Ice Cap Organics

Certified Organic Free Range Eggs for Sale at the Farm!

2012-02-17T08:49:00.004-08:00

We have lots of delicious eggs from our Chantecler Chickens. Come to the farm and help yourself! They are located in the fridge at the front of our house for $5/ dozen for the large and $4/ dozen for the smalls (new layers). If you haven't been to the farm, we are located at 770 Green Rd, Pemberton BC (about 12km up the Pemberton Meadows Rd).

Enjoy!

Harvest Box Program Advertisement

2012-01-21T16:25:00.001-08:00

Here is our first ad of the year, its going in Mountain Life magazine, hope to get lots of Harvest Box subscriptions from it as we are expanding this part of the farm business.

Snowing a lot here!

2012-01-21T16:09:00.000-08:00

It snows a lot in Pemberton, we got at least 25 cms at our place last night, and apparently there is more to come. We don't mind as long as we can get on our early field by mid April... keeping my fingers crossed.

Human population growth in relation to food prices/shortages

2011-12-21T09:40:00.000-08:00

We are right in the middle of an intense population explosion. I've been hearing and reading a lot about inflation and rising food price, food shortages and oil/food relation and so on. It seems like there is a growing consensus that these food supply issues are related to population growth; it is the old Malthusian theory: that we will run out of everything because there are too many of us. Another general consensus has been that the only way we will feed our ever-expanding population is through massive corporate farms with thousands of acres under cultivation. In Canada (according to stats-can) our actual acres of farm land since 1932 has stayed about the same, but our percentage of farmers has gone from 32% to 2% (1932 to 2008). Its true we have seen increased yields in farming in the last century. Just like everything else farming has advanced, cars and telephones and technology in general has "happened". Our better yields are from human ingenuity and cooperation, but they are not from the industrial food approach. In fact many studies have shown that farmers get much better yields from small-scale farms, family farms if you will. Here is a snippet from a 1989 study by the US National Research Council that assessed industrial food production compared to alternative methods:

“Well-managed alternative farming systems nearly always use less synthetic chemical pesticides, fertilizers, and antibiotics per unit of production than conventional farms. Reduced use of these inputs lowers production costs and lessens agriculture’s potential for adverse environmental and health effects without decreasing — and in some cases increasing — per acre crop yields and the productivity of livestock management systems.”

That's not the only study that concludes that small family farms out-produce corporate farms acre for acres. And I concur, from what I've seen on ours and colleagues relatively small plots of land, we are able to produce a tremendous amount of food from a small area. Anyone with a productive garden would agree. Elliot Coleman writes that 1 acre can feed 200 people. Joel Salatin claims he makes almost 10 times the money per acre than conventional beef, chicken and hog farmers do. People like this are doing it right, they are making the land better than before they used it and pulling massive high quality yields with no synthetic inputs, and very little dependence on petroleum.

So, are we really running out of food because there are too many of us? No, we are just doing it all wrong. We need more farmers, and we need to embrace the small scale, hyper efficient family farms.

If you look at the graph above you'll see that the population explosion happens at about the same time as the decrease of farmers (1932). Basically, since the 30's humankind has moved to the city and tried to get a job in manufacturing. Ever since urbanization we've been seeing the number of farmers decrease. At this point we need people to not only farm, but we need to farm the right way so we can feed ourselves for the long term, for the "forever term" actually. We could easily feed ourselves if we get back to family farms. We have the land and the tools (I'd like an electric tractor though) and the know how.

I believe we need to re-examine the rising food cost issue as well. I don't know about the big global picture enough to comment on the price of rice in Thailand for example, but here in our local area the majority of people feel food is expensive. They also think gas is expensive, phone bills, gas, taxes, mortgages etc. are too expensive. Everything is expensive, and some are saying food especially. It is true that food prices have risen recently, but I would argue that they are still not as high as they will be. Over the last decade or so we haven't been paying the true cost of food, and that is why food has been so cheap. We are now realizing that food can't be produced strictly for profit by massive corporations for the "forever term". Industrial food is poor quality, unhealthy, bad for the environment, and fundamentally inefficient. So when we buy this food, we are paying the corporation what it needs to re-capture for its production costs, but we aren't paying for the costs this food production has had on our ecosystem, our communities and our health. These hidden costs, or externalities, are the burden of society, and the collective effect of these externalities is crushing agriculture and virtually every other staple industry. So when you go to the grocery store and see california organic carrots on sale for 59 cents/lb, or chinese garlic for 1.99/lb or cheap potatoes please consider that what your saving on now will be billed to you and you children later.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FAMILY FARMS!

Winter Harvest Box #4

2011-11-22T12:31:00.000-08:00

This week's box:

-Blue Hubbard Squash

-Collard Greens

-Leeks

-Purple Top Turnips

-Garlic

-Beets

-Carrots

-Parsnips

Enjoy!

3rd Fall/Winter harvest box

2011-11-15T13:21:00.000-08:00

Its frozen out in the field but we still have lots of produce, this week's box includes:

-Winterbor Kale

-Baby Pac Choi

-Delicata squash

-Carrots

-Beets

-Hakurei salad turnips

-Garlic

-German Butter Potatoes

Enjoy!

Last Harvest box for 2011!!!

2011-10-25T13:58:00.001-07:00

Hey folks this is the last box, hope you've enjoyed all the fresh, local organic produce over the spring, summer and fall.

This week box contains:

-Leeks

-Brussels Sprouts

-January King French Heirloom Cabbage

-Butternut or Kabocha Squash

-Garlic, bulk

-Sieglinda Potatoes

-Apples or Carrots and Parsnips

Thanks for your support and we will be in contact next year :)

Harvest box 17/18

2011-10-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

This Weeks Harvest Box:

~Salad Mix

~Red Kuri Hubbard or Baby Blue Hubbard

~Parsley

~Carrots

~Celeriac

~Red Russian Kale

~Red Onion

~Garlic

~Gala Apples or Radishes,Turnips, and Jalapenos

Enjoy :)

Next Week is the last harvest box of the season but we are anticipating extra crops so wondering who would be interested in continuing the harvest boxes throughout November, send us an email to let us know.

~Alisha, Delaney, and Ira is starting to be quite the little helper :)

Harvest box number 2 second half of the season

2011-09-06T15:36:00.000-07:00

Your harvest box this week includes...

