As everyone should already know, the season is officially over. Thank you for supporting our farm. We appreciate your confidence in us.
The harvest for the hungry event is a go for this Saturday. We are planning on starting at 1:00 and going until everything worth harvesting is harvested or 5:00, whichever comes first. If we have time we will wash the produce as well. Please bring shovels, gloves and rain suits/boots (if you want to stay dry while washing). Feel free to come lend a hand. All the produce will be delivered to a local food shelf next week.
We are taking orders for next season. Please sign-up soon if you plan to rejoin. We’ve had a good response so far. It would be nice to sell out before the end of the year!
Also thank you to those who have referred new members to the farm. We appreciate your support. We offer a $25 credit to your account for every new member who mentions they heard about us from you. Just have them write your name in the appropriate line on the order form.
We have eggs for sale. These are not just ordinary chicken eggs. These come from free-ranging chickens that happen to free-range outside of the pasture and all the way inside our packing area! Note to self, make sure you close the door behind you when entering the building. I’m not sure why they are so bold these days but I have to believe the result is even tastier eggs. If you’d like eggs just contact us a day or two ahead of time so we can set some aside and schedule a pick-up time. The price is $5/dozen for the most delicious eggs ever.
We are selling Winter FruitShare. This is a great way to add some delicious sunshine on a dreary winter day. We have pick-up at the farm on Wednesday evenings (currently from 6 to 6:30 but this may change once I am no longer coaching the robotics team) and Wednesday afternoons at our drop site near 94 and Dale St in St. Paul. Other pick-up times are available; call to schedule. The first pick-up will be November 20th so get your order in as soon as possible.
We still have bags of onions for sale. $15 for ten pounds.
I have been asked many times in the tent if I am happy to see the farm season end. How could I not be? After all, during the farming season there is so much work to do – hard work at that – and seeing it come to an end with a bit of respite in the future must be welcome, no?
Well, not exactly. It is an interesting mixture of emotions each year. Unlike typical farms, I am blessed with the opportunity to see a majority of my customers every week; approximately 70% of our membership picks up at the farm. So each week I see/talk to/joke around with somewhere in the neighborhood of 120 people – or more if the kids and/or spouses come along. So over the course of 19 weeks I try to learn a little bit about each of our customers. Some have been with us long enough to be called friends. Others are new acquaintances that will surely become friends. So when the season ends it is like leaving school for summer break – but over a far longer and far colder period of time. We don’t see most of you during the 33 weeks of the year we are not harvesting vegetables. Much like you miss the veggies during the winter months, I miss the members.
So it is a little sad. But next summer a majority of you will be back and we will catch-up on what is new, see how the kids have grown, hear about new homes being bought or renovated, the vacations taken, etc. Having 33 weeks to catch up on should surely fill the 19 weeks of pick-ups! But if good news can’t wait feel free to give me a call, send me email, text me or drop by (or buy winter FruitShare and come by every two weeks!) It is always great to hear from you!
From now until sometime next spring the newsletters will no longer be weekly but more random. If something interesting pops into my head I’ll jot it down in a newsletter. I will be putting together this year’s survey in the next week or so; look for an email sometime soon. I am also speaking to a class on Food Politics at the UofM next month. This should be pretty interesting. In September I had a group of ag students out to tour the farm; I felt they got a lot out of the tour and talk. I expect speaking to PolySci students will be quite different. Hopefully getting input from someone who makes a living farming will enlighten them.
As always, do not hesitate to send in questions, comments, concerns, brain teasers or jokes. And it is never too late to start working on your farm Haikus!
The season is done
No more boxes of produce
Can’t wait ‘til next year!