A Season for the Books! (week 27 & 28)

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– Hi Friends & Farm-ily, –

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We’ve made it to week 27 & 28 of the 2014 CSA.. which means it’s last pick-up of the season!  We can hardly believe it has been 28 weeks since the start of 2014 harvest season.  We are proud to say that this season was our best season to date and that we grow better and work smarter (not harder) each and every year.  As farmers, every season that we farm proves to be an incredible journey with so many things to learn and many delicious homegrown goodies to grow.  Thanks for believing in your farmers every step of the way and for being a constant reminder of why we do what we do each morning when we rise.  We look forward to serving this community for years to come.  We think y’all are the bees-knees. –

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2014 was one for the books!  And we think you’ll be amazed at our total CSA numbers this  year…

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We hope you all had an inspiring journey during our 28-week CSA season.  Whether it be your first, second, third or even fourth season at WHF we hope many meals were shared and enjoyed in the warmth of your kitchen, that you enjoyed expanding your veggie horizons with new varieties, flavors and methods of preparation, found inspiration in becoming a more confident cook and feel really good about where you’re at in your own personal food journey.  We hope you will be thinking of the farm fondly come the middle of winter… we’ll all be dreaming of tomatoes and freshly picked goodies come the middle of January <sigh>.

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Thank you for being part of this farm, and the WHF farm-ily.

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– This week there will be a “Week 27″ share table and a “Week 28″ share table in the greenhouse for pick-up – be sure to check off your name and grab both shares!  In the center there will be a cooler for turkey orders, chicken orders and a la carte egg orders.

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– “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes.”  The snowmageddonocalypsevortexplunge definitely came through these parts for the past week and left most of the garden in a puddle of mush and black.  When the cold weather hits, all of the tender crops (i.e. peppers, tomatoes, squash, tops of radishes, mixed greens, chard, beet greens etc) turn into slime- from freezing and thawing- and whither away.  But, because of our mild Fall, the root crops actually fared well since the ground temp was still over 50 degrees.  The sun definitely helped to warm up the soil during the day to endure those freezing cold nights.  Some of the crops we grow actually taste better when they go through a freeze (turnips, carrots, parsnips, rutabaga, kale, cabbage, kohlrabi,  etc) because of all the sugar they create in order to protect themselves from freezing.  To find a balance and to protect some of the more tender crops listed above, during the busy bitter cold harvest week, your farmers worked extra hard – to ensure that our members had the best possible CSA experience – to cover crops with row cover, mulch roots and even began harvesting crops over the weekend before those 20 degree nights hit. <phew> –

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These farmers work hard for your food.  

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– One of our members commended us for our stick–to–it·ive·ness. noun \stik-ˈtü-ə-tiv-nəs\. : the quality that allows someone to continue trying to do something even though it is difficult or unpleasant.  This is farming and the weather, may it be good or bad, is all part of it.  Besides, we’d rather work in cold weather than extra hot weather any day.  Nothing that 4-6 layers, a wooly cap, warm gloves and insulated boots can’t fix!  It’s not to say we’re not down right chilled or sleepy from a long day in the wind and cold… but we suppose that’s what a night by the wood stove and a warm meal is for.

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So, without further ado, the final numbers are in for 2014..

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These two farmers provided…

60,000 lbs of produce!

3,000 lbs of pasture-raised pork, chicken, turkey & beef!

1,000 dozen eggs!

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Over the course of our 28-week 2014 CSA season your (two) farmers have harvested and distributed 60,000lbs of freshly picked, beyond organic, nutrient rich, grown with love produce to our CSA members.

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That’s 675lbs of produce per share which means our share members paid $1.74/lb for all their produce this season. 

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(Some high fives- all around -are definitely in order!)

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This is a number that we’re super proud of (and more then we initially projected..) as it’s a lot of food being produced on 6 acres of cultivated land (and 40 acres total) by two people!   Cheers to our biggest (and best) year yet. – From Spring to Fall, the shares averaged 24lbs (with lighter shares in the Spring and heavier shares in the late summer and Fall) and included 12-20 items with a great variety of crops and delicious tasting veggies that have inspired many fantastic home cooked meals. Thank you all for your recipe contributions, affirmation & excitement at the CSA pick ups, through emails and on the members recipe page.  We have enjoyed this year’s CSA so much and feel great about ending the 2014 season on such a high note! –

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We love our little corner of the World, our community that surrounds us, our friends, family and farm-ily members that all believe in us and the food we work hard to provide.  We’ve been enjoying the variety (over 70+ different kinds of vegetables and even more varieties) and bounty these 28 weeks.  We feel blessed as farmers in the Pacific NW to be able to grow such a beautiful array of vegetables for our community.  From berries to brassicas to winter squash and tomatoes we can grow just about anything here! Every season we try out a few dozen or so new veggies and varietals.  Making our seed list in January is one of our favorite things to do in the winter… checking our notes and remembering which varieties grew the best, tasted the best etc.  In the coming months we look forward to sitting down and beginning that process all over again. –

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Mark your Calendars!  Our 2015 CSA sign-ups will begin on January 1st.  Our 2014 members will have the opportunity to sign up for a share before we open it up to the public. Whoo hoo!  Until then, keep in touch with your farmers through our website, facebook and instagram! –

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A BIG thank you!  Thank you all for being a part of our story, for supporting your local farm (and farmers), for buying direct, for believing in the small farm and for choosing to feed your household with the best possible farm fresh produce, meat and eggs that you can both know and trust. –

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From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.  We are just so proud of our members and are constantly inspired by all that you accomplish from season to season!  Your commitment to eating well and  nourishing yourselves and loved ones takes time (of the high quality sort), thoughtfulness, motivation and inspiration.  We are only as successful as the community that surrounds us, so, thank you for all your inspiration, dedication and commitment in being a part of our CSA.  We look forward to cultivating these relationships into the future by growing the best possible products for you, your family and friends.  Know your farmer, know your food.  Let’s cultivate community! – We will miss seeing you all from week to week.  After 7 months (!!) of CSA pick up you have come to know and trust your farmers – we never missed a CSA share, always opened our CSA share pick ups right at 4pm,  always ensured a brimming bountiful share, always were there to greet members with a smile on our faces, and always worked our hardest to ensure that our members had access to healthy food choices and the best possible CSA experience.  You were there every step of the way and we appreciate all your support and thoughtful communication.  We look forward to sign-ups in January and to begin the 2015 season! –

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Winter Veggies & Eggs. We’ll keep everyone updated about any veggies we may have available during the month of December.  Eggs will be available for purchase during the Winter and Spring months and we will be taking orders via email! –

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We look forward to seeing you all soon!  We hope you have a great start to the week.  Don’t forget to bring extra bags, boxes, etc for all your goodies this week! –

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All the best, –

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your farmers –

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Jess & Brian –

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dirty hands, clean hearts –