<h2>Just A Mere Organic Farm - Our own BC Fruit.</h2> <p align="left">Miranda and I started The Organic Box in 2010. We also own a fruit farm in Creston, BC called 'Just A Mere Organic Farm'. I spent my youth in Creston and have a strong connection to this fruit producing valley. We are transitioning our farm to certified organic and this year have some of our products certified, others in 3rd year transition and the rest in 2nd year. By the end of 2014 we will be fully certified on all our land and with all our crops. We are pioneers in our community - there are other organic producers in the area (milk, garlic, cheese) but we are the only ones working to do certified organic tree fruit in the Creston Valley.</p> <p align="left">When school draws to a close in the spring we pack up our boys and our lives and relocate from Edmonton to Creston, to participate in the final weeks of production and the picking in August. I drive the truck back to Edmonton myself every week and our team in Edmonton works hard to bring our bounty to our members.</p> <p align="left"><strong>Apples</strong></p> <img style="WIDTH: 240px; HEIGHT: 320px" class="design_selected_field" title="Farm2013AppleBlock" alt="Farm2013AppleBlock" align="left" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/appleblock.JPG" width="240" height="320" /><p align="left">We grow three kinds of apples - Macintosh, Spartan and Jonagold. Jonagold is a forgotten variety from the 1980s which now ends up as the base in most fruit juices, but we know that it is a big, flavourful and sweet apple that is delicious when fresh and excellent for baking. If you were with us last year you will remember these apples as they came off in Sep<img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px" title="Farm2013Apples" alt="Farm2013Apples" align="right" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/apples.JPG" width="320" height="240" />tember and October. Fantastic. We had lots of moth and disease issues in our apple block last summer and so our team in Creston spent weeks over the winter cleaning out the block and getting it up to snuff. This year we have a fantastic crop coming for you. Look at the trees - it could be a park.</p> <p align="left"><strong>Cherries</strong></p> <p align="left">Cherries are the heart and soul of our farm - we have big blocks of about 3000 trees, and three varieties, Skeena, Rainier and Sweetheart. Production is spread out over about 3 weeks in late July and early August and we aim to produce enough cherries to fill everyone's belly,</p> <img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px" title="2013FarmCherries" alt="2013FarmCherries" align="left" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/cherries(1).JPG" width="320" height="240" /><p align="left">freezer and fruit drier for the entire year. Sadly, we had a late frost this year in May after bloom (which is coming earlier and earlier every year we think due to climate change) and about 70% of our crop is lost. So we will have fewer cherries this year but with a light crop and lots of heat coming we will have nice, big sweet cherries for you starting in the last week of July.</p> <p></p> <p align="left"><strong>Field Crops</strong></p> <p align="left">We also have about 4 acres of fields on our farm, which for the past two seasons have been</p> <p align="left">planted with field crops. </p> <img style="WIDTH: 240px; HEIGHT: 320px" title="2013FarmCantaloupe" alt="2013FarmCantaloupe" align="right" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/cantaloupe.JPG" width="240" height="320" /><p align="left">Using field crops helps us with rotation and soil improvement, and also helps mitigate our risks - if we had only cherries for example then this year we would have lost a pile of money because of the frost. </p> <p align="left">In 2013 we are heavily planted in sweet corn, cantaloupe and watermelons. We also have some squash - spaghetti, acorn and pumpkin to fill in the gaps. Vine crops are excellent for providing green manure and a crop we can market.</p> <p align="left"><strong>Blueberries</strong></p> <p><img style="WIDTH: 240px; HEIGHT: 320px" title="2013FarmBlueberries" alt="2013FarmBlueberries" align="left" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/blueberries.JPG" width="240" height="320" />Last year we set aside about an acre for blueberries. Everyone loves good blueberries and Creston hasexcellent heat and humidity to make them soar. Our plan is to plant 3500 blueberry plants and this spring we put the first 2500 in the ground. The crop is very light this year but over the next few years it will improve and we will be shipping some excellent blues to you. Our boys love blueberries and we know that yours do too.</p> <p align="left">2013 is an exciting year for our farm - we really feel like we are coming into our own, have nearly completed the full transition to certification and have built a really strong team of workers in Creston. Our ability to direct market our crop through The Organic Box is a gift we cannot thank you for enough - on behalf of all our growing partners we thank you for making this all possible with your support.</p> <div><div><br /><p align="left"></p> <div><p>Havea Great Week!</p> <p>Danny.<br />Founder, The Organic Box.</p> <h2>FeaturedProducts and Producers:</h2> <table cellspacing="15" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#edf0e9"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"><img title="ScapePizza" alt="ScapePizza" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/scapepizza.jpg" /></td> <td><h2>Garlic Scapes</h2> <p>Garlic scapes are the curly green whip that grows out of early garlic stalks. They are incredibly refreshing and have a crisp and spicy garlic heat to them similar to bulbs. They can often be substituted for green onions or straight garlic in recipes and provide a great addition to a lot of meal. Try making a bean dip with some garlic scape, add it to a pesto recipe, or try this garlic scape and kale pizza:</p> <p>Ingredients:<br />1 - organic pizza dough (try the Crust Craft ones if you haven't yet)<br />1 - can of crushed tomatoes<br />5-8 - garlic scapes, roughly chopped<br />1 - bunch of kale<br />A handful of fresh basil<br />A few handfuls of mozzarella cheese<br />Olive oil<br /><br />Brush olive oil over the pizza crust and then top with the crushed tomatoes and add the rest of the toppings (add anything else you can think of). Then just follow the Crust Craft instructions for cooking with their pizza crusts. </p> <p>In no time you'll have a super tasty dinner that is fresh, and comprised of mostly local ingredients! </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"><img title="ButterLettuce" alt="ButterLettuce" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/redbutterlettuce.jpg" /></td> <td><h2>Sundog Butter Lettuce</h2> <p>What a storm earlier this week! It was a pretty crazy light show and very windy! Unfortunatlely it also threw down some hail over Sundog Organic Farm in Gibbons. For a couple of days we were really sad as the hail damaged their salad greens crops that were just about ready for harvest. Luckily though, the team at Sundog has been able to peel off the damaged outer leaves and we are left with an amazing looking 'lettuce heart' so we are still going to be able to enjoy the bounty of their hard work! Support these amazing local farmers and dig into some delicious salads this week. Their butter lettuce is always one of our favourites, and we're very grateful that they were able to repair the crop. </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"><img title="IcedCoffee" alt="IcedCoffee" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/icedcoffee.jpg" /></td> <td><h2>Summer Special: Iced Coffee</h2> <p>It's a cool treat that is refreshing and energizing. Iced coffee is a favourite for many people, so we figured it was time for people to try making it at home. There are a few methods out there on how to make the best iced coffee, here is a technique that we found worked quite well:</p> <p>1) Brew a super strong (triple strength) french pressed coffee. <br />2) Very slowly pour the coffee over a cup full of iced cubes (the slower the better), and while some cubes will melt it will dilute the super strong coffee to a desirable flavour. <br />3) Sweeten with some organic maple syrup, or raw agave syrup. <br />4) Add some almond milk, or cream. Stir and enjoy! </p> <p>Another great thing to do: Instead of pouring out old coffee from the pot, pour them into iced cube trays and make coffee iced cubes! </p> <p><strong>NXT coffee</strong> makes exceptional iced coffee! Try their Con Amore blend for a taste that is naturally sweet and well balanced. </p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div></div></div>
