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buzzard
03-Jan-10, 09:55
I was looking for a local vegetable box scheme but couldn't find any in Caithness. This seems to be the closest one:

http://www.macleodorganics.com/

I contacted them to see if they would consider delivering to Caithness. I got a very friendly reply that they would maybe consider it in the future if there would be enough interest.

So my question is, is anyone else interested?

All vegetables are organic and most are local (Highlands or rest of Scotland).

Although I usually don't buy organic in the supermarkets as I find it too expensive, and the produce often comes from far away, I really love the idea of veg boxes! I think prices are very reasonable as well.

Macleod replied to me that "they would need at least 20 boxes/interested customers to make a delivery run worth looking at, although delivering a few boxes to, and collecting from, a central point via a courier may be a more cost effective option." and "At the moment, Morven (who has a farm above Alness) delivers our boxes as far as Tain. She will be looking at the possibility of delivering further in the New Year"

A courier to our/your home for a single box would be £5-6, but I find that too expensive to pay regularly.
If there is more interest maybe we could arrange a pick up point in Caithness where everyone could collect their box?

So please pm me if you are interested. Please include your location, and whether or not you could travel regularly to Wick or another town/village to pick up a box.

Macleod can also supply potatoes, fruit, eggs, tofu, meat, cheese,...

roadbowler
03-Jan-10, 17:28
count me in.:)

buzzard
04-Jan-10, 09:15
So far I've had 4 pm's + your reply roadbowler. I will wait another week to give more people a chance to read this post, then I'll see if we can arrange something and will answer your pm's.:)

starry
04-Jan-10, 12:46
There is a place in Rogart as well that may be cheaper for you, I can't remember the name which means I can't find any details online but I think it is something like IV Vegs.

buzzard
06-Jan-10, 09:39
Thanks starry. Unfortunately I couldn't find anything about this place in Rogart. If anyone else knows more about this please let me know.

With searching I found one other small scale veg box seller in Fearn as well, but he just delivers locally I think. I may contact him in the future but I'll stick with Macleod for now.

starry
06-Jan-10, 12:13
I am back to work on Monday I will find out for you then, one of the girls in the office uses them :)

R7PSN
06-Jan-10, 22:31
hi the name of the rogart ones are beven whitty rovie lodge rogart sorry dont have phone number

buzzard
09-Jan-10, 09:40
Thanks. Do you know if they do veg boxes? Can't find anything online.

Shabbychic
09-Jan-10, 12:11
Just googled Rovie Lodge, and found them here (http://www.iv28fruitandveg.com/). They don't appear to cover this area though. :(

starry
09-Jan-10, 12:44
Oh I knew it was IV something lol !

buzzard
09-Jan-10, 14:45
Thanks shabbychic! I tried googling as well but must have looked over them.
I will certainly contact them, you never know they may be able to arrange something...

buzzard
09-Jan-10, 14:53
I just noticed, they don't seem to focus on organic produce...
Taking this into account macleod seems a lot cheaper (although of course boxes may be smaller or may have less variety). Anyway I (and probably others who are interested) would really prefer organic produce.

Shabbychic
09-Jan-10, 15:19
I noticed that too. MacLeods do seem to be cheaper so perhaps it would be better to see what they could come up with.:D

buzzard
19-Jan-10, 14:40
I've just sent a pm to everyone who's contacted me, we have 8 people so far.
Delivery would be around £2 per box. (could get less in the future if we get more interested people!) from Macleod. I'm quite happy with this.

roadbowler
19-Jan-10, 17:36
maybe one of the mods could make this a sticky for a week or two to try and get some more interst?

Bill Fernie
19-Jan-10, 18:51
Done
Will highlight on the front page later

Bill

buzzard
19-Jan-10, 20:10
Thank you Bill! :D

Mil
20-Jan-10, 00:20
Count me in too

whitecloud
20-Jan-10, 17:51
yes count me in too, we used to get organic veg and some fruit delivered down south when we stayed there, think its a great idea to support local growers.

cameroncara
23-Jan-10, 13:12
Just noticed this post, and im maybe to late but the girl from rogart actually has a mobile van that she carries the veg in almost like a greengrocer so you can pick and choose, if you ask her she does try to get organic things. I would give her a call as im sure she is cheaper than her website states plus being able to choose straight of the van means your only paying for the items you want and the quantity you want.

