May 29, 2022
Strawberry Season Begins!
by Farmer Dana

Main Season Harvest #2 (Week B) should include salad radishes, salad turnips (hakurei), kale, green garlic (whole plant is edible at this stage), head lettuce, lettuce mix, bok choy, swiss chard, cilantro, dill, and a bonus assortment of storage roots (potatoes, maybe daikons, rutabaga, and beets). Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include a small handful of herbs (please bring scissors) and strawberries.

May 29, 2022
Workshift Schedule for Week of 5/31/22
by Farmer Derek

Please consider joining us this week. With the wet and hot weather the weeds are growing like mad! We'll attempt to weed the carrots and onions.

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)!

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

May 29, 2022
June Already!
by Farmer Derek

Meteorological summer begins this week. It feels like just yesterday we were planting spring crops and worrying about frosts and freezes. Most of the traditional summer crops like zucchini, cucumber, watermelon, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant are now in the ground and are probably appreciating these warm and long days

Field space is quickly being consumed by crop production. Probably about 75% of the farm has been planted or will be by the end of June. In order to get crops in the ground we begin preparing about a month in advance. We take our time with soil/ground preparations, enlisting the help of mother nature along the way. Before each crop gets planted we make 4 or 5 passes with the tractor. If there is plant residue, either in the form of a cover crop or a previous cash crop, we shred it up with the flail mower. We then chisel plow to open up and aerate the soil (vertical shanks spaced about 12" apart, no inverting of soil, structure left largely intact). We wait a week, use our disk bedder - which is equipped with two sets of two disks, a few s-tines to loosen soil, and a rolling basket to break up clumps and level the bed - to hill or mound the soil and rough in raised beds. Another week passes, weeds hopefully germinate after a rain event, soil microbes digest some organic matter and convert it into food for the following crops, and we then come through with our cultivating bed shaper which is equipped with s-tines, side knives, and a shaper pan, to put the almost-finishing touches on the raised bed. Ideally another week goes by and we have another rain even to stimulate weed seed germination and we hit the beds one final time before planting. With each pass of the tractor and tillage tool we deposit a small amount of organic fertilizer right onto the bed where it gets mixed into the soil. These are techniques 14 years in the making and are continually updated and evaluated.

May 29, 2022
Pick Up Essentials
by Farmer Dana

- BYO baskets/bags/boxes, to bring your harvest home. Sometimes we have donated shopping bags on hand to pack your shares in, but sometimes we don’t! (Also, our produce is not packaged in any way, so bringing your own bags is important if you want produce kept separate within a larger container. This is a big part of how we play a part in reducing plastic use. One lovely member last year let us know that their plastic waste is reduced by half when they are picking up shares from the farm - great news!)

- Check off your name on the sign-in sheet before collecting your share from the barn. Organized by share size and alphabetically by last name.- Follow harvest amounts written on the chalk boards labeled with your share size (full, half, medium).

- If you need help with anything please feel free to ask a Farm Staffer in the barn for help at anytime!

- Parking is available in the large stone lot at the end of the driveway. Parking next to the barn is available for people with physical challenges and for cars with sleeping kids.

May 29, 2022
Guide to U-Pick
by Farmer Dana

Strawberries and herbs will be available this week, with snow peas following closely behind.

Some U-pick guidelines:

- Check the u-pick board in the hallway for u-pick crops and amounts before picking. Only crops listed on the board are available for u-pick.

- U-pick crops and weekly allotments can be harvested any day of the week, 8am–8pm Monday through Sunday of your pick up week. So if you can’t do your u-pick on your scheduled pick up day, feel free to come back any other day that week.

- BYO scissors for herbs and flowers.

- We provide half-pint, pint, and quart u-pick baskets for members to measure and harvest into. Please save these and reuse them as much as possible. If you have some that are still in good shape at the end of the season we'll gladly accept them back.

- There will be signs in the field directing you where to go and pick.

