<?xml version='1.0' encoding='iso-8859-1' ?><rss version='2.0'><channel><title><![CDATA[The Green Ranch]]></title><description><![CDATA[growing naturally]]></description><link>http://www.thegreenranch.ca</link><language>en-us</language><docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs><copyright>Copyright 2010The Green Ranch</copyright><item><title><![CDATA[Farmers Market...and other news]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p>Greetings to all on our Mailing list!&nbsp; You have likely noticed that our communication has been poor the last few weeks!&nbsp; We have been somewhat short staffed, and very busy!&nbsp; We have decided that we will need to take this weeks farmers market off to catch up on some projects.&nbsp; Sorry for the inconvenience.&nbsp; As always feel free to place an online order for pickup on Tuesday evening at the Sask Power parking lot just north of the Science Center from 7:00 - 7:30 or Monday evening in Weyburn at the hospital parking lot from 7:00 - 7:30.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> We will be making a special purchase of some wild northern Saskatchewan Chanterelle mushrooms hopefully arriving within the next couple weeks.&nbsp; Please reply to this email if you are interested in some.&nbsp; Our retail price will be $15/lb.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> As always keep tuned as we continue to bring Saskatchewan's Bounty to your table!&nbsp; There are more exciting Saskatchewan products on the horizon!</p>
<br />Tim and Carla<br />The Green Ranch<br /><a href="http://www.thegreenranch.ca">www.thegreenranch.ca</a>]]></description><link><![CDATA[http://www.thegreenranch.ca/blog/6759]]></link><pubDate>Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:38:35 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Garden is GROWING!!]]></title><description><![CDATA[Things have cooled down here on the Ranch.&nbsp; We got tonnes done on Saturday, and feel much better!&nbsp; We hate taking a market off but sometimes you just need a breather to get caught up!&nbsp; <br /> <br /> Things are really progressing in the gardens.&nbsp; Here is an update of what is new this week:<br /> <br /> We have lots and lots of peas!!&nbsp; Snow peas and Snap peas.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> Our micro mix is back, to start it is a blend of purple and green radish, some cress leaves and pea shoots.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> Swiss Chard and Beet green mix (great for cooking)<br /> - Here is how we prepare this:<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; -saut&eacute; mushrooms and onions and a bit of garlic<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - on low heat add swiss chard and beet greens (dandelion greens are a great additive too!)<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - cover with a lid and cook until greens are softened (mixing occasionally)<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - ENJOY<br /> <br /> Fresh Mint<br /> <br /> Butterhead lettuce ( we harvest this with the root intact so it will maintain its freshness!)<br /><br />Old crop certified organic red potatoes (I just made my first order from Living Soils certified organic farm - Saskatoon - and have a nice supply of last years red potatoes.&nbsp; These have been stored right and are very nice still.&nbsp; They should tide you over until the new potatoes come on!!)<br /> <br /> If you can't wait until the Farmers market on Saturday you are welcome to place an order online and pick it up on Tuesday evening from 7:00-7:30 at the Sask Power parking lot just North of the Science  Center.&nbsp; In Weyburn you can find us on Monday evening from 7:00 - 7:30 at the Hospital parking lot.<br /> <br /> Here is the link to order online: <a href="http://www.thegreenranch.ca/content/7265">click here</a><br /><br />We have a great supply of Free Range eggs now, the price is $3.25/doz and you can order online to pickup on Tuesday evenings all through the summer!&nbsp; Contact us if you would like to get on our list of regular weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly egg orders.&nbsp; You can also order them online when ever you need!<br /><br />Hope everyone is having a great summer!<br /><br />Tim and Carla<br />]]></description><link><![CDATA[http://www.thegreenranch.ca/blog/6509]]></link><pubDate>Sun, 18 Jul 2010 21:00:02 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Support the Businesses that support us!!]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p>Its time to send a thank you out to all of the businesses that have been supporting us by making regular wholesale orders!&nbsp; We have great relationships with all of the chefs, and owners of these amazing independent grocery stores and restaurants!&nbsp; We appreciate their effort in supporting local farmers.&nbsp; It is not as convenient as ordering from the Sysco truck, so when they put an extra effort into sourcing fresh local food we want you to know!!<br /> <br /> Here are the Grocery stores where you can buy The Green Ranch products</p>