~Salad mix

~Walla Walla sweet onions

~Tomatoes

~French Fingerling Potatoes

~Garlic

~Zucchini or Patty Pan

~Chives

~Plums or Carrots and Swiss Chard

Thanks for your support and enjoy your veggies :)

Cover crops, fall planting and harvesting

2011-09-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

Summer is on its way out, and we are really feeling the seasons changing. This first photo is a cover crop of lush buckwheat on one of our fields in rest. We'll be turning it in next week and seeding it with fall rye and clover for an overwintering cover.

Next are some shots of our storage cabbage heading up nicely, with some brussel sprouts coming up behind them. Then some newly sprouted radishes and freshly harvested kohlrabi.

Harvest Box #10

2011-08-30T17:19:00.000-07:00

This week:

-Salad Greens

-Potatoes

-Garlic

-Tomatoes

-Onions

-Zucchini

-Cucumbers

-Jalapnos

-Beets

-Carrots

-for the fruit option; organic Blueberries from Pemberton's very own Hare Family Farm. For those not getting the fruit you got sugar snap peas and a head of Frisee.

Thanks and enjoy the veggies!

Harvest Box #9

2011-08-23T16:07:00.000-07:00

Well folks time has flown by and this is the last week of the first half of the season for Harvest Boxes. We've growing these veggies, we hope you enjoyed eating them.

This week's box includes:

-Salad Greens

-Hakurei Turnips

-Fresh Onions

-Tomatoes

-Basil

-Beets

-Kohlrabi (or Beans for those of you who got Kohlrabi last week)

-Champagne Peaches /or Kale and Chard

Slow Food Cycle Sunday

2011-08-22T09:34:00.000-07:00

This Sunday we had thousands of people come by and visit the farm, it was great. All kinds of folks got to see how we grow our veggies and establish a real connection to the land and become active participants in agriculture. You can learn more about the event at Slow Food Cycle Sunday. Also thanks so much to PUREBREAD, Alta Bistro, Bathtub Gardens, One Earth Collection and Monkey Nuts for coming out and setting up on our farm, it was an awesome day!

Harvest Box #8

2011-08-16T16:07:00.000-07:00

In this week's box

-A head of lettuce

-Jalapeno pepper

-Fortex beans

-Cucumbers

-Cal White and Pontiac Potatoes

-Carrots

-Radish

-Patty pan summer squash

-Apricots or Kale and Kohlrabi

Thanks and enjoy your veggies!

Harvest Box #7

2011-08-09T15:11:00.000-07:00

In this weeks box:

-Salad Greens

-Swiss Chard

-Cabbage

-Carrots

-Beets

-Garlic

-Apricots or Gai Lan, Snap Peas and Kale

Thanks!

Nice to be on the farm...

2011-08-04T11:10:00.000-07:00

Beautiful morning harvesting greens for market, arugula in the foreground,

Mt Currie in the background.

Harvest Box #6

2011-08-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

Well we were busy harvesting the garlic so I didn't manage to get a photo of your boxes, but here is a list of what's in them:

-Arugula

-Warba new potatoes

-Cucumbers

-Radishes

-Oregano

-Zucchini and/or Summer Squash

-Pac Choi

-Apricots or Peas and Turnips

Thanks for your support and enjoy the veggies!

Harvest Box #5

2011-07-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

This weeks box includes:

-Suey Choy Cabbage

-Ripbor Kale

-Sugar Snap Peas

-Radishes

-Salad Mix

-Scallopini Summer Squash

-Fresh Green Garlic

-Nasturtium Edible Flowers

-Cherries or Turnips and Broccolini/Gai Lan

Thanks and enjoy your veggies.

The New and the Up and Coming

2011-07-22T14:26:00.001-07:00

In the Cucurbit patch

Cukes

Red Kuri Squash

Patty Pan Summer Squash

Jalapeno Peppers

Watermelon

Potato Flowers

Warba Potatoes

Sweet Peas

Oregano in the New Herb Garden. Sage, Thyme, Chives, Lovage in there too

Fuzzy Asparagus patch

Sugar Snap Peas

Carrots

Beans

Sungolds ripening

Brandywines

Harvest Box #4

2011-07-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

This week in your box:

-Salad mix

-Toscano Kale

-Parsley

-Daikon Radish

-Fennel

-Cauliflower

-Cherries or Cuccmber, Zucchini and Peppers

Enjoy the veggies and thanks for your support!

Harvest Box #3

2011-07-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

This Weeks Box Includes...

~Swiss Chard

~Ripbor Kale

~Mustard Greens

~Last round of Garlic Scapes for the season

~First round of Carrots!

~Head Lettuce

~Salad Mix

~Zucchini

~Lemon, Thai, or Genovese Basil

~Cherries or Cauliflower

We hope you enjoy your box this week :~)

Here are a couple recipes, and feel free to post some of your own!

Hit this link for a great garlic scape pesto recipe:

Garlic Scape Pesto from Little City Farm

And this link for a delicious mustard greens recipe:

Mustard Greens Recipe from Simply Recipes

Up and Coming... Sugar snap peas, Fennel Hearts, and New Potatoes

This Week's Box

2011-07-05T13:46:00.000-07:00

Here is the contents of your box this week:

~1/2 lb of salad mix

~Red Russian Kale

~Hakurei and Scarlet Ohno Turnips

~Broccoli

~Radishes

~Italian Parsley

~Head of Cabbage

~Bunch of Mizuna or Arugula

~Garlic Scapes

Things are really heating up on the farm this week so we are expecting to have some new stuff again in the boxes next week. You can expect baby zucchinis and basil.

People often ask us how to use Mizuna and Garlic Scapes and the turnips so here are some ideas.

Mizuna; often used in salad mixes, it is also very nice lightly sauteed or added to stir fries. Also and excellent texture and flavour to add to sandwiches.

Garlic Scapes; this is the to part of the garlic plant. We snap them off before they turn in to flowers so the energy of the plant goes into the garlic buld, rather than the flower... The scapes have a wonderful garlic flavour, with all the same health benefits of galic bulbs, but a bit milder. They can be used in any recipe you would use garlic in, or like green onions. But don't cook them too long or they will loose their flavour. Some ideas for scapes are adding them to omlettes, scones, pastas or pizzas.