May 22, 2022
It Begins!
by Farmer Dana

Here we are! The start of the harvest season. Already it's been an exciting year with the wettest April + May in 14 years. But with the hard work from our stellar and dedicated crew the farm and crops are looking beautiful and harvests ahead are looking good. Many thanks to Craig, Sarah, Gabby, and Meghan for bringing their positivity and A-game to the fields every day! Thank you, also, to our membership for your support of our local food system. Especially in recent years the value of direct access to real and healthy food has become more apparent, and we are humbled and grateful to provide this service for our community. We're looking forward to a bountiful season and to seeing new and returning faces on the farm - here we go!

May 22, 2022
A Note on Storage
by Farmer Dana

Over the years many members have asked what the best way to store farm veggies is. Ours is probably not the best storage method but it works just super for us. We hang on to plastic bags that we acquire through other purchases and repurpose them, rinsing and drying them between uses. Big bags (like 2 gallon zip lock bags) work the best. In general we group similar items in the bags with each other. For example with this harvest I put lettuces together, kale and bok choy together, the roots and green garlic together, and the swiss chard all by its little lonesome. Then store in the refrigerator, not in the very back or on the top, or wherever is susceptible to freezing in your fridge. Easy peasy.

May 22, 2022
U-Pick
by Farmer Dana

U-pick crop allotment will be limited to labeled herbs in the Herb Garden until the strawberries and peas begin, probably during harvest week 2 or 3.

Some U-pick guidelines:

- Check the u-pick board in the hallway for u-pick crops and amounts before picking. Only crops listed on the board are available for u-pick.

- U-pick crops and weekly allotments can be harvested any day of the week, 8am–8pm Monday through Sunday of your pick up week. So if you can’t do your u-pick on your scheduled pick up day, feel free to come back any other day that week.

- BYO scissors for herbs and flowers.

- We provide half-pint, pint, and quart u-pick baskets for members to measure and harvest into. Please save these and reuse them as much as possible. If you have some that are still in good shape at the end of the season we'll gladly accept them back.

May 22, 2022
Pick Up Days and Times and Farm Communication
by Farmer Dana

- Pick up days are Mondays 1-8pm, Thursdays 1-8pm, Saturdays 10am–12pm. You're assigned a permanent pick up day but you may temporarily switch to a different day or week.

- If you need to switch your pick up day and/or week temporarily, please email us by 5pm the Sunday prior to the week of the change.

- After each pick up we'll look at the sign in sheets and will contact you if your name is not checked off to see if you did miss pick up and want to reschedule.

- We sent an email earlier this week reminding you of your designated pick up day and week. Please email us if you did not receive it. It was sent to the primary account holder's email address. If you did not receive it in your inbox, check spam or another folder. It's a good idea to make sure our emails end up in a place you'll notice them since this is how we communicate farm information, events, etc.

- You can log in and view your information on your members page, including share size, pick up day, work history, and balance.

May 22, 2022
Pick Up Essentials
by Farmer Dana

- BYO baskets/bags/boxes, to bring your harvest home. Sometimes we have donated shopping bags on hand to pack your shares in, but sometimes we don’t! (Also, our produce is not packaged in any way, so bringing your own bags is important if you want produce kept separate within a larger container. This is a big part of how we play a part in reducing plastic use. One lovely member last year let us know that their plastic waste is reduced by half when they are picking up shares from the farm - great news!)

- Check off your name on the sign-in sheet before collecting your share from the barn. Organized by share size and alphabetically by last name.

- Follow harvest amounts written on the chalk boards labeled with your share size (full, half, medium).

- If you need help with anything please feel free to ask a Farm Staffer in the barn for help at anytime!

- Parking is available in the large stone lot at the end of the driveway. Parking next to the barn is available for people with physical challenges and for cars with sleeping kids.

May 22, 2022
Workshifts this Week (5/23/22)
by Farmer Derek

Please consider joining us this week. With the wet and hot weather the weeds are growing like mad! We'll attempt to weed the carrots and onions.

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)!

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

May 22, 2022
Welcome!
by Farmer Dana

Main Season Harvest #1 (Week A) should include salad radishes, salad turnips (hakurei), kale, green garlic (whole plant is edible at this stage), head lettuce, lettuce mix, bok choy, swiss chard, garlic chives, and a bonus assortment of storage roots (potatoes, maybe daikons and beets). Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include a small handful of herbs (please bring scissors).