Our title still says "Winter CSA," even though it's been looking a lot like spring the last few days. Late February and the first half of March are usually our leanest veggie days here. While the sunshine makes the plants in our greenhouses take a giant leap, we will have to wait another month before we can harvest radishes, scallions, and other spring crops. So for us, March is still part of the winter season.
Earlier this week we held our yearly NWPAGC Growers Meeting, the one time during the year when (almost) all of our farmers and producers are together. While most of it was a boring business meeting, I left the meeting very excited about this year's growing season. We had a long-time Amish grower leave our co-op this winter, but we are adding at least three new growers to our group, all young and excited about farming! The President of our Board, Derek Kellogg from Glacial Till Farm, reminded us of the strength that our diversity brings to our CSA. Since we are many farms, we can each raise the products that grow best on our farms instead of needing to raise all varieties in a mediocre way. We also discussed doing virtual farm tours as a way for all of you to "meet" the farmers. At this meeting the farmers also tell me what they plan to raise this year so I can see where we have gaps to fill in order to bring you a well-rounded CSA.
Most of our veggie farmers already have seeds started in their greenhouses or under grow lights. Our animal farmers are wading through mud to do chores, and babies continue to be born. Some farmers will get their first batch of meat chicks soon so they can be finished for early summer CSA.
At Bushel and a Peck Farm we have been in the woods tapping maple trees, power washing all of our collection tanks, and deep cleaning our evaporator. Sap began running on Wednesday, and we will likely boil for the first time this weekend. In the pic above, you can see an example of the tubing that runs through our woods. We drill a small hole in each tree and insert a plastic tap. A small tube connects the tap with larger tubes, making a pipeline to our sap house. There the sap is collected into a large tank, and when the tank is full we pump it into another tank on our truck to transport to the evaporator near the house. When the sap is running profusely, we have to collect it three or four times per day! We're getting a late start on the season, which usually begins in early- to mid-February, but the deep freeze delayed everything. Maple season requires warmish days and cold nights, so we're hoping that we don't get a huge warm-up anytime soon. Once the trees start to bud in the warmth, the season is over because the syrup will have a bitter flavor.
CSA Shares are full of greens this week, along with potatoes, shiitake mushrooms, and popcorn. New this week is fresh butter from Detweiler Farm! Baked goods from Dinner Bell Farm include Blueberry Muffins, Almond Biscotti, and Pepperoni Rolls.
If you would like more of any of the greens, be sure to check back periodically throughout the weekend to see if someone else has swapped it back into inventory.
Enjoy the abundant sunshine and warmer weather. And be sure to sign up for Spring and Summer CSA!
On behalf of your NWPA Growers farmers,
Amy Philson
