FARM NEWS

We’ve Shut Down The Farm! 🥳

We’ve been working assiduously to shut down the farm before we move on October 31st. There’s always a prodigious amount of work when it comes to shutting down a farm for the season. We’ve been working at least 10 hours a day, seven days a week, with no days off since the beginning of September. But all of the hard work has finally paid off!

The last two months have been the most challenging period of our entire season and we’re grateful it’s finally coming to an end. Come November we’ll finally get a chance to slow down and recover.

Guess How Much Our Compost Costs? 🤔

$4000 😅

$1000 was just for the delivery fee. We had to buy this compost from Abbotsford which was the closest and cheapest compost we could find that fit our needs. Being a no-till regenerative farm, good compost is essential to our bed prep, especially on new land.

Surprisingly, the Kootenays doesn't have a place to buy large amounts of compost. This is a significant issue because all of the farmers here have to pay to have their compost trucked in or they need to buy a tractor to make their own. Not only is this expensive but it also uses a ton of fossil fuels.

We plan on making this pile the last pile of compost that we ever buy. We're going to be doing some research this winter but we're determined to find a way to make our own compost without a tractor going forward!

NEW PRODUCTS

Canada Crookneck Squash

Description: Canada Crookneck Squash Seed is a very old heirloom more than likely grown by the Iroquois Indians. It was not introduced commercially until 1834 by Boston seedsman Charles H. Hovey, but certainly grown prior to that time for a number of years.

Canada Crookneck Squash have a very similar look and taste as a Butternut Squash. We trailed this squash this year because it ripens much earlier than a traditional butternut squash, perfect for our shorter growing seasons here in the Kootenays.

Parsnips

Veggie Fun Fact: Europeans used parsnips to make sweetener before sugarcane became widely available.

Description: Parsnips have a distinct taste. They have a sweetness similar to a carrot but with an earthy nuttiness. They are even sweeter than carrots when cooked.

Grown by Emerald Grove Farm, Winlaw.

Buttercup Squash

Description: Buttercup squash are among the sweetest of the winter squash. They have a wonderful nutty squash flavour and are so creamy they will melt in your mouth.

Last Chance For Greens!

Our friends and fellow farmers from Emerald Grow Farm and Crooked Horn Farm in Winlaw still have some beautiful greens, radish and turnip. This will be one of your last chances to enjoy them before we fully transition to winter veg, so be sure to grab some because you won’t see them again until the Spring!

We Need Your Help!

We’re applying to win a full scholarship to the Neversink Online Market Farming Course through their Beginning Farmer Project. This is a lifetime membership with a value of almost $4000. It contains everything we need to know to build an efficient and profitable farm.

We’ve been dreaming of taking this course for a while now, but the expense is WAY out of our budget. Winning a full scholarship would be monumental for our farm business. We would be able to avoid a lot of the mistakes we know we’re going to make over the next few years as we try to figure out how to solve the immense puzzle that is building a successful farm business.

To apply we have to make an Instagram and Facebook post explaining the goals for our farm and share a bit about our farming journey.

To help us increase the odds of winning all you have to do is show your support by liking and commenting on our Instagram post or Facebook post if you don’t have an Instagram account. We think a strong showing of support from the community would help us win, so if you wouldn’t mind sending us some love we would greatly appreciate it!

Simply click on the links below to leave a comment

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj9FG1Yvp6G/?hl=en

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/confluencefarmskootenays