, flexible
As always, you may contact us with questions or concerns at jamesandjenny@sundogorganicfarm.ca or 780-447-3025 or 780-974-6249. Our preferred method of communication is email.
