CSA Newsletter - Week 18 - October 9, 2019

Week 18

THIS IS THE LAST WEEK FOR THE SUMMER CSA SESSION.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX:
carrots
beets
kale
leeks
onions
shallots
red potatoes
pie pumpkin
delicata*
dill or cilantro
kohlrabi-large shares only

*The squash should all be ready to eat by now. I have tried one of every type and they were all good.

This is the last week for the summer CSA. Thank you for joining us for a fabulous summer season. We still have some fall shares left if you’d like to continue on into the fall. Just a reminder that we only offer fall shares on the weekend. Pick up locations are: the farm, Olympia Farmers Market, or Proctor market.

2020 CSA Sign up. I will send out a notice in January when it is time to sign up for next season. It sounds like the sign up program I currently use is planning a major overhaul. I need to learn the ropes before I allow for sign ups. I’d hate to have all of your info disappear into the ether.

SEASONAL SUMMARY:
Farming is a gamble. As I’ve said before, we could plant the same amount of the same variety on the same day for 5 years in a row and get a vastly different outcome. Heat (or lack thereof), rain (too, much, too little, or Goldie locks perfection), disease, pests, crew, mechanical issues, etc. can have a huge impact on how the season goes. We grow a wide variety of crops with many succession plantings, so things seems to come out alright in the end. Overall, is was a great season. The weather was pretty perfect; not too hot, not too dry, not to wet. Pests and disease were at a minimum, our large crew kept the weeds under control, and most crops produced copious amounts. With the exception of one of our market trucks being out of commission all summer, we had only minor mechanical troubles-a rarity, I tell you.

So now what? What do your farmers do once the CSA season is done? Well…a lot, actually. Since the Olympia and Proctor market are year round now, we still have to harvest and attend. We also sell drips and drabs to the Co-ops, Farm Fresh Market, and a few restaurants in Olympia. We will spend many, many, many hours cleaning and organizing barns and greenhouses. Kind of like cleaning up after a big party. The vehicle and equipment maintenance list is quite long. We hope to put up yet another greenhouse (maybe 2 if I get my way). We will analyze this season and make tweaks for next. Soon enough it’ll be time for the seed order, and taxes (groan). With daylight dwindling and frost a more frequent visitor, our workday will start later and end earlier. Jim and I will strive to take 2 days off per week and try to replenish and restore our energy and enthusiasm for this farming gig.

Thanks you again dear members for supporting our farm. We really appreciate your faith and trust in us. We wish you the very best fall, winter, and spring.

Jen and Jim