February Blues and Market Pondering

Wow we are cold here in Calgary, and when I mean cold, i mean extreme cold warnings, do not let your kids or dogs or your fingers outside without fear of frostbite.

Today at least the sun is shining, despite a high of only -24 Deg Celsius. I can't seem to drink enough tea to keep my feet warm, and wool socks are just not cutting it anymore. It's days like this, you find it hard to imagine growing anything in this province. But alas.. it's also days like this that it's best spent reminiscing about sunny weather and warm dirt. So soak in this blue sky and yellow flower in hopes that you can feel the heat once more..

We are nearing my birthday, which will be celebrated as the first time I officially turn 29, the following birthdays being announced as an anniversary of my 29th birthday. I began reflecting on the past year and my accomplishments made both in my personal life and in my successes in work life and farm life. I encourage you all to give that a go, because I find you can forget a lot of what happens over a year, and making a list of all of the new things you've done, and accomplishments you've had, you can really find a lot to be proud of.

28 was a really good year for me in trying new things, being successful in my ventures not only in the farm, but in my full time job. So it encouraged me to take a long look at what I think will be successful, fulfilling and memorable for a 29th year.

This year, we are going to easily triple our garden production. We have equipment to make it happen, and garlic, potatoes and seeds to plan! Our biggest hurdle will be getting the produce to the consumer, whether it be market, or farmer direct to buyer. We find it can be overwhelming to apply to markets with such high demands for applications and commitments for many weeks of the summer. Alberta farms have difficulty producing anything before the end of June, without greenhouses and hoop houses. Sometimes it seems impossible to reach those goals. We know the consumers are out there, but the ability to get it there, with convenience, for freshness, in quantities that make sense for us as sellers and for the buyers.. that's the tough part. This will be our biggest challenge of 2019.

Last year we marketed mainly to friends and families and were able to sell off a lot of our produce without having much waste. We also learned some preserving methods and will be ready to do this double time as well next season. But we know with the quantities we have planned this year, we need to expand to a larger market, and counting on friends and family might not cut it. We are looking into markets near the farm, and within the Calgary area with their requirements, costs and other factors that may affect our decision in where to sell. We still don't have a firm plan, so we shall see how the season goes forward.

I know a lot of new farmers will experience this big challenge and hopefully we can explain our struggles and triumphs over the season on how we tackle the challenge of getting to market. For any experienced farmers out there reading, if you have tips, we would love to hear from you! Everyone had unique aspects of this challenge with travelling distances, unique produce, refrigeration requirements, transportation requires etc. so any tips can be helpful as we carry on!

We are desperately waiting for signs of spring this February, and looking forward to another year of learning and growing! Hope you all follow along on our journey again this year!

Cheers to another birthday and another growing season!

(an older and more refined) K