March 31, 2018
Breaking Ground
By Derek McGeehan

Crops are growing and spring is in the air (at least some of the time). The cacophony of spring peepers is now pleasantly deafening during the evening hours at our upper pond and the ground is just about dry enough outside to begin earnestly thinking about working it and preparing it for planting. Inside our structures we're just about ready to transplant beets and lettuces and direct seed sweet hakurei turnips and mildly spicy salad radishes. Peas are on the march towards needing to be transplanted no matter what the weather or ground conditions. The rest of the first round of crops including romaine and head lettuces, endive, escarole, radicchio, kale, cabbage, chard, spinach, and kohlrabi will be transplanted this week, the following week, or if the weather really takes a turn for the worse the 3rd week of April (let's hope not).

Spring clean up is fully under way now that we can spend more time outside. Fencelines are being repaired and spared of vegetative weight. A big job this past week was moving 800 feet of fence to the other side of our 2.5-acre pollinator habitat so we could better interact with it during the growing season. We're thinking a mowed path through it will allow members to appreciate its natural native beauty throughout the growing season while its profusion of flowers are present. This space is a big benefit to the farm for many reasons including natural pest control, as a home for native pollinators, and nesting area for birds.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Breaking-Ground-2056/

March 31, 2018
Sign Up and Refer A Friend Credit!
by Dana Hunting

Secure your 26-week-long share of fresh local certified organic produce from farmers you know and can trust. Celebrating Anchor Run CSA's 15th year - and our 10th here - 2018 is sure to be a great season! Log in here to join. Contact us if you have any questions, concerns, ideas, or trouble logging in.

Interested in helping your CSA meet its membership goal? Participate in our Refer a Friend Program. If your efforts result in a new CSA member we'll credit your account as follows: $10 for a new Full Share member; $7 for a new Medium Share member; and $5 for a new Half Share member! Simply let us know who the new members are via e-mail. (New members are ones that join after March 21st when we began is program.)

Our total number of members will be the same this year as it has been for the past 5 seasons (250 weekly). As of now we're about 75% full.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Sign-Up-and-Refer-A-Friend-Credit-2057/

March 21, 2018
A Few Dates for You
by Dana Hunting

Check out our calendar!

April 29: New Member Orientation and Farm Open House 10am-2pm (u-pick/field tours on the hour and pick up room/barn tours on the half hour). Rain date will be May 6th.

May 1: CSA share balance due (log in to view your balance)

May 7: Establishment of Week A or Week B for Half Shares (also log in to view)

May 14: First week of pick up for Full, Medium, and Week A Half shares (probably)

May 19: First potluck of the year

May 21: First week of pick up for Week B Half shares (probably)

June 2: 'What Now?!' class full of pointers on how to use your CSA share

Late April/Early May: Workshift opportunities should begin. We'll announce via e-mail/newsletter and you can sign up on the website calendar. Instructions are here.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/A-Few-Dates-for-You-2053/

March 21, 2018
It's Spring After All
By Derek McGeehan

Just like last year we enjoyed a late February spring tease followed by a month of March winter weather and are about to endure another Nor'easter one day after the official astronomical start of spring. Endure feels like the perfect word to describe life on the farm during a wintry March when cabin fever can ail us all. We're itchin' to begin our work outside, plowing and planting into dry ground on nicely made raised beds during a chorus of spring peepers and catcalls of the eastern American toad. Last year we weren't able to plant outside until April 11th, a week later than planned, and this spring is looking similar. But do not worry - harvests should begin on time thanks to the benefits of minimal season extension technologies such as floating row cover!

We began sowing the seeds for future food in our heated Greenhouse during the final week of February. It is now home to around 50,000 plants nestled in their warm trays. Plants from the first week of seeding will soon be one step closer to outside exposure; we'll move them to our unheated Hoop House to harden off. This will allow them to get used to spring weather in Bucks County before they go to their final locations in the soil in the field.

Starting next week we'll loosen and prepare the soil in our Hoop Tunnel and High Tunnel for early season beets, salad radishes, and tender hakurei turnips which will accompany the first few rounds of CSA shares. Hopefully the week after we'll begin preparing soil outside in the fields for the multiple acres that will need to be planted in April. It's almost time to truly hit the ground running, but right now we must endure another round of winter weather!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Its-Spring-After-All-2052/

March 21, 2018
Sign Up Soon For Your CSA Share!
by Dana Hunting

Secure your 26-week-long share of fresh local certified organic produce from farmers you know and can trust. Celebrating Anchor Run CSA's 15th year - and our 10th here - 2018 is sure to be a great season! Log in here to join. Contact us if you have any questions, concerns, ideas, or trouble logging in.

We're anticipating even more fruit this year: a 20% increase in strawberry patch size; 3-year-old blackberry plants and 2-year-old raspberry plants should yield very well; watermelon, including a seedless variety, will be with us for many summer weeks; and after a successful trial last year of an organic cantaloupe variety we're quadrupling the crop this year. This spring we're also planting 500 fall-bearing raspberry plants to extend that season as well as 150 blueberry plants (because we all love blueberries).

Besides fruit, you can expect a wonderfully diverse array of fresh produce in the pick up room and in the fields for u-pick. We're hoping to be able to provide you with even more choice and balance. Feedback is always welcome; we're your farmers after all!

Our total number of members will be the same this year as it has been for the past 5 seasons (250 weekly). As of now we're about 75% full.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Sign-Up-Soon-For-Your-CSA-Share-2054/

March 21, 2018
Refer a Friend Credit!
by Dana Hunting

Interested in helping your CSA meet its membership goal? Participate in our Refer a Friend Program. If your efforts result in a new CSA member we'll credit your account as follows: $10 for a new Full Share member; $7 for a new Medium Share member; and $5 for a new Half Share member! Simply let us know who the new members are via e-mail. (New members are ones that join after this announcement)

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Refer-a-Friend-Credit-2055/