We are having fun at the farm! Getting into transplanting, seeding and weeding has been a good change of pace from our winter rhythm which involves portioning, packing and delivering. Pictured above is Farmer Mack weeding in our garlic patch. The garlic is coming along quite well. We had a fair bit of winter kill but I'm guessing the overwintering rate is around 75% so we should still have plenty of garlic this summer. I think that our garlic scapes should be ready to harvest in about 3-4 weeks.
New this week:
Lambs Quarters/Wild Spinach: This is a green that grows abundantly on the farm. The farm crew, my family, and I are always snacking on it when we are out working in the field or walking from place to place. It has a flavor reminiscent of spinach, but I actually prefer the lambs quarters. Like most wild harvested plants, this is full of nutrients. According to Mother Earth News (https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/seasonal-recipes/lambsquarter-ze0z1412zcgp/):
Lambsquarter is exceptionally nutritious. Our bodies can produce fourteen of the essential amino acids, but eight of them need to be found in external sources. Lambsquarter is one of those valuable sources.
The whitish dust present on each leaf is made up of mineral salts from the soil and is an indication of its mineral-rich value. Often the lambsquarter leaves will taste salty and therefore make quite a nutritious salt replacement or addition to dishes! Lambsquarter seasoning is made easily by drying the leaves and mixing them with other spices.
Lambsquarter is packed with essential vitamins and minerals. For example, 3.5 ounces of raw lambsquarter, which is about 1 cup of greens, contains 73 percent vitamin A and 96 percent vitamin C of your recommended daily allowances suggested by the USDA. It is also a fantastic source of the B vitamins complex including thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin.
You can eat it raw like spinach, or you can cook it. If you are planning to cook it here are some basic instructions: https://www.inhabitedkitchen.com/lambs-quarters-and-cook-greens/
So if you are interested in trying something new and delicious, give this a try this week.
Referral Program - Did you know that we have a referral program? Each time you refer a new customer to us each of you will receive a $25 credit. Once you are logged into your account you will see a "Refer a friend" tab at the top of your page. Click on that and share the link. When someone signs up using that link you will both automatically have a $25 added to your account. Here is a quick how to if you need more help: https://harvie.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360044975613
Customization cut off time - your box is open for customization until this Sunday at 10:00 pm. Please take a look at what is in your box and make any adjustments necessary.
Missing Items - Please let us know about any packing errors so that we can give you a credit for any missed items. Please reach out to info@steelpony.ca to let us know about missed items.
Quality - if any items you receive from us are not up to your standards please let me know so that we have a chance to make things right for you.
Setting preferences - if you haven't already set your preferences - and even if you haven't done so recently - doing so will help you to get the most out of this program. Here is information on setting your preferences - https://harvie.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360021794754-How-do-preferences-work-
Home Delivery - if you have signed up for home delivery and don't expect to be home on Thursday afternoon you can leave a cooler out for us to put your order into. If the forecast is cold, putting a hot water bottle into your cooler will help to keep the chill off.
Missed pick ups - if you know in advance that you will not be able to make it to your pick up please reschedule or cancel your order through your Harvie account. Here is a how to on doing that. https://harvie.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001542514-How-to-skip-reschedule-or-change-a-delivery-location. You can make these changes until the customization cut off period on Sunday night at 7:00pm.
If after the cut off period you learn that you are not able to pick up, please let me know via email at mike@steelpony.ca or text at 403-506-3634. Please do not contact drop site hosts about missed pick ups.
Any orders that are not picked up 24 hours after the pick up window will be donated or used as we see fit in order to minimize waste.
Thanks so much for working with us to support the local economy, strengthen the local supply chain, and connect farmers and producers with eaters.
Enjoy!
