Let’s hope this week will be winter’s last gasp! While it remains to be seen how much snow we will get on Tuesday, the cold forecast surely means we are going to see a delay to the outdoor planting. Ironically, our bag of Blizzard snow peas will have to wait for the blizzard to pass!
Our hired farmhand, Brian, has the indoor plantings right on schedule in the greenhouse. The onions, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, some Asian greens and a whole lot more are germinated and growing well!
We are adding a whole bunch of new flowers to the cut flower garden this year. One such variety, Allysum, just surprised us by germinating in less then 24 hours! Who knew this was possible? Coming up next on the schedule are peppers including a rare Pennsylvania Dutch heirloom called Hinklehatz, which translates into chicken heart. While it describes the size and shape of the pepper, it is also described as being not for the chicken-hearted!! This pepper was recently added to Slow Food’s Ark of Taste. https://www.slowfoodusa.org/about-us
Other items we grow that are aboard their ark are Amish Paste and Cherokee Purple tomatoes, Deer Tongue lettuce, Gilfeather turnips, and Jimmy Nardello sweet peppers.
Every year we try to add and subtract items to the farm in an effort to give our CSA members the best possible experience and we encourage member feedback. It is in response to member feedback that we are adding two new options for this year.
First, we are introducing a sampler share size. The sampler share is 1 month/4 weeks of membership to our CSA. The month of choice will be up to you to decide. This is intended for those that are not sure if a 6 month commitment to a CSA is right for them, but would like to try it out. If you find that you enjoy being a member you can join for the rest of the year at the prorated amount. This also would work well for families that spend a lot of time away during the summer and makes a great gift idea. A full size sampler share costs $130 and a half size sampler share costs $80.
The other new option we are introducing this year will be the ability to boost certain items in the share. These items will be the ones that are very labor intensive for us to harvest like peas, beans, and cherry tomatoes. The boost option will allow you to pick your own unlimited amount of peas, beans, tomatoes, etc. This is intended for members who like to can, freeze, dehydrate, pickle, etc their produce for future use. The farm will be open for members who want to boost their share on CSA pick up days and Saturdays while quantities last. This option of course hinges on whether or not we have the amounts we are aiming for. One never knows in farming! We will give members a heads up before pick up day when this will be available. Cost will be determined then also.
Come on Spring!
Greg