Welcome to fall! On the farm we're holding on to the last bits of summer, but honestly, it's tricky. In spite of good weather, many of our summer crops are coming to their natural end. The next four weeks will have less variety to choose from overall as the bounty of summer is over (sadly). There are many ways to be creative with what is left in the fields, however, so we hope you enjoy the last of the farm box season nonetheless!
We are offering winter squash for the first time this week, and are excited to feature delicata and red kuri squashes. Both of these varieties can be eaten with the skin on, which makes them convenient! Our favourite way to eat delicata is tossed in olive oil, seasoned and roasted in a hot oven, and served with dragon sauce (mayo + sriracha). It's easy and the boys love it - even for breakfast! Red kuri is a great soup squash, but also good roasted.
Here are some photos of the harvest from the past week. We've all been working hard to get our winter crops into storage and are thankfully nearly finished the potato and carrot crops. It can be tricky to stay on top of harvesting those larger crops while also getting ready for markets and farm boxes, but we are lucky to have the skilled staff that we do.
Our crop of giant winter kohlrabi is beginning to be ready and we will be offering the first of them in the shares this week. They are awesome!
I wanted to share some fun family photos with you that I came across in our photo album this week. I have some sweet photos of Silas as a three year old, working hard on the farm and I feel like he's just been such a natural part of the farm since the beginning, and here he is still helping out and being such a capable and wonderful young man!
And here is a photo of Eli at our very first farmers market on 104th street, before we knew pretty much anything about what we were doing. Following that is a photo of Eli and George from this summer, both of whom have been a help at the new iteration of the outdoor market on 104th. It's been just a delight to work together!
Many of you see my dad, Roy, at the Uproot location, and some of you see James or my mom each week at various pickup locations, so you know this is definitely a family effort. James's mom, Ruth, helps us on Fridays when we pack up all the farm boxes for you guys! We feel lucky to be able to offer our kids (and their friends) employment, and we are so grateful for the many ways that our parents help out.
We hope you enjoy your vegetables this week!
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!