Not wanting to push my own business but i produce and sell lamb im organic although i cant state it as i dont pay for certification its only ever available from sept to nov but if anyone likes organic lamb give me shout.
xx

Wick_Cycle_Repairs
23-Jan-10, 16:49
I was looking on the net for Veg Box in Caithness and found the following details below





Ivycroft is a mixed farm offering pork and lamb, poultry, some animal foodstuffs, vegetables, soft fruit and herbs.

William and Hazel Curran
Ivycroft
Ivycroft, Occumster
Lybster, Caithness
Scotland
KW3 6AU
01593 721337
theraig(at)aol.com

fotcom
23-Jan-10, 17:36
Sounds good,what could i expect in the box at this time of year compared to July/August time?

candycanegirl
23-Jan-10, 23:45
would like to give it a go, sounds interesting.

How much is a box and how much do you get?

How frequently would we be getting boxes?

:D

buzzard
24-Jan-10, 08:45
cameroncara and wickcyclerepairs,
Thanks for that, but for now I will stick with Macleods. I think they have quite a big veg box scheme so they probably also have a good network of suppliers, which also means good variety. I do not think enough variety is grown within Caithness to keep this interesting.
I do really like the idea of a veg box, I do not feel the need to pick and choose, I'll try any veg. And if you want some particular veg regularly, you can still order a slightly smaller box than you would need and buy the other veg you want in the supermarket. I quite like the idea of a surprise every week:). And to eat more seasonal vegetables.

fotcom and candycanegirl,
please have a look at macleods website (www.macleodorganics.com) (http://www.macleodorganics.com%29,you) , you can contact them if you need more info about what goes in the boxes.
Boxes are usually weekly, but fortnightly is possible as well. Do send me a pm if you would like a regular box.

LPCOGIE
25-Jan-10, 14:44
very interested!

buzzard
26-Jan-10, 10:06
For anyone who reads this thread and is interested in getting regular veg boxes:

1. We have decided to stick with Macleods, so any details about the sizes and prices of the boxes can be found on their website: www.macleodorganics.com/

2. Please add £2 delivery (this may be less in the future). All boxes will go to one delivery point and we will pick up from there (probably in Thurso). However, picking up can be shared e.g. if we have 3 people in Watten one of them can pick up the 3 boxes and arrange delivery/pick up within Watten. We'll probably also have a pick up point in Wick. So if you live too far from Thurso, don't worry we may still be able to get the boxes to you.

3. Usually in a veg box scheme, people have a regular order and delivery frequency (e.g. a standard box every week), so they don’t need to contact the supplier every week (obviously you can whenever necessary, to add a 'one-off' extra, change something or ask to be missed while on holiday, etc..)

4. MacLeod told me they make the boxes on Thursday, and they will probably get delivered the same day. So if everyone could pick up on Friday (or if necessary Saturday) that would be great.

5. If you want to get boxes, please send me a pm with the following details:

-Place(s) where you could pick up your box (eg Thurso, Wick, Watten...)
-Your name and size of the box you would like + frequency
-Your address + telephone number or e-mail address, if you do not want to send these contact details to me, please send them to macleods, but I do need the other information

6. Obviously, payment will have to be arranged with Macleods.
But please don't contact them about delivery issues, that's for us to sort out.

I will post again once we're up and running (will be in about 2-3 weeks)

Janieb
26-Jan-10, 16:16
Hi, I would be interested in veg box scheme and I'm in Wick.

buzzard
05-Feb-10, 17:44
We are starting the veg box scheme next Thursday :D,they will be delivered in Wick, and normally the boxes for the Thurso area will be taken to Thurso the same evening.
We are starting with 6 weekly boxes and 5 fortnightly. I have been contacted by a lot more people but not everyone has replied to my last message (yet).

chaz
08-Feb-10, 14:20
We are starting the veg box scheme next Thursday :D,they will be delivered in Wick, and normally the boxes for the Thurso area will be taken to Thurso the same evening.
We are starting with 6 weekly boxes and 5 fortnightly. I have been contacted by a lot more people but not everyone has replied to my last message (yet).

