FARM NEWS
We have been enjoying a comfortable fall this year so far. When it is sunny and warm, things go a little quicker in terms of harvesting our storage crops. This is a good thing! Our potatoes and carrot crops are in. We are happy with the quality and flavour of the carrots, but somewhat disappointed in the potato yield. The area that the potatoes are in this year is still giving us some trouble in spite of being in green manure last year. It is a low spot, and in recent years was very wet. We have been considering the best way to restore the soil, however, and will most likely take it out of rotation for a few years.
The photos below were all taken this morning in order to give you a snapshot of what is going on at the farm. The feature photo shows an abundance of kale, the fields cleared of summer and winter squashes, as well as the recently mowed corn crop - sad to see it gone already!
Above is an image of one of our no till permanent beds that's been recently cleared of the leek crop that was in it. You can see that the living pathways of clover are creeping into the soil of the bed. One of our jobs after a bed's been cleared is to cut back the clover - this is easier than you might think. The rhizomes are not difficult to pull out of the loose soil of the no till surface, so we cut the edges and then simply pull the unwanted clover out and compost it. And we also appreciate the clover for doing a good job - it is fixing nitrogen and covering the soil. An important aspect of no-till farming is that we keep roots in the ground as much as possible because roots are necessary for healthy, active micro-organisms and healthy fungal life.
Below you can see a bed that was cleared earlier in the season of its crop, and then re-seeded with peas. The clover pathways have not been mowed for some time, and you can see that they are getting a bit tall. The peas are there as a ground cover, and not a cash crop. They function to keep roots in the ground and make the biological organisms happy, they sequester nitrogen and carbon.
We are learning how to incorporate these different ways of caring for our no-till beds into our work regime. When we take steps to really care for our soil, our crops come out very healthy and make harvesting them much simpler, more joyful, and tastier to eat, so we think it's worth the trade-off!
Here we have just a lovely crop of kale planted in one of our coldframes in order to keep it going a little further into winter than ordinary.
This photo looks like spring! But in fact it is green onions and spinach that we plant in the fall and expect to overwinter so that we can harvest it in the spring. The spinach doesn't always make it, but we always try!
REMINDERS AND GENERAL TIPS/INFORMATION
Have questions about your Harvie account and how to navigate Harvie? Here is a link to the many help documents that Harvie has compiled for you: https://harvie.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/categories/115000048773-Harvie-University-Members
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!
Location Options and Info
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, Get Real Natural or the farm, 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.
