Hello again, Rivendale CSA members. It's week 11 of the CSA, which means we are now completing the first half of the season. Hard to believe!
Many of the folks in our CSA are participating as bi-weekly members. So from time to time I want to reiterate notes from previous weeks. This week I want to circle back and further explain our choice to put the sweet corn in the boxes. As some of you found out last week, the corn sometimes has a small worm in the tip.
We strive to put only high quality products in the CSA. The sweet corn pests create a difficult choice for us as organic-minded farmers. We know our members love corn on the cob, but we choose not to use chemical sprays to control the pests. So we decided to include corn in the CSA with hopes that you would agree with us--cutting off the tip is a worthwhile compromise in order to include this delicious and healthy produce in the boxes.
We rely on organic methods to grow all of our crops, because we believe it is healthy for the soil and the people consuming the food. And we are so glad to have this direct relationship with our customers like you so that we can communicate back and forth about where your food is coming from and how it is grown.
Keep the feedback coming. We're always interested to hear your experiences with your produce, and it helps us plan for the rest of this season and beyond. And if you prefer not to encounter corn with pests on the tip, please go to your Harvie account and set your corn preference to zero so that it'll never end up in your box. One of the great things about Harvie is that you can customize your box even throughout the season.
On behalf of the crew,
Neil
ps--This week's picture shows Susanna prepping some display items for an event we are attending at PNC Park tomorrow night. Rivendale Farms is a partner of the Pittsburgh Pirates (look for our banner on the outfield wall). Our dairy cows supply all the milk for the soft serve cones at the ballpark. And we are also involved in the PNC Park patio garden on the suite level, where we will be meeting with fans tomorrow night.