Hakurei and Scarlet Ohno Turnips; Hakureis are a "kabu" type turnip from Japan. They are delicately crunchy, sweet and juicy. They can be eaten raw or cooked and the leaves are very nutritious and tasty as well. The Scarlet turnips are more often cooked but aren't bad raw either. Both of these add a lot to a salad cubed or grated, and are great in a vegetable roast in the oven or sauteed.

We hope you enjoy your veggies!

First Harvest Box of 2011!!!

2011-06-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to finally get the first Harvest Boxes out this week!

This weeks harvest box contains:

~ Salad Mix

~ Arugula

~ Cilantro

~ Joi Choi

~ Garlic Scapes

~ Head Lettuce

~ Radishes

~ Purple Top Turnips

~ Kale

~ Swiss Chard

Enjoy!

2011-06-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a little farm update, we've been super busy with markets and our harvest boxes start tomorrow so we haven't been posting much... the blog has been neglected but the fields are looking good!

This is Rouge D'Hiver lettuce, a French Heirloom variety that does really well in col weather.

And this is a green romaine...

Porcelain garlic, scapes are out now, this was taken a couple weeks ago.

This is one of our cultivating tools, its called a Lilliston rolling cultivator, it really rips the ground up between the plants, we use it on beans and any other smaller 2 row crops.

This is a bed of asian greens just starting to come up.

Sugar snap peas climbing the trellis

Ripbor kale, very vigorous.

Our little brassica patch.

Swiss chard.

A succession of freshly weeded beets.

Scarlet Oh No Turnips.

Arugula flowers

A bed of our red lettuce for our salad mix.

Rainy Days!!

2011-05-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

It feels like it has been raining forever now, the soil is so wet it will take at least a few sunny days until we can get back on it. Good thing we stayed up late last week making all those beds! And the weather forecast shows sun and warm weather!!! We are crossing our fingers. The June produce (salad greens, radishes, pac choi, swiss chard, arugula, baby red kale, hakurei and scarlett turnips, broccoli raab, and spinach) are all looking like they will be ready on time. We had a few daikon, sunflower and pea shoot trials and they were magnificent! So we will be starting those for markets in the next few days. We are so happy to finally be eating fresh again!

And as we speak, I can hear this batch of chicks hatching. So far one has hatched (making a racket!) and there are 9 piped.

Also, we have been getting a lot of positive feed back so we wanted to thank you all for your support!

Here are some photos from yesterdays rainy day on the farm...

Melons in the greenhouse

Greenhouse almost ready for Tomatoes and Basil

Basil

Tomatoes

Margaret and Raphael planting the squash in the rain! troopers :~)

First flower transplant. Taj Mahal Marigold from the famous Helmer stock. And the onions behind are just starting to recover from transplant shock.

Garlic! Onions to the left and Sugar Snap Pea posts on the right.

Eggs for Sale

2011-05-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

We have fresh eggs for sale at the farm. $5 /dozen!

Stop by at 770 Green Road, Pemberton BC.

Help yourself from the fridge out front.

Correction in this weeks Pique column "Doorstep Organics"

2011-05-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

We just want to clarify about the column "Doorstep Organics" in this weeks Pique Newspaper. We are NOT business partners with InspirEarth, nor are we supplying our vegetables for their harvest box. There must have been a miscommunication somewhere along the way and we were not notified that we would be in this article. We grow our vegetables for our harvest boxes and for our farmers markets first, if we have surplus we offered to possibly sell to them, thats all. Susan Hollis has already made online corrections and there will also be a correction made in next weeks Pique.

Sorry about any confusion,

~ Alisha and Delaney

Finally feels like spring is here!

2011-05-01T10:52:00.000-07:00

Here is a little photo tour of the farm so far:We have transplanted the cabbage and kale into our compostable mulch raised beds. We use a mulch that is made from Non-GMO corn that is the biproduct of animal feed. It is certified organic and decomposes after the summer. It is great because it keeps the weeds down, and improves plant growth due to warmth from the black and it keeps moisture in the soil.
The garlic and Mt Currie are doing fantastic!
Peppers...
Parsley...
Mint...
Squash...
Swiss Chard...
Artichokes...
and Brocolli.

This week we are putting up our greenhouses for Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Peppers, and Melons. We will also be setting up our irrigation system, building a pea trellis, weeding the June field, direct seeding (beets, carrots, pac choi, parsnips, radish, turnips, potato, salad greens, and arugula ...dependant on soil dryness), transplanting (cucumbers, winter cabbage, fenel), planting transplants (onions, broccoli, head lettuce and chard) in the field, building a wash station... we'll stop there for now. Good thing we have our full time employee Raphael starting tomorrow, we are busy!!

Easter Hatch!

2011-04-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

We had 25 healthy chicks hatch yesterday! Here is a photo, they are so fresh they are still a little wet! Jaye Jay Berggren and Andrea Cooney at Big Mountain Acres have given them a fancy new home :~) Another batch is going in tomorrow. I am really loving breeding these sweet little fluff balls.

Planting for June Markets & Harvest Boxes

2011-04-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

Lots going on at the farm these days! We are planting lots in the greenhouse and in the fields, and the seasons have actually started to change, finally. Here is Alisha thinning some Chard transplants. Our Kale and Cabbage transplants are getting anxious to get planted into the field, hopefully we can get them in to their spots in the field next week.

This spring we've decided to try growing shoots, so here is a photos of our first trial of pea shoots, they are so thender and delicious. We will also do Sunflower and Daikon Radish shoots.

This spring we've had Taylor come out to the farm to help and lear as a part of his practicum for his Diploma in Horticulture at Fraser Vally University. Here he is trying the BCS tiller out.

And here is Delaney tilling some ground up too. Over the last few days we've been planting all of our cold hardy, fast growing crops for our June markets and harvest boxes. It feels good to have seeds in the ground by mid april; for a bit there we were concerned that the fields wouldn't dry up soon enough.

This is our basil from our propogation greenhouse. It looks so pillowy and lush, can't wait to plant it beside our tomatoes in a couple weeks.

