Happy Monday!
Hope you all had a good weekend! Please take a moment to read this or scan for content as some of it will be useful to you if you have questions about how our farm box program works:)
FARM NEWS
Things are going really well on the farm! Notably, we have a large enough farm crew this year! We compare year to year to get a sense of how things are going and we recall last year, when we couldn't get ahead of the harvest, weeds were getting away on us, and planting fell behind because we just didn't have enough hands. We are really grateful this year to have a large enough crew that can help get everything done!
Additionally our crops are growing really well! The no-till beds continue to delight, and memories of flooded fields, out-of-control weeds, and severe crop losses are becoming pleasantly distant. We hope that you can taste the difference in your veggies! For those of you new to our farm and our journey to no-till farming, I will provide you with a link to a wonderful article written by fellow farm box member and local food advocate, Mary Bailey, in the Tomato Food and Drink. https://thetomato.ca/people/farmers-of-invention
We celebrated our middle son, Eli's, 15th birthday yesterday and remembered that his very first birthday marked the first year we farmed, so that means that it's also been 15 years of farming for us (13 of them on our current location)! How time flies
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Awn Kitchen has announced a cafe closure till August 8, but will remain open to customers picking up their farm shares.
Week Off: There has been some confusion about the week that you will not receive a share so we can have a summer holiday. It was previously falsely announced to be the August 25, 26 weekend deliveries. The correct weekend (Friday or Saturday) that you will not receive a delivery is Sept. 8, 9.
RECIPE
Napa Cabbage Slaw
This is such an easy, delicious way to enjoy the Napa cabbage we have available right now. It is tender and crisp and I just didn't want to cook it because it has such lovely flavour, so I tried this out and it was very tasty. As always, I don't measure, so please use your intuition a bit when making the dressing and adjust the amounts to your own liking.
Prepare the following and place in large bowl:
1/2 Napa Cabbage, thinly sliced to create shreds
small bunch of cilantro, chopped, stems and all
2 carrots, shredded or julienned
3-4 radishes, thinly sliced
Dressing - mix together and add to above ingredients just before serving:
2 TBSP soy sauce
1-2 TBSP toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup mayo
2-3 TBSP rice vinegar
Top with:
1/2 cup one of toasted and chopped almonds, roasted and chopped peanuts (optional)
lightly toasted sesame seeds (optional)
sriracha to drizzle (optional)
From top to bottom: green as far as the eye can see (an objective for us is to have all the ground covered), a kohlrabi ready for harvest, the new green onions ready as well, three of our no-till beds cleared of their first crop and ready for planting again, succession cropping of lettuces to make sure we keep you well-stocked, inside the cold frame where some herbs and all of our tomatoes are growing.
GENERAL TIPS
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 sometimes receive at the start of the season.
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.
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!
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
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.
