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REMINDER:  First CSA payments are due by THIS Saturday, April 1st!! Check out the email titled ‘First CSA Payment Due by April 1st (next Saturday)’ for more details!

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Hi Friends & Farm-ily,

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Let the sun dances begin!   We hope you all have been doing a little sun dance each day for your farmer’s.  There is some hope of relief in the 10 day forecast (we really need like 5+ days of sunshine in a row to dry out all the fields).  Planting the very first of our Spring and Summer crops are on our minds as we near our first projected field planting date of the season this weekend.  All our fingers and toes are crossed!  Strawberries, kale, broccoli, kohlrabi, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, beets, chard, chicory, peas etc are all ready to make their transplanting debut!  Carrots, turnips, cilantro, peas, favas and more will be direct sown in the dirt!   Once things dry out a bit it’ll mark the first week all winter and Spring that we are able to get into the garden and plant and seed like mad farmers… and we can hardly wait!  

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Before planting can begin there is field prep that needs to happen… Spring marks the time in the season where we can finally get out there to lime, fertilize and compost the farm.   Last year my folks were out here visiting and my Dad helped us make some huge pushes to prepare the land.  Where we mow old crops, pasture and cover crops and begin the transition for planting crops.  This week is shaping up to be a big push for us.. it surely is an exciting time on the farm!   So keep thinking all those sunshine-y thoughts for your farmers… we’re ready to go!

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Fun little note: Before we switched to market style CSA pick up we packed and distributed all our CSA shares in our very own cedar crates that we made by hand. Hard to imagine our Summer Shares fitting in there now but back then it was such an accomplishment to have a crate brimming full of goodies. Even our Winter Shares (pictured above) are a touch too big to fit like they once did 8 years ago. A sign that slowly but surely we are growing better each year. It’s good for perspective and important to give yourself a pat on the back every once in a while. Life is just too darn short, enjoy it everyday! #simplereminders#bekindtoyourself #workinghandsfarmcsa#dirtyhandscleanhearts

 

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Purple Sprouting Broccoli lookin’ awesome out in the field, starts are ready to be planted, the overwintered swiss chard shining in the early Spring sunshine… 

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We have some exciting news.. we hired our very first employee!  Becca is a native oregonian who has spent the last two years working on CSA farm in Eugene.  She started with Rogue Corps and has now found her way to Working Hands as our very first crew member.  Community and health are really important to her.  She’ll be working part-time on the farm a couple days a week throughout the season so let’s give a big warm welcome to Becca!   Whoop whoop!   We’re excited to achieve a bit more balance with an extra set of hands and we look forward to seeing what this season brings!

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At the end of last week, we couldn’t plant so we did the next best thing and that was clearing the fields so we’re ready to go once the weather changes.  Earlier in the week, Brian & I had removed all the tomato trellises, t-posts, the first of the drip tape and landscape fabric.  On Thursday, Brian & Becca worked double time to clear out  the remaining fields of drip tape, agribon row cover, sandbags (over 7,500  lbs!) and landscape fabric.  In what we thought would take at least a few days they finished it in 1!  I was able to push through a pile of business paperwork, tax stuff, emails (all the exciting parts about running a business!) and it was really awesome to divide and conquer.

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Last Saturday, we made a huge seeding push in the red barn.  We mixed soil and filled over 200 trays and got the next round of broccoli, cabbage, beets, chicories, greens, bunching onions etc seeded.  We made a huge push on Celery and Celeriac (over 5,000 seeded!) and it feels good to get some of these major crops that we only plant once a year seeded.  They are all now in the propagation house where it will take anywhere from 2 (for brassica seeds i.e. broccoli, cabbage) to 14 days (for celery, celeriac) for these babies to awaken.  Since our propagation house is passively heated by the sun (we don’t have a heater) it too will benefit and quicken any germination with some sun in the forecast!  Having three sets of hands on deck really made all the difference – it’s the first time this season where we’ve been caught up on all our seeding!

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Gloucester & the ladies of Chateau Poulet soaking up some rays and seeding all the things over the weekend!

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Know your farmers, know your food! The Spring, Summer and Fall CSA is drawing near and we have less than a half dozen shares left for the 2017 CSA season!  Help us get those last few shares filled by spreading the good word because it makes all the difference. As a farm-ily member once said, “keep your friends close and you farmers closer.”

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3 Steps to Signing Up:

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1  Read all about the 2017 CSA season

2  Fill out the CSA Sign Up Form & Member Agreement

3  Mail or drop off a Check or Make a Payment Online to reserve your share

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We can’t wait for the 2017 growing season to start! Thank you to all of our amazing CSA members both new and old who have signed up for the 2017 Spring and Summer CSA season!

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Brian tending to our first beds of carrots, notes from our members that make us smile, overwintered parsnip season!  

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Winter CSA Reminder: Winter Weekly Share Members: we have just two pick ups left for the Winter CSA Season (last pick up for Tuesday Members is on April 11th & Wednesday Members on April 12th).  Winter Bi-Weekly Share members: there is one pick up left!  Bi-Weekly Members 1,3,5, 7  will pick up on April 4th/5th and Bi-Weekly Members 2,4,6,8 will pick up on April 11th/12th.

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Spring Eggs!  The ladies of Chateau Poulet have boosted production and we have some extra dozens available for Winter CSA/Spring CSA members beginning next week  (they tend to sell out quickly!)   Our flock of hens are raised on fresh pasture as well as an Certified Organic, non-GMO feed (no soy, no corn) made in the Pacific NW by Scratch and Peck – a local feed supply that we are proud to support.  All dozens are $9.50 each.

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If you’re interested in purchasing eggs throughout the early Spring months (before the CSA begins in May) please let us know your pick up day preference as well as how many dozens you’d like (a dozen per week or 2 dozens every other week etc) and we will confirm availability.

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Be well, do all the sun dances, and root your farmers on!  It’s officially game time!

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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

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