Our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) has gone through big changes this season and for many reasons. We would like a chance to share with you how and why we are making these changes because there is a lot of thought that goes into it!
The other benefit CSA members will get is building their relationships with local producers outside of our farm. We have always strived to share and support other producers whenever we could and we know our members would love the opportunity to grow their local food family!
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Here are ten of the perennials we've decided to add to the farm. Other perennials we've added in the past are - ginkos, seabuckthorn, pawpaws, figs, mayapples as well as many herbs! You'll notice a theme amongst the plants below. One, they have multiple purposes and two, they are survivors - every farmers dream. :)
LESS of what you don't like and MORE of what you LOVE!
Choose YOUR own WEEKS and Bi-weekly options!
Flexible and Customizeable Payment Plans
Remember what's TRUE to youWe have been on this journey with our CSA for many years now and have heard it all from farmers and from customers. We were always ping-ponging back and forth with all these suggestions being thrown our way - "Remember keep the CSA simple" , "We should be able to pick exactly what we want" , "Don't be a push-over" , "Why can't I have tomatoes in May?" - the list goes on. All we could think is every one has a point and all these points are vaild but are limiting in one way or another - so how the heck do we make this work? Well the answers were already right in front of us. They were in the actions we were complusively already doing behind the scences and these were the things that MATTERED to us- which was giving the customers what they needed when they needed it whenever humanly possibly to do so! For Olde Furrow the CSA is the BACKBONE of our farm without it we'd probably wouldn't have a farm to put it bluntly. SO WHAT if we need to be more organized - good for us! SO WHAT if we need to find more ways to communicate since everyone has different ways of doing so - good for us! SO WHAT if we need to learn to be more flexible- good for us! SO WHAT if we have to spend more time doing what we LOVE- good-for-freaking-us! And we HOPE IT IS GOOD FOR YOU TOO! :D YOUR FARMERS,
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I wanted to speak about some personal nourishment and how it's helped me. I came across these wonderful ferments in 2016 from Seven Acres and at the time I was having difficultly with digestion mostly due to stress (this tends to be a rather natrual state for me, something I am working on. haha) What I have come to realize is that the friendship I have built with Jocelyn greatens the nourishment I get from these delicious ferments. Anytime Adam or I pull a jar from the fridge we instantly just have a feeling or warmness and goodness.
If you have an opportunity to deepen your relationship with food - do it! Talk to the people behind the product and then take note of the first thing you grab from you fridge... :) |
Your Farmers,
Adam & Courtney
Adam & Courtney
Every season we let people know the weird and wonderful things we plan to grow for the new season and well I wasn't fast enough to share this information since some of you are already hitting up the email with "what's new"!? We love your enthusaism for the weird things in life!
MISATO ROSE RADISHWhat a beautiful winter radish we've found! If you didn't know this about us already we are pretty radish obessed. In many other places radishes are like our carrots and well we think they should be! We will grow our usual black radish, green lubo radish and our classic daikon radish so no worries there. YOKOHAMA SQUASHFor the last couple of years we have been trying to focus in on the most fabulous squash we could grow and while we have some favorites there is more to be discovered in the vast squash world. This Yokohama squash is suppose to have wonderful texture and depth of flavor. We are really excited to be growing it! Here is a link to its back story! ASHE COUNTY PIMENTOWe have still to find a pepper we are undeniably in love with but we are not giving up on the journey! These pimento peppers although small are suppose to be concentrated in sweet flavor with a hint of pepperiness. And while these are commonly used in pimento cheese they can easily be a stand in for a bell pepper. SEA KALEWhile the majority of our crops are annuals we do add more and more perennials to our farm. When adding perennials we look for not only diversity but strength and sea kale caught our eye! This plant can seemingly survive wherever and is drought tolerant - something that is very important with a changing and uncertain climate. Its flavor similar to cabbage/kohlrabi. It can be used just the same. JUANE ET VERTEThis heirloom summer squash (zucchini) looks like a piece of art. From its frosty green color to its scalloped shape. I almost feel it's to pretty to eat! Zucchinis are one of those veggies for us that we could take or leave but so many of our customers drool over them so every year we try to bring them something new. Although zoodles have brought us closer to zucchinis. BLACK NEBULA CARROTNo longer will you be disappointed when you cut into your purrple carrots only to find an orange carrot hiding inside! Not only that but these carrots pack high levels of anthocyanins. This is an heirloom carrot even if it looks like science fiction. GETE OKOSIMIN SQUASHNow for the squash that Adam has been peeing his pants to grow aka "800-yr old'. The story is the seed was preserved in a clay ball and still germinated -amazing. These suckers get up to 18lbs (my back will thank me in the fall) and have a hint of melon flavor with a smooth texture. I doubt we will be putting a whole one is the CSA shares but some cut up ones for sure! |
