We had a fabulous turnout for Family Farm Day despite the rainy forecast and want to give a public thank you to all who volunteered to paint faces, sell cider donuts, run the hay obstacle course, and so much more. Thanks to all who came to enjoy the day with us!On Wednesday we are hosting our mid-season shareholders meeting. As I mentioned in a previous post, this is an excellent chance to deliver your feedback directly to the folks with the ability to make decisions about the CSA’s direction and future. We will be meeting on Wednesday September 28th from 6-7:30pm in the CSA barn (note: location has changed). We are planning to start the meeting with introductions, a brief review of the season so far and an overview of the mid-season survey results before opening the floor to questions and conversation with shareholders. Please sign up to attend the meeting here!
Some fun news from the farm includes the arrival of America's Test Kitchen on Monday. They will be using the porch of the Old House to film the intro scenes of their show Cook's County. There will be a few days over the next two weeks where access to the Old House will be restricted so just keep an eye out for their signs. We'll let you know when the show airs if you're interested.
As part of The Trustees Hike 125, we are offering our second Pinnacle to Pinnacle Walking Tour in September. Led by two long-time volunteers, this hike will introduce you to the incredible story of Appleton Farms, the family members who called this farm home for 9 generations, and the origin of the Gore Hall Pinnacles that are part of this treasured landscape. Join Susan and Katrina to visit the Prince of Wales and New House Pinnacles on Sunday, September 25th. Walks are FREE to Members. $5 for Nonmembers. This walk meets in front of the Old House at 10am.
The Share
Greens
Bok Choi
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Peppers
Carrots
Squash
Garlic
Onions
Kale/Collards
PYO Cherry Tomatoes
Updates from the Fields:
We have finally reached “peak tomato” this week. Like
peak oil, peak tomato is the point at which we have reached the maximum rate of
harvest for the season before yields begin to diminish. This may sound
like a negative occurrence but with context it is actually quite good
news. Tomato harvesting is a major consumer of labor during this time of the
year. The entire farm crew probably spent 40% of this week just on tomato
harvest. Right now we are picking tomatoes faster than shareholders are
using them and unfortunately we can’t just stop harvesting because this week’s
ripe tomatoes become next weeks rotten mess if left out on the vine.
Still, in a year of austerity it does feel very nice to have something in
excess. Since we aren’t seeing many problems with blight (possibly the
only advantage this drought has brought us) the tomatoes may well last until
the first frost. My hope and plan is that yields will diminish gradually
over the next three weeks and we will have enough warning before the first
frost to harvest absolutely everything that is left on the vine. At this
point it doesn’t seem unreasonable to hope for tomatoes through the second week
in October. Keep your fingers crossed for moderate over night lows and we
just might get there.
In the past week or so many shareholders have been
struggling to make it to the share room during their regularly scheduled pickup
block. We understand that the changing season can bring chaos to our
regular routines and sometimes things just come up. For this reason we
try to be as flexible as possible with our official policy of asking for
advanced written notice if you plan to swap your pickup block. In turn we
ask that you let us know as soon as you can that you will need to switch pickup
days. For us, this isn’t just an overly formal courtesy. We plan our
work week around harvests and getting a dozen more or less shareholders than
expected on a given day can interrupt the flow of our work or cause certain
items to unexpectedly run out in the share room. Thank you for doing your
best to help us with this issue. If you need to switch your pickup block
for a single week or for the rest of the season please send an email to me at rwood@thetrustees.org or to Ashley at Achapman@thetrustees.org
.
October 9th will feature classic rock music by Decades of Rock and food by Gabi’s Smoke Shack BBQ truck.
October 16th will feature reggae music by Soul Rebel Project and food by Copper Dome Crust (wood fired pizza) and Boston Burger.
October 23rd will feature folk-rock music by Rust Never Sleeps, a Neil Young inspired band, and Copper Dome Crust pizza truck and Gabi’s Smoke Shack. Plus on October 23rd, bring a carved pumpkin for our pumpkin contest and let the kids come in costumes to take part in the farmyard trick-or-treat! Carved, glowing pumpkins will surround the event for a spectacular Halloween inspired show
