CSA veggie pickup reminder

Hello everyone,
Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!! Don't you all just love Colorado weather!! After a week of planting and playing in the nice warm, sunny weather{we have been down to shorts and t-shirts this week}, it was rather a shock to wake up this morning to MORE SNOW!! It was starting to stick about 6:00 this morning and by 10:00 we had about 3 inches again..at least the wind finally quit blowing!! Yesterday it was blowing pretty good when we got up..and just picked up speed as the day wore on..I think it finally died down about 1:00 this morning..unfortunatly the plums, pears, and some of the apples were in full bloom this week..not sure how they will fair the next couple of nights..it is supposed to get much colder again..Isn't May supposed to be like Saturday??

In the propagation house we've pricked up a few more things..the basil is just coming up..Della and mom got the winter squash and melons started..

In the high tunnel we let the heirloom tomatoes out of their walls of water and got their trellis dropped down..this morning we had to re-think their remay covering..we took it all down and doubled it up so they hopefully will stay nice and toasty the next couple of nights..I chickened out on letting the cherry tomatoes out this morning..they are about 6 inches taller than their walls of water so we just did the double covering on them as well..maybe next week we will let them out!! Then we covered all the greens, lettuce, peas, radishes,turnips, spinach, and anything else that we could to keep them a bit more toasty tonight.
Yesterday morning Micheal, Mom, and I planted the determinate tomatoes in the low tunnel..3 red varieties, a black one, a bi-colored one, and an orange paste variety..This morning when I looked out the window, my heart fell to my toes..I wasn't sure just how cold it got last night {the forcast said 38 degrees and rain this am},but they came through like champs without any extra covering!! This morning,though we pulled out all the old blankets and sleeping bags we have on hand for covering things and tucked them all in..looks like we had a slumber party last night!!

Outdoors we have been plugging along..Monday and Tuesday we got the broccoli, califlower, and the late cabbages planted..the sunchokes, favas, and lentils are coming up..the peas are about 3 inches tall..the garlic is starting to look more impressive..the onions, shallots, and leeks are starting to put up nice new green leaves..the raspberries are coming up..the grapes are budding..Yesterday afternoon Micheal and I went out and got a good start on pruning them..Della and mom have been working on the herb beds..doing a bit of weeding and planting more plants

We are still working on adding a fruit share from Ela Family Farms this year..to simplify things on Ela Farms end looks like we will do only one smaller size share of fruit..Those folks who would like more fruit can sign up for multiple shares..we are not certain on the cost yet..what the weather does in the next 4 or 5 weeks will determine what the fruit crop will be..So while you are sending us those warm thoughts, please send a few up Steve's way!! We are hoping to get pricing information out to you by mid-May.

I have been adding more recipes to the website..some of the new ones use some of the things that are in season now..greens, spinach, radishes, carrots, and rhubarb. The recipe pages also have a searchable database by type of produce..there are over 200 recipes now to give you ideas on how to use your weekly veggies

What's available for the CSA this week? 
From the high tunnel;
carrots
chinese cabbage
lettuce
spinach
kale
bok choi
swiss chard
mustard
collards
green garlic
scallions
radishes
salad turnips
salad greens
edible flowers {pansies}
chives and oregano
Please be aware that our spinach and salad greens are not "ready to eat"..we do chill them in a cool water bath but recomend you wash them before eating!! also please use a bag over your hand as a glove when you are weighing them out!!

From Della's green house;
a good selection of herbs to chose from; camphor, rosemary,mayan mint, marjoram, pineapple sage, sage, lemon balm, thyme

From storage {these are crops that were harvested last fall and stored over the winter}
shallots and maybe a bit more garlic

From outdoors;
rhubarb {Della and Denice ran out this morning in the snow and picked it before it could freeze tonight!!}

From the propagation house;
bedding plants..tomatoes..broccoli..pansies..herbs..we will have more as the weather warms.

Our setup this season will be pretty much the same as in the past..we will have several catagories of veggies for you to chose from..not sure just what they will be untill we start picking tommorow but it looks like it will be set up as follows;

choice of spinach and /or salad greens
choices from kale, bok choi, and mustard
choices from scallions, shallot, garlic, green garlic
choices from  radishes, turnips, carrots, rhubarb, bedding plants, 
choices from more greens and lettuce
choice of herb
amount and number of choices will depend on what we harvest tommorow and what size share you have..we will be on hand Saturday morning to help you out and answear questions..

