Big Market 2/19, CSA is Filling Up!
Good Evening, Everyone! Getting this out late cause I was out picking up some last minute veggies for our market tomorrow, so I’ll keep it short. We’ve got a great lineup of local goods going to the market in the morning and we’ll have another full table of fresh produce—not bad for the middle of winter! Plus I’ve been browsing other local produce suppliers and I would be remiss not to mention that we have some of the best prices I have seen on local and organic goods at our market at Cheshire Med. I hope you’ll stop by and see what we have to offer!
The CSA continues to fill up! Thank you to our loyal members who sign up early and participate in our CSA year in and year out. We’re getting closer and closer to our target number of shares. It makes a big difference when y’all sign up early!
Last but not least the Sustainability Project is hosting it’s annual Seed Celebration & Community Fair on the 28th! The Sustainability Project has been a long time friend of the farm and I highly recommend going to check out the fair. Plus they always have the best soups on the menu!!
More info on the market, CSA, and sustainability fair below!
Market at Cheshire Med Tomorrow 2/19!
We’ll be in the cafeteria of Cheshire Med on Thursday 2/19 from 10am - 2pm. The cafeteria is downstairs and you can access it from the main entrance and go downstairs or by driving around to the back entrance (there is construction around the back entrance but you can still access it).
LOTS of fresh greens and storage veggies from our farm this week plus plenty of high quality, local produce from nearby organic farms, bread and cookies from orchard hill, and eggs and maple syrup from our neighbors in Fitzwilliam! At the market this week we will have:
From Local Farms
Picadilly Farm, Organic, Winchester, NH
Beets, Carrots, and Winter Squash
Laughing Child Farm, Organic, Pawlet, VT
Sweet Potatoes
Brookford Farm, Organic, Canterbury, NH
Cabbage, Potatoes, Leeks, and Watermelon Radish
Orchard Hill Breadworks, Alstead, NH
Bread & Cookies
Elephant Rock Farm, Our Neighbors!
Maple Syrup & Eggs
From Our Farm
Spinach
Lettuce Mix
Baby Kale
Chard
Hakurei Turnip
Kale
Onions
Radishes
Garlic
2026 CSA Shares
The CSA is the best deal we offer on our produce and spots will be limited again this year. Each year we aim to return 10% of the intial value of the share to our members in the form of farm fresh fruits, veggies, herbs, and flowers. PYO flowers, beans, peas, and herbs for CSA members are included as a part of the share.
The season this year will run for 18 weeks from Wednesday, July 1st to Saturday, October 31st. Full 18-week shares and “Flex” 9-week shares are available. Flex share members pick any nine weeks out of the eighteen week season to collect their share. We are adding a second pickup day for shares this year on Saturday mornings from 9:00am to noon. Members do not need to establish a pickup day for the entire season and can pickup on Wednesday or Saturday depending on what works best for your schedule each week. Both pickup days, Wednesdays from 1:00pm - 7:00pm and Saturday mornings from 9:00am - noon, are “Market Style Pickup” which means our members pick out exactly which veggies you want rather than the farmers packing a box for you (we’ve all got different taste!).
Each week we pick at least 15 unique varieties of vegetables and members choose 8 items to make up their share. We regularly offer bonus 9th and 10th items like herbs, garlic, or veggies we have an abundance of that do not count towards the 8 items in your share. PYO does not count towards your eight share items an Over the course of the season we grow more than 40 different veggies for our CSA shares! We prioritize vegetables that can be included in shares and enjoyed on a weekly basis. Our favorite share items are: Carrots, Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Lettuce, Cucumbers, Salad Greens, Melons and Watermelons, Fresh Herbs, Summer Squash, Zucchini, Onions, Peppers, Corn, Garlic, Cabbage, and Radishes. Veggies are picked fresh, washed, and properly stored for best quality once they make it to your kitchen.
There will be a few changes to the CSA this year as we are always trying to improve shares for our members. The biggest change is that we are not offering delivery CSA shares any longer. If you received delivery last year you should have already gotten an email letting you know our reasoning, but if you have any questions please let me know. Another is that we will not have eggs and bread as an add on for CSA shares, however we will still have eggs and bread for sale in the farm store during pickup. We are also looking into inviting other bread and pastry vendors on Saturday morning pickups.
The last change is that we will no longer be accepting card payments for CSA shares this year. Unfortunately the processing fees for the CSA became too much for the farm to handle and we did not want to increase the price of shares to cover processing fees. Shares must be paid by check. We offer payment plans for members and only require a 20% down payment due upon signup, but the remainder of the checks must be filled out, postdated, and mailed to the farm with the down payment to be confirmed for your share. Please see the image below for information on how to pay for shares.
Sustainability Fair 2/28!
Gilsum, NH – The Sustainability Project hosts its 19th Annual Seed Celebration & Sustainable Community Fair on Saturday, February 28th, from 8:30am to 4:30pm at the Gilsum STEAM Academy, 640 Rte. 10 in Gilsum. Come for the day, or just an hour, to celebrate the miracle of seeds, gardening, and community! Farmers, gardeners, and activists working for sustainable and regenerative ways of living on the planet have come to know this event as a great opportunity for joyful networking, planning their gardens, and stocking up on seeds.
The schedule includes presentations on: Making Fermented Foods with Celeste Longacre; Birdscaping with Master Gardeners, Monica Brandau and Paulette Fitzgerald; Growing Mushrooms on Coffee Grounds and Inoculating Logs and Stumps, with Dave Wichland; Social Permaculture – Creating More Resilient Connections During Perilous Times, with Nicole Colvin Griffin; and The Circle Way, a foundational practice for creating nature-based communities with Valerie Piedmont.
Exhibits and demonstrations from local businesses will focus on community resilience, innovation and stewardship. The Firebird Morris Dancers will help us imagine the coming spring, and our lunchtime concert features Cajun musicians, Pete and Linda Simoneaux. Eat at our acclaimed “café”, featuring soups, stews and baked goods from local restaurants and kitchens,,and Bread from Orchard Hill Breadworks.
This is a family-friendly event with children’s activities offered throughout the day and, as always, a fantastic local business raffle will close out this year's Annual Seed Celebration & Sustainable Community Fair.
Founded in March of 2000, The Sustainability Project (TSP), a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational organization, promotes a love of nature, environmental stewardship, caring communities and ways of living that deepen our understanding of the interconnected web of life. Our guiding principles embrace indigenous wisdom, diversity, inclusion, compassion, mindfulness and creative expression as fundamental to the long-term well-being of our planet and its inhabitants.
The Seed Celebration and Sustainable Community Fair is sponsored by The Savings Bank of Walpole, Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship, Aloha of Keene Yoga Studio, Dog Days Farm, The Monadnock Food Co-op and W.S.Badger Company.
Consider finding your niche at the Celebration by signing up to volunteer at the event. For more information or to be a part of the event please call 603-209-7272 or visit: www.emersonbrookforest.org/seed-celebration/ or email: info@emersonbrookforest.org.
