We have many tricks up our sleeves to cheat early frosts and late springs and we have multi-stystem approach to pest and disease control. We do our very best to bring you high quality, delicious vegetables. We do our best to provide a good variety in your share. 

We are excited about our new free choice system. It means we can grow morvariety without worrying about growing enough for everyone. Say we grow 350 fennel one week but have 400 shares. Well, I bet tehre are 50 people who don't like fennel. So we will load everyone's cart with 10 items , not include the fennel in the 'standard basket" but include 350 fennel as a choice item. You can go in and trade that bunch of kale for a bunch of fennel instead. 

Because we grow so many different crops in various methods (field, tunnels etc) we can gauruntee that each week you will recieve not only great value, but a huge variety of vegetables to suit everyone's needs

Yes ! In 2012, Roots and Shoots Farm attained certified organic status through EcoCert Canada and has maintained it annually ever since. In Canada, all certifiers have to meet the National Organic Standards established in 2009. Although we meet almost every one of our customers face to face on a weekly basis, and despite the fact that any one of our customers is welcome to visit the farm to see how we grow, we still feel it is very important to support the organic standards by becoming certified ourselves. This is because Certified Organic means so much more than just what the consumer sees when buying the product.

Certified Organic farms are required to not only keep extremely accurate record keeping of everything that comes in and goes out of the farm, but also ensures that we follow strict standards about:

• Following a sensible, planned, multi-year rotation to break insect and disease cycles on the farm

• Following a composting regime complete with daily temperature recording

• Limiting the amounts of manure brought in from other farms

• Encouraging the integration of animals to make the farm self sufficient

• Using cover crops every year in every field to build organic matter and fertility

• Using only substances on the “Permitted Substances List”, which prohibits any synthetic chemicals, fertilisers or pesticides on the farm

• Recording every seed purchase, buying only certified organic seed, and showing proof that organic seed was adequately sought out if it was not available, and never using treated or genetically modified seed

• Protecting waterways and wetlands from farm runoff

• Requiring that animals have access to free ranging space that is out of doors

In the end, there are many aspects to Certified Organic that are not obvious from reading a label on a Certified Organic product. Certified Organic protects not only the health of the consumer, but also the health of the farmer, the ecosystems that produce the food, the waterways on the farm, and the biodiversity of the farm. It is for this reason that Roots and Shoots Farm supports and adheres to Certified Organic standards.

In 2021, we raised our prices for the first time in a decade! But as always, we aim to give you 10%-15% more value than the market prices for your share contents. Because of the nature of farming, this means you will get a lighter basket in the spring and a more substantial basket as the season goes on. In June, the basket may only reach a value of $28 especially if there is a late thaw, but in August, the share will reach a value of $45. There also may be weeks when we have enough of a certain crop for half of our pickup locations, and the other pickup locations will get that item or one of similar value on a future week. We keep track of it all and make sure you get your money’s worth.

We grow a huge variety of vegetables to keep your plates interesting all season long. We have many years of experience in the field and in the kitchen, and have developed a good understanding of how to grow with the end goal of delicious, seasonal meals. We are also continually investing in season extension tools so we can stretch our seasons out and offer a diverse amount of veggies all year long.

Week-by-week

We organize our boxes every week according to what is ready in the field. We start this plan in the dead of winter and start implementing it in March. When planning for the boxes we think about what it takes to put together a meal for a family. We include onions and garlic, salad ingredients, and more substantial vegetables for sustenance. 

Consistency

We strive for transparency and fairness in everything we do. With some crops, we harvest just enough each week for some of our pickup locations and not others. We keep track and make sure that each pickup location gets equivalent value.

No. Sorry, logistically we cannot accept returns

The idea behind the CSA is that you are commissioning us to grow delicious, nutrient dense, fresh organic vegetables for you. The first “CSA” actually started in Japan in the 1960’s? They called it “Seikyou”, which is a shorter form of “Seikatsu Kyoodo Kumiai”, which means Living in Community Union. A group of Japanese mothers, horrified at the increasing levels of mercury in milk, approached a farmer and proposed the idea of pre-buying his product in return for the guarantee that he used safe farming and growing methods. The farmer was happy as he got a better return for his efforts, compared to selling it on the market. The women were happy as they got safe milk and ended up getting more for their money. These women essentially cut out the middle-men and created a meaningful connection with their food. This alternative socioeconomic model was picked up in North America in the 1980s. It took a slightly different spin as it was mostly applied to vegetable farms and put more emphasis on the connection between farmer and consumer. But the idea was and remains the same: create a meaningful connection with your food and between consumer and farmer. By signing up for a Roots and Shoots Farm CSA share, you are guaranteeing that we, the farmers, get a fair price for our product. This allows us to promise you that we will use safe, certified organic methods to grow the most nutrient dense produce we can. We also offer you education about growing, cooking and consuming vegetables. It also means that we pick fresh just for you!

We promise to do everything in our power to give you a huge basket of beautiful veggies to sustain you through the season, and as a member of the farm, you agree to support us through any unforeseen issues that may arise throughout the year. We don’t ask you to sign a contract, because this is a business and we do strive to offer a really excellent product for your hard-earned money. We do take many measures to mitigate crop failure and ultimately want you to have the best healthy eating experience possible! We do thank you for joining us in this season and learning more about the intricacies of growing food!