Hello! A friendly reminder that there are three boxes left, including this week's. Oct. 18 & 19 are our final delivery days. Additionally, this will be our last year working with Harvie, as they are shutting down, so we will be onboarding with a different farm box manager soon, and will make sure that you all are transitioned as seamlessly as possible for next year. When we have more information about what that means for you, we'll let you know!
Tips and tidbits from the farm this week:
A chilly start to the week means we're finally on alert for a frost and are therefore harvesting all the tomatoes, ripe or not. They'll slowly ripen off the vine in our greenhouse. Many of our frost-sensitive crops are already harvested, so we're not in a panic - possibly for the first time in our farming career!
These beauties above were harvested a couple of weeks ago and have been curing in the greenhouse, which means they now have the protective skin needed for storage and the flesh has developed some additional sweetness. This week we are featuring the three types of squash in the photo above: butternut, orangetti spaghetti squash, and pie pumpkins! We'll also have a few other varieties for swapping and adding to your shares.
The watermelon radishes are new to us this year. I've been enjoying them shaved thinly or matchsticked and eaten as a snack or added to salads. They are a firm, sweet and mildly spicy radish that are good for storage. This week we are offering them with their green tops straight from the field.
Below you can see the watermelon radish crop under cloth to protect it from insect pests, and you can also see our growing pile of compost in the background! When we clear out our no-till beds we bring all the leftover biomass of our veggie crops to the compost pile where it will turn into black gold to be used the following season.
Below you can see a new crop of broccoli! The warm days have provided what this crop needed to ripen before the end of the farm box season!
Above are two photos of some of our no-till beds (we have 119 of them!) that have been planted with a cover crop of peas following the summer crop they had earlier in the season. We do this to keep roots in the ground in order to nourish the microorganisms in the soil. If you look closely, you can also see that there are nodules on the roots - these are indicators of nitrogen fixation taking place in the soil as well. This is an added benefit and another example of how we take care of the soil on our farm!
Finding beauty keeps us going during this exhausting time of year! And so does nourishing our bodies with the good food that we grow. We have been juicing a lot, eating what's in season (obviously), and even making tea from the herbs that we grow. Our family loves sage tea - especially the boys. We use it any time we feel a cold coming on with a spoonful of raw honey in each cup. It is very nourishing!
On that note, we wish you good health and offer you our sincere gratitude for supporting our farm!
Warmly,
James and Jenny
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!
