APRIL FARM MARKET TOMORROW!!
Yes its here! Our April market which runs here at 9420 West Saanich Road from 10 am to 2 pm tomorrow Saturday April 9th. We would love you to come as we are hosting a very special closed bid auction of several items, 3 of which are pictured above. We have a minimum opening bid for each item and then you just write down your bid on a piece of paper, place in a jar and at the end of the market the item goes to the highest bidder. All proceeds go to the Canadian Red Cross efforts in the Ukraine. Please share this widely and invite your friends!
Of course we will have our usual selection of Anneth farm produce, wool ,and lamb as well as incredible offerings for Baloo Bakery, Sarah’s Staples and Raincoast Woodturnings.
Just a reminder … if you want to contact us please do not message us on facebook as we do not check those messages… rather email us at annethfarm@gmail .com
March-ing into Spring at Anneth Farm
This newletter is a big one so make a cup of tea and “dig” in!!! First of all just a practical reminder that our March market is this Saturday March 12th. As usual we will have our friends for Baloo Bakery, Raincoast Woodturnings and Sarah’s Staples with us from 10 am to 2 pm here at 9420 West Saanich Road. Come say hi!!! To welcome spring here on the farm please have a look at our video above..Turn on your volume as it even has music!
Now for a few big thoughts and plans…..
2022 is the year of acceptance and change for our little piece of this blue Earth.
I have recently been equating my reaction to the realities of climate change to a kind of grief and all its stages. In 1969, Elizabeth Kubler Ross (1) wrote “On Death and Dying” in which she describes the loss experienced by patients with life threatening and terminal illnesses. This was not, as we have come to think, “research” about the bereaved as it was a series of case studies about patients facing their own mortality. (2). While not as generalizable as originally intended, the Kubler Ross 5 stages weirdly match my own psychic response to the potentially life threatening illness faced by this planet and those of us who inhabit it:
Denial: “There is no such thing as climate change caused by humans; this is just a normal cycle of nature.
Anger: “Why did generations before me and “others” in my own generation set out to destroy this planet through greed, capitalism, materialism and all other evil attributes etc etc etc.”
Bargaining: “I will recycle and reuse and try to be careful about the packaging I choose in the grocery store but don’t expect me to be one of those outspoken militant people like Greta Thunberg.”
Depression: “What’s the point of all this effort I’m putting in when the Political and Financial forces in this world are too big? We are all going to die anyway”
Acceptance: “My Earth has a problem. Its a really big one and it is the reality my family and I are living in.” The key word here is living. Living with climate change means being an active participant in my life and the lives of others. Acceptance is not passivity; it is recognizing that climate change is occurring and making my own intentional and realistic changes in response.”
So what does this acceptance mean on our little farm?
Community: It means we cannot do this alone. Far from taking on a “bunker” mentality, it means we must create more connections than ever with family, the local community and the the global community. So we are changing our tagline to “Sustainability through Community”. I (Chris) am now on the board of the North Saanich Farm Market and we are entering into conversations and collaborations with several young agrarians in the community to understand the changing landscape.
Sustainabilty: This year, we are going to invest in a solar conversion for the farm, a transition to full no till gardening in the market garden and a water conservancy (rain garden) project.
Stewardship: We finally have decided to finish the developing our beautiful loft in the barn into a fully heated and insulated bright airy studio… It will be multipurpose as it can house farm workers, family and occasionally be an air “barn and breakfast”. Stay tuned formore news on this
Acceptance. And change.
Taking on this kind of transformational change scares us. It sure does. And we can’t do it by ourselves. So maybe the real change is in the deeper and more authentic relationships that are built along the way.
Staying the same is no longer an option. We want the legacy we leave to our children and grandchildren to be one characterized by focussed determination and an unrelenting but realistic commitment to sustaining the only planet we have.
Winter Market is ON This Saturday February 12th!
Yes indeed our winter market is ON! Right here at the farm - 9420 West Saanich Road from 10 am to 2 pm. Come visit us - we will have eggs, cabbage, brussel sprouts, kale, squash, preserves, dried bean kits for a delicious slow food fix, frozen pumpkin puree for pies, dryer balls , gorgeous Cotswold Batts for you spinners out there. Oh but that is not all - we will be joined by our fellow vendors: Sarah’s Staples, Baloo Bear Bakery and Raincoast Woodturning.
And we have made a marketing change! After this winter market we will no longer be using Facebook, Instagram or any Meta apps to market our lovely farm items. So we encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter on our website annethfarm.com to stay up to date with what is happening here at the farm….
