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2010 Spring CSA News Week 1: May 7, 2010

Dear Many Hands Organic Farm Spring 2010 shareholders,

Some of you have been with us on this CSA venture for 19 years, and for others it is your first time. I will try to bridge the information gap as deftly as possible. It is my intent to write a CSA newsletter each week. It does not always happen, but I do my best. In the newsletter I typically tell you all the stuff you need to know logistically, and talk about what is coming in. Nina often shares a recipe, and then I list current farm and NOFA events, along with other appropriate calendar items. If you write to me, I might publish it - so let me know if you do not want to see your name in print. We often have guest writers for the newsletter too - farm staff and others connected to the farm. If you have a service or something else to sell that you would like to share with others, feel free to pass it on. Additionally, I can hang posters in the barn.

First some logistics

New this year we have deliveries for our spring share. Brian Fecteau and Jason Cucchiara, members of our farm staff, will be delivering shares to first Holden and then Worcester on their way home from work each Friday. Brian guarantees that your produce will be at your drop off location by 5 pm - barring any unforeseen circumstances, of course. The guys will leave here no later than 4 pm.

Each share will be in a brown paper grocery bag. There will be a label with your name on it. Please be sure to take your bag, and not someone else's. This has happened from time to time in the past and has wreaked havoc. If you find once you have gotten home that you have mistakenly taken someone else's bag, please call and email me immediately so we can straighten it out.

You can pick up from 12 noon until 8 pm on Friday evening. Your food will be in the walk in cooler in the barn. If you have never been to our farm before, once you pull into the driveway, park on either side or by the garage. Please don't park in the middle of the driveway as we have vehicles pulling through all the time. Walk past the house. Then you will find a shed, a wood shed, a chicken house, a grape arbor, and finally the barn, all on your left. Enter the barn and walk straight ahead and a little to the right to the walk in cooler.

Dogs

Franny (orange) and Zoey (black and tan) are young and prone to jumping up. Please help them remember not to jump up on you (even if you like that) because they will be jumping on the next person who drives in. We have a "four feet on the ground" policy for them. A quick reminder to them will remind them of proper behavior. Jimbo is our old guy. He is friendly, but I don't totally trust him around very small children, so keep your little kids close at hand.

Stopping In

Please do. Knock on the door or find someone in the field. We would love to talk to you.

Recipe from Nina

What you will get this week

This is still a bit of a question. I will be honest when I tell you that it is hard to have surety at the beginning of the season. Perennial crops have good years and bad years, weather is a factor, and the hoop houses (where we get a good share of our food in May) are still a huge learning curve for us). So, having said that, I think this is what you will get tomorrow

From the field

From the houses

We have the yellow house, the blue house, the orange house and the purple house.

Internal News

Please keep Kim Ladue, MHOF working shareholder and dear friend of us all, who lost her mom this week to cancer.

Recycling

We are big on recycling things that we can use on the farm to keep the infrastructure costs down on the farm. Please feel free to drop off here, or to Brian at Dismas or Teresa's house the following items. We really appreciate these offerings.

Membership list - this is not compiled completely yet, but I will send it along to all of you as soon as we have it together.

Sale Items

We often put sale items on the table in the barn - to your left when you come in. If things are for sale, there will be sign with the price. Sometimes there are free give aways. They will be market too. This week we have eggs. If you are picking up in Holden or Worcester and would like a weekly dozen of eggs, please send me an email and let me know. And drop a check in the mail for $5/dozen for the number of weeks you want eggs. We can put them in your bag. Locals can pre-order also, and if we have any extra, they will be left on the table with a sale sign.

I think that is it for now. All of us at Many Hands look forward to feeling you these upcoming 6, 26 or 31 weeks.

Julie