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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,
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Let the 2015 harvest season begin! We are so happy and appreciative of all your support and encouragement over the last 5 months (since our 2015 season started). It’s been months in the making and we look forward to the season beginning and to celebrate with a bountiful harvest this week!
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Flow of the CSA. Over the next few weeks we will all begin to get into the flow of pick ups, harvests, seasons, you name it. Spring is a great time to adapt-to and learn new habits, to eat seasonally and fresh. We remind you to be patient, to be excited and to enjoy the ride. There are so many decisions that one person must make everyday – a daunting task at times – revel in those food choices your farmers and the changing of the seasons are making for you each week. Get creative & be inspired. Ask questions & be open – you’ll be surprised what you might find as the season unfolds.
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Enjoy all the benefits of eating fresh (picked THAT morning), eating seasonally (sorry, no tomatoes in May), and local (your local farmer, Brian and I, need the support of our community)!ots of sun, longer days and warmer temps means happy, happy plants!
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Farm Pick Up Time. Farm Pick Ups take place on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday from 4 – 7pm (please double check on your assigned day). Note: Bi-Weekly share members pick up their produce every other week throughout the course of the 28 week CSA season (a total of 14 shares). Members will pick up their share on weeks 1,3,5,7, etc… or 2,4,6,8, etc… depending on your assigned CSA start date. It’s important to pick up between 4-7pm on your assigned day (and not a minute before) as it’s just the two of us and we harvest everything fresh that morning so your farmer’s need the time to harvest, wash and set up the pick up area.
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Parking. There is a nice big parking area for a convenient and stress free pick-up. Park thoughtfully as folks tend to come in waves and the parking will fill up fast! There are also children and families who will be moving from the pick-up area to the parking lot so please drive slowly. We are located on a busy country road so please be patient coming and going from the farm (oh the pros and cons of living on a main country road!)
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Pick-Up Area. We are breathing new life into a very old and forgotten farm property so you will see it become more and more beautiful as the seasons and years go on… 2.5 years ago all that remained on this property was the old farmhouse by the road. The CSA Member Area is now located on the side of this original farmhouse (“Freda’s House”) built in the early 1900’s. Thank you for growing with us and for being a part of this process!
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The Pick-Up. Please sign in before grabbing your goodies. You will enter the member area and move counterclockwise, packing your own share with the allotted amounts of vegetables written next to each varietal. Please bring 2-3 reusable shopping bags to put your produce in. We recommend bringing a bag or two even for folks who are purchasing a crate (for bunched greens etc).
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Pick-Up is also a great opportunity to meet other members and share over the common bonds of food, health and community! If you are unable to come pick up your share from 4-7pm on your assigned day, you can either arrange for a friend or family member to pick it up for you. If you cannot find anyone to pick-up the box on your behalf please give us 48hr notice (emails are best).
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Be sure to visit our FAQ’s for any other questions you may have: https://workinghandsfarm.com/q-a/
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CSA Crates. For those who of you who reserved a WHF crate, they will be ready to collect on your first CSA pick-up! If you have not yet paid for your crate, please bring a check for $25 and one of your farmers would be happy to assist you.
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Egg cartons, Berry Boxes, Rubberbands etc. For all those who purchase eggs, please save up your WHF egg cartons for us and return them. We also reuse all berry boxes (1/2 pints, pints, quarts) and rubberbands so you can return those as well. We are a thoughtful farm in terms of minimizing waste and reuse what we can! There will be a place to return these items by the sign-in sheet.
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WHF Pasture-raised Pork, Grass Fed Beef & Pasture-raised Eggs. We are excited to share that we will begin taking Pork and Beef Share orders NEXT WEEK! We will email you early next week with all the details. For egg orders, check out the email that was sent out this morning “WHF Monthly Egg Shares” for all the details.
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CSA Recipes. There will be 2-4 recipes emailed to you with each weekly share. These recipes have been tried and tested (and doubly approved by your farmers)! If you happen to try a different recipe with some of the veggies from that Week’s Share feel free to send it our way so that we too can try it and share it with others! Check out the CSA Cookoff, Food Preservation Tips from your farmers, and some of our favorite food blogs for more ideas!
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Working Hands Farm CSA Group on Facebook! Share your CSA recipe success… Invites (emails) have been sent out to join Working Hands Farm CSA Group on Facebook. A place for Working Hands Farm CSA members to share recipe ideas, kitchen prep successes, food preservation ideas etc! Check your email or visit this link to join the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/696698667079657/ Participation is highly encouraged 🙂
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COOKBOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:
From Asparagus to Zucchini – A book made for CSA MEMBERS! This book is a great guide to cooking farm-fresh seasonal produce just for CSA members. 420 original recipes written by farmers, members & cooks who love veggies in Wisconsin as well as the best preservation methods for the different kinds of veggies.
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Farm-Fresh and Fast – This book was created by the same CSA coalition that put together From Asparagus to Zucchini. Even more recipes, a fancier layout and preservation methods.
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An Everlasting Meal – I love this book written by Tamar Adler. It breaks down cooking and preparing foods in the most simple and delicious of ways. Great recipes for using what you have, wherever you are.
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Vegetable Literacy – A beautiful cookbook written by Deborah Madison featuring over 300 vegetable recipes.
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The America’s Test Kitchen Complete Vegetarian Cookbook – ATK’s newest cookbook with 700+ recipes in this comprehensive collection show you inventive and uncomplicated techniques for making boldly flavored main dishes, appetizers, soups and stews, pasta, pizzas, and more. With over 700 recipes you’re surely never to run out of ideas!
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Farm livestock. All of our members will have the opportunity to see/visit the livestock on our farm during our to-be-scheduled CSA Farm Day. Keep in mind that almost all of our livestock are kept inside of electrified fences so parents please keep a close eye on you children during this day. On a weekly basis, feel free to say hello to our wee farm greeters and blackberry management team – our goats – the “Lost Boys” – Tootles, Nibs, Slightly & Curly. The woven wire fence enclosing them in on the parking lot side is not electrified.
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Volunteering, CSA Farm Day, Pumpkin Day, Newsletters etc. Throughout the season we offer opportunities to volunteer, enjoy a CSA Member Farm Day, pumpkin day etc all on the farm. Also, to keep our farm-ily connected to the farm, the seasons and what it takes to grow food locally we send a weekly farm newsletter so be sure to read the whole thing through! We post frequently on instagram, facebook to share in our day-to-day and to stay connected with people (as you can imagine we spend 99% of our time with vegetables and 2-4 legged critters ha!) All of these opportunities are a great way to see the farm, chat with your farmers, meet other CSA members in the community and enjoy the seasons on the farm.
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Thank you again for all your support! It’s been a busy Spring and there is much anticipation to get this season started. We have another exciting season ahead with over 70 different types of vegetables and several different varieties of each (it’s never a dull moment on the farm!) Your farmers have been working harder than ever to get the season started early and have more variety in the shares early on!
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Enjoy the leafy greens and cool weather brassica crops that you will find in the first few week’s of the CSA (the Spring seasons natural cleanse… after a Winter full of root crops and heavier foods). As well as the sun sweetened strawberries whose season is never long enough! The greens will be tender, delicious and untouched by the heat that summer brings. Enjoy them while they are here! The bounty will continue to grow and grow and grow as we near the longer, warmer days of Summer! Thanks again for all your support and we look forward to sharing in the bounty with you this season.
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With kind regards,
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Your farmers
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Jess & Brian
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dirty hands, clean hearts
working hands farm 
