Think Summer, Not Snow! pt 2
April showers bring May flowers, April snow brings.... please no! When I checked the weather this weekend it was showing up to a foot of snow this week. That has since been downgraded to a few inches, but I'd rather not have any at all! They call snow the "poor mans fertilizer" so if I'm looking on the bright side, at least we'll get some free nitrogen.
We'll still be packing shares on Wednesday even with the storm, but folks are more than welcome to come on Thursday to pickup if they don't want to make the drive out. Luckily this time of year the barn is basically big refrigerator, so greens will stay fresh until you're able to collect them!
The crew spent the day today innoculating logs with Shitake mushrooms. In total we did around 180 logs and nearly 7,000 plugs. I always say, when you gotta do a thousand of something it takes a while. Mushroom logs took 4 of us all day long, but it'll all be worth it once the mushrooms start to grow!
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.
Spring Shares Week 5
Another week of shares! We're approaching the halfway point and the tunnels are starting to kick into high gear! We've got some beautiful lettuce mix ready to be harvested this week, spicy salad mix is back, and the radishes nearly doubled in size from last week!
Spring Week 5
▪Chard
▪Lettuce Mix
▪Microgreens
▪Radishes
▪Spicy Salad Mix
▪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!
Help Make our Produce More Accessible!
Dog Days Farm tries its best to serve all members of our community, and our members often do the same! Many of you have already contributed to the Share Care Fund, which we use to offset the cost of CSA shares that we donate, provide at a lower cost through the Monadnock Farmshare Program, and draw from when members are unable to finish paying for their share due to emergency.
The Fitzwilliam District Nursing Association (our local food pantry) buys CSA shares from us each year and the farm matches the amount of shares they purchase. We also work with the Jaffrey and Rindge Food Pantries to provide fresh produce during their pickup days.
I am extending the match offer to any member that would like to purchase a share for any of these organizations, the FDNA, Jaffrey Food Pantry, or Rindge Food Pantry. A half CSA share would be matched to make a full CSA share donated to one of the pantries, and a full CSA share would become two shares to the pantries.
If you would like to donate a CSA share to any of these local organizations, please send me an email jack@dogdaysnh.com and let me know the size share you would like to donate and to which pantry. We have long standing relationships with each one of them, and every summer we get to hear how happy their patrons are to see farm fresh produce as part of their weekly pickup!
Great bit of Info on the History of CSA
One of our members sent me this great article on the origins of CSA in the United State. I have been on record many times talking about the first CSA farms in the country starting in New England in the 1990's, and would like to correct that error. Horticulturist Booker T. Whately should be credited with first popularizing the CSA concept in the 1960's at a time when black farmers were routinely denied operating loans to run their farms. He referred to them as Clientele Membership Clubs and promoted a buy in advance model for farmers in need of cash to start the growing season before taking any crops to market. This has always been the part of CSA I most admired because it breaks the cycle of debt that many farms face because the largest expenses on the farm come before crops are even put in the ground. I highly recommend this article in the Smithsonian to learn more about Whately and his innovative farming model!
Link to Article
