Kale and Box Delivery

Staying home and cooking with your family; a winter tradition with new meaning for us in 2020

Last week we launched our fruit and vegetable box program, making it easy for you to get fresh produce without shopping at the store, and this week we are continuing that theme by offering box delivery to anywhere on Salt Spring. It seems we are mostly staying at home these days, which gives us a wonderful opportunity to prepare meals, and good ingredients is an important first step.

This week's market specials include kale and leeks from our garden and beets from Two EE's farm in Surrey. Expect both these items in the produce boxes and at good prices in the market. Justin from Two EE's Farm has become an indispensable part of our business, both as a talented organic grower (he farms over 20 acres) and as a location for us to orchestrate our many pickups and deliveries on the mainland.

Last March our business faced a huge change in shopping behaviours as customers stocked up on food, especially dry goods, and started cooking more at home. Adorably so, sourdough bread baking became one of the most popular home cooking activities! This week we have a whole pallet of organic, unbleached white flour coming in and Ellis wants all those bakers to know: it's time to restock your cupboards - $55 per 50 pound bag. Email to reserve a bag.

You may be wondering how your food security is being affected by the pandemic, now that the farm season is over and we begin to rely on imports. All of Western North America depends on the incredible food production of California and Mexico. These areas are some of the hardest hit by the pandemic and are experiencing huge labour shortages. Farms and packing houses are struggling to keep up with the demand and borders are slowed way down. Food shortages and increased prices are things we expect and we have begun to prepare by purchasing apples and potatoes in advance, reducing our dependency on wholesalers who will undoubtably sell out or raise prices. Having enough for our community is our focus this winter and we will continue to keep you informed about how we are doing this!

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Box

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Boxes: Your solution to grocery shopping, creative cooking, and healthy eating

We are thrilled to announce that we are offering pre-made, fresh fruit and vegetable boxes, available now!

Small Box (1-2 people), 1 week, $40

Small Box (1-2 people), 10 weeks, $360 ($40 savings)

Large Box (3-4 people), 1 week, $80

Large Box (3-4 people), 10 weeks, $720 ($80 savings)

Sign up by Friday evening to secure your box for pickup on Saturday morning (contactless pickup available)

We are making it easy to have beautiful organic produce for every meal. We have curated the perfect box: fresh, organic, diverse, as local as possible, and affordable. After years of experience sourcing produce and growing our own, we can guarantee that this box fulfills both your ethical and environmental requirements. Cut down on decision making time in the shop and enjoy using your creative energy to prepare new recipes with an ever-changing array of seasonal fruits and vegetables.

If you haven't already heard, we also have a new offering from the flower farm: a Bouquet CSA! CSA stands for community supported agriculture; by purchasing your flowers in advance you are allowing us to buy seeds, hire staff, and generally prepare for a beautiful season of flowers. We have lots of options to choose from: Spring or Summer, weekly or biweekly, bouquet or simple bunch. It's so easy to bring the beauty of nature into your home with an original hand-tied bouquet of local flowers.

Flowers Everyday

We have a new way for you to get your bouquet: the Earth Candy Farm Flower CSA. We have many wonderful options to suit you! Choose your season (Spring or Summer), the frequency (weekly or biweekly), and your style (a hand-tied bouquet or a single variety bunch of flowers). Of course we will still have bunches and bouquets available for sale at our Tuesday and Saturday markets, but think of this as your reservation; guaranteed beauty on your table, all season long. Choose yours now here!

In addition to our Flower CSA, we have some beautiful garlands of dried strawflowers available in our Online Flower Shop. Both these products are perfect holiday gifts for flower lovers and are available in limited quantities on our website.

2021 will be our 8th season growing cut flowers and each year we love the process even more. In addition to our local sales of bouquets and bunches, a large portion of our flowers are sold at the Vancouver Flower Auction, destined for florists across Western Canada. Our Salt Spring - Vancouver connection has also helped us support other flower farmers on Salt Spring to wholesale their excess product. Collaborating with other growers is a wonderful part of our business and we are planning some exciting expansions for next season; stay tuned to hear more about the future of Salt Spring Flower Wholesale in our upcoming newsletters.

This flower growing business would not be possible without our "flower girls" as we call them. They sow the seeds, plant the tubers, set up the netting and trellises, remove the inevitable sea of weeds that sprout up, and eventually harvest the exquisite blooms that result from all this hard work. It is also because of their enthusiasm for flowers, floral design, and personal growth that we are launching this special Flower CSA for you. They can't wait to arrange thoughtful bouquets that will bring joy and beauty to your home.

Autumn on the Farm

2020 was a great growing season: an above average spring pollination (thanks to our honeybees) brought in an abundant cherry, plum, pear, and apple crop. This was the first time we harvested and sold cherries from our own trees - a dream come true after planting 9 years ago! Lots of rain made it a bit harder to ripen our peppers and tomatoes, but this came with the hidden bonus of a lush summer garden and a beautiful extended autumn. Down in our lower field we have a thick green cover crop already inches high, as we phase out plastic tarps for winter cover. Keeping plastic out of the soil is a goal that we are determined to attain! Currently, our greenhouse and upper field are bursting with kale, chard, salad mix, and parsley. Another one of our goals is to supply our farm shop with those green veggies year-round, always harvested fresh for you on the morning of our Saturday and Tuesday markets.

The flower garden (Claire's treasured project) was pared down to accommodate our new family member, yet ended up having it's most successful year yet! We focused on our favourite crops in our favourite colours; blush sweet peas, red-lime zinnias, and apricot strawflower to name a few. Our flowers were enjoyed by many local flower lovers and continued to be hugely popular on the Vancouver Flower Auction; a key part of our business model is exporting our flowers off island and importing specialty organic produce on island. We welcomed Laurence back for her third year on the farm; her technical and artistic skill with the cut flowers and her leadership with new employees were essential to our success. In the weeks ahead we are launching a new way to get your bouquet, so stay tuned for the exciting plans Laurence and her team have dreamed up!

Ellis had a very busy 2020 summer season and the roof is on the new barn at last! Over the next few months his team will be finishing the interior in preparation for moving our market in next spring - Yes, it's true, your new market headquarters are almost here! None of it would have been possible without the dedication and hardwork of Nami, who moved here from Japan last year. Built using local Salt Spring Island fir, cedar, and arbutus trees, harvest and milled on our portable sawmill, you will feel the natural vibes of this special construct. The integrity of this building is palpable and we are more than excited to welcome you inside soon.