Community Supported Agriculture for the Upper Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont
2010 CSA Signups Underway
February 12, 2010
Hello Fans of Sunrise Farm:
The sap is running, temps are in the 40s (in the sun), and even though spring is still months away, it sure feels like the new season today. With that in mind, we’re ready to start signing up shareholders for the 2010 season. If you’re interested, and we hope you are, read on.
We expect the CSA to sell out relatively quickly this year, given that we’re not expanding the size or raising the price and that we already have 30 names on the waiting list. In order to make sure each of you returning shareholders has first crack, we’ll be taking signups just from returning shareholders between now and the end of the month. Starting March first, we’ll notify our waiting list and start signing up everyone on a first-come, first served basis.
So now is your chance to insure you have a spot.
We have a few new schemes planned for the coming season, including sweet corn (we’ll give it our best shot!), more choice in the greens department, and more variety in the flowers and herb section. We’re going to ‘farm out’ sweet potatoes to Picadilly (my brother’s farm where the winter shares come from) since they clearly know how to grow them better than we do and use our space instead to grow more regular potatoes. We’re also hoping to fine-tune the quantities of some veggies now that (at last!) we won’t be expanding the size of the operation.
On the infrastructure side of life, we’re hoping to have created a new parking area on the north side of the barn before the season opens, which will make it easier to park, turn around, and access the barn and flowers. Ultimately, we also hope to expand and improve the layout of the barn, moving the CSA pickup area to the north end of the barn (closest to the new parking area), but that won’t happen until later in the year. We’re also planning some improvements to the sheep and pig facilities out in the main pasture and a new walk-in cooler in the barn.
The one change that may disappoint some of you is that we are going to shorten the pickup time back to 6 PM this year, instead of 7 PM. That last hour was tough on us last year, partly because we were starving, partly because it was often dark by then, and partly because we weren’t able to efficiently use that last hour for other work. We hope this isn’t a deal breaker for anyone but understand if it is.
So, in summary, the 2010 share will be 22 weeks long, run from mid-May to mid-October, cost $525, and have Monday or Thursday pickups from 11 AM to 6 PM. We’ll send a separate email in April discussing the a la carte chicken, pork, lamb, turkey, and beef opportunities.
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) when you have a chance (even if you know you won’t be joining us again) so that we can have a good handle on the list before we open up to new members in March. Let us know if you prefer Mondays or Thursdays as your regular day. And then send a check (either a $300 deposit or the full $525) to Sunrise Farm, 270 Orizzonto Road, WRJ, VT 05001.
Thanks!
—Chuck (and Norah)