Spring Already?! Almost There!
There's still a few more weeks until the official start of spring, and the farm's spring CSA season kicks off next week, but with this sun and warm weather it is certainly starting to feel like spring!
The farm is coming alive as we lead up to the beginning of our CSA season. Starting next week we'll begin 35 weeks of weekly veggie pass outs, and I can't wait to kick off the new year with everyone! But first, Rachel and I are swapping houses with her parents in the Northeast Kingdom for a little vacation before we're tied to the farm for the season. It's the calm before the storm.
I spent the weekend cutting down oak trees with Joe to innoculate for shitake mushrooms. He's doing about 300 mushroom logs and we're hoping to have shitake mushrooms for the CSA by late August. Joe will also be doing oyster mushrooms in buckets again this year, and after a succesful first year, we plan on scaling up enough to include those in CSA shares, as well!
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.
SPRING CSA SHARES will start on Wednesday, March 6th. That's next week! I'll be sending out an information email to members individually regarding spring pickup. We still have 6 open slots for the spring CSA. If you want in on the sweetest greens of the season, send me an email Jack@DogDaysNH.com and I'll get you on the list! Spring CSA is $325 for the 12 week season.
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.
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 $9/week. Half shares are delivered every other week.
Why Sign Up for CSA Early?
The farm has been busy as we prepare for the summer growing season. I encourage members to sign up for the CSA earlier rather than later. Not necessarily because I think we will sell out of shares--although I do expect we will--but because of the spirit of CSA and the importance it holds on the farm. The beginnings of Community Supported Agriculture in the US were influenced by many different schools of thought from all over the globe, but one reason was that it offered an alternative to the conventional debt driven agriculture that dominates US farms. For many farms, the bulk of expenses--excluding labor--come in the winter and early spring. In order to cover the costs associated with starting up for the new year, conventional practices suggest opening a line of credit to cover the initial costs and paying it off at the end of the year once crops have gone to market. In CSA, that "line of credit" is held by our members who buy a share of the produce before we have actually produced it. We then reimburse all of our members through the growing season as our crops reach maturity.
Right now we are looking at some large expenses to get started up for the season. We spend about $6,000 on seeds each January, $4,500 on fertilizer, $3,000 on compost for the fields, $7,000 for field and greenhouse supplies, insurance payments are due, and we have a tractor that needs to go to the shop for repairs. One of the first offical CSA's in the country is the Temple-Wilton CSA, and a founding principle of theirs is transparency with the farm budget. CSA members are stakeholders in their business, and as such they are privvy to the transactions that make the farm run. It is something that I always admired about that farm, and transparency is one of the core principles of Dog Days Farm, as well. Shares purchased in January and early February go towards covering these early startup costs on the farm. We're lucky to have a dedicated CSA membership, many of whom have already signed up for their share. For those that are waiting, I encourage you to sign up soon! We have already started seeding for 2024 and can use your support!