Anneth January 8th Market Cancelled
Due to the weather this week and current Omicron numbers, we are going to have to cancel our winter market this Saturday. We hold our winter markets the second Saturday of each month so the next one is scheduled for February 12th. 10 am to 2 pm.
Our Next Market is this Saturday January 8th!
Happy New Year Everyone!
The holidays have come and gone and we enjoyed the time to slow down, give thanks and appreciate the cosy restful moments of late December. The farm was beautiful under a blanket of snow, though keeping the animals water un-frozen through the cold snap was definitely a full time job! Watching the snow melt, we are thinking ahead to spring and are busy planning the garden and ordering seeds. It’s a bit of a juggling act as we want to get the most out of the garden, and make sure there is lots of room in the field to plant out the winter crops in July. Winter veggies are some of our favourites on the farm; it means so much to us to be able to provide the community with local food through the winter.
Join us this Saturday January 8th from 10am - 2pm for our third winter market of the season. We will have fresh greens, leeks and Brussels sprouts, as well as storage veg like garlic, onions, dried chillies, squash and pumpkin. We also have dried beans and baked bean kits, pumpkin puree, preserves, eggs, frozen lamb and more. You will also find our classic wool dryer balls, and new to the market, wool bats ready for spinning or felting!
Baloo Bear Bakery and Raincoast Wood Turnings will be joining us in the barn, so be sure to pick up some baked goods and preserves for a Saturday afternoon treat, or a special hand turned creation to brighten the day.
We look forward to welcoming you to the farm!
Saturday January 8th, 10am - 2pm
9420 West Saanich Road
*Masks are mandatory, and please stay home if you are feeling unwell.
Warm wishes,
The Anneth Farm Family
Best Wishes from Anneth Farm
Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season! Please click on the link below for our video gift to you. Give it full screen and a touch of volume..
See you all in 2022!
LAST CHANCE TO ORDER CUSTOM DRYER BALLS BEFORE CHRISTMAS
The workshop will be closing soon for the holidays, so get your orders in now! We love these as gifts because they are useful, personalized and keep it local! Tell us a bit about the person they are for and we can custom felt a design to represent their likes or hobbies. This set was made with a gardener in mind. We also still have lots of plain white and soft grey/brown sets available.
Do you, or someone you know still use dryer sheets? Now is the time to make the switch. Move away from non-biodegradable single use sheets, laden with chemicals, and opt for this beautiful and eco-conscious alternative. Dryer balls are effective at reducing static, and also absorb moisture to help your clothes dry faster.
The wool comes from our own pasture raised sheep, is hand felted, and lasts for years. Here’s some of the flock stopping to say hello. They sure can be messy eaters!
Dryer balls come in sets of three.
Plain - $25
Custom Set - $30
For more information or to place an order, email annethfarm@gmail.com
Stay Dry at the Anneth Farm Winter Market TODAY- 10 AM TO 2 PM.
its not too late to make this a part of your Saturday. We are here til 2 pm at 9420 West Saanich Road with Baking, Preserves, Winter Veggies, Anneth Dried beans, Lamb and Gorgeous Woodturned items! Not to mention bespoke aprons made from recycled vintage material. Free Coffee. Come on over!
Anneth Farm Christmas Turkeys!
We are trying something new this year. We have 10 large white turkeys in our pasture which will be ready on December 17th You can email us if you are intereted at annethfarm@gmail.com. Price will be 4.50 per pound and these tend to be a large variety. More details in future newsletters.
GARLIC ALERT TO OUR VALUED CLIENTS! Feedback requested
It is garlic planting season and now that the torrential rain has stopped we are separating our garlic bulbs into cloves for planting while the sun is shining. Unfortunately while the bright weather is lifting our spirits our garlic is not! We have a larger percentage of bulbs than usual that are showing small areas of mold. Because of this we will plant only the perfect bulbs and save the others for our farm use and this will result in a smaller garlic crop next year. If you look at the picture above you will see a healthy plump garlic bulb on the left and the other two which are wrinkly and show signs of mold in the bulb. This mold is not poisonous but does affect storage and the soil in the garden when planted. So the bulbs on the right likely have some perfectly good cloves in them (for cooking) but will not store well and definitely should not be planted.
As we are sitting here doing this chore, we got talking about the fact that some of you may have purchased some garlic from us that has been unusable or disappointing. The greatest favour you can do us is to not suffer in silence but let us know if garlic you have purchased from Anneth Farm has been moldy or has shown signs of rot. This way we can strive to improve our crop over the next few years.
If you are one of those disappointed clients please let us know through e mail or in person (annethfarm@gmail.com) and also remind us the next time you are at the market stand so we will give you a 20% discount off that day’s purchase.
Thanks everyone!