Hello CSA and Friends of Shalom Orchard,
Spring is upon us and there is a lot going on here on the farm! We are planting early crops like beets, carrots, chard, lettuce, arugusa, potatoes, peas, cabbage, broccoli, leeks and onions. Isn’t wonderful to think of those delicious veggies!!
We ordered 50 meatbirds a couple of weeks ago and the hatchery sent us 200!! Sounds like a windfall until we start feeding them! We were able to share our bounty with several people which was nice – we are probably raising about 125. More about those birds later.
We are so very fortunate to have two excellent apprentices: Sarah Longstreth and her boyfriend, Sammie Warren. Sarah is from Michigan, but came to us by way of Portland, where she worked for Whole Foods as a baker(!)..Sammie is from Maine and was also working in Portland as a “green” builder. They are very committed to working and learning and we are very grateful that they came to us!
We have some exciting developments for our CSA and Friends this year. Sarah will be taking orders for fresh breads for Wed. pickups. She wants to know what kinds of breads you might be interested in. Some of you remember several years ago when Maddie baked for the CSA. So let us know what breads you like so we can stock up on various flours, etc.
We are also very excited to offer some products from other folks. Harmony Mill Dairy, in Waltham, produces unpasteurized milk (glass, returnable bottles with the cream on top – some of you may have seen this milk at John Edwards) and cheese from his Jersey cows. We will take orders from you and he will drop it off here for you to purchase at CSA pickup. The cheese is like cheddar and varies from mild to sharp, depending on the age. We so enjoy his milk and cheese (I love to make yogurt from it), so we are very happy to be able to offer this to you, as a convenience.
Also, one of the CSA, Emily Muise and her family, have started a maple syrup business, Muise’s Maple, and they are working toward organic certification. They have delicious maple syrup and we will have some in the store for sale this season.
We are glad to be able to offer you these diversified products and to help support other local businesses.
WE NEED TO TAKE ORDERS NOW FOR TURKEYS FOR THANKSGIVING AND/OR FOR FREEZING!! I HAVE TO ORDER THEM THIS WEEK. PLEASE REPLY ASAP IF YOU WANT US TO GROW SOME FOR YOU AND HOW MANY.
The CSA has grown this year. It is wonderful to see the interest in local and organic. We look forward to meeting our new members and seeing so many of you returning again this year.
We hope to start up toward the end of June, depending upon the weather. Remember we have eggs and chicken and some lamb available now. Our layers have been so busy that we are canning pickled eggs in tarragon vinegar!
Thank you,
Charlotte