November 1st and 2nd

New (or Back) this Week: Celery Leaf, Cilantro, Baby Beets & Carrots, Head Lettuce & Daikon Radishes

Welcome to our two week extended farm share season! Even we're surprised by how many crops we still have available for the next two weeks and it looks like the weather will hold out...

Let's talk crops for a minute...

Last week, the deer got inside our fence overnight and ate the biggest of the head lettuce plantings. We were hoping to harvest head lettuce last week, but since they ate it all, it was not to be. We have a different, later planting of head lettuce that we will be picking for the next two weeks. The heads are a little smaller than we would like, but they still taste delicious. We'll have butterhead, romaine, and a few red leaf heads.

We will also be starting to pull the beets and carrots this week. These will be a bit small due to the very small amount of rain that we received in September. We have been holding out as long as possible to see if they would get just a little larger, but now it is time to harvest! Sometimes, our customers ask us if they need to peel baby beets and carrots. We recommend just giving them a good scrub, and slicing or chopping with the outer skin still on. There is really no need for peeling with these tender baby-sized veggies.

We'll also start to pull the Daikon radishes this week. If you are not familiar with this veggie, it looks like a white carrot with a radish-like bite. Some people say they can be used just like a carrot. And, it is true that they are delicious in soup, stew, or stir-fry. They can also be lighted steamed or pickled.

Also this week, we introduce another one of our farm partners, Weatherbury Farm, located just down the road from us in Avella, PA. Owned by Dale, Nigel, and Marcy Tudor, Weatherbury produces certified organic grass-fed meats, grains, and milled flours. We'll be adding a few of their flour and grain products into our Extras for the next two weeks. We just love their organic pastry flour, which we use in all of our pies, cookies, and breads sold in our Farm Market & Cafe.

Check out Weatherbury at http://weatherburyfarm.com/.

Thank you for joining us for our extended season!

Jodi, Allie, Katie, Emily, and Annie

The CVO Growing Team

Cherry Valley Organics began in 2001 as a USDA certified organic farm, producing a high diversity of agricultural products, including vegetables, herbs, cut flowers, and potted plants. Since those early years, we have grown into an organic lifestyle company, producing a wide diversity of products that support a clean, organic lifestyle, including our herbal teas and herbal body care products, all of which are grown or hand-made at our farm.

At Cherry Valley Organics, we believe in…

*Living the healthiest life possible (full of organics!)
*Fair, livable wages for our team members
*USDA certified organic growing and production practices
*Minimizing our carbon footprint and ecological impact
*Supporting our local community

Cherry Valley Organics is a collaboration. Unlike traditional family farms, we come from diverse geographical, family, and professional backgrounds. We are growers, scientists, food & health enthusiasts, teachers, caretakers, chefs, and nutritionists. We are all farmers. And, all of us here at Cherry Valley Organics are committed to growing and producing high quality certified organic products for our community. We would never compromise on organics. Ever.

Cherry Valley Organics, founded by Jodi Danyo, began as a one-third-acre “urban farm” in the Pittsburgh suburb of Crafton, Cherry Valley Organics now encompasses approximately 36 acres in nearby Cherry Valley, Washington County, PA. Despite this expansion, the footprint of the operation is still quite small with farming operations encompassing less than 8 acres. The farm was built, quite literally, from the ground up!

Our Farm Share Growers, Emily Kramer, Vanessa Davis, Lindsay Henry, Alexis Williams, and Alliy Gundlach, love producing high quality organic products for our local Pittsburgh communities. You can find our products at the Sewickley Farmer’s Market on Saturdays (April through November), and also at local florists and specialty shops. In 2018, we opened a Farm Market & Cafe along the Panhandle Trail in Burgettstown, PA.

What makes our Farm Share unique?

*We wash the produce. Thoroughly. You are unlikely to get any mud in your CVO Farm Share bag. We still recommend that you wash our veggies, but many items will be ready to eat (and may make for excellent snacking in the car on the way home from the pick-up location).

*High diversity of veggie crops. We grow over 150 varieties of vegetables and herbs per season, on average.

*Specialty crops, like microgreens. It's a bit unusual to see this high value crop in farm share programs. They are a bit tricky to grow, but wow do they pack a nutritional punch! Despite their small size, they are the most nutritious veggie in the share!

*We believe in minimizing our environmental impact, and we use biodegradable and compostable packaging wherever possible. And we have a variety of new packaging products in the works for 2021.

*Specialty cut flowers are a niche crop for us. We grow many of the hard-to-grow flower varieties like Ranunculus, Bells of Ireland, Delphinium, and more. Many more. Nearly 300 varieties! Our flowers are not your run of the mill market flowers. Our bouquets are carefully crafted, and absolutely gorgeous!

*We have extensive partnerships with other local businesses and farms, including Primrose Farm (pasture-raised eggs), Paul Family Farms (maple syrup), Tait Farm (jams, butters, shrubs), Weatherbury Farm (flours, milled products), Big Bob's Honey (honey), Clarion River Organics (potatoes, sweet potatoes, melons, winter squash), Woolf Family Farms (blueberries, apples, peaches), Cherish Creamery (cheese), Emerald Valley Artisans (cheese), Steel Cup Coffee Roasters (organic, fair-trade coffee), Conover Family Farm (pickles, hot sauce) and more! A selection of these items is available on a weekly basis and can be added onto your Veggie Farm Share in any quantity you choose. We believe in the value of small business and keeping dollars in our Pittsburgh neighborhoods.

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