Fall CSA starts Tuesday, November 3rd and Wednesday, November 4th!

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The first pickups for this fall’s CSA will take place on Tuesday, November 3rd and Wednesday, November 4th.

CSA members, see below for our pickup schedule!

Barre shareholders:

  • Week 1: Tuesday, Nov. 3rd
  • Week 2: Tuesday, Nov. 10th
  • Week 3: Tuesday, Nov. 17th
  • Week 4: Monday, Nov. 23rd

Holden, Worcester and Princeton shareholders:

  • Week 1: Wednesday, Nov. 4th
  • Week 2: Wednesday, Nov. 11th
  • Week 3: Wednesday, Nov. 18th
  • Week 4: Monday, Nov. 23rd

News from the farm, Monday October 26th

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This week on the farm, we finally finished weeding the strawberries and transplanting the daughter plants to new beds. Our crew – including four volunteers from Trader Joe’s – brought the effort to its culmination with lots of energy and song. We have five beds now, all planted, mulched and well-organized for next season.

Julie and Nora continued on with posting and emailing out daily video tips for the NOFA/Mass Human Health and Climate Action Challenge this week, and Julie has really been enjoying the great response. She’s hearing from a lot of folks that they’re enjoying and looking forward to the tips, has received an invite to speak on a panel, and the donations keep coming in! As of this morning, we’ve raised 85% of Jack and Julie’s goal, with six fundraising days left. If you are able to chip in a donation of any amount, please do so via Jack and Julie’s fundraising page (or mail your check made out to NOFA/Mass to Julie and Jack, 411 Sheldon Road, Barre, MA 01005). If you are among the donors who have already given, Julie sends her heartfelt gratitude to you!

In staff news, Anthony Brogno completed his first week with us. Previously the farm manager at Earthlands, Anthony has come to us to help with our crops and manage firewood production. Julie says “He is a super addition to the farm”. We also enjoyed a visit from Mario Mendes (a many year staff member who came up through Stetson) on Wednesday. Mario is not yet sure that he’ll return, but Julie loved seeing him, regardless. Jack and Julie’s nephew, Andrew, also came out and worked all day Tuesday, and is planning to come out more regularly. Our WWOOFing season is coming to a close, and Gavin has departed for his next adventure after giving a very sweet and heartfelt speech about his time on the farm, complete with a musical interlude. He is a sweet and amazing guy, and Jack and Julie wish him well! Davida will be staying on a bit longer, and is bunking with Cathleen and Chuk.

An update on Jack: he did not get his knee replacement on Friday as scheduled, owing to a low hematocrit level in his blood. Jack will be taking more tests, but suspects the problem can be solved by adjusting his diet with this in mind – he and Julie will be eating a lot of liver in the coming weeks, and Jack will be taking a supplement with turmeric and ginger. The hope is to proceed with the surgery as soon as possible. Thank you to those who wrote in with good wishes and thoughts about him. Jack appreciated it very much.

News from the farm, Monday October 19th

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This week Julie put a lot of time and fundraising muscle into the NOFA/Mass Human Health and Climate Action Challenge (with administrative support provided by yours truly). Daily video tips were created, posted to social media, and emailed out to a big list of supporters, friends and donors to previous NOFA/Mass events – and we raised $2,311! In response to this overwhelming generosity, Jack and Julie raised their goal to $4,000 with fourteen fundraising days left. Julie adds, “it’s not too late to donate in our name to support the broader movement that supports us” – and no gift is too small! If you are able to chip in a donation of any amount, please do so via Jack and Julie’s fundraising page (or mail your check made out to NOFA/Mass to Julie and Jack, 411 Sheldon Road, Barre, MA 01005). If you are among the 26 donors who have already given, Julie sends her heartfelt gratitude to you!

Out on the farm, the crew took advantage of this week’s rain to sort the winter squash, onions and garlic in the barn and move it all to the root cellar. Between the rains, the crew planted about 500 beautiful lettuce seedlings into the garden, lovely little leftovers that didn’t fit into the hoophouses. It’s a bit of an experiment which we hope will result in some nice lettuce in the next few weeks – a compelling prospect for both Julie and Clare, both big time lettuce lovers.

In staff news, Anthony Brogno postponed his arrival (he’ll join staff on Wednesday) and Gavin postponed his departure. We also expect Mario Mendes (a many year staff member who came up through Stetson) to join us on Wednesday.

