Hello Farm-ily!
Fall is officially at our doorsteps & this week’s share will reflect that with more potatoes, a variety of peppers, the first of the winter squash, carrots, and parsnips. We put our sweet potato slips in late this year so we are letting them grow as long as possible. We know you want them! Lettuce is slowly coming in after the brutal heat of August and early September. It looks great! Salads are in your future.
Although I love using these emails to pass on farm news about what to expect in your weekly share, this week it’s important to turn to how you continue to enjoy your share. PLEASE keep reading ;).
There is A LOT of information in this email.
It's been an amazing journey to do this work. It's an honor to take all my skills and experiences and put them together to build this farm (and trust me I've used them all) and serve my fellow locavores (that's you). It is a joy to share my story and to hear yours through encounters at farm events, on farm pick up, the Hereford Farmer's market, email communication and most recently the Farm-ily Facebook page.
Building this farm has built community. I wouldn't want one without the other.
So thank you for coming along on this ride with me as we move into the final weeks of this season and talk about changes for next year.
The picture above shows 2 of my amazing kids; Isabelle (Izzi-12 yr) and Henry (almost 16) modeling the Oak Spring Farm sweatshirts. As auto renew approaches we are putting together some great incentives for you to commit to your 2022 subscription by October 20.
Can you believe it’s already time to talk about reserving your spot for the 2022 CSA Season?
It is and we've made some improvements!
We have been experimenting with share sizes and season length looking for what makes the most sense for all. To streamline the sign up and delivery process we have combined the Whole Season (29 weeks) and Summer season (21 weeks) shares to create one
26 week Whole Season share for 2022 that runs May 15-November 13.
Whichever share you have now your 2022 membership will be the new 26 week share. Less confusion. Better service, more choices.
The 2022 Spring share will be limited enrollment and reserved for returning members and you must sign up manually for Spring season. This is a 7 week season.
This year’s auto renew date is Oct. 20. So what exactly does that mean for you?
It means you get first choice at shares that sell out quickly like small veggie share and fruit and egg add-on shares. It means the best price OSF can offer and early sign on bonus gifts!
You will receive an email about your membership details on Friday, Oct. 15 that will be separate from the usual weekly share email detailing that week’s pick up.
You will have five days as a grace period in which you can make changes to your share type, size, frequency, location, or cancel your order.
On Wed., Oct. 20, your card will be charged and your membership will be renewed with us.
It's the easy button.
Once your order has been completed and your card has been charged, you will receive a “Welcome Back” email series that provides you with reminders of how to use your Harvie account.
As you know, we are strongly committed to growing sustainably, building community, and supporting your growth on this eating journey. By choosing Oak Spring as your CSA Farm, we recognize and appreciate that YOU are just as committed to walking this path with us. We are grateful for your support of local farming and Oak Spring’s Mission.
As a THANK YOU to our Farm’ily members who continue with us on this journey, any member who auto renews a full share on Oct. 20 will receive:
*Special member pricing before increases to the general public on Oct. 21.
*$5 credit to be redeemed by Sunday October 24th through your weekly share email in order to receive it with your final summer share pick up on Tues., Oct. 26. If you are a 2021 Whole Season share member you will have until Sunday November 21st to redeem your credit.
*A complimentary jar of apple butter from another favorite local farmer -- Shaw’s Orchards.
*An OSF jar opener to add another great tool to your kitchen must-haves and enjoy your apple butter.
*An OSF car magnet to show off your support of local farming and encourage others to join our local food journey
*And 1 entry each for 2 separate drawings at the Hereford Market on Sat., Oct. 30: one for our OSF sweatshirt (value $45) & one for our winter OSF beanie (value $15)
You are an IMPORTANT part of maintaining not only your own health, but the health your family, community and local farms.
Below are answers to some commonly-asked questions about auto-renew, but don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any others.
We are here to help you through this process and ensure it’s as simple as possible!
Don’t want to participate in this season or need to change your payment option?
To opt out of auto renew or change your payment options Log into your Harvie account here → https://www.harvie.farm/account/subscription Update your auto renew settings
What will I be charged?
You will be defaulted into the payment option you chose when you first placed your order.
What if I need to change my location, share type, frequency, or share size?
You can make changes to your order during the grace period and prior to the process payment date.
What if I don’t want the next season but want to participate in the future?
Just login and uncheck the auto renew box. When you are ready to join us again, just sign up as you normally would. You’ll still have an account with us!
Why is my farm doing auto renew vs. traditional sign up methods?
Auto renew is done as a courtesy to you. Simply “set it and forget it” and continue to get farm-fresh produce from us season to season without missing a delivery. You no longer have to remember to sign up every season. We take the worry out of it. This also ensures your spot gets saved before sign up opens to the general public!
Fruit Share: Senshu apples (an early Fuji variety. You've seen Gala and Honeycrisp mostly so far) from Shaw Orchard
Bread share: Multiseed
Cheese share: cheddar
Storage tip of the week: We like to package when we can in recycled paper bags. It feels more environmentally friendly. Sometimes for longer term storage your peppers and apples may want to be stored in plastic bags. If you wash and dry the plastic bags you so often get from us you can easily have enough plastic bags to work with for all your produce.
Recipe of the week:
2 pounds parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 Tbls Olive oil, salt & pepper
3 stalks celery, diced
1 Tbls butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbls of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of ground ginger or a Tbls of freshly grated ginger
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup whole milk or substitute coconut milk
½ cup heavy cream or substitute coconut cream
Enjoy your week! Use this email to fall back on to answer questions about the 2022 share and auto renew in October. Thank you so much for your loyalty to Oak Spring. We love to grow for you and WITH you!
