Have a veggie subscription with us? You are getting this email because you do not have a box scheduled for this week, but can still make a regular order through our store. If so, please complete the checkout process to submit your order.
Order vegetables before Wednesday at 12pm for pickup and delivery this week.
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Laura has been seeding lots and lots of radishes over the last month and what a beautiful harvest they're making! This type of radish doesn't go into long-term storage, but they do thrive in cold weather. |
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FARM UPDATE
Though some folks may be dreading the increasingly cold mornings, we feel relieved that they’re here.
Every week since late September we have been harvesting successions of our Fall Brassica (cabbage family) crops in bulk and putting them into cold storage. Most of the crops in this family benefit from colder temperatures, improving their flavour and quality in long-term cold storage. We stagger these plantings so they’re not all ready at once and so we can save some from each planting to use for weekly boxes and markets.
At first, the mornings were so warm that we ran into logistical problems. We want the vegetables to still be cold in the field when they go into the pallet bins for storage. If they are warm, it might take days for the bin to cool down all the way to the centre, resulting in lower storage quality. Warm mornings mean we had very limited time to finish up harvesting.
A few weeks ago when bulk harvesting cabbage, we also totally overloaded our shipping container cooler with warm, moist air, icing up the fans and causing it to fail. We were able to fix it, but we really rely on our coolers at this time of year, so it’s a scary reminder!
This was a really big challenge last year, since it was such an extra-warm fall. In that case, we were more concerned with crops becoming mature too early, before receiving the benefits of cold weather. Safe to say, our hands are cold, but we’re glad for what this weather means.
This is also a good seasonal reminder, as sunlight retreats and the weather isn’t as comfortable: it makes for really delicious fall eating and good crops through the winter!
Have a question or something you would like to hear more about in a future newsletter? Let us know at the market, farm pickup, or send an email!
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The sunchokes are flowering - another sign of the season! |
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FARM STORE NOTES
FROM OUR FARM:
Specialty cabbages: Tendersweet (flat) and Caraflex (pointed)! Lots coming from the field this week. Juicy and flavourful, these are "summer-type" cabbages, so they're only here until it gets too cold.
Salsa (mild and hot), Tomato sauce, Marinara, and Tomato soup! Made from our vegetables and canned by C'Angelina, a London-based family business.
New CGF T-shirts and Toques are live on our website. Designed by farm-family member Amanda!
FROM THE FIELDS
Bunched: Leeks, root parsley, sorrel, kale (green, red, and Toscano), collard greens, chard, radish, carrots, green onions, hakurei turnips.
Bagged: Salad mix, arugula, spinach (limited), mustard greens, spicy mix (salad mix plus mustards and endive)
Heads: Celeriac, cabbage (round, caraflex, tendersweet, red), choi, kohlrabi, broccoli (limited), cauliflower (white and romanesco), garlic, curly endive, fennel, lettuce
Herbs: Sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, basil (green, red, Thai and tulsi (holy basil)), dill, cilantro, mint, marjoram, lovage. Herb bundles (XL bunch with a mix of parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme)
Baskets: Beans, carrots, rutabaga, potatoes (yellow, mini), parsnips, root parsley, beets. Daikon (purple and red). Sweet peppers, tomatoes (Roma or salad), green (unripe) tomatoes, hot peppers (habanero, jalapeno), tomatillos, Salsa Verde packs
FROM HOOPHOUSES, TUNNELS and GREENHOUSE
Roma tomatoes, sweet pepper, basil (green, red, Thai and tulsi (holy basil)), chard
PANTRY
Salsa (mild and hot), Tomato sauce, Marinara, and Tomato soup! Made from our vegetables and canned by C'Angelina, a London-based family business.
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FROM OUR SUPPLIERS:
Granny Smith apples from Great Lakes Farms
Artisan Bakery Seasonal Granola: Cardamom Currant
Seth (La Houlette de vie) has switch to bi-weekly and is off this week.
PRODUCE
Daryl Myny (Vienna, ON): Spanish onions, Honeynut squash. Family owned and operated organic farm specializing in alliums and squashes.
HOPE Eco-Farms (Aylmer): Acorn, Spaghetti, Buttercup/ Kabocha, Delicata and Butternut squash. Red onions and sweet potato. A cooperative of Amish families using both time-honored and innovative techniques on their organic farms.