Jack is getting a knee replacement on Friday. Julie asks that you “send good wishes for a successful operation and recovery, please” and wants to also send “thanks to all the staff who are putting in extra work to help us out – including Clare and Cathleen for extra food”.

Last and not least, CSA registration is open for the 2021 growing season! You can reserve your share with a deposit or pay in full. Read more and sign up here. We also have about thirty more turkeys left to sell. We sold about fourteen this past week alone, so if you want one order now and don’t tarry!

News from the farm, Monday October 12th

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Farm life held a lot of high notes this week. One was the purchase of a goodly number of vinyl bags which we filled with sand. The crew put the sandbags down on the edges of the Remay that we’re using to protect a number of tender growing crops from the cold. Cathleen used this method in her previous work with Simple Gifts farm, and it worked like a miracle during Wednesday’s burst of high winds. The Remay stayed on – huzzah! Julie feels “elated to find a solution to keep the Remay on the crops” destined to be the “fresh portion” of the Fall CSA shares (arugula, cilantro, radishes, turnips, chinese cabbage, tat soi.)

In good staffing news, Anthony Brogno joined the farm as a full-time staffer this week. He has been coming to the farm regularly throughout the summer from his previous work with Earthlands, and Julie is excited to welcome him to Many Hands – “a nice addition to the crew, and a good farmer”. Our regular crew also welcomed five employees from Trader Joe’s in Hadley as farm volunteers this week, thanks to AJ and Rachel. Julie observes that “So many young people have come to the farm this year, feeling that farming is the solution to so many of the worlds problems. It’s very gratifying, and we’re so glad that they chose us”.

Finally, Julie is very excited to have joined the Ware Community Band. She’ll be playing her French horn, and instrument she started playing at age 10. Rehearsals start on October 21st.

One bittersweet note this week: Gavin’s time at the farm has come to an end. He is off to his next adventure: working at a B&B in upstate New York. The farm wishes him well on his next adventure – “he’s a real sweetheart”, says Julie.

News from the farm, Monday October 5th

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This week, the crew pulled out the last of the tomato plants from the hoophouses, making way for a planting of spinach. Great progess was made on weeding the strawberries and populating next year’s beds with daughter plants. The asparagus finally got its second weeding and has been well-mulched with wood chips. Among the folks who helped with the work this week were a few visitors who came to learn about carbon sequestration, all of whom have been moving in organic farming circles here in the northeast for many decades. Julie said, “it was interesting to talk with these folks who have been in the organic world for longer than I have – and we got some weeding out of them, too!”

The farm’s soil test has come back, and Julie is feeling pleased with it overall. When I spoke to her on Sunday she was already thinking about how to improve it for the future. “We need to add boron and manganese, which we will work on this fall. Our magnesium is a little low, our calcium and potassium is a little high – we want to keep those in balance.” Field organic matter, though, is looking really good – between 7.5-12 percent in the vegetable fields. Good, too, is the fact that we’ll have the money to purchase mineral amendments this fall thanks to a $5,000 payment we are expecting from the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2. Julie says “We often don’t have money to pay for fall minerals, but this year I’ll be able to buy a load of basalt rock dust, which will help enhance the mineral profile of the soil. I’ll also be able to get about 20 loads of wood chips to have available for mulch next year”. 

The turkeys move across the street to West field this week – those hoping to visit these inquisitive, delightful birds are encouraged to look for them there. We have sold about half of our available inventory of birds and will be stepping up promotions this week – so if you want one, it really is time to put in your order!

What will Thanksgiving look like, this year? Julie is feeling some sadness thinking about it. “It’s been a tradition for 40 year for people to gather at our house. We usually serve 30-40 people. But I think a lot of them might not want to come this year. So we will plan to see how many relatives want to come out and fill the spots with people who want to gather but don’t have other places to celebrate”. She encourages you to think about how you might share a feast with your broader network (dinner delivery, perhaps)? Whatever your dinner plans are, do plan to boil down your bird’s carcass and meat into nutritious, tasty turkey broth. To make, put your bird in a pot with water, sea salt and a splash of vinegar (to extract minerals), then boil until the meat falls off the bones. Take out the bones and freeze by the quart with cooked meat still in it. You’ll have the base for delicious and healthful soups for the rest of the winter. Still looking for a turkey? We have a few left! Order here.