Feel free to let us know if there is something you're wanting to try. Maybe we're growing it or maybe we can. You just have to let us know and we'll make it happen. :)
Your farmers,
Adam & Courtney
Adam & Courtney
We just can't believe we will be entering our 8th season of farming!! We are so grateful to be able to continue farming year after year. It really has taken a strong family and a strong community to keep our farm alive without that I am not sure where we would be. So MANY thanks to all of those who have gently guided us! Let's talk about last season. 2017 had a lot of changes from working more closely with fellow farmers in the maritime small farms co-op to what crops did well to what didn't! For some reason our broccoli did amazing yet our cabbage was laughable at best. Our cherry trees exploded and our peppers were so late. Every season is so different from the next and well I (Courtney) love that! These fluxuations are what keep us learning and humble. Working with the co-op gave us the confidence that we did know what we were doing and the path we were following was the right one for us. You often find yourself fighting over which way to go. Should you head towards the pile of money or should you just sacrifice all that you have? Well, that answer is in the middle! We often tried to sacrifice as much as we could and just crossed our fingers that all would work out. Somethings do but other things need more action on our part. This brings us to the 2018 season with more clarity on how we like to move forward on our farm. We were fortunate to find another young apsiring farmer that wants to learn the ropes of a CSA and we are ready to make an expansion on our farm. So, yes we are going to have our first employee this season and we can't wait for you all to meet her in the spring! We've waited so long to take this step because we wanted to make sure we had something to offer besides a paycheck something much more substantial - Knowledge! What isn't going to change on the farm? Well, growing lots of weird and wonderful vegetables of course! We always say we need to stop but let's be honest -we can't! Instead we are going to lean into the weird and wonderful- muwhahaha! We got our first batch of potatoes last season from true seed that will be planted out this season. We are again going to try and grow lots of heirloom squashes (hopefully with more sucess this year aka get that hay on!!) because there are some amazing flavors out there! So I guess what I am trying to say in short is that in 2018 we are going to follow our hearts without fear, not be afraid to grow WITH quailty and remembering we got to take care of our needs too! Let the balancing act of growing forward begin! |
And now I must sneak some of Adam's wonderful poetry out into the world once again because to me the simplicity of what he writes is as real as the nature that is all around us and well he doesn't seem to get that so I am going to bug him to share more and more. Even if that means I have to be sneaky. Haha.
Here are the some of details of our 2018 CSA season.
- Deliveries are every Wednesday Afternoon done by us the farmers!
- We will have all the same locations as last season - Bedford-Natures Cove, Halifax-Humanit, Dartmouth-Blended Athletics, Tantallon-Cornerstone Naturopathic plus the 'Choose your own location' as usual.
- Our offerings are veggies, eggs, ferments, flowers, pork and chicken shares. With the option to order weekly add-ons of meat and eggs from Emily.
- We will be offering an 'Early Bird Share' for the 30 week veggie share and the ferment shares from now until the end of February. Save $1.50/wk on your veggies and save $.50/wk on your ferments.
- We are also offering a 'Choose Your Own Weeks' share for those vacation but still want to be part of a CSA. There is a minimum of a 15 week commitment but can be any weeks in between June- Dec. This offer can't be combined with 'Early Bird Share'.
- We finally have created a special offer for members who have been with us 3 years or longer called the 'Veg Head Share' which gives you FREE delivery/admin fees. A value of $3off/wkly.
Here is more about our shares: 2018 CSA SHARES
Here are all the perks we are offering this season: 2018 CSA PERKS!
Here is the sign-up sheet: 2018 CSA REGISTRATION
Here is the online shop for those who want to pay by paypal: 2018 CSA ONLINE SHOP
*Additional fees are charged with paypal payments. E-transfers are Free.
Creating A Resilient Future For Farms & Their Communities!
We have started several new projects this year, each one with a slightly different goal in mind. For the Maritime Small Farms Co-Op, it was wanting to strengthen the farming community, and in result our farm would be stronger as well! For the WFM2go project it was becoming more connected to our immediate community! We run a CSA where the majority of our customers are in the city and even though we love them we felt a bit a weird that we weren't feeding people in our own community as much as we would have liked. What both of these projects have in common is the desire to build a more connected future. One where depending on one another isn't a weakness but a strength. Interconnected communities are strong communites! |
Maritime Small Farms Co-Op Keeps On Rolling!