<br /><a href="http://www.eathealthyfoods.ca/">Eat Healthy Foods</a><br /><a href="http://www.bodyfuelorganics.ca/site/">Body Fuel Organics</a><br />Lakeshore Market - 300 University Park Drive<br /><br />Here are the Restaurants where you will find The Green Ranch products on their menu!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thefaintinggoat.ca/">The Fainting Goat</a><br /><a href="http://www.wascanacountryclub.com/">Wascana Country Club</a><br /><a href="http://www.willowonwascana.ca">Willow on Wascana</a><br /><a href="http://www.valleygirlscatering.ca/">Fresh and Sweet</a> <br /><a href="http://www.hotelsask.com/">Hotel Saskatchewan</a><br /><a href="http://www.happynuncafe.ca/">The Happy Nun</a> - Forget, Saskatchewan<br /><br />Take time to thank these establishments for supporting local producers!!&nbsp; <br /><br />If you have any suggestions of other businesses that might be interested in purchasing local foods, let us know.&nbsp; We are always expanding our wholesale customer list.<br />]]></description><link><![CDATA[http://www.thegreenranch.ca/blog/6508]]></link><pubDate>Sun, 18 Jul 2010 20:16:51 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[New Products]]></title><description><![CDATA[Hope everyone is gearing up for a great Canada Day!!&nbsp; The garden is growing like crazy these warm days, and its easy to quickly forget the wet spring that we had!!&nbsp; Just wanted to let you all know about some new products that we have available now.<br /><br />Bison: We are offering a 25lb variety pack for $181 This includes ground, cross rib roasts, blade roasts, stew meat, short ribs, T-bone steaks, sirloin steaks, and rib steaks.&nbsp; You can order by <a href="http://www.thegreenranch.ca/store/324">clicking here</a><br /><br />Certified Organic Flax:&nbsp; We are selling 1lb packages for $3.50 You can order by <a href="http://www.thegreenranch.ca/store/161">clicking here</a><br /><br />We just got a fresh shipment of fish in so we are stocked up in all varieties.&nbsp; We have had nothing but great comments on this fish!&nbsp; Jon does an amazing job of filleting, and quick freezing so they are almost lake fresh!&nbsp; You can order by <a href="http://www.thegreenranch.ca/store/46">clicking here</a><br /><br />A final note - The Green Ranch is now on Facebook!&nbsp; <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/The-Green-Ranch/131336913560088?ref=ts">Follow us</a> on facebook for regular updates. <br /><br />All the best for your Canada Day holiday!!<br /><br />Tim]]></description><link><![CDATA[http://www.thegreenranch.ca/blog/6308]]></link><pubDate>Wed, 30 Jun 2010 09:38:37 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Wholesale]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p><span class="fontSize2"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">This Wholesale store is intended to accommodate restaurants and other food service providers. We understand that, in your business, you tend to order in large quantities. So, we'd like to offer you tiered discounts.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="fontSize2"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">To help you navigate the online store, feel free to download our accompanying wholesale product catalog.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="fontSize2"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://sfc.smallfarmcentral.com/dynamic_content/uploadfiles/142/GreenRanchCatalog2010.pdf">Click here</a> to download our wholesale product catalog<br /></span></span></p>
<p><span class="fontSize2"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">In the vegetable &amp; flour sections, you'll notice various case lot sizes to choose from and no minimum order. However, to qualify for the meat wholesale price, you must order a minimum of 10 lbs per item. There are three meat price categories, as follows:</span></span></p>
<ul>
<li><span class="fontSize2"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Item #X-1: less than 50 lbs (but at least 10 lbs)</span></span></li>
<li><span class="fontSize2"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Item #X-2: from 50 to 100 lbs</span></span></li>
<li><span class="fontSize2"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Item #X-3: greater than 100 lbs</span></span></li>
</ul>
<p><span class="fontSize2"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>Please place your order before Monday evening, for Friday delivery of the same week.&nbsp;</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span class="fontSize2"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">If you haven't ordered with us before, <a href="http://www.thegreenranch.ca/contact">request a wholesale account</a> and we'll get back to you with your login information before the end of the next business day.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="fontSize2"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.thegreenranch.ca/login">Login</a> now!</span></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>]]></description><link><![CDATA[http://www.thegreenranch.ca/content/7257]]></link><pubDate>Fri, 11 Jun 2010 23:41:19 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[1st Producer Profile...]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p>NOTE: there are a couple pictures in this email, you may have to click on display images in order to see them.</p>
<p>A while back this idea came to me about profiling our awesome producers that are a huge part of what makes The Green Ranch what it is!&nbsp; Every Farmer/Rancher that is growing/raising food, has a story&hellip;why they are passionate about agriculture, and working together with the land to produce great wholesome food!&nbsp; Here is the first in our Producer Profile Series!!</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><br /><img src="http://www.thegreenranch.ca/images/gallery/w500/1274332174_a6a8b5ab0812.jpg" alt="" width="346" height="260" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Pete and Shannon MacLaggan, Regina, Sk</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>As our business has grown in the past couple years, it has been necessary to increase garden production. &nbsp;This could be done a few different ways, we could increase the size of our garden, and hire more employees to increase production and efficiency, or we could make partnerships with likeminded growers that would like to grow produce for The Green Ranch.&nbsp; We have incorporated a bit of both methods, as we expanded operations on our ranch this year.