Sunday, July 17, 2011

July 17 Farm newsletter

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Edgar Farms
Peas & Farm Store News

July 17, 2011

Dear Friends:

PEAS, PEAS, PEAS!! We now are picking and they are available at our farm store located 10 km. west of Innisfail on the Cottonwood Road. For a printable map go to http://www.edgarfarms.com/contact.htm

We also have peas at the Innisfail Growers booth at Central Alberta Farmer's Markets. For locations and times www.innisfailgrowers.com

Our Peas & More

Granddaughter picking peas

Our granddaughter

sampling the peas.

SUPER SWEET PEAS - We are picking delicious, incredibly sweet garden peas daily.
We will have new plantings coming on all summer so we will have peas until the first frost this fall.

U-PICK PEAS by appointment
Doesn't get any fresher than that!! Price is $1.00 per pound and snacking is free!! Phone Elna at 403-350-0659 for availability. Monday- Saturday 8 AM -8 PM.

BROAD BEANS - We have just now discovered the first baby broad bean so we should be picking by the last week of July.

GREEN & YELLOW BEANS - crop looks great, should be ready by August 10 or so.

Swiss ChardBABY BEETS, SPINACH, LETTUCE, SWISS CHARD, GREEN ONIONS and MORE - We are harvesting fresh daily out of our chemical free garden for our farm store.

BECK FARMS CARROTS - Shelley tells us that her delicious super sweet carrots are not going to be very early this year due to the cold weather. She expects to start digging them about August 1.
Open House on our Farm

IG Customer appreciation Day

August 6 & 7 10AM - 5PM Wagon ride past the asparagus field to the pea field, sample our delicious sweet garden peas straight off the vines.

Shop at our farm store.

Petting zoo, pea pit, bale fort and many other kid friendly fun activities.

Summertime Country Drive for 15 other sites to visit that weekend countrydrive.ca


Edgar Farms Asparagus Relish

Asparagus Relish Our delicious Asparagus Relish has been selected as # 4 of 29 Great Eats & Drinks in the City in the Summer by Julie Van Rosendaal as listed in the July August 2010 edition of "City Palate" magazine. She wrote "Asparagus Relish from Edgar Farms -Burgers and dogs are just vehicles to get this stuff from the jar to my mouth, and I'm not above eating it straight-up, scooped with a spoon."

Asparagus Relish is available in our farm store or at the Farmers Markets at the Innisfail Growers Booth in 250 mL. & 500 mL. jars.

Stop by our farm store to check out our entire selection of home made pickles, relishes, candies, pies, fruit leathers and much more.
Asparagus Fern
Asparagus FernThe asparagus is now growing into it's fern stage and we are no longer picking. The stand of fern that we are seeing is fantastic. This indicates that the crowns getting strong are busy storing energy so that they will produce a great crop of asparagus next year.
Thank you, everyone for all the support of our family farm est. 1907Adopt a Road !!

Picture is of our family, the 4th, 5th,and 6th generations on our family farm.

Check out what is happening on our other websites:
Edgar Farms Produce News
Doug's Farm Blog
http://dougsfarmblog.blogspot.com/

We also have all our previous newsletters at

We have a Flickr account with lots of pictures of what is happening at
We also have a Facebook page and would love you to be our friend.

Last but certainly not least we have our web site at
Pea Field
Sincerely,
Doug & Elna
Keri & Randy
Edgar Farms

Saturday, July 2, 2011

June 28 Farm Store Newsletter

Edgar Farms
Farm Store
News

June 28, 2011

Dear Friends:
Asparagus season is coming to an end. Traditionally we stop picking the end of June. Supply is good right now so be sure and stop by. It won't be long before we put the field to bed for the summer. We will be picking our delicious garden peas very soon.
Asparagus Fern
ASparagus fern in AugustPicture is of Doug & myself in our asparagus field in August. The stem that we pick is what first emerges from the ground and is trying to grow into this magnificant fern. It is very important to stop picking early enough in the summer to allow eight weeks of frost free weather with the plants in their fern stage. This fern is feeding the roots to make them strong to survive our cold Alberta winter.
What's the best way to store asparagus in the fridge?ASsaragus in Fridge
Stand the bundle of asparagus in 1" of water in the fridge and cover loosely with a plastic bag. Our asparagus will keep for at least 1 week in your fridge because it is so very fresh.

Nutrition
Asparagus is as much a delight to eat as it is good for you!!

A 5 spear serving has only 25 calories and is an excellent source of vitamins A, B6, C, thiamin & folate. It also contains glutathione, a powerful anticarcinogen and antitoxin.

Asparagus with Blue Cheese

If you are a blue cheese lover, then this recipe is for you. Doug & I both love blue cheese and race each other for the last morsel.

1 lb. Edgar Farms fresh asparagus
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. chives - minced
4 Tbsp. blue cheese - crumbled
pepper - freshly ground

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a small bowl mix red wine vinegar, olive oil, chives and blue cheese.

Steam asparagus spears for 5 min. and drain well.

Arrange hot spears on an oven proof serving platter. Pour blue cheese mixture over asparagus and season with plenty of pepper to taste.