We wanted to share how things are shaping up with the co-op we helped form with Moon Tide, Rerooted & Seven Acres. I will start with that it certainly has been more work in some ways but in other ways it has lightened the load. Our access to opportunities has grown just by becoming a co-op. We now have opportunities to sell to Just Us! & EOS which is wonderful. These are local businesses that represent things we believe in and support. We've also gained access to another farm market in Tantallon. One of the biggest perks for our farm is not having to attend every market every week but instead it is shared amongst co-op members. This allows us more time to work or more time to rest depending on what we need. We've also found a lot of value in sharing in the struggles of other co-op members whether it be looking at other job opportunities that pop up, pulling out your back, managing kids, or going solo while your partner works another job. All these little obstacles shared seem more possible to overcome in some ways just by being shared and drawing strength from it. We all are still actively working together in the shared CSA and markets and fine tuning as we go along! |
WFM2go Bringing All Of Us Together
What has been the most exciting part of this project for us is the meshing of two of the things we love - picking something that has already been sold, and feeding our community! Those two things sustain our business from a financial stand point but also feed our souls. We've ran a CSA model for many years and it really is the backbone of our farm, but so often we find ourseleves in a panic wondering did we give them exactly what they wanted this week?! With WFM2go, we know you've got exactly what you wanted and we get what we needed in return- money and a piece of mind. In a very ideal world (not saying it isn't possible because it so is) we would move all our CSA customers over to this model. Letting them order exactlty what they want each week because before now we really hadn't had the model (website) to do this efficiently. WFM2go is particularly important to our farm because of what Adam & I like to grow, which is herbs and the unusual vegetable varities which at market aren't always the first to go. It is not that there isn't a market for the cool things we like to grow, its just that we couldn't reach those people- but now our reach is farther then ever! Not to mention I can pick exactly the number of yellow cucumbers that were ordered and let the other ones chill on the plant for a while till the next market or CSA. This reduces our waste which is a BIG DEAL on all farms as well as in homes. |
Your Farmers,
Adam & Courtney
2016 WE LOVE YOU FOR TEACHING US SO MUCH! What a year 2016 has been! We learned so much about our strengths and weakness (like we do every year) but this year we really seemed to be narrowing in on what works and doesn't work for our farm. In 2016 we bowed to the compost tea gods for filling in for our lack of rain. Clenched our ears closed to avoid listening to the army of flea beetles pattering around our half eaten brassicas. We're confused and amazed by a set of mysterious ALL yellow watermelon plants that produced with vigor. Realized growing winter squash is something we do really well. We're excited and devesteated by growing quinoa that was over taken by bugs. Discoved the life altering hula (stirup) hoe which made weeding seem like a part time job! Stubbornly grew sweet potatoes with no plastic only to be haunted by the voices of those who told me "better use black plastic or your sweet potatoes will be tiny." Felt victorious when we produced the same amount of produce during a drought and on 1/3 less the space then we used in 2015. Wished the season was longer so we could have completed all our projects listed for 2016. Went from "Aww look at all the baby deer frockling in the field" to "Who ate the radiccho and beet greens -ugh!." To finally growing a radish we think is the tastiest -Diakon and one that is an aquired taste -Spanish Black. We meet new farmers (Jocelyn & Chris/ Sarah & Joey) who show us new ways of thinking and strengthen bonds with old farmers (Emily, Ann, & Joel) which makes us realize their is always more to learn, Every year on the farm has its own distinct feeling, 2016 was a feeling of DIRECTION and even though I started the New Year in my old homeland (USA) I knew my only direction was Nova Scotia farming! 2017 WE ARE READY FOR YOU! I have a feeling this year is going to be known for big changes in cooperation! Since mid-last year us and group of other small farmers have been meeting regularly to DEFINE what we ALL NEED from cooperation; us, farmers, markets, customers, nova scotians, etc. With those needs we formed the Small Atlantic Farms Co-op and are running a 50 share CSA for 14 weeks locally and in the city. Our hopes are this co-op will enable us all to farm smarter and strengthen communities access to fresh local food. We all need each other, farmers, growers, and eaters, We are all part of this community no matter who we are or what we do. Together is better! Adam & I started last year with several goals, one of them being more involved with other farmers and the community and then by magic a cooperative opportunity lands in our lap! We needed this! We needed to discover just how deep our want was to be part of something more then just ourseleves. I think so much of todays society revolves around how good you are at being independent as a form of power but really their is always a balance to me made. | Squash Bathing In Autumn LightQuinoa That Grew So Beautifully All The Bugs Found It?Our Co-Op Meeting: What Are Our Needs? |
Yardlong BeansBurgundy AmaranthBlack Futsu | SO WHAT'S NEW -2017 VEGGIES!
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2017 PROJECTS
| 2016 Melon, Squash and Cover Crop Seeds Saved. |
2017 CSA UPDATES
The Martime Small Farms Co-Op will be running the 14 WEEK CSA. Your share will be comprised of veggies from up to 4 different farms. All of which are NO SPRAY or ORGANIC! The 30 WEEK CSA will still be ran just by olde furrowers.
