Saanich Organics

This Thanksgiving, we're thankful for... Politicians! I know, it's not a sentiment you hear every day. But let's face it, it's important work, difficult work, and often thankless work. In the upcoming BC provincial election, Saanich Organics is endorsing: In Saanich North and the Islands (Heather and Rachel's riding), Adam Olsen of the Green Party. Adam is a deeply caring, ethical, intelligent man who has been representing us very well as our MLA since the last election.... In Esquimalt-Metchosin (Robin's Riding), Andy Mackinnon of the Green Party. Andy is connected to his community through his hard work as a municipal councillor, and knowledgeable and passionate about our environment. And if you live in Saanich South, we wholeheartedly endorse Lana Popham of the NDP. Lana has done incredible work as our Minister of Agriculture and is highly respected among all agricultural sectors in BC. She is brilliant, incredibly hard working, and cares deeply about her riding, all British Columbians, and our food system in BC. She understands how complex and challenging it is to build a sustainable and ethical food system, and she has worked tirelessly on this work. This picture of Heather, Lana, and Robin was taken the last time any of us could hug: end of February at the BC Organic Conference in Richmond. See more

Fire up the grill, folks! (or grease your zucchini cake pans, or dust off your spiralizer)... It's that time of year. The squash/zucchini patch is looking great this year, and we'll have lots of these beauties this weekend Moss Street Market, James Bay Market, and at our farm stands Sea Bluff Farm Saturday Wootton Rd Metchosin and at Northbrook farm Sunday 1438 Mt Newton Xrd

Heather has been delighted that her farm stand at Northbrook Farm has seen more traffic this spring than ever before. Thanks for coming for the greens! And now the good news... Carrots!! (and green onions, pac choi, cilantro, salad, lettuce, rapini, spinach, kale, and eggs for the early birds). Strawberries will be coming ever so soon. Please come every Tuesday and Sunday to 1438 Mt Newton Xrd. Exact change, e-transfer, or cheque (just read the sign when you get there)

There have been a lot of questions about our modified Farmer's Market lately, so to help, here are some FAQ about Moss Street Market during Covid-19 and answers...! Q: Is your market open or just online? A: We are open every Saturday 10-2 at our new locations: Porter Park (adjacent to Sir James Douglas School) and Brooke Street Park (kitty-corner to Porter Park along Thurlow) Q: Do Vendors accept only Cash? A: Most vendors have debit/credit capabilities while some are still cash only. There is currently an ATM on site Q: How is it safe to run a market right now? A: We have strict guidelines we follow from the BC CDC, including queue markers, modified vendor stalls, social distancing and cancelling music and other such demonstrations that would encourage crowds. Please note our posted signs at the market for the guidelines Q: Do you offer curbside pick up? A: Yes! For pre-paid online orders placed on localline.ca/moss-street-market you can choose to use our pick up tent located at the driveway off Thurlow Q: What does "shop, don't stop" mean? A: Because we are operating as an essential service we need to treat the market like a grocery store. Right now, we can't have people gathering or hanging out like we normally would at the market! Luckily, there are lots of awesome parks within walking distance. Q: What are you doing to keep up with sanitation? A: Vendors are using systems to maximize safety at stalls. They're providing minimal contact shopping, using hand sanitizer, masks/gloves. We have washrooms available for hand washing, and hand sanitizing stations. Hope this helps!

We are still getting a lot of seed growing questions and wanted to share a site that we find very helpful. This is a lovely community site that is full of helpful information for the home gardener. In their words: Who is behind this? We are a group of organizations from across the Victoria capital region - Coast Salish territories. We want to come together to discuss how best to support our communities in these unprecedented times. We want to share resources that can help fol...ks grow their own food! www.growingfood-together.com Check it out, and let us know what you think! Also please continue to contact us with seed questions if you can’t find the answers anywhere else, we are busy planting our own seeds but will try to find some time to chat with you! You can contact our seed manager at [email protected] Happy planting and stay healthy!

We are thrilled that so many people have been visiting our Saanichton farm stands. We have never been able to open this early in the spring before, but so much is different for all of us this year. People are thinking about our food supply and local food security more than ever before. Many of us would rather stay out of grocery stores, and shop in safer, open-air options. We’re all realizing that for our local economy to survive we have to support each other. The Northb...rook stand will be open every Sunday and Tuesday at 1438 Mt Newton Xrd. We still don’t have much variety, because at this time of year we’re going flat-out getting all our crops planted. But the salad greens will be plentiful and delicious! Nothing could be better than fresh mixed greens with a simple dressing. The Three Oaks stand will be open from 9-7 each day at 7900 West Saanich road. Another option for delicious salad greens, as well as a variety of veggie starts. Options are still slightly limited but more to come as the season progresses.

