Chain Reaction Urban Farm Newsletter

FARM NEWS

Before I get into the farm news for the month, yes, we still have vegetables available. We are transitioning over to our winter market format now and you can find more details about that by scrolling to the bottom of the newsletter.

What a difference a week can make at this time of year in Saskatchewan! We were spoiled with a warm September for the most part so the snow this week was an important reminder that we aren't far from winter and we need to start taking appropriate precautions to get ready. As a result, I have been busy harvesting any vulnerable crops and covering others that have enough cold tolerance to potentially survive some freezing night temperatures. That process has changed our gardens from green to white in the last week.

The simplest frost protection we use is a floating cover that simply lays over the crops. This gives us about 2 degrees of frost protection at night and helps increase the temperature during the day too. We also use a low tunnel for season extension, which can potentially add even more heat if the Sun is shining. More importantly though, the tunnel prevents the weight of any snow from damaging the crops underneath so we use it over weaker crops like lettuce.

Since the days are so short at this time of year, any extra heat we can capture is important for crops to have extended growth. For the most part though, I think of our fields right now as a giant living refrigerator where cold hardy crops can keep remain in good shape without changing much in their stage of maturity. The baby spinach shown below is one of the cold weather champions of the farm at this time of the year.

As the pace of vegetable tending slows, I appreciate having more time for education again. This is important because the purpose of our farm is not just to produce food but to also share what we've learned with others who want to get better at growing their own food. I am continuing to work on building the collection of gardening resources at our Vegetable Academy website, but opportunities always come up to connect with other growers in live settings as well. On Monday, I made the trip to Edmonton to share our growing methods with the members of the Edmonton Horticultural Society. After enduring some terribly dry summers in the last two years, they had an abundance of rain this season in Alberta, and so I was greeted in Edmonton with a unified lament for slugs! Such is the nature of gardening.

WINTER MARKET

We are switching over to winter markets this month. The main difference between our summer and winter markets is that the WINTER MARKETS ARE ONLY OFFERED ONCE PER MONTH. The order form will be sent out with our newsletter on the first Wednesday of every month, and pick ups will still be on Saturday morning at the pick up station or in our house once the temperature drops below freezing.

There are several new items on the list this month including beautiful Amarosa potatoes, white onions, Red Kuri squash, spinach, lettuce, and kale. We also still have cabbage and a full range of other root vegetables, so you should have no trouble loading up with some fine flavours for your Thanksgiving dinners.

Just click the big blue button below to see the full list of produce available and submit your order. Orders placed by Thursday at midnight will be ready for pick up at our farm on Saturday from 9:00am to 12:00pm at 434 Ave D South.

Winter Market Order Form

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Chain Reaction Urban Farm · 434 Avenue D S · Saskatoon, Sk S7M1R4 · Canada