Welcome to week one of the 2023 Farm Share season! We hope you are excited about all the veggies coming your way this summer. This here is your farm happening (a bit like a blog), and it comes with your customization email each week. In it you'll find farm news, recipes from the farm, links to help, reminders about general farm box stuff, and pictures!
FARM NEWS
The weather has kept us guessing this year, that's for sure! With an extraordinarily hot spring, we had early access to our fields, but much of what we planted in those early days didn't come up very well because it was also so dry. Crops are doing well now, however, and we were very happy with the rains that came in June. The no till, permanent beds that we have been going on about are performing really well, and we continue to be excited about our transition to no-till. This year we'll be creating the third installment of these permanent beds.
Our farm team this year is slightly larger than last year with 6 full time members and two part timers (plus our wonderful parents, who all help out with farm box deliveries and packing!). We couldn't do it without our team of committed staff! Of our crew, we have four new members, as well as four that have been with us for several years. They are a hardworking bunch and are committed to growing and harvesting the best that we can do for you folks!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
FARM TOUR JULY 23 11-1 - Come and join us in our fields to see where your veggies are grown. We are excited to share our journey to regenerative growing with you! Look for an email coming soon with more information and a map.
RECIPE OF THE WEEEK
Garlic Scape Spread
This recipe is not new, but it's so delicious that I am going to include it again since we are in the middle of scape season. It is an accidental recipe that I made when I'd meant to gently grill some scapes as a side dish, but unintentionally charred them instead. Rather than toss them, I tried something that I do with green onions from time to time, which is to make a creamy dipping sauce after grilling the heck out of them.
Use around 7-8 garlic scapes and grill them until they are softened and quite charred. Chop them roughly, and, using some sort of food processor, blitz them with 1/3 cup of cream cheese, 1/3 cup creamy unsweetened yogurt and a pinch of salt. (these measurements are approximate because of course I didn't actually measure). Taste for seasoning and add black pepper if you're a fan. Use for anything that requires dipping! We ate ours with new beets that had also been grilled to sweet and tender perfection, but honestly it was good enough that we were also just eating it by the spoonful.
PRICING AND PAYMENT
I want to take a moment to remind you about how pricing works on Harvie to eliminate some of the questions we often receive after week one.
The default payment method on Harvie when you sign up with us a 25%/25%/50% model. This means that you pay 25% when you secure your spot with us, another 25% when you receive your first share PLUS the first instalment of the remaining 50%, which is charged to you over the 14 weeks of our summer share season. For those of you that paid in full upon signing up, this doesn't apply. A large share is $52/week, a medium $39/week and a small is $29/week.
You have the option of adding extras to your box each week, as long as you have a payment method for that in place (usually a credit card). You can also swap items; sometimes there is an additional fee when there is a difference between the two items that you are swapping. You can see the value of the items in your shares so you know what items to swap if you are trying to stay within the value of your share rather than incur extra charges by swapping items of greater value than the item you don't want.
You can keep tabs on what is in your cart if you click on the cart icon. A popup tally of what you have in your cart will appear. If your cart isn't full yet, a green banner letting you know that you can add items will show up as well. It isn't a perfect system, and we've provided Harvie with feedback asking them to make the accounting more clear for you guys. Please know that we are aiming to give you the best value that we can while also keeping our farm running.
The customization experience works best on a desktop screen rather than a phone.
GENERAL REMINDERS
Our Location Options
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. We will not retrieve shares left here.
Awn Kitchen (Southwest Edmonton) Saturday pickups, 10-2, no flex.
Uproot Food Collective (Central Edmonton)
Saturday pickups, 10-2, some flex, but let's respect the hours as best we can.
Strathcona Farmer's Market (Edmonton) Saturday pickups, 8-3, no flex.
The Butcher Block (Sherwood Park) Saturday pickup, 9:30-4, some flex, open till 5.
Get Real Natural (Fort Saskatchewan) Saturday pickup, 10-5, no flex
Sundog Organic Farm (near Gibbons) Saturday, 9-2, flexible
Links
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
You have three options:
1) BEST OPTION - 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.
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) Have someone else pick up for you. In our experience, friends assigned this job sometimes forget, so help them remember!
A few more tips in case you haven't read them yet...
*When picking up your bin at King's, Awn, Breadlove, Butcher Block or the Fort Distillery, please make sure that you are getting the bin with your name on the label! We want to make sure that everyone gets the correct bin!
*Make sure that you set your preferences on your Harvie account. This ensures that you receive boxes tailored to you. Save the 5 star rating for things that you really love and don't give everything 5 stars because that skews the algorithm that the software relies on.
*Take advantage of the swapping and adding extras to further customize your shares! Remember to do it before Wednesday morning, 5:00 a.m.(basically Tuesday night unless you are a very early riser).
*Let us know if you ever want help. You can send in a note via your Harvie account, or email us directly at jamesandjenny@sundogorganicfarm.ca. If it is a more urgent concern, call us at 587-409-1106. We are always here for you.