Thank you for all the effort you have put into this:)Looking forward to Thursday:)

egregory
09-Feb-10, 17:40
Count me in, sent you a pm.

johndy
12-Feb-10, 15:52
Just picked up my veg box, and fruit bag, really pleased with whats in it x

chaz
12-Feb-10, 17:03
I got mine ,am delighted with it,thank you x

Allsorts
13-Feb-10, 09:57
My kids were so excited opening the box to see what we had.....looks fab

buzzard
14-Feb-10, 08:47
I'm also very happy with my box, it was a 'standard' size box and we had:
leeks, onions, carrots, parsnips, swede, tomatoes, broccoli, beetroot and savoy cabbage.

I found a website with a lot of information on veg boxes: tips, info on seasonal veg, best way to cook them and store them etc, and recipes:
http://www.vegbox-recipes.co.uk/

roadbowler
15-Feb-10, 19:35
yea, chuffed to bits with the box. Same box as you buzzard but, split with my brother-in-law. Carrots, onion, tomatoes and broccoli in a curry now and making a big beetroot and carrot salad for tomorrow along side a cold pasta salad. Makes cooking fun with a surprise box of veg! Fantastic!

Commore
12-Mar-10, 10:22
I was looking for a local vegetable box scheme but couldn't find any in Caithness. This seems to be the closest one:

http://www.macleodorganics.com/

I contacted them to see if they would consider delivering to Caithness. I got a very friendly reply that they would maybe consider it in the future if there would be enough interest.

So my question is, is anyone else interested?

All vegetables are organic and most are local (Highlands or rest of Scotland).

Although I usually don't buy organic in the supermarkets as I find it too expensive, and the produce often comes from far away, I really love the idea of veg boxes! I think prices are very reasonable as well.

Macleod replied to me that "they would need at least 20 boxes/interested customers to make adelivery run worth looking at, although delivering a few boxes to,and collecting from, a central point via a courier may be a more cost effective option." and "At the moment, Morven (who has a farm above Alness) delivers our boxes asfar as Tain. She will be looking at the possibility of delivering further in the New Year"

A courier to our/your home for a single box would be £5-6, but I find that too expensive to pay regularly.
If there is more interest maybe we could arrange a pick up point in Caithness where everyone could collect their box?

So please pm me if you are interested. Please include your location, and whether or not you could travel regularly to Wick or another town/village to pick up a box.

Macleod can also supply potatoes, fruit, eggs, tofu, meat, cheese,...

I have been watching this post, on and off as you do.
It strikes me as strange, that those who live in the Caithness area, are so reluctant to take a look around the area in which they live,
there are numerous farms and crofts all producing high quality "organic / or as close to organic" as the consumer is likely to get, anywhere.

The same can be said of meat, Caithness you have it all, right there on your doorstep,
my thoughts are buy local, buy straight from from the farm or croft,
and this post just begs the question, why don't you?

chaz
12-Mar-10, 11:06
I buy all my meat from kenny at greystones, fatten my own chickens,have an abundance of freerange eggs,grow a lot of veg, but get a veg box for the variety and freshness.The veg boxes are very good and with unusual veg in them open up kids to veg which we cannot get locally.We eat a lot of veg and have found the overall quality to be 100% better than supermarket veg.

Stefan
12-Mar-10, 12:24
Is there an organic veg box scheme in caithness?

ShelleyCowie
12-Mar-10, 12:44
Iv been really interested in this, but still unsure. Its the fruit bag and the potatoes that interest me most really. But for the fruit bags, can you order extra of 1 fruit, oranges are a massive favourite in our house. My OH takes 2 to work a day. Then the kids love them in their packed lunches aswell. So i would need alot of them :confused

Is it possible to order more of 1 fruit then?

roadbowler
12-Mar-10, 14:46
ditto what chaz says. I too have my own eggs, buy local veg when it comes thru the wee shop and grow some of my own. Not last spring, spring before i was giving piles of veg away to my neighbours, leeks, cabbage, kale, sprouting broccoli in order to clear my patch to get in the next lot rolling. Last year i had other priorities and didna have the time to put in the same effort so, have really been appreciating these veg boxes. They are quite fantastic.

