Why we home deliver our veggies

Our veggies are harvested in the cool of the morning, moistened and kept refrigerated until they leave our farm. Of course there are exceptions like garlic, onions and potatoes which don't need to be moistened or refrigerated. Once harvested veggies start to deteriorate straight away, losing moisture and nutrients, and their sugars turn into starch, reducing flavour as days go by. For this reason we harvest the day before we deliver and like to get our veggies straight to your door. We always leave them in the shade. 

The logistics of home delivery 

Home delivery is a specialised service and we often have only one customer in a suburb. This means our delivery runs can be 4-6 hours long to deliver approximately 20 boxes. We plan the most efficient route and deliver in an EV. At the moment we are experiencing a surge in the popularity of our boxes and our delivery routes have been adjusted to ensure we can fit all the deliveries in the car and in the time available. We may soon add a third delivery day if the numbers continue to increase. However, this must be done carefully to cover our costs. Despite this, direct-to-door home delivery still brings a fresher product to our customers than veg sitting out at a market stall, or picked and cold-stored for days, weeks or months in the major supermarkets.

Still to come

Next time I will write about the balance between farm labour costs and customer numbers. 

This week's recipe links

Pakistani Zucchini Curry from Tea for Turmeric. 

Creamy Courgette Lasagne from BBC Good Food. 

Healthy Taco Salad from Love & Lemons. 

Courgette Polpette from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. 

More info

To read more about what's happening on our local organic farm this week as we grow and care for veggies for our box delivery, check out this week's newsletter here.