Winter Update

2011-02-25T12:37:00.000-08:00

With all the snow in the fields it doesn't feel like Winter is anywhere near being done, but March is right around the corner so we've been preparing for the upcoming growing season. Transplants are being planted, we're planning a new irrigation set-up, ordering all of our growing supplies and soil amendments and getting ready to hatch our first round of chicks. So far we have only planted our onion transplants, but as we roll into March transplanting becomes a full time gig as almost 2 acres of our 5 planted acres will be transplants.

Get your order in for your Chantecler Chicks :~)

2011-01-27T10:31:00.000-08:00

Here are a few photos of our full grown Chantecler chickens. They have proven to be as cold hardy as they are know to be, even in our -15 snap in November they were wandering about outside and perching on the fence puffing up their fethers. They are such a nice breed, we (including Ira) have been enjoying them very much. We have been getting 18 eggs/day from our 24 hens, which is substatial for the winter.

We will be breeding this endanger chicken breed in the spring so if you are interested please let us know as soon as possible since we can only hatch so many at a time. There will be an April, May, and June hatching. We will be selling the chicks as day olds unsexed and certified organic for $10 each. We may also sell full grown hens in the summer for $25 each. All birds will be for farm pick up. For more information on the Chanteclers visit our old post . And go to Rare Breeds Canada to learn about other farm breeds at risk.

Email us at icecaporganics@gmail.com and specify:

-How many birds you would

-What colour birds you would like

-Which hatching woulf work best for you (April, May, June)

A visit to my brothers farm :~)

2010-11-11T19:19:00.000-08:00

We had a weekend free of markets so I got to go to the Island and visit some family. Here are a few photos of my brothers apiary farm in Merville. He also has blueberries, goats, chickens, fruit trees, and amazing vegetable gardens. His honey is unpasturized, all natural, and delicious! I brought some home to sell if anyone is interested $7.50 for a 500g jar.

Last harvest box!!

2010-10-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much for your support this season! We hope you've enjoyed the produce. Here is the contents of this week's box:

-1/2 lb salad mix

-Arugula

-Red Oakleaf lettuce

-Baby red russian kale

-Tatsoi

-Red mustrads

-1/3 lb baby leaf spinach

-Maruba Santo Pac Choi

-Bunch of Parsley

-Bunch of Radishes

-at least 1.25 lb Rutabega (Swedish Turnip)

-a Sugar Pumpkin or Red Currie Squash, good for carving into a Jack-o'-lantern, but also makes great pumpkin pie.

-2 lbs of Fuji or Honey Crisp apples from Snowy Mountain

Harvest Box #8 second half of the season

2010-10-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

Only 1 box left to go after this week! This week your box contains:

-1/2 lb of Salad mix made up of

red oakleaf lettuce
arugula
mizuna
tatsoi
baby kale
red mustards

-Persian Star Garlic

-Puple top turnips

-Daikon

-Radishes

-Red Russian Kale

-Pac Choi

-Spaghetti Squash

-A mix bag of apples and pears from Snowy Mountain.

Harvest Box #7 second half of the season

2010-10-19T13:57:00.000-07:00

This week your box contains:

-1/4 lb baby red russian kale

-1/4 lb fresh baby Arugula

-a bunch of Komatsuna, kale or chard

-purple and fingerling potatoes

-acorn squash

-redwing onions

-a bunch of parsley

-a bouquet of Nasturtiums edible flowers

-a mix bag of gala, honeycrisp and wildthing apples from Snowy Mountain.

Harvest Box #6 second half of the season

2010-10-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

This week your box includes:

-.4 lb fresh salad mix

-a bunch of cherry belle radishes

-a bunch of carrots

-Swiss Chard

-Winterbor Kale

-Yugoslavian Porcelain Garlic

-Sweet Thai Basil

-2 lbs Delicata Squash

-Russian Blue, Red Redson and Seiglinde Yellow Potaotes

-2 lbs of Asian Pears from Snowy Mountain

Thanks and enjoy your fresh fruit and veggies

Harvest Box #5 second half of the season

2010-09-28T14:53:00.000-07:00

This week your box includes:

-1/2 lb of fresh Arugula salad

-Red Russian Kale

-Rainbow Swiss Chard

-Bunch of Carrots

-Kohlrabi

-Mini Cabbages

-Parsley

-6 cobs of corn

-2 lbs gala apples from Snowy Mountain, or if you opted out of the fruit option we gave you a bunch of beets and about a pound of Cauliflower

Thanks for your support!!

Daikon Cakes!!

2010-09-21T15:45:00.001-07:00

I got this recipe from nookandpantry.blogspot.com/. ../daikon-cakes.html

Crispy and Crunchy Daikon Cakes

3 C packed coarsely grated daikon radish
3/4 tsp salt
2 green onions, minced
1 egg beaten
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp white pepper
About 1/2 C panko bread crumbs
Vegetable oil for frying

Coarsely grate the daikon radish and mix with 3/4 tsp of salt. Let this sit in a bowl or colander for 30 minutes.

After the 30 minutes, squeeze the water out of the daikon with your hands. You'll want the daikon really dry.

Mix the daikon with minced green onion, beaten egg, flour, sesame oil, and white pepper. Take 1/3 C of the mixture and form cakes that are about 1/2 in thick. You should get 5 or 6 cakes.

Scatter some panko on a plate and bread the top and bottom of each cake with a layer of panko.

Heat 2 tsp of vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Panfry the cakes until the bottoms are golden brown. Flip the cakes over, add another 2 tsp of oil, and continue to panfry until the second side is golden brown. Serve with soy sauce if desired.

Harvest Box #4 second half of the season

2010-09-21T15:26:00.000-07:00

This week's box includes:

-1/2 lb mixed salad greens

-3 cons of sweet corn

-1/2 lb of leeks

-2 lbs of onions

-bunch of carrots

-bunch of beets

-bunch of diakon radish

-2 lbs of potatoes

-2 lbs of apples from Snowy Mountain Organic Farm or zucchini, cucumbers and corn

Harvest box #3 Second half of the season

2010-09-15T19:17:00.001-07:00

Harvest Box Week 2 of the second half of the season

2010-09-07T12:07:00.000-07:00

This week your box contains:

- Salad mix

- Fresh Corn

- Kale

- Chard

- Kohlrabi

- Basil

- Walla Walla sweet onion

- Cucumbers

- Pears from Snowy Mountain Organic Farm or Green Peppers

Enjoy :~)

1st Box of the second half of the season

2010-08-31T12:15:00.001-07:00

This week your box contains:

- Peaches!!! from Snowy Mountain Organic Farm

- Head lettuce

- Tomatoes

- Basil

- Parsley

- French filet beans

- Cucumbers

- Sieglinda potatoes

- Walla Walla sweet onions

Enjoy your local organic fresh veggies and fruit!

