This Friday, February 24 will be the last Winter pick-up for the season. Originally there was one planned for March, but watching the inventory makes me realize two more doesn’t make sense. With the squash distribution deduction, some of you were not planning to come the last pick-up anyway. Since each member number of items remaining is different, and selection is now limited, I’ve decided to pre-pack all the shares. Your share will have your name on it when you pick-up Friday.

The bad news is that there aren’t any more carrots to give out. I know this is a favorite. Since the small winter shares get to choose which items to take, it can be hard to predict how much of a crop to store. Last year we had too many extra carrots. This year, not enough. My apologies.

Everyone will get radishes though! If you’re not sure what to do with them, look up radish kimchee, or a dim sum recipe for radish cakes (sometimes called turnip cakes, but it’s traditionally made with daikon radish). Here’s one recommended by fellow CSA member Ellery Hawkes:

Turnip Cake (Chinese Lo Bak Go)

At first it felt like the winter share was finishing too early this year, but I realized, since we started early November, a month earlier than usual, finishing end of February, a month earlier than usual, makes sense!

Even though we’re not done with winter yet, the spring seedlings are up and running. Stay tuned for more Spring Share info. We have started a waiting list for the Spring Shares, so if any of you who signed up are having second thoughts, let us know, there are others who would like to take the spot.

First, a reminder that the Winter Share pick-up is tomorrow from 2-6pm!

The first seeds have been sown for the 2023 season. This is earlier than in the past since we are now offering a Spring Share. Some crops need to be started now to be ready for the Mid-April start.

The picture below is of one of the chickens (Muskoka) looking for the worms as I sift compost. She’s eating compost worms that won’t survive in the soil…
We make all our own soil mix from compost and soil made here on the farm, and purchased peat moss and vermiculite. This not only allows us to be as self sufficient as possible, but lets the plants develop their roots in relation to our soil from the beginning. The roots need to become aware of the specific bacteria and fungi that live here in this place. In encourages them to make those symbiotic relationships that allow not only macro-nutrient exchange between plant and soil, but micro-nutrient sensitivity that enhances flavour.
There is so much intelligence in the soil!

It’s official, there are some spots open for the coming season. A wide selection of in season veggies and herbs are harvested from our market garden for members. Weekly or Bi-weekly pick-up from our farm (7km north of Durham on Hwy 6) is on Tuesdays and Friday’s (members choose which day works best for them). Sizes of shares and prices are on the “Basic CSA Share Info” page of this site. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at saugeenrivercsa@gmail.com