March 23, 2020
Auspiciously Planning for Harvests in May
by Farmer Dana

CSA pick ups normally begin in mid-May. This year it should be either the week of May 11th or the 18th, depending primarily on weather conditions before then. We're staying abreast of the current situation off the farm. We're fortunately deemed an "essential business" so can remain open. Prior to the start of pick ups we'll research how other farms and markets are dealing with distribution and may adjust our pick up if necessary (hopefully minimally if at all). More information on this will come in the future but rest assured you can feel safe, secure, healthy, and happy here. That said, registration rates are on par with last year and the current situation is probably going to drive more folks to source food locally, especially directly from a farm. We have a finite membership goal and try not to go past it, so please consider signing up soon. To join, follow this link.

We're excited about some changes to the crop plan that we expect will enhance shares over the course of the season. As mentioned, we planted peas two weeks earlier than normal and inside a tunnel which should result in an early abundant crop of sweet snap peas. Maybe less exciting but just as nutritious, we're experimenting with transplanting hakurei turnips and salad radishes instead of direct seeding them. Our aim is to have earlier and better quality roots in the spring. We've also expanded the number of spring broccoli and broccolini plants after a small trial run last spring. We're also excited about two new chicories, Bel Fiore radicchio and Benefine endive. They're much less bitter than other chicories and are perfect in a salad. We've stumbled upon watermelon and cantaloupe varieties that performed well last year and tasted great. More sweet peppers and cherry tomatoes are planned. New varieties of celosia, rudbeckia, and zinnia will add additional beauty to the u-pick flower patch. Into the u-pick herb garden will go more rosemary, parsley, dill, and cilantro than last year. After losing some of our currenty raspberry patch (Nova) to continuous soil moisture during 2018 we've decided to plant 500 more plants in a better location (Encore). Our other patch may rebound now that we installed a waterway directly above the area of the field but it never hurts to have more raspberries. Late-summer bearing raspberries (Caroline) put in two years ago should begin yielding this year.

In closing we want you to know that we very much care about the health and well-being of our farm and CSA community. If there's anything additional we could provide to you and your family please let us know. Feel free to come to the farm to unwind, disconnect, and walk the woods and fields.