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NEW CROPS IN 2008:
If I can find enough space to squeeze all these in, we will try celery, broccoli raab, brussel sprouts, chinese cabbage, celeriac, claytonia, rutabagas, vegetable amaranth and sunchokes. We may also have some asparagus, horseradish and raspberries, but we won't really know until we see how well they do. Whenever I'm trying something for the first time, it's best not to have your heart set on it because I might goof things up! CROPS WE GREW IN 2007: See our 2007 Delivery Schedule. CSA PLAN FOR 2008: Once again we have decided to focus our efforts on increasing share size and quality rather than trying to increase our membership this year. That means we will be trying to fix some of the problems we had last year with pests, yields, and timing of harvest. In particular, we fell short in the fall due to diseases in the tomatoes and underplanting of fall root crops and squash. We've adjusted plans accordingly so we hope to make it farther into October this year. The end result should be that we will have a few more items available each week and a more plentiful supply in the fall and early spring. Am I organic? I am not certified organic, but I follow organic practices and I have signed the Farmer's Pledge, which is run by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY). I'm considering certifying in the next few years if I start marketing to retail outlets. Please be assured that I will not use any synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. Pick-up of produce will be once a week on the front porch of our house. I am currently looking for a 2008 CSA member that lives in Ithaca to volunteer their home/porch as a pick-up location. See the Volunteer Opportunities page for more info. This would give CSA members the choice of picking up at the farm in Slaterville Springs (where is the farm?) or in Ithaca. If we are unable to set up a pick-up location in Ithaca, CSA members will be encouraged to organize amongst themselves to take turns picking up shares if they don't want to have to drive out to the farm each week. Share pick-up will be from 2-6pm Tuesday (in Ithaca) and 2-6pm Friday (at the farm). If you miss the share pick-up time, your share will be donated to other CSA members, a local food pantry, or the hungry Happy Farmer and his family. We just don't have the time or the facilities to keep your share in good shape for more than several hours, so please be understanding of this policy. Especially if you realize within a couple hours of the pick-up time, you are welcome to contact us to see if you share still exists, and if it does we'd be happy to give it (or what's left of it) to you. If you know you won't be able to make a pick-up, please have another CSA member or friend pick-up for you. Sign for your share and anyone else's that you pick-up each week on the "share sign-out sheet". The sheet will be on a clip board next to the shares. That way I'll have a record of who is picking up the shares for themselves as well as for others just in case anything goes wrong. Please bring your own bags when you come to pick up your share. I will have extra bags hanging around in case you forget and you are welcome to bring your clean unripped plastic grocery bags to the farm for me to reuse. Share size and options . . . I will try to size the share to generously feed two vegetarian adults who love to cook or adequately feed two adults and a couple kids. However, when crops do unexpectedly well you may get more than you can use in a week. In this case, share it with your friends and neighbors or put it in the free box for other CSA members to take (see below to read about the free box). Some crops also do unexpectedly poorly or they are too laborious to provide you with as many as you could possibly eat (i.e. strawberries, cherry tomatoes, raspberries, snap peas, green beans, etc.). Be understanding when there isn't as much as you'd like, but I appreciate it when you let me know if you want more on the feedback page. We delivered 16 weeks of produce in 2006, 20 weeks of produce in 2007 and we are hoping for 22 in 2008. Because of our small size, there are no share options such as half-shares, fruit shares, etc. If you think one share is too much for you, we encourage you to sign up with a friend and split the share among you. This year's CSA share price is $600. Each CSA member will be required to make a $50 deposit to reserve a share. This deposit can be made as early as January, but no later than April 1. Shares will be sold first to the previous year's members and then on a first-come/first-served basis. This means that if you decide to wait until the end of March to decide, but others are willing to pay their deposits early, there may be no shares left by April 1. Deposits are fully refundable through March 1--after that, deposits are non-refundable. The balance of the CSA price ($550) can be paid in one of two ways. The preferred payment method is to pay the entire sum ($550) by May 15. However, I will also accept payment in three installments: $150 by May 15, $200 by June 15, and $200 by July 15 (total share price is still $600). About the pricing . . . Please understand that you will NOT get $30 of produce each week ($600 divided by 20 weeks is $30 per week). You may get less than that in the spring and fall and more than that in mid-late summer. So don't feel ripped off in the spring when things are just getting started! There will be a "free box" set up at each share pick-up and you are welcome to take anything there in addition to your regular share. I may put blemished produce in there for you to take if you want and others may put an unwanted part of their share in as well. Hopefully this will keep us from wasting produce and allow you to get a little extra of what you like every once in a while. There is no work hour requirement for this CSA, but you are welcome to volunteer. Many CSA's have work requirements for CSA members, but I have decided against this for now. However, volunteering at the farm is a great way for you to be a part of your own food production, it's a great help to me, and it's a great learning experience for kids and adults. I will organize three or four volunteer days where I will plan an activity for you to help out and learn a little about gardening. Attendance is optional and KIDS ARE WELCOME. If you would like to volunteer additional time, just tell me and we can work something out. I may also approach individual CSA members about additional volunteer opportunities as needs arise. "Harvest helpers" can come help me pick a particular crop and take home part of the harvest. At my discretion (i.e. when I can't keep up with the garden . . . ), I will invite CSA members to come help harvest a particular crop. When you do this you will be asked to give at least half of your harvest to the farm and you can take home the rest. We will definitely do this during cherry tomato season! Any time you feel like coming out the morning of a pick-up to help harvest, that works great too. I'm usually out harvesting by 5:30am and I'm usually scrambling to get it all finished for 2pm. Helpers are always rewarded with extras of what they like in that week's share. Our farm is kid friendly. You are welcome to bring kids to the farm anytime you come. We have a play set in the backyard that they are welcome to use. Remember that YOU are responsible for your child's safety during your visit. Children should not be allowed to play in the barn--the upstairs is structurally unsound. Please keep children away from farm machinery and tools that may be left out and remember that if they trample through the garden, that's less produce for you! Farm visits . . . In general, we ask you to limit your visits to the farm to the time that you pick up your shares. Please call first if you would like to visit at another time. Please remember this is our home and we prefer not to have people about when we are not home. Please also be considerate of our neighbors, especially on the east side where our yard goes behind theirs. I need CSA member's input/feedback!! This is as much YOUR CSA as it is mine. Please be vocal about what you like and do not like about the CSA. I won't be able to do everything you ask or grow everything you want, but your input is welcome and I'll do what I can. CSA member potlucks! To help me get your input I'll have a potluck lunch or supper at our house sometime in April. This will give me a chance to answer any questions and give you all a chance to meet each other. We'll also have a fall potluck to help me know how it went. More about future share prices . . . I will be calculating the value of the share you are receiving (based on organic produce retail pricing) as the year goes along to be sure you get your money's worth. In 2006 CSA members paid $200 and received ~$265 of produce. In 2007 shares cost $400 and each share recieved ~$600 of produce--that's a savings of about 25-30% each year. I'm hoping to deliver another good deal this year, but, as always, it's a bit of a gamble. Each year I will re-evaluate the share price based on retail prices, consumer demand, and our own efforts to increase share value. |