Sunnivue's Beautiful Market Garden

After a slow and late spring, Sunnivue's market garden, under the direction this year of Alex and Ellinor, is growing apace with new produce ready to harvest each week.

The produce can be found at Sunnivue's Farm Store, open on Saturdays, from 10-4, and in the Hutton House booth at the Masonville Market (in the parking lot at Masonville Mall) on Fridays, from 8-1.

Amongst the selection this week, look out for the huge radishes, delicious to the core despite being out-sized. Alex explains that bio-dynamic principles have a lot to do with the wonderful quality of all of these vegetables.

Sunnivue Farm Store: beauty and idealism on Opening Day

Opening Day on June 16 at the Sunnivue Farm Store offered an intense vision of beauty and idealism created by students from the W. D. Sutton School. The ten teenagers who attend the school had created a raft of flags that made their first public appearance that day at Sunnivue, flying from all sides of the porch at the store.

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Teacher Leslie Tabler reports that the wide variety of courses that the students have experienced over the past couple of years has included attention to a number of projects creating change in the world. Out of this study the students formed the group Earthlings Creating Change, and the art installation seen at Sunnivue, which is called “Voices Soaring,” was one result (see photos below).

Another way that the students are taking action, and sharing across the globe their work and their message, is through their Earthlings Creating Change Instagram Account, “rethinkingtheworld.”

Visiting Sunnivue Farm has also been an important activity for the Sutton students over the past year. Leslie and her co-teacher Sarah Cullen tell us that they “value the experiential learning opportunities Sunnivue has provided, and are able to design cross curricular projects for students that they make curricular connections with and truly enjoy.”

For each visit Chris, with the help of Alex and Ellinor, has provided interesting and meaningful activities for the class, and the class members have in turn contributed through their work to the farm. They have worked on maple syrup production, trail grooming, picking wild grapes and making jelly, and planting onions. In a letter to Sunnivue, the students write, “Whenever we go to Sunnivue Farm, we are greeted by friendly faces and feel at home in the atmosphere that they create. . . .The knowledge that we learned at Sunnivue will be useful for day to day life skills. Our experience was positive, beautiful and overall amazing!”

The W. D. Sutton students’ visits will continue throughout the next school year.

With best wishes to all, and with gratitude to the Sutton school students and teachers,

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Sunnivue + Hutton House = Masonville Mall every Friday

As part of our partnership with Hutton House, Sunnivue maple syrup and produce from the market garden are being sold at Masonville Market.

The market takes place in the parking lot at Masonville Mall every Friday during the summer, 8:00-1:00. The Hutton House booth sells pottery made at Hutton House and other gifts and treats as well as the Sunnivue produce and syrup.

Many thanks to Chris for the photo below.

Don’t forget that the SUNNIVUE FARM STORE opens for the 2018 season on JUNE 16, 10:00-4:00. Questions? Phone Chris at 226-234-8247.

The first installment of Sunnivue organic produce (onions ) and maple syrup for sale at The Hutton House Booth at Masonvile market. Rachel is minding the shop. 

The first installment of Sunnivue organic produce (onions ) and maple syrup for sale at The Hutton House Booth at Masonvile market. Rachel is minding the shop. 

Order for Delivery from The Sunnivue Farm Store

The Sunnivue Farm Store has closed for the season, but you are still welcome to order for delivery - meats, eggs, and breads. If you order by Thursday of any week, your order will be delivered on the following Sunday.

And don’t forget about the big Christmas turkeys raised organically and with loving care by Alex and Ellinor. They are available now.

You are welcome at any time to contact Chris at 226-234-8247 or chrishenrywhite@gmail.com.

Harvest Festival at Sunnivue

I am so sorry to have missed this year’s Harvest Festival at Sunnivue. It sounds like an amazing occasion, with treasure and scavenger hunts, delicious food, wagon rides, trail walking, musicians, a visiting kitten and show-stopping baby goat, and lots of good company.