&nbsp; Our plan is to specialize in certain products that we feel our land is well suited to, and then have other growers raise the crops that are best suited for them. &nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>This is Pete and Shannon&rsquo;s first year of growing for The Green Ranch, and we are very excited to be working with them!&nbsp; What is especially exciting about this partnership is that they are Urban Farmers!&nbsp; Urban Farming is something that has been gaining momentum for the last few years across Canada, and the United States.&nbsp; What is more local than food grown right in your city??&nbsp; The Urban Farming movement gives me hope because what we are seeing is a whole new generation of young people that are interested in Agriculture and have a passion to farm for a living.&nbsp; What is interesting about this new generation of farmers is that they are often a couple generations removed from farm life.&nbsp; This means that its not tradition or family heritage that is drawing them to agriculture but a burning desire to have a hand in a new type of food system that&rsquo;s Local, Sustainable, and of course amazingly flavorful!&nbsp; I am not suggesting that it is better to be drawn to farming by pure passion than by family heritage&hellip;.of course the reason I was drawn to agriculture was Family Heritage!&nbsp; For us that has turned into a deep passion for what we do!&nbsp; What excites me the most about this is that now with a new generation of farmers raising their families in the farming lifestyle, the next generation may be influenced by their parent&rsquo;s passion, and consider Farming as a way of life for them also!&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Some of you may know about SPIN Farming: Small Plot INtensive Farming This is the system that we use for our market garden.&nbsp; It is designed for use in city plots, and the inventor of this system lives right here in Saskatoon.&nbsp; Wally has been very successful with his own urban farm in Saskatoon, and has taken his passion for small scale farming and channeled it into education to help other aspiring gardeners get there feet wet in Farming!&nbsp; It was through Wally that I got started with Market Gardening, we have taken his principles and applied them to our backyard on the farm.&nbsp; Wally has been a great mentor to us, and many other aspiring gardeners all over the world!!&nbsp; It was through the SPIN group that I came in touch with Pete and Shannon.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Here is their story,</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Before I had children I never gave much thought to where my food came from, but with pregnancy came a deeper awareness of my body and the things I was putting into it.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The closer I looked at our food culture, the more concerned I became. &nbsp;</p>
<p>I started educating myself about the origins and properties of the food I was buying. Did the items on my grocery list line up with my values as a human being? Was the environment being respected? Was there fairness of trade? How were the animals treated? Did my purchases support the local economy? Sadly, I couldn&rsquo;t answer yes to any of these questions.&nbsp;</p>
<p>My food&rsquo;s journey from earth to plate became a very important one for me.</p>
<p>So my husband Peter and I decided to make some changes. We knew that we had to change our eating habits and it wasn&rsquo;t going to be a cheap or easy transition, but one that we felt was absolutely worth the effort and expense in the long run. We started buying organic, eating as local as possible, and planted a vegetable garden.</p>
<p>Our interest in sustainable agriculture continued to grow as did our family, and this year we decided to take a giant leap and start Urban Farming. After hearing about SPIN farming on CBC Radio a few times, we took a trip up to meet Wally and Gail (SPINs creators) in Saskatoon and ended up coming home feeling incredibly inspired and excited and ready. With Pete working from home, and me teaching yoga and staying home with the boys, this seemed like the perfect business for us. However, we were concerned about taking on more than we could handle from the outset, and I wasn&rsquo;t sure how it would pan out with two boys under the age of three, so when Tim mentioned he was looking for growers - it was simply meant to be!&nbsp;</p>
<p>Tim has been an incredible resource and friend throughout this journey and his and Carla&rsquo;s enthusiasm and passion for local food has been utterly contagious.</p>
<p>After only a few weeks of Urban Farming under our belts, I can most assuredly say that this is the life for us. When I am out in the garden, so dirty and sweaty, something uplifting and wonderful happens; life slows down. I become more mindful of all of the gifts and moments in my life - ordinary, as well as extraordinary, which normally would have gone by unnoticed. I am awed, humbled, truly and utterly happy and have never felt more connected to Mother Nature in all of my life.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>As the summer progresses you will meet Pete and Shannon and the kids Henry and Miles at the farmers market and CSA pickup days.&nbsp; They will be a regular fixture of our team!&nbsp; We are looking forward to a great summer working together!!</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.thegreenranch.ca/images/gallery/w500/1274332174_0d92b2d3418b.jpg" alt="" width="260" height="196" /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p>]]></description><link><![CDATA[http://www.thegreenranch.ca/blog/5800]]></link><pubDate>Thu, 20 May 2010 00:22:19 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Saturday Farmers Market]]></title><description><![CDATA[Just a quick update on whats going on at The Green Ranch.&nbsp; This week we got alot of seeds in the ground, and watched as many different vegetables started pokeing through the ground!