Greetings Neighbors, Friends and Family,
Thank you SO MUCH for joining us for a new farmshare season - we are so excited to share what we're growing with you!
Pick-up:
The harvest officially begins with member pick-up or delivery this coming Saturday June 11th (Averill Park) and Wednesday June 15th (Nine Pin).
For Averill Park, pick ups will be Saturdays from 10 am-1 pm at our farm. Vehicles may park along the road or in our driveway. We will have tables set up by the roadside on Crystal Lake Rd.
Please check your email for a confirmation of your group assignment(s) based on your original purchase. If there is an error or you have a question, please respond to the email.
This upcoming Saturday is for full share and group 1 subscribers. Group 2 will get their first share June 18th. We offered more variety with the types of farm shares this year. Have there been weeks when you wished you had 2 bundles of turnips? This year we will happily offer add ons to include veggies, meat, bread and/or cheese! Make sure you bring an extra tote bag to carry more goods home!
For Wednesdays at Nine Pin, your food will be available for pick-up at the cidery at any time during their regular business hours... make sure you grab some tasty beverages while you're there to pair with your delicious home cooked meals!
The Farmshare: Each time you pick up, you can expect to receive a mix of vegetables, greens and herbs. We aim to have something like 5-10 different varieties each time, with enough items to be highlighted in several meals throughout your week. Your share will be made up of whatever is ready in the gardens at that time, and depending on crop growth, weather and luck, the shares will change from week to week. Some of the things we've planted and hope to share with you are: Swiss Chard, Kale, Radishes, Arugula, Turnips, Squash, Cucumbers, Carrots, Kohlrabi, Peppers, Tomatoes, Onions, Garlic, Potatoes, Beans, Lettuce, and Asian Greens. Omnivore shares will get a package of pork or poultry with each pick-up, for example, one week will yield a whole chicken, another week you might get sausage, or pork chops.
The Farm: We have maintained our garden footprint and are working towards refining the walkways with local mulch, amended our raised beds with homegrown compost from our beautiful and giving dairy animals, welcomed our first limousine/jersey steer in January (he is already about 500 lbs!), welcomed 17 piglets, and 4 ducklings so far.
The old farm house finally got a new roof and we are thrilled to be able to also install gutters that will feed into rain barrels that will be used to water our gardens. We are happy to report that we've acquired a hay elevator, installed stairs in the barn and a concrete floor to keep our family dairy animals happy and thriving in the winter. They are thrilled to be galloping through the growing pastures that are made possible by moving our pasture raised pigs into new parts of the property that had been abandoned for decades without a purpose. The farm animals are eliminating invasive species of plants as we continue to move through the land and plant pasture seed, native plants and fruit trees. We are honored to steward healthy, clean land that is giving so much abundance. Our souls are just beginning to understand what it means to be a part of the land of milk and honey. Thank you for joining us on this journey.
The Road Ahead:
All this to say: you can expect this year's farm share to begin with mainly cool-season greens and herbs, followed by a steady increase of variety as the season progresses and ramps up to include tomatoes, potatoes, garlic and others summer favorites. If this is your first year with us, it may seem like a slow start, but we think you will like it the whole way through.
Thank you, thank you and thank you for your incredible support, encouragement and love.
See you soon!
Mark, Diana, Eva and Noah