Seeding in the Greenhouse!
Another week on the farm! Things are starting to pick up here as we have fired up the heater in our propagation greenhouse and started seeding for summer growing. First up is always alliums, so onions, leeks, and shallots (garlic was seeded in the field last fall). CSA members will know that I love offering onions and garlic as a part of our shares, and many members have told me this spring that they still have some left over from last year! Alliums are the start of so many meals, so I prioritize making them a staple in our CSA. Last year we started including onions by the 5th week of our summer CSA, and were able to offer them every week in shares for the rest of the season! The seeds we sowed last week will feed us until March of 2025!
Nothing much new in the fields. We're waiting for it to dry up a bit before we can start thinking about working them. We've gotten plenty of rain the past few days and have more coming in the forecast, but it always dries up sooner or later and we can start spreading compost and adding amendments to the fields.
We are still offering summer CSA shares. There will be a 5% price increase starting in April, and we will stop selling shares by May. As always, we offer flexible payment plan options and home delivery. If you want a CSA share this summer I recommend signing up ASAP!
2024 CSA SHARES
Time to Sign Up for Summer and Fall CSA Shares!
Join us for another great growing season in 2024! Our summer CSA will run from June to September, and fall shares will finish out the year from October to November.
I'm getting excited about the CSA this year. The change to market style pickup last year taught me a lot about which produce our members prefer, and I made sure to prioritize those items for this year. We're going to be experimenting with some PYO flowers for CSA members this year. And we were able to lower the prices on our shares this year from last year. Making our shares as accesible as possible is a priority on the farm, so anytime I see an opportunity to reduce the cost of shares, I make sure to take it! See below for info on signups.
Pickup on the farm is market style on Wednesdays from 3:30pm-7:00pm. Delivered baskets are pre packed and delivered on Wednesdays by 7:00pm.
Summer Full Shares span 16 weeks and are $600.
"Floating" Half Shares pickup 8 weeks during the season and are $350.
Delivery is an additional $6/week. Half shares are delivered every other week.
Spring Shares Week 2
Shares are going to look similar to last week as we keep harvesting from over wintered beds of greens. We have new stuff growing in the greenhouse that we seeded on February 1st, but there is still a couple more weeks before they come to maturity. For now we'll keep it rollling with big bags of spinach and microgreens, as well as some more kale and chard. I've been eating kale chips all week long!
Spring Week 2
▪Chard
▪Kale
▪Microgreens
▪Spinach
Workshare With Us!
Want to help out on the farm and get a free basket of veggies each week? The workshare progarm is th perfect spot for you!
Our workshares trade a day a week on the farm in exchange for a CSA basket with eggs and bread included! We also do half days if folks would prefer a half CSA share. Although it is a lot of weeding workshares get to experience all the differenet aspects of the farm from planting, to harvest, to trellising, and more! We love having new folks on the farm and meeting our neighbors. Many of our workshares have even been coming back for years at this point!
If you're interested, send me an email at jack@dogdaysnh.com and I will get you more details!
High Tunnel Efficiency - On-Farm Tour
I am super excited to be hosting a tour of our new heated greenhouse this spring!
Time & Location
Mar 26, 2024, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Fitzwilliam, 72 Jaffrey Rd, Fitzwilliam, NH 03447, USA
About the event
This on-farm tour will focus on energy use and conservation in high tunnel and greenhouse production. Energy costs can be substantial in a smaller diversified production system and reducing electric bills can help your bottom line.
Join us for a tour of the high tunnels and Greenhouse at Dog Days Farm where we will discuss energy saving designs and retrofits for these structures. We’ll cover a farm energy use assessment and measures the farm has taken to decrease energy use and save electricity costs. We will explore strategies and other low-cost measures that can be incorporated when building these structures to help save energy and costs for the life of the tunnel. Finally, we’ll touch on local/federal funding options to help you make these upgrades feasible.
Facilitated by Chris Lent, Agricultural Specialist working for the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT).
This event is a good fit for vegetable farmers and homesteaders looking to grow energy efficiency on their operation.
Cost: Free, Registration Required
For questions or assistance in registration contact:
Email benee@cheshireconservation.org or call (802) 518-0993
