Happy first week of Spring CSA!
We're so excited to kick off this season and that you've joined us for another CSA year. It has certainly been a challenging spring but we are very optimistic for a bountiful growing season ahead.
Please read this email thoroughly as it contains important house-keeping items for the start of the CSA.
This email is a bit delayed getting to you because of some unexpected (and unneeded!) excitement this morning. When we went out to move the chickens this morning we found a great horned owl in the coop with the chickens. Not our laying hens, but the meat birds. The owl was looked terrified, and our chickens were unsurprisingly distressed. The PA Game Warden was out in record time, we caught him and he was released miles away in central PA game lands.
SO, in CSA news.... these weekly emails will mark the start of the customization period for your share. Our goal is to send out the email on Friday evening or early on Saturday morning, so you'll have the weekend to customize your box before we start harvesting. The customization period ends on Sunday at 11:59 pm for all Tues/Wed/Thurs shares.
You can also add-on items to your box during this time. We have lots of local products available, like cheese, meat, milk, eggs, yogurt, kombucha, vinegars, honey, maple syrup, and more. You'll also see a selection of plants on the list, which will expand in the next couple of weeks as we add new varieties.
Your share will be packed in a box labeled with your name, and our plan is to have ALL of your items in this box this year (perhaps with the exception of plants!). Refrigerated and frozen items will be packed inside of an insulated bag. We can accept the boxes AND insulated bags back, so please bring them back to the farm or return them to your delivery site. Please break the boxes down flat so that they can easily be stored before we return to the site to pick them up.
A note about milk bottle returns: All milk, half and half, and cream bottles from Apple Valley Creamery have a $2 bottle deposit (size of the bottle does not matter). The bottle deposit is included in the price listed. The bottles will be labeled with a sticker with your name, so please return the bottle with the sticker attached so we can apply the $2 credit back to your account! Do, however, return the bottle cleaned (it just needs a few good hot rinses) and remove the cap - these cannot be reused.
U-PICK crops will be in the field directly in front of the parking lot at the farm. You can see the beds in front of you when you park! Herbs and flowers are going in now and in the weeks to come, so you'll hear from us about what is available to pick! Signage was an issue last year, so we're working on making it easier for you this year.
We are encouraging all on-farm pick up members to park in the parking lot, provided that the walk to the farm stand is doable. The reason is that we have lots of vehicles coming and going around the barn and block building during the pick up window. If you have small children or have trouble walking the distance, we do understand and you're welcome to pull up to the garage in that case. Please let us know if you have any questions about this and we're happy to talk more!
We have a super-cool compost project starting now (available for on-farm folks only at this time). We are working with the York County Solid Waste Authority, who has graciously provided us with beautiful brand-new buckets. Members who would like to participate can fill up the buckets at home with food scraps and return them to the farm where we will compost the scraps. There's a list of what to compost on the bucket, and all you have to do is fill it and return it, and your scraps will go right back into the fields where your food is being grown! Be sure to take a clean bucket when you drop off your full compost bucket. Delivered members are of course welcome to grab a bucket at the farm and bring compost if you'd like, too!
That's all I have for the moment. Please text me (Brittany) at 443 643 5684 or reply to this email if you have any questions and we'll get right back with you. We can't wait to see you soon!
