Almost Urban Vegetables
3893 Pembina Hwy R3V 1X3 Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Our middle boy is getting married! Congrats and love and everything nice to @liamcarterberry and @ayla._.view Can't wait to officially bring Ayla into our family circle (she's already snuggled right into our hearts ). Reposted from @liamcarterberry Ayla and I got engaged :) (Ayla drew this)

What's in the final CSA box of 2021?? Alexa helped me talk it through!

And that's a wrap! Week 16, and our final CSA box of 2021! And the warmest last CSA day we've ever had!! Thank you to all our awesome customers in such a difficult year In the box this week #tomatoes (4 lb) #potatoes (fingerlings 2.5 lb) #celery #leeks #kale #chard or #beetgreens #lemonbalm #carrots (2 lb) #onions #squash #flowers and for the BIO Boxes #goatsmilksoap #CherryTomatoes #beans #sorrel #GrownHereNotFlownHere

What takes away the winter chill? Thoughts of a whole new season of fresh, locally grown veg, of course! The sign up form for 2021 is now open on our website (linked in our profile). Hope to see you with us this year #grownhere #notflownhere #vegetables #Manitoba #Winnipeg #buylocalmb

It's a good day when your designated 2 bring creme caramel! Thanks @ayla._.view and @liamcarterberry

Entering a brand new year thankful for all the kindness we've seen in 2020. When the cup teeters on the brink of half empty, it warms our hearts to see it topped up with a little hope and love, and brought back up to the other side. Wishing you all a beautiful, and hopefully a better 2021! Happy New Year! (This beautiful graphic is from a card from a social enterprise called Quilling Card. Thanks to our friend Lynn for send it!) #newyear2021 #2021

Our pre-dinner solstice spread while we wait for @yhanson_photography and @thenberry to join us at 8 pm. Love the beautiful pottery from @gabespottery and lots of local snacks on the table @freresjacques101 @fromageriebothwell @loafandhoney @fenezfolliesfarm

As a grower, the Winter Solstice touches something soft in my heart. It is the moment when the season shifts towards a new season, a tiny ember of hope that grows a little more each day. A new season awaits, and with it light and hope and warmth. Wishing you a moment every day to let the sunshine brush over you, and bring you peace. Happy Solstice. #wintersolstice

These are such excellent posts by @longwayhomestead We hear a lot about food miles and the damage buying distant food does to our local economies and environment, but we don't hear as much about other products. This is worth a read. Wool from our sheep is now available online through @stnorbertmarket (store linked in their profile). #grownhere Reposted from @longwayhomestead During this discussion on TRACEABILITY it was established that 90% of Canadian grown wool is sold and... shipped to various other processing mills and plants around the world. There it is scoured, treated, processed and turned into various products, from knitting yarn to clothing, furniture and other textiles. When you purchase a skein of yarn from large commercial yarn companies it could include fibre that was grown in Canada, Australia, Uruguay and Argentina. It could've been scoured and spun in China and dyed in a mill in Italy. We do not have easy access to this information and thus cannot make informed choices about who is paying the real cost for the fibre and textiles we consume. We may enhance our stash when we find so-called affordable yarn, but what are the labourers paid who process the fibre? Is it a living wage, or is it exploitative? What rivers and watersheds are polluted in the process of dyeing yarn because environmental standards are not as stringent? Impoverished communities are affected disproportionately by textile and fibre manufacturing. They pay the true cost of our fibre and textile production. What would it take to have true transparency and traceability at every step of fibre & textile production? What would it look like if we abandoned the exploitative models of the past, and looked to build regenerative systems that included a commitment to racial and environmental justice while prioritizing the needs of community rather than the dividends of shareholders? Imagine if you could look at all the projects you have on your needles and could identify where and how that fibre had been grown and processed. Imagine if you were confident that neither land, animal nor human had been exploited in the production of that fibre.

This is a great post by @longwayhomestead . They processed our yarn this year (our yarn from our dark brown sheep is now available for purchase on the St. Norbert Farmers' Market Online store). We live in a world of cheap goods with hidden costs, and wool is no exception. Reposted from @longwayhomestead Today's post in our TRACEABILITY tour is focused on the transportation of raw wool and finished fibre goods. Would we think differently about our consumption if every label of... yarn included the miles it had travelled to be processed? Would we think twice about stash enhancement if the label declared that this yarn travelled over 13,000 miles to be processed and then returned as finished goods to our local yarn stores? Of the 3 million lbs. of wool produced annually in Canada, 70% is shipped to China and an additional 20% shipped to Egypt, Czech republic and the USA. Only 10% is processed domestically. This processed wool is then shipped back to us in the form of yarn, textiles, and other goods. We know that the transport of goods globally accounts for about 14% of all GHG emissions and is the fastest growing sector of emissions. So how does the international shipping of raw wool and finished wool products contribute to those emissions? We believe that a significant investment in domestic production of Canadian wool into various products could significantly reduce transportation related emissions. Purchasing wool that was grown and processed within our communities directly contributes to the decarbonization of goods. #traceability #choosewool #canadianwool #fibrefarm #truecostofwool #wool #sheep #localfibreeconomy #canadiansheepfarm #campaignforwoolcanada #regencanada #pembinafibreshed

#toosoon #snow #notevenhalloween #sigh Scared to check out our low tunnel. The freezing temps (also #toosoon) killed the chard the other night, but we didn't expect so much wet snow, so the cover is still on. Will have to see if it crumpled like last year.

And the garlic is in the ground. Just needs the straw on top, and it will be tucked in and cosy for the 2021 season. Last year, we planted a full week later than this. This year, we're feeling lucky to get it in the ground before freeze up. #weather #grownhere #garlic

We always enjoy seeing how much of a meal we can make with ingredients we've grown ourselves, or found locally. This year, feeling pretty pleased with Thanksgiving Dinner. Green zebra tomato soup dotted with ricotta from @loafandhoney , kale salad with all the ingredients except the olive oil and lemon juice grown by us. Chicken raised in our farm, with fingerling potatoes from the back field, our own roasted onions, beets and brussels sprouts. Pickles made by me with our own... cucumbers and beets. Pumpkin pie with our own squash eggs, and lard, and butter from @fromageriebothwell Ginger mead made by my nephew Connor and me. One of the pleasures of being a vegetable grower is enjoying the fruits of our labour, all grown with the support of Mother Nature and some awesome farm workers, and cooked with family. Thankful is too small a word. #thanksgiving2020 #grownhere #notflownhere See more