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While it feels like spring with temperatures in the mid 40's for the past few days, we know that weather in CNY can change at the drop of hat with the lake effect snow not too far behind. Luckily the light snowfall so far this winter has been kind to the greenhouse and high tunnel- we thought we'd be shoveling out of four feet of snow just to keep the heat going and roof from caving in, as per our usual Pulaski winters. Strong winds did mangle the high tunnels a bit, but nothing that can't be fixed. The greenhouse is full of greens ready to be harvested- spinach, swiss chard, kale, parsley, lettuce, and garlic greens; while the high tunnel has similar cold hardy greens dormant under the row covers awaiting spring. We will be at the Regional Market next Saturday Feb 20th.
We have been putting the finishing touches on our seed orders and planting schedules, and will begin seeding soon! Hard to believe it's that time of year again. We will be growing a lot of tried and true varieties, and trying some new ones. We also plan on selling plants for your home garden this season at our markets, and will be planting extra seedlings for resale.
We will also be tackling the huge task of fixing and remodeling parts of our barn for a processing area and cold storage. We have been leasing space from our friends at Grindstone for the past two seasons for washing produce and storing in their walkin coolers- which come September becomes almost un-navigable with both farm's produce stored. We decided to take the plunge and take out a loan for this project for many reasons. One is to save the barn from the affects of time and weather. Anyone who's driven past the farm knows that our barn is in sad shape, especially the side facing the highway that most of you would see. One of the reasons we fell in love with this property was it's magnificent neglected timber-frame barn, and although it would be "cheaper" to build a new smaller structure, it would be way more work and waste to tear down the old barn and build a new one. While we love working cooperatively with our neighbors at Grindstone, we've been planning this since we started the farm to be more independent from them and have the ease of our work space being closer to home. We also are on a time constraint to become compliant by 2020 with new food safety laws which involve a lot of upgrades to our processing area. For details on some of these new regulations regarding raw vegetable handling, please visit the USDA's website. The good news is that once it's finished we'll have a welcoming space for customers on our farm for educational and possibly cooperative use. We will keep you updated on the progress as we go. If all goes as planned the project will be complete by fall.
We have been putting the finishing touches on our seed orders and planting schedules, and will begin seeding soon! Hard to believe it's that time of year again. We will be growing a lot of tried and true varieties, and trying some new ones. We also plan on selling plants for your home garden this season at our markets, and will be planting extra seedlings for resale.
We will also be tackling the huge task of fixing and remodeling parts of our barn for a processing area and cold storage. We have been leasing space from our friends at Grindstone for the past two seasons for washing produce and storing in their walkin coolers- which come September becomes almost un-navigable with both farm's produce stored. We decided to take the plunge and take out a loan for this project for many reasons. One is to save the barn from the affects of time and weather. Anyone who's driven past the farm knows that our barn is in sad shape, especially the side facing the highway that most of you would see. One of the reasons we fell in love with this property was it's magnificent neglected timber-frame barn, and although it would be "cheaper" to build a new smaller structure, it would be way more work and waste to tear down the old barn and build a new one. While we love working cooperatively with our neighbors at Grindstone, we've been planning this since we started the farm to be more independent from them and have the ease of our work space being closer to home. We also are on a time constraint to become compliant by 2020 with new food safety laws which involve a lot of upgrades to our processing area. For details on some of these new regulations regarding raw vegetable handling, please visit the USDA's website. The good news is that once it's finished we'll have a welcoming space for customers on our farm for educational and possibly cooperative use. We will keep you updated on the progress as we go. If all goes as planned the project will be complete by fall.
This is what the barn looked like when we moved in. CSA sign ups are still open, and we are offering a limited number of spring shares for the month of May and Fall shares through December, in addition to our normal summer 22 week shares.
Your commitment as a CSA member ensures your family has fresh organic produce all season long and we have capital to get the season underway with seed purchases, equipment and supporting our family.
You get the convenience of having you produce delivered to a drop site near you, and we have the security of knowing our crops are sold before we even plant. Choose one of our Farmer's Market pick up sites and build your own box; choose from that week's harvest to get the food your family likes best, and get to know your farmer and shop for your other locally produced food while you're there.
We also offer CSA member exclusive u-picks throughout the season on crops such as peas, and tomatoes, and try to schedule at least one farm event per season for members to come see where and how their food is grown.
Here's hoping the spring is as mild as the winter has been, and that we don't get the torrential rains we got last spring. But each season comes with it's ups and downs, and each season is an adventure. Join us for another year of food adventuring in 2016.
Your commitment as a CSA member ensures your family has fresh organic produce all season long and we have capital to get the season underway with seed purchases, equipment and supporting our family.
You get the convenience of having you produce delivered to a drop site near you, and we have the security of knowing our crops are sold before we even plant. Choose one of our Farmer's Market pick up sites and build your own box; choose from that week's harvest to get the food your family likes best, and get to know your farmer and shop for your other locally produced food while you're there.
We also offer CSA member exclusive u-picks throughout the season on crops such as peas, and tomatoes, and try to schedule at least one farm event per season for members to come see where and how their food is grown.
Here's hoping the spring is as mild as the winter has been, and that we don't get the torrential rains we got last spring. But each season comes with it's ups and downs, and each season is an adventure. Join us for another year of food adventuring in 2016.
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