Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Announcing our new CSA program!

We've had a lot of enquiries about us doing a Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA) with our gardens. It's a weekly food box distributed to a set group of committed customers. Local enthusiasts pay in advance for their weekly 'shares'  which allows farms and farmers to plan their seasons with better predictability.

We've been leery about starting one given that it's our first year, however, the gardens are producing splendidly so we devised a way to offer a CSA without the commitment of an entire season. We are doing a mini-CSA. 

Typically a market farm like ours would offer a 20 or even 26 week session, sometimes even offering winter shares as well. We aren't that far along in our endeavour, so a 12 week long CSA is a great start for us. It allows customers to try us out without having to commit for an entire six months. And it allows us time to ensure that our weekly offerings will be what they should be; abundant and delicious. 

Interested in knowing more? Here's the details...

12 Week CSA Program

Starting July 12 - Sept 27


Each share costs $300, which can be paid all at once or in three equal instalments. 

$100 before July 12 to secure your spot. And then $100 Aug 9, and $100 Sept 6. 

That works out to $25 a week for each share. 

The offerings in a share vary as the season progresses. A typical July share should include globe & cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, baby greens, romaine lettuce, snow & snap peas, baby spinach and a potted basil. An August share should include globe & cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, beans, zucchini, melon, and possibly baby greens. A September share should include tomatoes, onions, broccoli, spinach, carrots, lettuce, baby greens, squash and a pie pumpkin or two. 

Two pick up locations are available for you to chose: 

Saturdays at the Orillia Fairgrounds Farmer's Market - Catnap Gardens Booth (8 a.m. - 1 p.m.)
Tuesdays at the Farm, 12647 Simcoe County Rd 27, Midhurst, ON (6 p.m.- 8 p.m.)

If you want in on the action don't delay. We are only offering 10 shares this year so space is limited and the program is sure to fill up fast. 

We hope to have online payments soon, but for now we are relying on the old fashioned methods, cash & cheque. Email us at catnapgardens@gmail.com, or stop by our booth at the Orillia Fairgrounds Farmer's Market and we will get you started. 

Monday, February 1, 2016

Swag from the Guelph Organic Conference

Yesterday my husband and I were able to attend the Guelph Organic Conference at the University of Guelph in Ontario. Although parts of the conference made us feel like little fish in a huge pond, lots of what we saw and heard re-ignited our passion for the farm.
As with most conferences we came home with a great stash of useful offerings. Granola bars, seed catalogues, books and information pamphlets. I was even gifted a jump drive from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs because I asked a few questions about food contamination issues at their booth.
We attended a couple workshops and met some people with products designed to help farmers like us.
I'm probably going to spend the rest of the day flipping through seed catalogues and reading my new book "Record Keeping for Organic Growers". All in all, I'm expecting to have a lovely Feb 1st.