First of all, whew. We have been getting lots of new orders, which is wonderful in this uncertain time of not having a market. Deliveries of seedlings will start to go out in Hamilton Area and Norfolk County with Wednesday evening deliveries throughout May and extra deliveries Saturdays May 16th and 30th. Toronto area deliveries will be Saturdays May 9th and 23rd. We will try to fulfill orders as they are received, but will also schedule deliveries based on geography and when different items are ready. In some cases, you may have to wait until Early June for a few items of your order. But we want everyone to be able to get planting as soon as weather permits! Pickup on farm orders will be ready starting in the second week of May, and you'll get an email confirmation when your order is ready for pickup.
If you haven't yet seen it, our Webstore Info page now has details of our proposed delivery areas for the CSA season (June 1st to October 15th). We'd like to gauge interest in these areas before ordering is live in the store. Please share our website and contact with anyone in these areas who you think would be interested! And we may be looking for a delivery driver to work for us (instead of on-farm or at-market help). More on that in the future.
We also have a new page describing our updated coronavirus-related safety measures here, under "About Us" on the top menu.
In other news, I am cancelling my plan to have baked goods for sale on Mother's Day Weekend. With all of the demands of the online store and increased deliveries, I just won't have the time to get ingredients and rent the kitchen. I'll be in touch with anyone who paid for these pre-order items to provide a refund or credit for future orders.
But good news is that you can order yummy things from Luscious D's Bakery, a small business in Hamilton where I used to work. Kelly taught me lots of what I know about baking, and makes fantastic treats, also sourcing from local farms where she can. You can have complete confidence that she is committed to food safety and takes coronavirus prevention very seriously. You can contact her at kelly@lusciousds.com to ask for her product list.
On that note, I'm hoping to put together a page soon of our recommendations for other small businesses who we feel deserve everyone's support right now.
More updates will come your way as we develop new strategies for our farm to survive and feed people during this time. But it's not all about the business model and the online presence - there's farming going on, too!
Adam's been tilling and amending and planting. I've been potting up all of our nightshades - peppers, eggplant, ground cherries, and more, more, more tomatoes! Everyone loves growing tomatoes; we have been seeding successions and potting up to 4" pots to restock many varieties in the online store. (Whoops, I wasn't supposed to talk about online things...)
Last Monday, we had a worker from the Long Point Conservation Authority come out and plant hundreds of trees in the back 1/4 acre of our field. It's exciting to imagine what this place will look like in 5, 15, or 30 years.
The weather is still having its ups and downs, but more gorgeous days will be ahead. We hope that everyone is able to enjoy the sun, when it comes out, and stay connected to the outside world.
- Nica