&nbsp; The greenhouse is full of micro greens, so that means tomorrow we will have a great supply of pea shoots and our micro mix.&nbsp; We harvested spinach from our outdoor garden this week so look for fresh spinach at our booth!&nbsp; Were looking forward to a great day tomorrow.<br /><br />I am working on our first producer profile, it should be coming out begining of next week, stay tuned...<br /><br />Tim]]></description><link><![CDATA[http://www.thegreenranch.ca/blog/5747]]></link><pubDate>Sat, 15 May 2010 00:01:14 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Retail]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p><span class="fontSize2"><span style="font-family:  arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">This Retail store is for customers who would like home delivery, or to preorder their farmers market purchases.&nbsp; If you haven't ordered with us before, and would like some more information, <a href="http://www.thegreenranch.ca/contact">contact us</a> and we'll get back to you before  the end of the next business day.&nbsp; </span></span></p>
<p><span class="fontSize2"><span style="font-family:  arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Any order placed before Wednessday evening will be delivered on Friday morning, or if you would prefer to pick up your order at the farmers market then just make a note on the checkout page.&nbsp; At this time we only accept Cash, cheque and Paypal.&nbsp; For the bulk packages you can pay online via paypal, but if you want to pay with paypal for any of the other products, please send us a note and we can send email a paypal invoice.</span></span></p>
<p><span class="fontSize2"><span style="font-family:  arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Just click on the links to the left,<br /></span></span></p>
<p><span class="fontSize2"><span style="font-family:  arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Happy Shopping!!</span></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span class="fontSize2"><span style="font-family:  arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></p>]]></description><link><![CDATA[http://www.thegreenranch.ca/content/7265]]></link><pubDate>Thu, 06 May 2010 23:21:16 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Greening up in April!!]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p>It&rsquo;s been a while since I&rsquo;ve sent out an update.&nbsp; As you can imagine things are getting busy around The Green Ranch.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s been another big day, and getting late so I'll make this one short!&nbsp; April has been amazing!!&nbsp; We have spinach coming up all ready, green onions planted, tomorrow we will be planting carrots, lettuce, onions, and radish.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s exciting to think of an early start to the season!&nbsp; Today we harvested our first micro greens from the greenhouse.&nbsp; The green house is full of greens now, and we have been staging production so from now on we should be into a steady supply of mixed micro greens and pea shoots.&nbsp; We had a good feed of micro greens tonight and I must say they were amazing!&nbsp; <br /> <br /> We have some very exciting additions to our product line coming up.&nbsp; By the end of May we should have our first bison ready to sell.&nbsp; We have teamed up with a local producer (8 miles from our ranch) to be able to offer bison as another meat alternative.&nbsp; To start with the Bison will be only available through our website ordering.&nbsp; Let us know if you would like more information.&nbsp; There are a few more products that we are working on so keep tuned!&nbsp; We have a great supply of fresh free range eggs now, we have 3 producers supplying us so our egg supply is much more consistent now.&nbsp; You can order the eggs right online, or let us know if you are interested in having a weekly or biweekly schedule for delivery and we can work something out!&nbsp; We have started selling whole Rabbit from Pine View Farms - you will find the rabbit at the farmers market.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> Over the next few weeks we are going to start profiling our dedicated producers in a series of newsletters.&nbsp; One exciting addition to our producer list is an urban farm right in Regina!!&nbsp; Pete and Shannon will be growing certain vegetables for us to help with our work load.&nbsp; Look for more info in the next issue.<br /> <br /> Hope you are all enjoying our summer like spring!!!<br /> <br /> Tim</p>]]></description><link><![CDATA[http://www.thegreenranch.ca/blog/5496]]></link><pubDate>Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:27:13 -0500</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Easter]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p>The Easter weekend is just around the corner, so wanted to update everyone on our Easter weekend schedule.&nbsp; This week we will be doing our home deliveries on Thursday instead of Friday.&nbsp; If you need to stock up for the family supper, then place your order now so that we can deliver it in on Thursday.&nbsp; We will also be at the farmers market on Saturday, so if you want something fun to do, slip on down to the farmers market on the corner of 13<sup>th</sup> ave and Retallic st.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and has time to enjoy the beautiful spring weather!!</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>All the best from The Green Ranch</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>p.s. the greenhouse is starting to green up!!&nbsp; Look for micro greens within the next few weeks!</p>]]></description><link><![CDATA[http://www.thegreenranch.ca/blog/5205]]></link><pubDate>Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:44:56 -0500</pubDate></item></channel></rss>