Tansy Orchard (Duncan): Empire, Northern Spy, Red Delicious, Spartan. Grown on their family farm, the first organic orchard in the Beaver Valley.
Great Lakes Farms (Port Stanley): Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Ambrosia, Mutsu, Jonagold, Empire, Cortland, Sunrise, Paula Red, Honeycrisp, Gala, and McIntosh apples. Grown on their family farm, just down the road from us.
Forrest City Microgreens (London): Singles and microgreen blends. Grown and hand-harvested without the use of pesticides.
Organic, sourced through Pfenning's: Ontario: mushrooms, Royal Gala and McIntosh apples, Luscious and Asian pears. Canada: tofu and cranberries. Imported: bananas, citrus, ginger, turmeric.
DAIRY and EGGS
HOPE Eco-Farms (Aylmer): Small-flock raised eggs by a cooperative of Amish families Seasonally pasture-raised with non-GMO feed.
Mistyglen Creamery (Belmont): Whole milk, chocolate milk, and seasonal Mocha milk. Plain and flavoured cheese curds. Vat-pasteurized and in glass bottles. Raised and handcrafted on their farm.
Organic, sourced through Pfenning's: L'Ancetre pasture butter and certified grass-fed cheeses.
Gunn's Hill (Woodstock): Handeck and Five Brother's cheese. Handcrafted cheese made with milk from their farm.
FROZEN
3Gen Organics (Wallenstein): Ground pork, sausage, bacon, ham, tenderloin, chops. From their multi-generational family farm, producing organic pork and feed.
YU Ranch (Tillsonburg): Ground beef, beef patties, stewing beef. Grass-fed and finished beef raised on pastures on their family farm.
New Leaf Foods (London): Plant-based beet burgers. Handmade, with locally sourced ingredients.
BAKERY
J&D Peters Tortillas (Aylmer): Corn, spelt, whole wheat and unbleached flour tortillas. Made by this family-owned local business with organic flour.
La Houlette de vie (St. Thomas): Sourdough bread and pastries with organic and organically grown grain that Seth fresh-mills himself. (Available bi-weekly. Off this week)
Artisan Bakery (London): Sourdough bread and pastries made with local Arva Mills flour. Other handcrafted goods: granola, mustard, and chili crisp.
PANTRY
Aldred Maple (West Lorne): Amber or dark, maple syrup. Produced on their family farm.
Wildflowers Honey (St. Thomas): Unpasteurized honey harvested from hives all over Elgin County. Some of the hives are at our farm!
Mat's Fine Oils (Staffordville): Fresh, organic and cold-pressed sunflower oil. Grown and processed on their farm with a small team of farmers and draft horses. Store in the refrigerator.
From the Land Fermented Products (Port Stanley): Fire cider, elderberry syrup
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| T-Shirt: This is my Crop Top |
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PICKUP/ DELIVERY OPTIONS
Farm pickup: Thursday 4 pm to 8 pm.
Home delivery: Thursday or Friday in London/St.Thomas, Saturday in KW region
Western Fair Market pickup: Saturday 8 am to 3 pm / Sunday 10 am to 2pm
Kitchener Market pickup: Saturday 7 am to 2 pm
RETURNING CONTAINERS
We love to re-use wherever possible! We can take our CGF boxes and liner bags, strawberry and blueberry baskets/boxes, milk bottles, and egg cartons.
For deliveries, please leave these return items out where you would like your order dropped off. Thank you!
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Community Solidarity Program
Our Solidarity Program aims to make healthy food more accessible to economically-vulnerable households in our community by making our produce boxes available at a reduced cost. The program splits the cost three ways: 40% is covered by community donations, 30% is covered by the farm, and 30% is paid by the recipient.
This program has been running since June, and we’re really happy with how it has being going so far. Every week, between 4 and 15 Solidarity boxes are purchased by households in our community. We are really proud to strengthen our community by working together to help our neighbours access good, local food.
We’ve updated the system to accept individual and subscription donations. There is a link to donate below, but don’t hesitate to email us if you would like help adding either type of donation. We are looking forward to continuing this program together!
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Why am I on this list? At some point you signed up for our previous "farmstand" list or our newsletter list. Want to get off the list? No problem: . Common Ground Farm 6986 Middle River Road St. Thomas, Ontario N5P 3S9 |
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