We are returning to Moss St Market this Saturday! We’re excited to see many of you again in person, but we know this spring will be very different. Please check out the Moss St Market website mossstreetmarket.com to see the many things they’re doing to keep the market safe. We’ll be in Porter Park rather than on Moss St, to give us lots of room for spaced out lines. The other big change is the online shopping option. We have built an online store so you can order in adva...nce and pick up from the central pick up tent or drive-though pick up. localline.ca/moss-street-market We’ll update our inventory Thursday evening, so you can place your online order each Friday for Saturday pick up. Follow the links from the Moss St site, and please be patient as we work out the kinks. We’re all being pushed a bit to try new things and adapt to new realities, and we are so very grateful for your support. See more

At Nortbrook, chickens are part of our crop rotation. The laying hens move to a new 1/4 acre twice a year, where they fertilize the soil as they produce eggs. Chicken moving day is always a bit of an adventure. Inevitably, a few chickens get loose and we spend some time rounding them up. Luckily we had lots of willing volunteers to lend a hand (or paw)!

Yes we are open! 1438 Mt Newton Xrd. Today until 7pm and every Tuesday and Sunday.

Northbrook farm stand is going to start up tomorrow! Produce will be out from 9:30am until 7pm, every Tuesday and Sunday. The stand is self serve, you can pay with exact cash or e-transfers. Selection is limited as this is still the shoulder season but please stop by to pick up some salad greens, kale, cilantro and collards! More selection will be added as the season picks up! Located at 1438 Mt Newton X-road, the stand is at the end of the driveway on Mt Newton. Please respect social distancing when shopping at the stand, and thank you for supporting local farmers!

Wow, we have been absolutely blown away by how many people are planning to grow their own food this season. What a beautiful response to come out of this crisis! We have been busy packing seed orders all week, and have heard from other local seed companies that they are doing the same! To everyone that is able to grow vegetables at home, we are very happy to see your desire to increase our food security and to find a healthy way to pass this period of isolation. With an incre...Continue reading

Hey farmers, home gardeners, and anyone else who might be buying farming supplies this spring! This post is for you all! We cannot let critical farm supplies be the next toilet paper story. Please only buy what you need, and do not hoard supplies at home. This time of year all of us need to purchase a lot of materials to get our growing season up and running, and we need to be conscientious of everyone else who needs the same supplies. Irrigation, nutrients, planting soil, ...pots, landscape fabric, remay, seeds and starts are just a few of the critical supplies that we need in order to get this season started and provide food for our community throughout the coming year. We are all in this together, let’s all keep that in mind when we are purchasing our supplies. And of course, think of the chickens. Or any other little creatures who are getting caught up in this chaos by no fault of their own. We got the last bag of chicken feed at the store a few days ago. When this one runs out we really hope we can go back and there will be another one on the shelf. And when that one runs out we will go back for another one. We won’t buy ten or twenty at once, and we ask that you don’t either. Sending lots of love and long distance hugs to all the growers out there, thank you for your hard work and dedication to feeding your community

Helpful information from FarmFolkCityFolk for anyone who is struggling to find seeds now that seedy Saturdays have been canceled

All of us at Saanich Organics are taking Covid-19 very seriously. Food safety is always a top priority in everything we do at our farms, but with Covid-19 we’re reconsidering every step of our production. Staff have been notified about not coming into work if they are feeling unwell. We are wearing gloves throughout all stages of harvest and anytime we are touching food. We have been extra vigilant about wiping down surfaces. We have many elders who we love on our inner circle and we’re doing our part to protect you and yours. Please contact us if you have any questions about our extra safety measures or suggestions for how we can continue to provide safe, healthy food for our community.

Work with us! Saanich Organics is looking for a reliable, long-term part-time administrator. We are seeking for someone who is familiar with farming and has passion for the farm-to table movement. Our candidate must have superior organization and communication skills, be proficient with computers and web applications, and be experienced with customer service and sales. The adminstrator is responsible for selling produce from several farms, communicating with chefs and CSA customers, and managing the invoicing and delivery side of the operation. The job is approximately 15 hours/week. Some work can be done from home, but administrator must be onsite Monday and Thursday evenings. Full job description and details at https://www.saanichorganics.com/saanich-organics-seeking-n/