I understand that many people contributed to making the day such a success, planning, setting up, publicizing, maintaining the store, providing and cooking the food, and making all the events happen. Among the central organizers and publicists were Ralph, Jens, Chris, Dagmar, Ruben, Alex, Ellinor, Jason, Twan, Carol, Connie, and Penny. Many thanks to all of you, and apologies to anyone whose contributions I haven’t yet heard about.

I hope those of you who attended will let me know what you most enjoyed! I hear that Jason’s baby goat most enjoyed being with Christine Newland, and with some of the visiting children who quickly found the way to his/her heart.

All the very best,
Sally (for Sunnivue and ROSE)

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Harvest Festival at Sunnivue, October 14

Dear Friends of ROSE and Sunnivue:

In the grand old tradition that goes way back to last year, Sunnivue will be hosting a harvest barbecue event at the farm on Saturday, October 14, 10:00-4:00.

Ralph will again be in charge of the barbecue as well as taking a turn on the dance floor (so you can be sure that both the food and the music will be great).

The Sunnivue store will be open, and don’t be surprised if wagons turn up to transport children of all generations through the bush.

In addition, here’s how Chris describes the new hiking trail that he has just finished working on:

Starting at the store walk around the barn and see and enjoy the organic chickens and turkeys and ducks running around  (see picture below of one of the handsome turkeys - thanks to Sheila Chick for the photo).......follow the laneway towards the river .... To your right you can see the Christmas tree plantation and to the left the old water buffalo pond now used by waterfowl, shore birds and amphibians.....continue down the laneway to just before the river where an orange blaze to your left directs you onto the new trail......the trailtakes you gently up and through some cedar and pine ...it then continues along on the higher ground offering some very scenic lookouts to the river below .... Eventually it comes to a fairly steep ravine which is a drain to the river....the trail continues down into the ravine and levels out for a while through some riparian flood plain.... Then it makes its way back up the other side of the ravine and into a pine plantation and then ties into the main trail which takes you back toward the sugar bush and the bridge Ralph built ..... 

And please remember that the farm store continues to be open each Saturday during the harvest season, 10:00-4:00 as usual, and with the usual good food and good cheer.

All best wishes,

Sally for ROSE and Sunnivue

 

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New Bridge

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Dear Friends of ROSE and Sunnivue:

It looks as if tomorrow will be a little milder and sunnier, just in time for a trip to the Sunnivue Farm store where Storekeeper Chris will be happy to welcome you and offer you a cup of coffee and a piece of cake.

Look for freshly dug potatoes, grown by Alex, and freshly picked corn, grown by Jason and Twan, along with a striking array of other produce as well as all the meats, teas, coffees, pottery, and many other items that you have come to expect.

Lots is going on at Sunnivue these days. Please scroll down to see a picture of Ruben and Ralph standing proudly on a new bridge that now gives unimpeded access to trails in the Sunnivue bush. We have discovered that when Ralph sees a problem, he just goes ahead and solves it. Now more of us will be able to enjoy and learn from the bush area, and Chris will find it ever so much easier to get in and tap our own maple trees. THANK YOU RALPH!!

Looking forward to seeing you all,

Sally (for ROSE and Sunnivue) 

 

Edamame, maple syrup, and paintings!

Dear Friends of ROSE and Sunnivue,

On Saturday I was delighted to find fresh edamame, grown by Matt in his market garden at Sunnivue, for sale in the farm store, along with a wide variety of other vegetables, meats, pottery, teas, coffee, breads. . .

There is always a surprise waiting for me when I arrive at the farm store. Another novelty last weekend was a pair of paintings by Chris’s uncle, which you can see below. They picture a familiar-looking character - could it be Chris himself? - feeding his beloved baby Christmas trees and struggling to derive some nourishment from a stand of maple trees. 

(Fortunately the latter pursuit was successful, and some of the maple syrup can also be found on the shelves at the store.)

I hope to see you there if you live within range.

And if you’d like to stop receiving these email notices, please just let me know by return email.

All the best,

Sally (for ROSE and Sunnivue)

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