Happy Monday!
We hope you are enjoying this beautiful summer! We are happy to be able to work outside in what have been pretty great conditions. It's also a time of year that we begin to feel a bit of exhaustion creep in, and have to find some reserved inner strength to finish the season strong; having good weather sure helps! In the header photo, Eli and James are preparing one of our 120 no till beds after the first crop was harvested (it was carrots). We'll use it for a new crop of radishes or summer turnips. When we empty the beds we like to plant something in them again to make sure that we have roots in the ground; this is important for maintaining the microbial health of the soil. If we don't plant a vegetable we can sell, then we plant the emptied beds into a cover crop such as dwarf peas.
This week we've taken our garlic crop in to cure, and are beginning to think about the onions as well. We are irrigating the celery to get it going a bit so we can start offering that soon and also leeks! We've also gotten the potato tops mown in order keep them from growing much bigger - they are at a nice size now. When we mow the tops and leave the tubers in the ground, they also begin to develop the thicker skin that is necessary for storing in the winter. We are also still planting, believe it or not! We have new crops of lettuce that we'll be transplanting this week.
We harvested some herbs for the winter this week. We dry them in the loft of our barn and sell them at the farmers' market during soup season (aka winter)!
Our son, Silas, mowing the potato tops. So grateful to have his competent help on the farm this year. We're already wondering how we're going to get everything done next year without him when he'll be busy getting his framing certificate.
Jose, Juan and Miguel harvesting beet bunches. These guys are the best!
Si washing potatoes. He actually has the nickname of "Potato" given to him by his friends! He worked on a potato farm nearby for a year:)
Juan washing golden beets.
Christa, Tishawni and I are the straw hat crew. Thursdays are our favourite day together because we spend the morning harvesting all the herb bundles.
Here is a mid-season note to you all to let you know that if you are unsatisfied with a product that you receive from us, or are not happy with the farm box and would like to cancel your share, please reach out to us. We can offer you a credit for produce you're not happy with, or a refund for the remaining part of the season if the farm box model isn't for you. We want to make sure that you are having an excellent experience with our farm box!
Warmly,
Jenny and James
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. We suggest rescheduling your share to a week near the end when you will get more storage-friendly items that will last longer, though you're welcome to reschedule to any date that works best for you. When you reschedule, you will get double your share for the week.
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 just give them a friendly reminder!
Location Options and Info
King's University (East Edmonton) Friday pickups, 12-4, some flex if you have to come later. We will not retrieve any shares left here. Also, the main entrance is different than previous years. You will have to enter on the east side of Kings.
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. James will be here handing out your shares.
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 as we don't have anyone handing out the correct veggie boxes. 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 for building the boxes.
*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). Sometimes popular items sell out really quickly, so if you miss your chance on Monday, try again later on Tuesday after more customizing. Sometimes things that you want get put back on the options list.
If you miss the swap deadline, we can no longer make changes for you. We've tried to accommodate late requests in the past, but it's a lot of extra administration for us.
*Let us know if you ever want help navigating Harvie. 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 780-447-3025 or 780-974-6249. We are here for you!