If you know of anywhere in caithness selling local organic mustard greens, rocket, chicory, celery and broccoli on top of all the other basic veggies in these boxes i'm all ears.

windswept
19-Mar-10, 08:36
Excuse my ignorance... but what is the unusual root veg that was in yesterdays delivery.

Is it a sunchoke?

chaz
19-Mar-10, 08:43
Hi, maybe im wrong but thats what i thought it was also, so hope im not wrong as i told the kids it was that:lol: Great boxes for kids to try new veg.

sjj278
19-Mar-10, 19:37
I also was confused as to what they were so i emailed to ask............ here is the answer!


Belgian endives, a variety of Chicory, the smooth, creamy white leaves may be served stuffed, baked, boiled, cut and cooked in a milk sauce, or simply cut raw. From the same plant family as the Dandelion (yes dandelion) the root (not in the box) is widely used as a coffee substitute.
Slightly bitter, the whiter the leaf, the less bitter the taste. The harder inner part of the stem, at the bottom of the head, should be cut out before cooking to stifle the bitterness.
As the name suggests, Belgium is a big exporter, but today the largest producer of endives is France, we haven't had to go that far to get them though, these were grown by 'Earthshare' at Forres.
Heres hoping they go down well, we'll include them again in the next few boxes.

windswept
19-Mar-10, 20:04
No I didnt mean the chicory - I was meaning the root veg.


I also was confused as to what they were so i emailed to ask............ here is the answer!


Belgian endives, a variety of Chicory, the smooth, creamy white leaves may be served stuffed, baked, boiled, cut and cooked in a milk sauce, or simply cut raw. From the same plant family as the Dandelion (yes dandelion) the root (not in the box) is widely used as a coffee substitute.
Slightly bitter, the whiter the leaf, the less bitter the taste. The harder inner part of the stem, at the bottom of the head, should be cut out before cooking to stifle the bitterness.
As the name suggests, Belgium is a big exporter, but today the largest producer of endives is France, we haven't had to go that far to get them though, these were grown by 'Earthshare' at Forres.
Heres hoping they go down well, we'll include them again in the next few boxes.

chaz
19-Mar-10, 21:10
No I didnt mean the chicory - I was meaning the root veg.

I ment the root one also:D

buzzard
21-Mar-10, 08:33
I think it's jerusalem artichoke.:)

If anyone wants a good chicory recipe, we're Belgian and it's traditionally made in the oven, each piece rolled in a slice of ham and cheese (boiled first, the bottom -and bottom of core- removed, to make it less bitter).If you want a more detailed recipe let me know.
Also good with bechamel sauce. Or raw, chopped in small pieces with a sauce like mayonnaise.

onecalledk
30-Mar-10, 10:46
hi

can anyone tell me what the veg that looked a bit like ginger was please ?

thanks
K

chaz
30-Mar-10, 12:23
hi

can anyone tell me what the veg that looked a bit like ginger was please ?

thanks
K

If its the root veg that looks like ginger its artichoke / sunchoke:D

onecalledk
30-Mar-10, 13:41
thank you, feel I am on a steep learning curve with these veg boxes :)

windswept
22-Apr-10, 19:19
Can you please PM me I have your veggie box

Birdie Wife
23-Apr-10, 11:20
If I lived closer to Thurso I'd definitely get a veg box too, I'm fortunate to have some decent space in my garden so I grow what I can.

Here's a link to a site you might find helpful, lots of recipe suggestions there:
http://vegbox-recipes.co.uk/index.php

and here's a section on jerusalem artichokes which tells you how to prepare them as well as recipes:
http://vegbox-recipes.co.uk/ingredients/jerusalem-artichoke.php

The site is geared a bit to what's seasonal down south but the recipe search is really good :cool:

Futurefood
10-Dec-13, 12:20
Hi,

Carrots Wholefood at 31 Trail street Thurso, is doing a Veg Box Scheme.