Order vegetables before Wednesday at 12pm for pickup at the Farm (Friday) or Western Fair Market (Saturday).
No delivery or Kitchener market pickup this week.
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Some snowy hoophouses. We are thankful that the cold and wind have prevented snow accumulation on the roofs.
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Farm Update
It's a serious winter this year! This is our second winter heating the greenhouse with the biomass boiler. When looking at regular dips to -20℃ over the next weeks, we are thankful for how efficiently it burns.
The cold may put a pause on spinach for a while. Spinach is well-suited to our less insulated caterpillar tunnels and will survive this freeze, but can't be harvested while frozen. We may have to wait before we can access it again, but we can certainly look forward to the great flavour cold weather will impart.
Kale, on the otherhand, is unfazed by the weather. These plants are still in the field and (incredibly) still providing for us every week. Higher sugars in winter kale keep the leaves pliable when frozen, but at -15℃ last week, leaves were shattering if not handled extra carefully. The 2ft-tall plants are great at catching snow drifts and are now nearly buried. The good news is that snow insulation may help prevent leaves from shattering. It sure makes for an interesting harvest: bundled up to the maximum and sifting through snow to find your crop!
We did have an eventful Friday. Between high winds and our road being a little slick from snow, we ended up with a real succession of vehicles to rescue from the ditch with our tractor. Luckily, we have a teenager on the farm who is out of school for exams, loves to drive the tractor, and has been honing his skills for years. Great work on getting both people and vehicles out safely, Raine!
Other special thanks go to Ayla and Mike, the delivery drivers on our team. Road conditions last week would be challenging enough before factoring in a delivery schedule and driving really large vehicles that act like wind sails when crossing open fields. Their skills and perseverance are key to keeping local food accessible in our community!
Wishing everyone a safe and warm week!
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Some squeaky-clean celeriac ready to become soups, slaws, and salads |
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FARM STORE NOTES
FROM OUR FARM:
From the field: Bagged kale (store in the freezer and defrost at room temperature for fresh-eating)
From storage: Carrots, beets, sunchokes, celeriac, rutabaga, kohlrabi, winter radishes, red and green cabbages
From the Greenhouse and hoophouses: Parsley and cilantro.
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FROM OUR SUPPLIERS:
PRODUCE
HOPE Eco-Farms (Aylmer): Sweet potatoes.
Great Lakes Farms (Port Stanley): Macintosh, empire, gala, honeycrisp, ida red. ambrosia, sunpunch, golden delicious.
Daryl Myny (Aylmer): Spanish onions
Pfenning's Organics (New Hamburg): Red onions, leeks, red, yellow, and russet potatoes.
Through Pfenning's: Ontario mushrooms,. From further away, shallots, citrus, ginger, turmeric.
DAIRY and EGGS
HOPE Eco-Farms (Aylmer): Eggs.
Through Pfenning's: L'Ancetre butter and grass-fed cheeses
Gunn's Hill (Woodstock): Brie, Handeck and Five Brother's cheese
FROZEN
3Gen Organics (Wallenstein): Ground pork, sausage, bacon, ham, tenderloin, chops
YU Ranch (Tillsonburg): Pasture-raised ground beef, beef patties, stewing beef
New Leaf Foods (London): Plant-based beet burgers
BAKERY
J&D Peters Tortillas (Aylmer): Back next week!
La Houlette de vie (St. Thomas): Back next week!
Artisan Bakery (London): Sourdough bread and pastries made with local flour
PANTRY
Aldred Maple (West Lorne): Amber, dark, or whiskey barrel-aged maple syrup.
Wildflowers Honey (St. Thomas): Unpasteurized honey from hives all over Elgin County, including our farm!
Mat's Fine Oils (Staffordville). Fresh, organic and cold-pressed, hemp and sunflower oil. Store in the refrigerator.
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PICKUP OPTIONS
Farm pickup: Friday 1pm-7pm
Western Fair Market pickup: Saturday 8 am to 3 pm / Sunday 10 am to 2pm
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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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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