Crates and Winter Schedule

The first batch of reusable crates has arrived! We will try out our new crates this week for the Thursday route. Please bring reusable bags (like the High Ground Organics Bagito bag you got if you made a donation to the crate fund) to the pick-up site. Take your fruits and vegetables out of the crate and leave the open crates in a nested stack. Thanks to all of you who helped make this happen. We look forward to fewer trips to the landfill!

As the days grow shorter, it’s time to think about the changing season. Our regular weekly CSA deliveries continue until November 18^th and 19^th. After that we will go to an every other week winter schedule with two weeks off to encompass the Christmas and New Year holidays.

We go down to every other week deliveries in the winter for several reasons. First, the cooler weather and shorter day length means that vegetables grow more slowly. Also, there is somewhat less variety when you take the heat loving crops out of the mix. And we put a large portion of our farm ground into winter cover crops in order to prevent erosion and add nutrients to the soil for next year’s crops.

On the other hand, winter vegetables tend to be very healthy for us, and cool weather makes a lot of vegetables develop fuller flavor. We don’t stop eating in the winter, and we are fortunate to live in a climate where we can continue to eat fresh and local through the winter. Also important is that keeping the farm going through the winter provides more steady employment for our farm crew, so they don’t have to try to find another job in the winter time. So we embrace the somewhat slower pace of winter growing, and enjoy the hardy winter vegetables that take their time to bring us the best flavor and nourishment for the winter months.

This year we will continue to offer Thomas Farm flowers through the winter — look for some tulips this December! Please see the dates and pricing for winter deliveries below the Cooking Notes section of this newsletter. Thanks!