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Newsletter from Your Organic CSA
News
Notes From The Field
A Dry and Lovely Start to Autumn
By Derek McGeehan
It's dry but it's tolerable this time of year with the low sun angle and diminished daylight and cooler temperatures. We've had enough precipitation to keep the crops happy but are curiously wondering when the cauliflower will head up. Typically we transition straight from the broccoli harvest into the cauliflower one, but this year, either due to bug pressure or some other factor, the cauliflower is a bit behind schedule. It could be thirsty. Greens are abundant right now as they should be with these cool days and nights. Infrequent light frosts are occurring as temperatures dip into the upper 30s, hopefully sweetening the flavor of many crops. White pines are beginning to turn some green needles to brown and will add a beautiful golden carpet to the landscape as they fall to the ground. Deciduous trees are also just starting to turn from green to gold and red. I feel like we only just departed summer and may feel like we have a brief return as temperatures climb to 80 degrees this week. That sounds okay; I'm not ready for the heating season just yet. Hope you are able to enjoy the great weather!
A majestic hickory on the way to Field 1.
Expected Harvest
Green Culture
By Derek McGeehan
Harvest #23 (Week A) should include kale, lettuce, potatoes, beets, carrots, collards, chard, arugula, spinach, mizuna, greens mix, leeks, chives, napa cabbage, escarole, endive, and savoy cabbage. Some items may be a choice and/or may not be available during all pick up times. U-pick should include dill, cilantro, parsley, and perennial herbs.
Sweet potatoes will grace the CSA share in a week or two after warm and humid curing to sweeten and improve storability. The entire ARF team helped retrieve these root-tubers after a light frost singed their sensitive leaves.
Sign Up For 2016 Late Fall and 2017 Winter CSAs
By Derek McGeehan
Sign up now on the members' page to secure your spot in our 2016 Late Fall CSA and 2017 Winter CSA!
To run these seasons successfully we need to reach a critical mass of membership. As of now registration is only available to current 2016 Main Season members (i.e. you) and soon we'll open it up to the general public if we don't reach our goals (we want to reach these goals with you included).
We cap these seasons at about 25% of the Main Season membership size so please sign up to reserve your spot today!
Also, we're currently re-evaluating the best pick up day/time for Fall and Winter seasons, so please let us know if our proposed schedule does not work for you. The Late Fall CSA typically mimics one Main Season pick-up-days worth of members, about 100-120 shareholders, so we're okay with keeping a 1-8pm pick up window on Wednesdays. However, January and February being more difficult weather months and the fact that we're using this season experimentally and keeping membership numbers lower, we're probably going to move the Winter CSA pick up to Saturday daytime. Please give us some feedback if you wish!
2016 Late Fall CSA:
  • 6 weeks of fresh and storage crops from weeks 11/13/16 through 12/18/16
  • vegetables should include greens like arugula, spinach, mizuna, kale, collards, cabbage, napa cabbage, endive, escarole, lettuce, chard, and beet greens; roots like carrots, turnips, beets, radishes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and kohlrabi; storage crops like onions and garlic; and freshly harvested alliums like chives, leeks, and scallions
  • cold hardy vegetables grown outside with use of low hoops and row cover
  • weekly full shares ($180) and biweekly half shares ($100) available
  • share distribution on Wednesdays 1-8pm (except for Tuesday 11/22/16)
2017 Winter CSA:
  • 8 weeks of fresh and storage crops from weeks 1/1/17 through 2/19/17
  • vegetables should include greens like arugula, spinach, mizuna, kale, collards, cabbage, napa cabbage, lettuce mix, chard, and beet greens; roots like carrots, turnips, beets, radishes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and kohlrabi; storage crops like onions and garlic; and freshly harvested alliums like chives, leeks, and scallions
  • cold hardy vegetables grown inside of hoop house, high tunnel, and greenhouse
  • weekly full shares ($240) and biweekly half shares ($130) available
  • share distribution on Wednesdays 1-8pm (this may change to Saturday daytime)
The final pass with the tractor and raised bed maker will make a nice home for winter greens like kale and arugula. Shortly after this shot was taken we moved the high tunnel one position downhill to protect the soon-to-be-sown greens for the winter. It protected the heirloom tomatoes over the summer.
Workshifts For Week of 10/16
By Derek McGeehan
Now that we're into October there is about one month left of workshift opportunities for you to satisfy the work component of your CSA share. If you're not planning to work this season, please remit the balance of your share cost soon. Half shares work 4 hours, full shares work 8 hours, over the course of the entire season. To "buy-out" of your work hours at $15/hour, please send a check payable to "Anchor Run CSA" at 2578 2nd Street Pike, Wrightstown, PA 18940. Please don't feel guilty about this option!
Shifts this week:
Tuesday 10/18 9-11am
Wednesday 10/19 10am-12noon
Friday 10/21 10am-12noon
Saturday 10/22 10am-12noon
Sunday 10/23 12noon-2pm (garlic processing in barn)
Workshift sign-up instructions may be found here.
Thank you!
Notoriously slow to germinate and grow, baby carrots are difficult to cultivate because weeds easily outpace them. Here, Hannah is confirming their presence in their respective rows and will cultivate between rows.
Ledamete Grass Farm's Monthly Market October 20, preorder now!
Ledamete Grass Farm
Ledamete Grass Farm will be at Anchor Run Farm for a market day on Thursday, October 20 from 1-5pm*!
*If you can't make that day/time, pre-orders can be left in the freezer for you to pick up on your next share day (you have 2 weeks to pick it up).
Order Your Pastured Meats Today- Deadline Midnight October 19!
100% Grassfed Beef
Pasture & Forest Raised Pork
Pastured Chicken
PRE-ORDERS preferred but day of sales will be welcomed.
To learn more about our farming practices, read below, visit our website, and check us out on Facebook. . To order visit our e-commerce site here.
Ledamete Grass Farm Pasture & Forest-Raised Pork
We raise Tamworth cross heritage breed pigs, as they thrive in the forest and field and are known for their excellent flavor. In addition to forage, our pigs are fed local grain raised with organic methods, organic veggie compost, and grass-fed raw dairy products.
Ledamete Grass Farm Pastured Poultry
Our chickens and turkeys are raised on pasture with constant access to fresh bugs, herbs and grasses. In addition to the forage they find, we provide our birds with grain, grown and milled fresh by a local farmer who utilizes organic methods. The birds' access to fresh air, exercise, sunshine, green grass and bugs creates very delicious and nutritious meat!
Ledamete Grass Farm 100% Grassfed Beef
We raise Rotakawa Devon/Jersey Cross beef as they do very well on 100% grass. This meat is nutrient dense and delicious!