Veggie Boxes
Sunnyside Farms provides members with a biweekly box a freshly harvested, biodynamic vegetables, fruits, and herbs. We do not use any sprays or chemicals, just good organic growing methods - loads of compost and mulch! Send me an email if you want to participate this year.
Deliveries in 2015
Deliveries will begin on the week of May 26th and end on the week of Oct 6th, for a total of 10 biweekly boxes. Exact dates will depend on pickup locations and will be figured out soon. The Tues pickup locations are 887 Prior St and 2504 Dundas St.
Cost
Each veggie box costs $25, for a total of $250.
Payment
The way a CSA program works is that you pay one time at the beginning of the season and in return you receive the freshest produce each week throughout the season. You can pay by cheque when you pickup your first box or email/direct transfer. Let me know if you want to work out alternative measures.
Box contents
The contents of the veggie boxes change with the season. Each box will have about 10 different items. Examples are as follows:
June - Fava Beans/ Strawberries/ Peas/ Spinach/ Salad Greens/ Arugula/ Rhubarb/ Baby Beets/ Green Onions/ Baby Kale/ Radish/ Swiss Chard/ Salad Turnips/ Stinging Nettles/ Herbs/ Dried Mushrooms/ Frozen Tomatoes
July to August: String Beans/ Beets/ Carrots/ Leeks/ Green Onions/ Kale/ Tomato/ Cucumber/ Sweet Peppers/ Zucchini/ Basil/ Cilantro/ Berries/ Herbs/ Baby Squash/ Fennel/ Garlic Scapes
September to October: Garlic/ Potatoes/ Parsnips/ Pole Beans/ Salad Greens/ Lettuce/ Beets/ Carrots/ Leeks/ Onions/ Kale/ Swiss Chard/ Tomato/ Cucumber/ Zucchini/ Winter Squash/ Cilantro/ Sunchokes/ Herbs/ Wild Mushrooms
Commitment
We leave it up to you to make arrangements in the case that you will be unavailable to receive your veggie box during one of the program dates. You have a few options: 1) Ask a friend/neighbour to pick up your box in your place (please let us know in advance)… or 2) Give us at least 48 hours notice and we can defer the delivery for one week, but it may be at another location. Sorry, we cannot offer refunds for missed pick-ups. Boxes that are not picked up will be donated.
Hybrid seeds
We have ordered a bunch of new seeds from West Coast Seeds, including more hybrid varieties of carrots and tomatoes.
The hybrid types are cross bred for sweetness, crispness, color, etc.
They are a tradeoff between original flavor and other desirable traits while remaining GMO free.
We will still plant a large amount of heirloom veggies, but will try to balance this with more typical kinds.
New veggies for 2015
Some of the new plants for this year include:
- Purple sprouting Broccoli.
- Italian Dandelion greens, part of the Chicory family and not related to the weed.
- Sungold orange Cherry Tomatoes.
- Taxi yellow bush Tomato medium size.
- Festival winter Squash small size.
Herbs
Some of my main intentions for the garden this year focus on herbs:
- Growing cilantro in a steadier rotation so it is available more often.
- Increasing the variety of fresh herbs to include Thyme, Dill, and Purple Basil.
- Producing small seedlings of Dill, instead of trying to cut it as it does not keep at all.
Wild Mushrooms
More mushrooms! Each year I have been expanding my foraging areas and can now assure a good supply.
This year I will try to add Pine mushrooms, or Matsutake, as well as White Chanterelles to go along with the Yellow Chanterelles. There is also going to be smoked Chanterelle powder in one of the early boxes.
More dried mushrooms too. I have been trying out a bunch of recipes and am really excited to pass them on.