We will be offering other goods from fellow co-op memebers through the CSA. One is a Ferments CSA from Seven Acres Farm and the other is a Free-Range Chicken CSA from Moon Tide Farm. As well as our usual offerings from other fellow farmers Humble Burdock Farm (Flower CSA) and Emily TeBogt (Meat & Egg Add Ons)
We will be losing our spot at KBI since Kathy has retired and was the main person who managed the shares there. They have been with us since the very beginning and we are SO SO GRATEFUL for all the years we had with them. With that being said we are on the hunt for a new location in Burnside area, so let us know of any possible locations. Also, would like to add that all of the KBI group will be offered home delivery if we are unable to find a new location in burnside - you all are to amazing to lose!
We have gained another WONDERFUL drop off location in downtown Halifax at the Grainery Co-op.
The Martime Small Farms Co-Op will be running the 14 WEEK CSA. Your share will be comprised of veggies from up to 4 different farms. All of which are NO SPRAY or ORGANIC! The 30 WEEK CSA will still be ran just by olde furrowers.
We will be offering other goods from fellow co-op memebers through the CSA. One is a Ferments CSA from Seven Acres Farm and the other is a Free-Range Chicken CSA from Moon Tide Farm. As well as our usual offerings from other fellow farmers Humble Burdock Farm (Flower CSA) and Emily TeBogt (Meat & Egg Add Ons)
We will be losing our spot at KBI since Kathy has retired and was the main person who managed the shares there. They have been with us since the very beginning and we are SO SO GRATEFUL for all the years we had with them. With that being said we are on the hunt for a new location in Burnside area, so let us know of any possible locations. Also, would like to add that all of the KBI group will be offered home delivery if we are unable to find a new location in burnside - you all are to amazing to lose!
We have gained another WONDERFUL drop off location in downtown Halifax at the Grainery Co-op.
2017 Personal Updates
I have started a new application process with immigration canada under the spousal sponsorship for permanant residency under the advisement of a lawyer after my open work permit was refused and my other permanent resident application was sent back unprocessed due to an improper passport (which I have used since 2010 for all my other applications). I since then have flown back to states obtained the right kind of passport, flown back to canada and now am considered a vistor. Hoping to be back in status in 3 to 6 months, under another open work permit. Will be applying for an offical vistor status if that does not happen and will be allowed to remain in the country while they process my PR application but not allowed to work. If that isn't confusing I am not sure what is. Let just hope that doesn't happen!
I have started a new application process with immigration canada under the spousal sponsorship for permanant residency under the advisement of a lawyer after my open work permit was refused and my other permanent resident application was sent back unprocessed due to an improper passport (which I have used since 2010 for all my other applications). I since then have flown back to states obtained the right kind of passport, flown back to canada and now am considered a vistor. Hoping to be back in status in 3 to 6 months, under another open work permit. Will be applying for an offical vistor status if that does not happen and will be allowed to remain in the country while they process my PR application but not allowed to work. If that isn't confusing I am not sure what is. Let just hope that doesn't happen!
I want to end this blog post with a poem Adam wrote. Not many know Adam as a poet but thats what I know him as. He forever amazes me with his words and thoughts!
With Love,
Courtney & Adam
A Craving, A Life
the system with it's gears
working overtime and in arrears
crushing down in polite oppression
streamlining minds and implementing depressions
your stats kept in a hard drive
vital statistics, cold and dry
let the lean fight back
they'll make a good story
let the stubborn stay on
let them diminish in worry
and the addiction'll take control
it'll be seen as a virtue
a body craving only pleasure
not living, but craving, it's true
the system is a symptom
a shadow chasing it's tail
walk out into the light
your skin is so pale
sunshine enter your retinas
and nature's pattern unfolds
more than surviving, more than enjoying
more than tolerating, more than keeping on
more than standing, working, keeping pace
more than fulfilling your duty as a good citizen, son, daughter
so very much more than all of that
your life is to a craving as the entire ocean is to trash in the wind
and you are so much more than a thin plastic device
than a utility, a container, a precocious tool
to be used and disposed of when no longer current
you are the universe becoming aware of itself
the earth coming alive and rejoicing
you are the eyes and memory
of all that is in front of you
and all that's behind you
all that's within you
all you touch
all your miraculous presence ignites, enlights, excites
any craving is but a grain of sand
on an endless beach of wonder
a moment of solitude around a city corner
to travelling across the tundra
a packaged, processed, preserved portion
to a field of vibrant vivacious growing goodness
so don't waste your time
on things that make you feel dead inside
when life is happening, just outside your comfort zone
Poem Written By: Adam Webster
Author
Olde Furrow Farmers!!
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