Harvest Box Week 10!

2010-08-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks for picking up your Weekly Harvest Box from Ice

Cap Organics! Everything was harvested yesterday and today, so keep it chilled and enjoy it fresh.

Your Harvest Box this week contains:

~ Beets

~Tomatoes

~French Filet Beans

~Sieglinda and Purple New Potatoes

~Fresh Walla Walla Sweet Onions

~Cucumbers

~Artichokes or Tomatoes and Basil (switched up from last week)

~Salad Mix

-Red Oak Leaf Lettuce

-Tatsoi

-Arugula

-Mizuna

-Ho Mi Z

Enjoy your fresh produce!

~ Alisha and Delaney

Bean and Tomato Salad

Lightly steam Filet Beans and let cool

add bite size Tomatoes

Dressing: Olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, stone ground mustard, salt and pepper to taste.

This is what we've been up to...

2010-08-19T21:27:00.000-07:00

First Harvest Box 2010 is out the door and we're working on the next one...

2010-06-28T13:01:00.001-07:00

Our first Harvest boxes went out last week and we are now working on this year's second box. Eating seasonally this time of year, in this part of the world, means eating a lot of greens right now, so we tries to mix things up a bit and throw in some Hakurei Turnips, radishes and garlic scapes. We hope to add lots of variety to the boxes as the season progresses, in July there will be all sorts stuff like carrots, potatoes, fennel hearts and lots more.

Harvest Boxes 2010! Sign up while there is still room!!

2010-04-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

2010 Harvest Box Details:

The boxes will run weekly on Tuesday from June 22nd until November 2nd for a total of 20 harvest boxes that will cost $25 each
We are asking that you pay for half of the year ($250 + $10 Rubbermaid deposit) up front by May 1st and pay for the second half by August 16th if you choose to continue with the box program
Payments can be made by Pay Pal or emailed to icecaporganics@gmail.com or by cheque made payable to Ice Cap Organics and sent to S2 C4 Green Rd., Pemberton BC, V0N 2L2
We have baby chicks right now so there will be an organic egg option for an extra $5/ week/ dozen for the second half of the season
There is a $10 deposit for the Rubbermaid container the veggies come in
Each week you bring your empty Rubbermaid and trade it in for a full one with your name on it
Pick up spot in Pemberton, Whistler, and Squamish are yet to be determined
We do not do substitutes but are confident that you will enjoy all of our veggies since we grow such a wide variety and harvest them the same day they are delivered!
Stay tuned here to watch the progress of your vegetables you have invested in

Thank you so much for your support!

We look forward to hearing from you,

~Alisha and Delaney

We Got Our Chicks!!

2010-04-08T17:41:00.000-07:00

What an exciting day it was yesterday to go to Kamloops and pick up our Chantecler chicks from Cherry Creek Canadians. They seem so happy and are adjusting well to their new home in our solarium. They are so soft and cute! We got 18 Whites and 32 Partridges. We will post more photos as they grow up and eventually move to their coop and start laying delicious eggs :~) It will be interesting to see how many turn out to be hens and how many are roosters. We will keep a rooster of each colour so we can breed them for sale next spring, plus we will we want our own baby chicks each year they are so fun to have around!

First Seed Order Done For 2010 Season

2010-01-18T19:32:00.000-08:00

We have pulled out the old seeds and opened our crop rotation spreadsheet... we are now ready to start planning for our 2010 season. It is so exciting to figure out what and how much to grow and where we will plant everything. So we put together our first seed order of the season. Since there was so much demand last year we are aiming to double our production. The order included seeds that we will start as transplants in the greenhouse... some we will start as early as mid February. We ordered Celeriac, Onions, Shallots, Leeks, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Spinach, Tomatoes, and Artichokes. And we have some seeds leftover from the 2009 groeing season. Certified Organic regulations allows organic growers to buy non-organic seeds so long as they can prove that there were no organic options for that variety from 5 different seed sources. This year we decided that we didn't want to have any non-organic seeds used on our farm at all so we will order all organic seeds. So far to find the organic seeds that we wanted in the quantities we needed we ordered from West Coast Seeds, Johnny's Selected Seeds, and Vesey's Seeds.

We are looking forward to getting into the greenhouse and to start sowing the seeds of 2010!

Adding Chantecler Chickens to the Mix

2010-01-18T18:14:00.000-08:00

We have wanted to add chickens to our farm system since we started farming and finally we have room and time to do so. A few years ago we did our research and found the perfect breed. We found out about the Chantecler chickens through Rare Breeds Canada . The Chanteclers are an endangered species that we think are extremely valuable to the small farm system... especially in colder winter climates like we have here in Pemberton. The Chantecler is the only Canadian breed. It was bred back in the early 1900 in Oka, Quebec. They were bred to be able to withstand Canada's cold winters and to make good egg layers and meat birds, even after their productive life. The White Chanteclers include a mix of Dark Cornishes, White Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, White Plymouth Rocks, and White Wyandotte. The Partridge Chanteclers were bred after the whites, and were generated by crossing Partridge Wyandottes, Partridge Cochins, Dark Cornishes, and the rose comb type of Brown Leghorne. These birds are more adapted to free range environments. Their small combs and wattles help prevent frostbite in colder climates. Chanteclers are meant to be calm, gentle, and personable birds.

They seem like the perfect bird to us! We were just so thrilled to find a breeder in BC! We have made our order for 20 white and 20 partridge Chanteclers from Cherry Creek Canadians in Kamloops BC. We have our fingers crossed that their hens will lay enough chicks this spring! We just can't wait for the snow to melt over here so we can start building the coop, run and brood for our little day old chicks. We are very excited to have the friendly creatures as company on our farm. We plan on keeping a couple roosters so we can breed them next year to do our part in keeping the breed alive and to expand our pasture-run organic egg production. We will find out if there are enough chicks for us in the spring and will definitely post photos as soon as we get them :~)

Potatoes, rutabagas and squash

2009-11-25T12:35:00.000-08:00

We have lots of potatoes, rutabagas and squash for sale right now if anyone in the sea to sky corridor, or in Vancouver is interested.Just drop us a line and we can hook you up with the local organic goods.

