Let The Season Begin!
Spring CSA Shares begin this week! The season has begun! I'll have more on spring shares below. I can't wait to start picking for our members again!
What an absolutely beautiful day out today. Rachel and I played with the dogs through the morning and then fertilized and started pruning the fruit trees out back. I assume this is "false spring"-- there is snow in the forecast later this week--but it's got us wanting more!
We keep progressing through the early part of the season. The greenhouse beds for spring shares are either seeded or prepped to be planted into. In the next week or two we'll transplant out trays of beets, chard, kale, lettuce, bok choy, salad mix, fennel, and tot soi. We start these in the greenhouse, but they do fine on heat mats so we don't have to fire up the heater until we start seeding for the field and need more room, which starts on Monday! Where did the winter go!
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 1
Greetings Spring CSA Members!
We are just three days away from the start of 36 consecutive weeks of CSA shares for the 2024 season!
I'm glad to have you all on board for the first season of the year. Spring is my favorite CSA share we offer on the farm, and we've got some promising looking greenhouses bulking up with veggies as we speak!
But first, a few things regarding pickup:
Pickup is in the barn at 72 Jaffrey Rd Fitzwilliam, NH 03447 anytime AFTER 3:30pm on Wednesday afternoon.You can come whenever works best for you. If you need to come on Thursday to pick up your share you are welcome to, although the greens may be a little wilted by then. Also if it gets down into the low 20's, there is the risk of the barn freezing. Shares will be donated if not picked up by Friday morning.Our roadside sign got blown over in the wind last week and is undergoing repairs. If you have never been to the farm, GPS will sometimes take you past the driveway. Our farm is the one with all of the greenhouses. It will be on your right if you're coming from Route 12 and on the left if coming from Route 124.
If you are not able to pick up on Wednesday or Thursday one week, you are more than welcome to send a friend in your place!
Shares will be packed into baskets and set up on the wooden racks in the center of the barn. All baskets are packed the same, so feel free to grab any of them. There is a checklist with every member's name on it when you enter the barn on a table immediately to the right of the door. Please check off your name so we know you came to collect your share! You are welcome to take the basket home with your for the week but please bring it back when you return for the following pickup!
EGGS! I didn't include a signup for eggs when I released spring shares because I was waiting to see what our neighbors would have this year. We will have eggs for spring shares this season! They are $1 cheaper to pre-buy them for the season than if you were to buy them in the store. Egg shares are $72 for the whole season and $36 for every other week of the season. They will be kept in the farm store fridge and egg share members can collect them from there. The egg share checklist is next to the If you would like to pre-buy eggs, please respond to this email and I will get you on the list!
The full balance for your Spring CSA is due at first pickup. If you have not paid for your share, please come with a check to leave it in the cash box in our farm store. Spring shares are $325. If you are not sure if you've made a payment, please send me an email and I will let you know what you owe.
This week's share will include spinach, kale, chard, microgreens, and any storage veggies that are still good after the winter. We'll be putting out a lot of storage veggies on the swap table for seconds, too, so take what you can use! We've got some great stuff on the horizon for shares as well. There is a long bed of carrots sizing up, radishes and turnips are growing strong from their February sowing, arugula, lettuce mix, and our spicy salad mix are just a week or two away, we've got a couple new beds of spinach to keep us going all spring long, plus peas, beets, fennel, lettuce heads, bok choy, tot soi, chard and kale are almost ready to be transplanted for the late spring season. I'm hopeful for a bountiful spring CSA!
Spring Week 1
▪Chard
▪Kale
▪Microgreens
▪Spinach
▪Storage Veggies
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
©2024 Tracie's Community Farm, LLC | Tracie's Community Farm. 72 Jaffrey Rd. Fitzwilliam, NH. 03447.
