It looks like we will finally get some true winter weather this week. The mud on our farms has been a nuisance lately, and I know the snow has to come. Our crops that overwinter (like garlic) can use a blanket of snow to protect them from the frost. One of the biggest challenges in winter is making sure our animals stay warm enough and keeping their water from freezing. Yet while we enjoy the beauty of fresh snowfall and step up to the challenge of farming through it, we are poring over seed catalogs and planning this year's crops to bring you the best CSA year ever.
New Products
We have partnered with Cherry Valley Organics, a CSA farm south of Pittsburgh, to carry their organic herbal teas and vinegars. Their farm is owned and operated by women who are committed to nurturing the land that they live on.
This Week
We are moving into the time of year where much of our fall produce is running out, so we rely on Harmony Grove Farm's heated greenhouse for much of our fresh produce (see the featured photo). They bring us lots of lettuce this week, as well as smaller quantities of various greens. For those who have a veggie share this winter, you will likely see eggs, maple, honey, and more in your share in the coming weeks. Remember that you can swap for any of our member farms' products in your share (including meat and body products). Full-Grocery shares allow you to swap for non-member farm products like cheese, milk, fish, and more. Our Summer CSA shares will move to the Full-Grocery model, allowing you to swap for more products instead of paying extra for them.
It looks like we will only have enough mushrooms to fill the Mushroom Shares this week. Eric from Full Moon Mushrooms tells me that he is having trouble with fresh air exchange in his grow houses while keeping the temperatures constant, so his harvest is low. Hopefully he will be back to normal for the next delivery.
Our cheese got restocked this week, with a couple of new varieties. Middlefield added a couple of new organic cheeses, and we also have Paneer cheese for your Indian dishes.
Summer CSA: We are finalizing details for next season. We will run Auto-Renew the first week of February, so please check your Auto-Renew status on your account. You can learn more about Auto-Renew here.
Have you checked out our Facebook and Instagram pages lately? Autumn is posting info about our farms, sharing recipe ideas for your CSA share, and lots more. Be sure you leave a comment or ask a question so we can get to know each other better.
Don't forget to customize your share by Sunday night so you get exactly what you want in your share next week. Stay warm everyone!
Amy