Winter Growing Trial

2009-11-03T17:49:00.000-08:00

Things are really cooling down around here these days, nights are usually below freezing and days don't get much above 10 degrees celsius. Even so, out winter crops are creeping along, growing slowly. We've had spinach, carrots, asian greens, lettuce, radicchio, turnips, scallions and radishes growing under spun woven row cover since as early as august 15, and we're hoping they stay living as the temperatures drop. So far, so good. Now we have almost finished putting up hoop houses over them to give them double the protection (see photos). Elliot Coleman uses this method and successfully grows similar crops in Maine, where the winter temperatures get colder, but the daylight hours are a bit longer. You can check his book out, its called The Winter Harvest Handbook, and it's a phenomenal reference point to start growing throughout the year. He also wrote the bible on growing stuff right, its called The New Organic Grower. For us this all seems like a bit of a risk, as it hasn't really been done during the winter in Pemberton, but we really like the idea of supplying good local organic greens, grown without supplemental heat, all winter long, so we're going to give it a shot and hopefully learn a bunch in the process.

Full Circle

2009-10-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

It really feels like we've come full circle here on the farm; a year ago today we started planting our first crop, the garlic, on October 15th. Today we started planting our garlic for the second time. A lot has happened to the land we're planting it in though, its been under cover crop for a fall and a winter, its been tilled in and grew several crops: artichokes, snap peas, green beans and husk cherries... and then tilled in again, manured and made into beds, and now its getting filled with garlic cloves that we've chosen from out garlic from last October's planting.

We've also been busy getting crops ready for our unheated winter Cold Houses, here is some lettuce we hope to have ready for December.

markets! markets! markets!

2009-08-31T20:26:00.000-07:00

The markets have been great, we're happy to see people getting out and buying their groceries from local organics sources. It's good to see the burgeoning support from the communities we vend at. Here is a little time lapse video of us setting up our stand at one of our markets...

Farm Update

2009-08-12T14:17:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since we've posted, but we've been so busy. Harvesting has really kicked in, which we are thankful for, but it is a tremendous amount of work. Every day now, seven days a week, we are up between 4:30 and 6 am, harvesting lettuce and greens, then on to chard, kale, broccoli etc. We've been able to sell our produce within 2 days of harvest for the most part, so things have been fresh. We are doing 3 markets a week: always the local Pemberton Market, then either a West End or a Kitsalino market in Vancouver, and a Squamish or Whistler market. Add is the weekly harvest boxes every tuesday and its, well, hmm, how shall I say it... its keeping us out of trouble anyways... But we love it, its so rewarding watching the stuff grow, and then selling it ourselves, we feel like we have a real connection to the community around us because of this, and its worth the lack of free time.

So as we work through this first season, we are really starting to realize our efficiencies and inefficiencies, and as a result, we are trying to figure out ways to make things smoother for next season, and for the fall season. Its funny how everything breaks down to an economic equation if you let it, and it can become far to consuming, but the bottom line is still the bottom line, and as small scale farmers selling to a local market we have to realize ways to make this a long term, sustainable income. If we (collective "we" meaning all us small scale farms) can't make a living at this, then who will provide locale, organics food? But it is working out, and we are seeing that it can work out much better, with a bit more free time. Growing is absolutely all-consuming if you let it get that way, because there is always something you should be cultivating of harvesting or planting, but to make it a sustainable personal way of life, and so you don't go totally insane, you have to have a life too... anyways, here are some pictures of some stuff happening on the farm, I took them during some leisure time, in between packing crates of potatoes to the truck. just kidding.

Artichokes! We were really happy to see the chokes come through, we were told they might not produce here in Pemberton, but they came through for us.

Fennel Hearts, these have grown really well here, and they taste great.

Walla walla sweet onions; they are starting to fall over as they reach the end stages of their growth, when they fall, the bulbs stop growing and its almost time to pull them...

Our little corn patch shot up like a cluster of rockets in the last scorching heat spell, it looks like we'll have some sweet corn pretty soon.

Husk Cherries; this was another gamble of a crop, no one we talked to had grown these around here, and we weren't really sure what to expect, but over the last month or so they have exploded and are bearing a lot of fruit now. They are a bit like tomatillos, with an edible, sweet mini tomato looking thing inside the papery wrapper...

Our first Weekly Harvest Boxes!

2009-07-01T17:43:00.001-07:00

This weeks boxes contained:

Red Russian Kale
Sugar Snap Peas
Rainbow Swiss Chard
Garlic Scapes
Pink Beauty Radishes
A head of Anunue or Butter Crisp lettuce
Fresh Baby Arugula
Fresh Italian Parsley
Salad Mix Containing Green Summer Crisp leaf lettuce, Red grand Rapids leaf lettuce, Mizuna, Persian Cress, Tatsoi, Arugula, Red Giant Mustard Greens, Ho Mi Zi Asian Greens and Edible Nasturtium Flowers.

People seemed really excited to have a fresh box of produce, so we're feeling inspired to get a sweet box together for them for next week.

Some shots from the farm

2009-07-01T16:53:00.001-07:00

Check out this article in the Vancouver Sun! We were interviewed at the farmers market :~)

The farm on a harvest morning...

cabbage!

harvesting...

onions!

Garlic!

Garlic Scapes!!

Fennel!

Alisha harvesting Nasturtium edible flowers.

Kale!

Alisha harvesting radishes.

Sugar Snaps

2009-06-11T15:26:00.001-07:00

The sugar snap peas and doing great, we started some in the greenhouse a while back and put them out as soon as we could get on the land, and they are shoulder height and have lots of flowers and peas... looks like we'll have lots of snap peas for our next market and the weekly harvest boxes.

Garlic Update

2009-06-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since we updated you on the garlic, and a lot has happened. They are standing about waist high, the tips are starting to go yellow and die off, and they are forming bulbs in the ground. The yellowing tips apparently are suppose to happen as the plant stops feeding energy to the leaves and focuses on the bulbs...

Hot hot hot!