Please remember to check your name of the check off list so we know who's been here..if someone is going to pickup for you please remind them to check you off


A few basic guidlines for the season..
*Pickup is 9:00am-noon April to about mid October when the time changes then it will be 11:00am-2:00pm..it takes us about 2 hours to set up {hence the time change in Oct..it starts getting awfully dark and chilly of a morning when we go back to MST} If you are running late, please give us a call so we know you are on your way..If we do not get a call before 11:30 we will assume that you don't want your veggies and will feed them to our interns or donate them to Christs Kitchen!!

*If you are unable to pickup your veggies on Saturday morning, please make arangements ahead of time..We will be happy to bag them for you {up to 6 times/season, more than that there will be a charge of $2.00/week to help cover labour and cooling expences} You will need to pick them up by Monday evening so we can clean out the cooler. We do have several folks that we bag for each week..The cost for bagging is $75.00 for the season..If you are interested in this option, please contact me to make arrangements.

*For everyones convenience we have a new feature on our website so you can check your balance. If you go to our homepage and look under our products..click on Your membership status..it will ask you for your e-mail address and should sent you an e-mail with your membership information..Please let me know if it doesn't work so I can fix it!!

*We will try to schedule a couple of workdays each month this season. We will try to mix up days and times..some on the weekend, some weekdays, some evenings..If these workdays do not fit into your schedule, please make arrangements for other days or times that will work better for you. If you have children and would like to set up a special time for them to come out to the farm we have a "Kids Program" as well..we do a small project geared toward their age and abilities..do a short tour..and harvest a few veggies that they can take home for their supper..it generally takes about
1 1/2 hours..then each week when you come to pickup your veggies they can visit "their" veggies and watch them grow.. 

*We love having folks visit us and tour the farm..BUT... please do not just drop by..If you want to visit the farm other than veggie pickup day or scheduled workdays..PLEASE call first.. one; we may not be available and two; we do have a watch dog..For her comfort and your safety, please let us know if you are coming out so we can put her in the house before you get here!!

*We encourage all our members to bring their own bags or boxes for their produce..we do have bags available if needed though.. We ask that everyone bring back any clamshells or fiber boxes that your produce is packaged in so we can re-use them.. we can also re-use other clamshells as well..It keeps them out of the landfill and reduces our packaging costs..

*This season we want to encourage you to bring us your compostables!! {unless you have your own compost bin going!!} We will take kitchen scraps {no animal products except eggshells,please!!}..please contact us before bringing us any lawn clipping or yard waste..we need to make sure they're organic and don't have a lot of weed seed!!!

*Each week throughout the season you should get an e-mail update on what's happening here on the farm and what veggies may be available for Sat...Please be aware that our produce is seasonal!! While we try to grow a pretty good variety what the weather is doing will affect the type and amount of veggies.. cold, heat, wind, hail, rain,{or no rain!!}, frost, snow, etc. may dammage certain crops, or delay when we can harvest them..That is one reason we grow so many differsnt things..if one crop fails, we have several others to take its place..I will try to keep you posted on what the weather is affecting us..if you have questions about a specific veggie, let me know and I can give you an idea on what's happening with it..

*Many of our veggies can be preserved for the winter..if you are interested in preserving, please let me know so I can keep you posted on when and what we will have in larger quantities..

*We thank all of you for supporting small-scale local farms!! If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know!! 


We need your help.. ..we are hoping for a full membership this season {50-60 members}..Please talk us up with your friends, families, and co-workers..I can tell folks all about what and how we grow our veggies, but it is your enthusiasm that bring in the most new members!! Please let me know if you have anyone who would like a tour or needs more information about our CSA..we can set up additional tours in the coming weeks.

Note: ...Please let me know if you need a partner. I will add it to this newsletter to see if we can hook you up with someone....
 we have an Ouray group forming..they would like a couple more folks from up that way to share pickup.
May have a new member looking for a partner to share with..also looking to join a pickup group in the Ouray or Ridgway area.

New members will need to go to the website {www.circleagarden.com} and use the member signup.


Hope you all have had a good week

All of us at Circle A Garden