Well, we had hail on Saturday night, and it sucked, but what I told our ten year old, who was very worried about the farm, and what I continue to tell myself are the following three things: 1) Hail always makes things look really bad for about three days, and then plants will often put out new growth, so it's best not to look too closely for that long; 2) Hail is little nitrogen pellets from the sky, and plants like nitrogen; and 3) lots of our leafy things were covered, and our root crops have developed sufficiently. So, if you notice a few nicks on your zucchini, or some torn spots on your kale, know that it's because of the storm on Saturday!
Another thing we've been thinking about is that the rain that fell was perfectly timed and means that we can hold off on irrigation for a little longer while we get through this heat wave. And the heat wave means things like our winter squash crop will develop before the imminent frost, usually in early September (sorry for the reminder folks!). All in all, it has been a very good growing season and we are happy about that! (All this from a former city girl who previously thought talk of the weather was B O R I N G!).
A heads up that we find ourselves short-staffed on the farm this year, and if any of you know of any hands-on type of folks that want a full-time seasonal job until the end of October, please send them our way.
Farm Tour
Remember that you are invited to our farm this coming Sunday from 10-12 with a guided tour beginning at 10:30. We would love to have you out! There is an email in your inbox (sent on Sunday) with instructions for getting here, so have a look and see if you can make it.
General Tips
Please remember to let us know if something is not right with your order. 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
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.
Be well,
James and Jenny