2009-06-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

It's been super hot lately, the forecast has been calling for between 26 and 28 degrees celsius, but it always turns out to be way hotter on the field. So we've been irrigating and weeding like mad (here is Alisha using the stirrup hoe), but our crops seem to be growing well in the sun and we're getting lots done with the super long days.

We've also been seeding quite a bit, here is Delaney tilling the beds then seeding the fourth round of lettuce and salad greens. To keep a consistent supply of salad greens we are seeding every 10-15 days.

Thanks to Grant Baldwin for the sweet shots, its great to have a different perspective...

Help on the farm

2009-06-01T07:54:00.001-07:00

It was so great to have our good friends Grant and Jenny come out to Pemberton and help out on the farm on Friday! They were in Whistler giving a presentation on their amazing clean bin project, which is essentially a buy nothing and produce almost zero garbage for a year project. Its pretty cool how far they've come, and all the stuff they've done while keeping to their goal. Definitely worth checking their blog out... With their help we got almost caught up with weeding.

Our new friend on the farm...

2009-05-22T13:05:00.001-07:00

This little guys showed up in our transplant hoop house yesterday.

Putting the tomatoes out!

2009-05-22T12:48:00.000-07:00

We are finally feeling linke it won't freeze again over night so we are taking the plunge and putting the tomatoes in our hoop house. We built raides beds, laid out drip irrigation and put black mulch down to keep the tomatoes warm and well watered... some of the plants already have some little tomatoes.

Garlic Update

2009-04-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

Ever since the snow melted the Garlic has been taking off like crazy... every day there is a noticeable difference in size and it seems like every bulb has come up. We dug one up to see how the roots are looking too...

Potting On

2009-04-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

The transplants keep growing vigorously, and its time to put some of them in bigger pots. Things are growing well, and it looks like we'll be pulling our first substantial harvests off the fields in early June.

The Snow is Gone

2009-04-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

The greenhouse is very green now... thousands of plants gearing up for their time outside in the fields. At least now they have more fresh air since we put in that window. All of the snow has melted on the fields and all the garlic has just recently sprung up out of the ground through the mulch! We have one field that is very close to being ready to be worked up so we will plant out the spinach, kale, and peas... stay tuned.

Transplants!!

2009-03-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

Lots happening in the hoop-house these days, we have several thousand seeds germinating and thousands of baby plants growing. So far everything has come up ahead of schedule and things look promising. Temperatures in the valley here have been right around freezing at night, but our heaters have kept it around 20˚ celsius fairly consistently. During the day its tropical in the hoop-house; the highest we've seen was a balmy 39˚, which caused some concern... Its astounding to see how much some of these guys grow in a day. Once they hatch, they take off like crazy, so if things keep going like this, it looks like we might have lots of transplants to put in the ground once the snow melts.

Greenhouse

2009-02-15T12:28:00.000-08:00

We are nearly finished building our greenhouse! In a few weeks it should be filled with artichoke, leek, onion, husk cherry, tomato, cabbage, fennel, cauliflower, and broccoli transplants. Celery and celeriac seeds have already sprouted in our living room. It's all coming together very quickly :~)

Who wants weekly harvest boxes this summer?

2009-01-22T16:16:00.000-08:00

We are putting the word out that we will be doing weekly harvest boxes of seasonal veggies this summer. We will bring the boxes to the Pemberton farmer's market, which is on Friday afternoons, so you can come and pick your weekly box up there. There will be plenty of variety in the boxes, since we are growing over 30 varieties. Drop us a line if you're interested and we will give you the details. Email us at icecaporganics@gmail.com

Certified Transitional Organic! January 15, 2009

2009-01-21T18:39:00.000-08:00

We were super stoked to get this letter in the mail; we have been accepted and certified by PACS Organics as 3rd year transitional organic! That means we only have to go through a 1 year waiting period, as opposed to 3 years, until we are fully certified organic. So for this 12 month period (ending in Nov. 2009), we will be using total organic practices and methodology, but we are categorized as transitional organic.

Phosphorous. December 30, 2008

2009-01-21T18:38:00.000-08:00

Phosphorous came out very low in our soil samples. We had an average of 5ppm where 20ppm are recommended for most vegetable crops. In the future we would like to have chickens on rotation in the fields since they have high P content in their manure, not possible this year so the rock phosphate will do the job. It is organic approved but we are weary because it comes from a mine, has traveled, and came packaged because we do not yet have the means to transport amendments in bulk (we have our eye on this truck , perhaps once we make a couple dollars). Many studies have shown that there are up to 40% lower yield with P deficiencies so we figured it would be worth it and bought 1 ton.

It was cold, -20˚C, but we decided to apply it now since we will certainly be busy in the spring and once the snow melts it will start reacting right away. We used our Earthway broadcast spreader, it was fun! We added a little bit of bloodmeal to the rock phosphate so it would attract organisms that help to break down the phosphate to plant available forms. Whether it will be around next spring I am uncertain since a significant amount of N volatilizes over the winter and made a mess of our outfits. Tomorrow we are moving into our rental cabin which is 3km from one of the pieces of land with 1 acre and 6km from the 4 acres at the Tschopps up the Pemberton Meadows... Very exciting! Happy New Year~

Organics Certification. December 9, 2008

2009-01-21T18:37:00.000-08:00

We started our application for organic certification in November, and we have just recently sent off our last soil sample results. We were really encouraged by the whole process; it was rigorous and thorough, and the Verification Officer was unbiased but helpful. It's good to see certification is not simply jumping through hoops, but rather a thoughtful planning and verification process, so it feels like its a certification we can stand behind and be proud of... The whole process included making detailed maps of our farm, a concise soil input plan, a crop rotation plan, statements from the land owners, observations of neighbour's agricultural activities, soil samples, a visit from a verification officer and a lot more. Our land has not been sprayed in over 5 years, so we are hoping that the certifying body will grant us the 1 year waiting period for full organic certification, rather than the 3 year wait. But while we will be transitional organic until the waiting period is up, we will still be using 100% organic methods. Once we get full certification we can start calling ourselves "Ice Cap Organics"! That'll be great, we're really stoked on the certification and what it stands for, but we also think farming the organic way is the only way to do it, regardless of certification, so really it's a part of our belief system. We couldn't imagine starting a food farm knowing what we know, in this day and age, and not doing it organically...

