No, I’m not sure when the first summer share pick-up day is yet, but it’s approaching in two or three weeks. It’s surprising how it’s always surprising to me how the solstice brings on growth. It makes the first pick-up always a challenge to predict. I might only give a few days notice so keep posted. Please let me know if you would prefer a Tuesday or a Friday pick-up. You can reply to this post but please include your full name in your reply. You can also email or text me saugeenrivercsa@gmail.com 519 369 8116.
Also, some have expressed their intent to get a share but have not made any payments yet. Now would be a good time 🙂
If you have any quesitons let me know,

See you soon!

As happens every year, the Spring shares are done and the Summer shares haven’t started, but the chickens keep laying eggs. Anyone who has been getting eggs can arrange to pick some up. Call or text 519 369 8116 at least a couple hours before you would like to come by, and I can put your eggs in a cooler in the parking area. Having exact change is very helpful.
Sorry, at this time I can’t provide for any new egg customers. The chicken house can only hold so many birds 🙂

On Sunday June 7 from 1-3:30pm Tanya will host a workshop at the farm. Contact her for more info: tcoulter12@hotmail.com or 519 372 7898

Tomorrow is the final spring csa for the year. I don’t know when the summer shares will start but sometime between the middle and end of June. As the spring has progressed, I imagine it will be more towards the end.

Plant orders will be ready for pick-up as well between 3 and 6pm. I am filling the orders today in the order in which I received them. As mentioned you might not get everything on your list. I will have an invoice attached to your order and you can pay in cash, cheque, or e-transfer.

While you are here tomorrow, take a look at David Coulter’s (Tanya’s dad) paintings, sketches, and sculptures we have on display in the csa store space. It’s actually a really fun place to display art!

I will no longer take any plant orders, but I will be at the Edge Hill May Fair selling plants on May 30 and at the STC (Saugeen Trading Community) Market Day June 6. For those of you who did place plant orders if you can come to the last Spring CSA pick-up Tuesday May 26 from 3-6pm that would be most convenient for me. If you can’t make that time please arrange another day.
I won’t have quite as much for sale as other years since I was a bit short of compost. Making my own mix limits the inputs I have to bring onto the farm from outside, but it can be tricky. For instance, it is right now that I’m watching how much compost I’m using to make sure I have enough to set aside for next year’s soil mix.

Since 1999 we have had one or two members help out in exchange for their share. Over the years we discovered the most beneficial task was helping pick the peas and beans. If anyone is interested in talking to me about this send an email to saugeenrivercsa@gmail.com

Dahlia passed away last night. She came to the farm in 2005 (pregnant, which the previous owner and we didn’t know). So she was at least 22 or 23 years old. She’s been with me through this farm journey for so many years. She is the only one of my cows that I ever milked (her calf was not drinking enough so I had to milk her out). None of my other cows were ever personable enough. Dahlia was also the only cow that would let me pet her. All the others would back away if I got too close. Her bull calf was the last one I kept since I wanted to bring her gentleness to the herd, so the other cows that remain are her grand children.
She had been slowly declining the past couple years, but in March she started going downhill fast. In my conversations with her these past two months, she shared with me her wish to die on the soil, connected to the land that she belonged to. I hoped she would make it to when the snow melted. She couldn’t move fast, but as soon as I opened the gate a few days ago, she got up and immediately went out into the paddock. It’s been raining so much so there is a lot of mud, but she chose a high spot with the newly sprouted stinging nettle and laid down and did not get back up. I wanted to let her die on her own terms.
She truly embodied the deep philosophy of the cow, giving more than she took. She was a role model I can try to follow.
Thank you Dahlia.

Well I’m taking a guess that I’ll be able to harvest the first week of greens on the 28th. This is more than a week later than last year, but the consistent cold cloudy weather has kept all the growth in the greenhouses slow. Pick-up time will be from 3-6pm Tuesdays.

A few of you still need to pay for the spring share, and if you have paid just an initial payment for the summer share, another payment would be welcomed now 🙂

There are still summer shares available so spread the word around.

Happy Easter!

It’s officially spring now. The temperatures tonight and tomorrow night are still -10. You might have noticed, we haven’t had much sun in the past month (tomorrow might be an exception). This means I’m heating the greenhouse (the part that I do heat) 24/7. It also means the greens I’ve planted aren’t growing very fast. The ones I planted two weeks ago and the ones I just planted this week don’t look much different. I’m not sure what this means for the spring csa. Starting the third week in April seems unlikely, although there usually comes a time when everything grows like mad. I’ll keep you posted, so no predicted first pick-up yet. Since I need the spring csa to be finished by the last week of May to make room for the summer fruiting crops, and I’ll be planting 5 weeks worth of crops, it might mean I have to give you two weeks worth in one week… Not sure but wanted to give you a heads up!

First update: it’s not spring yet.
I’ve faced a few challenges preparing the ground for planting in the greenhouses. First I had to wait for the ground to thaw, it was frozen sold. There was a window and I got several beds prepared then the beds flooded. There was again a very short window and I got the first few things planted, then there was more flooding. The one greenhouse is so saturated that it’s going to take several good sunny days to dry it out. There’s no standing water to redirect, just wet soil. I’m not sure if I can keep up with the planting schedule. It’s likely there will be more narrow windows to get a bunch done… but more sun would for sure help.

Also, the greenhouse against the barn has suffered some snow load damage. It didn’t collapse, but it’s a lean-to that is now leaning a little more to. The support posts have shifted and I have an idea of how to shift them back, but I will need help, and it will have to be done when the ground isn’t frozen. If anyone would like to lend a hand let me know and maybe we can arrange something. Emailing saugeenrivercsa@gmail.com is better than replying to this post.

The lions and lambs of March are taking their turns,

Cory