Farm Description:
    We live and work on 10 acres. Currently, about an acre is being worked. Our property was subdivided 20-some years ago and is separated from the rest of the quarter, which is in hay, by a small creek. This was the home quarter. There is an old hip roof barn, which is still used for horses at times but mostly for shop and hay storeage. We raise chickens for laying and meat for ourselves, and use the manure from both horses and chickens for fertilizer. The meat birds are raised in pasture frames. The CSA is a small venture started by Margot. Randy helps with the muscle work, as do their 3 kids. Randy works off-farm as a carpenter, and Margot drives school bus. Our family moved to the city to this acreage 7 years ago to reconnect to the land. Having friends and family still in the city who wish to eat healthy, local food, and the desire to grow a large garden, the jump to CSA was not a difficult one to make. Making connections between the local growers and city friends and aquaintences made through the CSA has been of special interest.

Practices:
    We use rain water to water, floating row covers for the brassica crops (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kohlrabi, and kale) to dissuade cabbage moths, plastice collars for the cutworms and the good old pluck and squish method for other little beasties. Mostly, we use our own manure and compost but occassionally, a local grass-feeding cattle farm donates their manure. We use Coleman's crop rotation with the addition of 2 more sections for summer fallow. We direct plant most seeds, but because we are small, I start many little tomato plants and other delicates in the living room on a great fluorescent 3 tiered shelf.

Describe your product specialties and highlights:
    Our members pay a seasonal fee, commit to 2 workdays and we deliver the vegetables once a week from late June to late September. Community is a huge focus. We enjoy gatherings after working and 2 Open Farm Days; May 27, 2006 and July 22, 2006. We also have U-pick vegetables, and will be planting raspberries for future U-pick. At the beginning of the season some of the pickings will be lettuce, radishes, chives and thyme. Mid season crops include swiss chard, beets, beans, bok choi, carrots, onions. Some late pickings include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes and corn. Our vegetables are grown naturally, with sustainable practices and sold locally, to ensure the building of community.

Where we sell our products:
    For the 2006 season, our share price is $375.00. A share is based on the needs of a family of 4; 2 adults and 2 kids. The drop-off location is in South Edmonton, Alberta or members may pick up at our farm, which is located at the junction of highways 616 to Mulhurst and 795. We are 30 minutes southwest of Edmonton. Workdays are scheduled at the beginning of the year. Each share works 6 hours of pre pick; picking veggies the night before delivery day, which is Tuesday and helping clean and sort them, and 6 hours of weeding. Prepick evenings are 3 hours long so each share needs to bring 2 people to 1 evening or 1 person 2 evenings. The weeding evenings work the same way. We are children friendly and welcome them to come with their parents (if the children are small, it's reccommended that a non-working person be brought to care for them). We do not expect that children would for the required length of time, though and so the workdays are to be filled by adults.

Web/Mail Order Items:
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