Garlic Root-down! November 11, 2008

2009-01-21T18:36:00.000-08:00

It's been just over 3 weeks since we planted the garlic, so we thought we should have a look at its progress. We dug one clove up and it has some promising root growth. The basal plate, where the roots are coming out, had no roots at all when we planted it. It's been raining with enthusiasm in Pemberton, and it doesn't seem to be letting up soon, so the garlic is getting lots of water, and the ground hasn't been freezing for a while, so its a good time for the bulbs to by sprouting vigorously underground.

Soil Analysis. October 31, 2008

2009-01-21T18:35:00.000-08:00

We got our soil samples back and we are busy reviewing what we have to work with. Its pouring rain around here so it seems like a good day to stay inside and get all nerdy with macro and micro nutrients. We're happy to see a good pH level of 6.4 where we planted the garlic, we made the right choice there, as the other fields are low at 5.5 and 5.7. It seems like we'll be making a few soil amendments, as we are low in a couple areas–but every apparent deficiency is within a correctable range, and the only crop already in the ground is the garlic, which we already added nitrogen and phosphorous to. So with lots of work and investments, we should have good growing soil come planting season. The information from these soil samples seems essential, we really would be diving in blind if it weren't for these, so its probably the best money we've spent so far. We used Pacific Soil Analysis, located in Richmond, and they seem pretty nifty.

Planted, Mulched-Our first crop is in the ground! October 18, 2008

2009-01-21T18:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we finished the garlic. It was a bit of a process. First we had to track down a large quantity of fine organic seed garlic; we ended up getting it from four different sources, some of them were local connections from the farmer's markets, and others were commercial seed growers like Salt Spring or Boundary Garlic. Then we prepped the land chosen for garlic, which was three 40 meter rows. Prepping involved adding organic blood-meal and rock phosphate to give the garlic a dose of nitrogen for the winter, and phosphate is good for bulb plant density and mass. Eventually, once the farm is more established, we will used our own composts. After tilling this and some green manure into the beds, we measured them out, and drew 30 cm by 20 cm grids on them, which was our spacing for the garlic cloves. Then we hand planted over 3000 cloves and tamped them down to get good soil to clove contact. And finally we mulched the beds with straw to thermally protect the little cloves so they don't freeze and thaw too much over the winter. We referred to Growing Great Garlic by Ron Engeland throughout this process, and found the book to be pretty good. It was thorough and concise. Next project... How will we, and can we, become a certified organic farm?

Popping Garlic. October 13, 2008

2009-01-21T18:33:00.001-08:00

Delaney breaking garlic bulbs apart to get the cloves ready for planting. We will be planting several different varieties, like Music, Chesnok Red, Yugoslavian Porcelain and Armenian. The garlic will be going in the ground in the next couple days.

Cover crops growing. October 13, 2008

2009-01-21T18:32:00.001-08:00

Our cover crop is coming up quick, despite the sub zero temps.

Soil samples! October 2008

2009-01-21T18:31:00.001-08:00

Soil samples from our fields. We are having them tested for nutrient levels in the big city at Pacific Soil Analysis Inc. to see if we have any deficiencies and to see what crops would be most suitable mmmmm, crops.

Cover crop's in the ground. October 2008

2009-01-21T18:29:00.000-08:00

We seeded our cover crop a few days ago, it feels a little late, but my sources tell me it should still have time to take... We used a mix of mostly fall rye, some winter peas and a very small amount of hairy vetch. This mix is suppose to out-compete weeds, prevent erosion and nutrients from leaching out of the soil, and fix nitrogen.

Delaney cutting the first line October 2008

2009-01-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

Here's Delaney breaking the first line on one of of fields with the BCS. The ground was really hard to break because it had such a thick sod root mass from years of hay production, but the Berta plow did the job...

Urban gardens October 2008

2009-01-21T18:26:00.000-08:00

Check out this urban garden in downtown Vancouver, its great to see these popping up all over in the city, hopefully it keeps happening. Apparently Vancouver city planners want to have 2010 urban garden by the year 2010. You can check out Vancouver Park Board's website for a publicly accessibe garden in your arera...

Poor man's tractor October 2008

2009-01-21T18:25:00.000-08:00

We got our tractor today, and we're stoked, this thing looks like it will till the land up like crazy. After a lot of research and thinking we decided not to get a 4 wheel tractor because they are a lot pricier, they compact the soil and they aren't as versatile for a farm the size of ours (5 acres). So we got a BCS 853 with an 11 hp Lombardini diesel motor from Joel at Earthtool. It has a PTO and can spin a whole bunch of different implements. These tractors are commonly used all over Europe for small-scale agriculture. For breaking up new land that has waist high hay and grass growing on it, and that hasn't been tilled in over a year, we will use the Berta rotary plow (shown above). Check out thisvideo of the Berta plow at work. We'll post again once we start using it.

Breaking the land October 2008

2009-01-21T18:23:00.000-08:00

Anna Helmer came over to help us with the tilling, she brought her John Deere and rotovater over to get things done a bit quicker, so we can get our cover crop in soon.

We're stating a farm! Sept 2008

2009-01-21T18:21:00.000-08:00

Here we go, we got some land to use and we're diving in. We've been dreaming about this for years and working towards this reality and it's finally paying off. We are so thankful to the land owners, who are letting use a good chunk of their land, which exists in 2 separate parcels of about 5 acres, in the Pemberton meadows. The land itself is beautiful, fertile soil. It is sedimentary loam from several millennium of flooding from the Lillooet and Ryan rivers, draining from the Lillooet and Pemberton Ice Caps. It is literally teeming with nutrients, and has never been sprayed or treated with chemicals. So now we are getting ready to prepare the land; cover crops and tillage, composting and planning out our fields... Alisha is still in full on school mode, as she works through her last full course load (7 courses!) at UBC in Agroecology, and Delaney is getting his hand dirty on the farm as he finished his degree last year. Its almost October so we have lots to do to get ready for winter to ensure we have good, usable land come spring planting season...

2008-11-29T19:45:00.000-08:00

Once we are certified Organic we will be using this blog site. Currently we have been inspected and are looking at 12 month transition instead of 36 month transition because the land has been managed organically for 8 years.