The box program at River Bell Market Garden in Dresden will be shifting from summer to winter in the upcoming weeks.
Joe Grootenboer, owner of the business, said September is usually the time they start signing up new people for the winter box.
“We keep signing them up until it starts usually, by the end of October,” he said.
“Our main summer box, which we are 2/3 of the ways through, that is 22 weeks and people get a box of vegetables each week. Some of them pick them up on the farm and some pick them up at various depot locations in Chatham, Wallaceburg, Blenheim, Ridgetown and Port Lambton.”
For the summer and winter boxes, it is filled with all organic produce.
“Most of it is grown here,” Joe said.
“There is a few exceptions that we buy. The major one being potatoes, bu they are certified organic from another Ontario producer. Really it is just about all from our farm. It is a great variety of stuff. We let you know in an email what to expect. We do send that the day before.”
Joe added: “We keep a pretty good mix. Mostly vegetables that you are use to. Lots of tomatoes, in the fall lots of carrots, spring mix lettuce and spinach. Those kind of common things are common in the main box. Now that goes for 22 weeks and we have had almost 200 signed up for this year. I should mention too that in the spring, when it comes to the spring box, you get more and more fresh green spinach and also asparagus.”
Joe said they are just starting to push sign ups for the winter box.
“It starts when this one ends, which is the second week in November. It runs basically until the other one is going to start which puts it around late May, maybe early June.”
Joe said the the winter box comes every second week.
“So you will get a box of vegetables every second week,” he said.
“In the early part of it, it is really still kind of fall time and you will get a lot of fall crops out of the field. As you get later into it, you get more storage vegetables like squash, root vegetables like beets and carrots, onions and we buy tomatoes from Pfenning’s (Pfenning’s Organic Farm) and garlic. We mix it up a bit but there will always be carrots, potatoes and onions pretty much. Garlic periodically. Squash lasts in there until it’s storage time is up which is usually about in February or so when you get your last squash.”
Joe added: “We also have greens. Kale, spinach and lettuce this year. We grow them in a protected greenhouse. It’s not heated but the plants are able to grow in the cool weather and survive the really cold weather because they got double coverage. That way we keep people with their greens right through the winter as well.”
Joe said the price depends on whether you order a large or small box.
“The large size is usually enough for a couple that eats a lot of vegetables or a family,” he said.
“The only way it gets to be too much is if you don’t cook your own meals enough or you are too busy to really eat out of your own fridge enough. A small size is maybe for a smaller family or somebody that doesn’t eat so many vegetables.
Joe added: “There is not a set price. We take a down payment of $225 for the large box or $175 (for the small ). That covers roughly half of what it will end up being. At the end of the box we invoice the difference. Last year for the large box was somewhere around $450. If we are able to provide more, which we might be able to with our greater emphasis on greens this year. It will be a little more.”
Joe said this is their fourth winter box program at River Bell.
“It seems like every year we get some other ideas and big idea this year is growing more greens right through the winter,” he said.
“We should have them January, February, March all the way through. So that’s kind of the new thing this year.”
Joe said last year 100 people participated and he would love to get the number up to 110 or 120, before it would be capped.
The pick up location in Wallaceburg is at James Street Eatery.
For more information about River Bell, and to sign up for the program, visit: riverbell.ca
– This story is sponsored content