Bake for about 5 min. until the cheese is hot and just starting to melt. Serve hot.

Serves 4.
Have you tried Pea Tendrils??
Pea tendrils are a special variety of pea plants that we grow for the little, tender baby plants, not the pods. We discovered them when at the San Francisco Farmer's Market on a North American Farm Direct marketing tour. They are delicious in salads or stir frys. Wade Sirois with Infuse Catering from Calgary even uses them in potato salad. We are picking them right now so be sure and pick up a bundle.
Peas are coming soon Peas
We started planting peas very early last spring and planted every week until Fathers Day in the hopes of having a continuous supply from early July until the first hard frost in the fall. We hope to have peas at our farm store by July 10 or so.
August 6 & 7 is our next open house on our farm!!
Come on back to the farm for our Summertime Country Drive event. We will have a petting zoo in the barn with lots of animals. There is also a bale fort to play in. Check out the asparagus fern on our field tour and also experience picking a few garden peas to taste. Our farm store will be open, featuring garden peas, sugar snap and snow peas along with many other seasonal local veggies. No admission fee.
Check out www.CountryDrive.ca for another 20 sites to visit in our area.

Goat
Please be sure and stop at our farm for some more fresh asparagus before the end of our season. Asparagus No Label
Sincerely,
Elna Edgar
Edgar Farms

June 29, 2011 Edmonton Newsletter


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Edgar Farms Asparagus News

June 29, 2011

Dear Friends:
The asparagus plants have really slowed down production this week and the spears are getting thinner which are indications that the plants are getting stressed so we need to stop picking. This Saturday, July 2 will be our last day at The Old Strathcona Farmer's Market 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM and the City Market Downtown on 104th. St. 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM.

ASparagus fern in AugustOur asparagus field in August
We need to stop picking early enough in the season to allow eight weeks of frost free weather with the asparagus in it's fern stage. This fern will feed the roots to make them strong so that the plants will survive the winter and produce delicious sweet and tender asparagus again next spring.

Next year we will be back at The Old Strathcona Farmer's Market May 5, 2012 and on opening day of the City Market on 104 th. St. with our pickles and a crop report on how the plants are looking.
How long will our delicious fresh asparagus keep in your fridge??
ASsaragus in Fridge
Since this is the last week for our local asparagus, you might want to pick up an extra bundle so here is a great way to store it in your fridge.

Stand the asparagus in about 1" of water and put a plastic bag over it in the fridge, it will easily keep a week.
August 6 & 7, 2011 is the next open house on our farm!!Kids & kids
Come on back to our farm for "Summertime Country Drive". Check out the asparagus fern on our field tour and also experience picking a few garden peas to taste. We will have a petting zoo in the barn with lots of animals for everyone to admire. There is also a bale fort to play in. Our farm store will be open, featuring garden peas, sugar snap and snow peas along with many other seasonal local veggies. No admission fee.

Check out www.CountryDrive.ca for another 20 sites to visit in our area.
Recycling & Composting

Recycling to County Transfer Station
Unloading our recycling at the Red Deer County Transfer Station.

We have always believed in reusing, renewing and recyling on our farm. Doug's mother, Rose was always an avid reuser & recycler much before it was the norm. We very carefully recycle everything possible. Since farm pickup of our recycling is not an option, we haul it to the Red Deer County Transfer Station. Picture is of us unloading cardboard at the transfer station. We also do composting on our farm. This is one way we can contribute to a healthier environment.

Adopt-A-Road

Adopt a Road

The County of Red Deer has a program called adopt-a-road. We chose to adopt the 2 miles of the Cottonwood Road (4 miles of ditches) in front of our farm. We put the garbage in our own dumpster for disposal after removing the recyclables.

FestivalThe next asparagus festival!People touring field





Due to popular demand, we are already planning our 2012 asparagus festival. Stay tuned for details.
Photos by Michael Buckley
Come visit our farm store anytime!Farm Store
Did you know that we have a little farm store that is open daily 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM until Thanksgiving? We are located 2 hours south of Edmonton and just 10 km west of the QE#2 on a paved road. There is a printable map on our website at www.edgarfarms.com
At our farm store, we will have asparagus for a few more days after this weekend plus lots of other delicious locally grown produce. There is always a great selection of our own home raised hormone and antibiotic free angus beef, home made pies and preserves.
Photo by Michael Buckley.

Check out what is happening at our farm on our other websites:

Edgar Farms Produce News

http://edgarfarmsupdates.blogspot.com/

Doug's Farm Blog

http://dougsfarmblog.blogspot.com/

We also have all our previous newsletters at

http://newslettersedgarfarms.blogspot.com/

We have a Flickr account with lots of pictures of what is happening at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37363547@N03/

We also have a Facebook page and would love you to be our friend.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1646005197&ref=name


Last but certainly not least we have our web site at

http://www.edgarfarms.com

And most importantly, THANK YOU so very much to you, our valued customer for supporting our farm and our farm families that are relying on you to come to the Farmer's Market faithfully every Saturday to purchase our asparagus.

Asparagus No Label


Elna Edgar Edgar Farms