By Thursday evening, each of our farmers gives me a list with expected harvests for the following week so I can plan your CSA Shares and update the Webstore. Many of our growers email their list, and on Monday morning I email them their final orders for the week. But that doesn't work for the Amish farmers. They usually use a neighbor's phone to call me with their estimates, and then call me again on Monday for their orders. Sometimes they will write their estimates on a piece of paper for me. Sometimes there is an error, like happened with this week's green beans. One farmer wrote down that he would have 10 bushels of green beans, but he meant to write 1 bushel! So I offered lots of beans in the CSA Shares, but when I reported his sales to him on Monday he was just a bit surprised. We asked another of our Amish farmers if he could fill as much of the demand as he could with green and yellow beans, and we ended up with half of the needed amount for Wednesday. He picked again on Wednesday afternoon, and we had enough for Thursday.
But there was still a problem with Thursday's shares. When we set up the packing line, we were missing the zucchini. It was too late to drive to the Amish farm and wait for them to pick it, so we had to leave it out of the boxes.
We are hoping to replace the green beans that got left out with this week's harvest, but I'm not sure if the plants will produce enough this time. If not, we will issue a credit to be used toward swaps and extras. The zucchini will definitely be replaced.
Boxes: Can we ask a favor of all of you (except home delivery members)? When you remove your CSA share from the box and flatten the box, can you try to do it carefully so the box flaps don't rip? We have a bunch of brand new boxes that we can't use because the bottom flaps are ripped, which allows the contents to drop through the bottom when we carry them. The boxes cost more than $3.00 each, so we try to be conservative and reuse them as much as possible. Turn the box over and fold the flaps outward until they come out of the slots rather than pulling on them.
.jpg)
Thank you for helping us save resources and give you more produce in your shares rather than spending money on boxes.
Grateful Life Farm: After a wonderful long weekend at a Primitive Skills gathering in Maine, we definitely have a case of vacation hangover. But our work was still waiting for us when we returned and we’re settling back in to the pace of morning, afternoon, and evening animal chores, harvesting and processing vegetables, and weeding the garden.
We’ve spent this week cutting grass and moving portable fence to set up for the next batch of chickens to move to the pasture pens. Yesterday we loaded them into crates, stacked the crates in the bed of the side-by-side, and drove them to their new home. As I uncrate them, I examine each chick and apply antiseptic to any cuts or scratches, then set them on the ground for the first time. Some are nervous at first, standing on my shoes to find a familiar surface. But in a few minutes, everyone is excitedly pecking at the grass, looking for bugs, or running and flapping their wings in their newly expanded space.
This week lots of animals arrived as we picked up our pigs and received our final batch of baby chicks for this season. Although we've had many issues with the chick deliveries, this time was a brand new problem! We received one box of chicks but the second box had somehow become separated and was in Sugar Grove, about an hour and a half north. Our Kennerdell Post Master made a heroic effort and the chicks were delivered to Oil City, where we picked them up only a few hours after the first batch.
We’ve also been weed-eating fence lines, repairing pig fence and cleaning and freshening the pig house in preparation for the arrival of new piglets! I had trouble sourcing piglets this Spring, but I’m excited to tell you I finally found some wonderful ones.
I'm always shocked at how small the pigs are, and we decided to keep them in their house for a few days to acclimate and give us a little more time to shore up some areas of the fence where we thought they might be able to squeeze out. Yesterday we let them roam for the first time and they were so excited to tunnel into the tall weeds. I was a little worried when they decided to bed down in the brush for the night, but they seemed snuggled up, dry, and comfortable, so I left them sleeping. In the morning, they were still snoozing contentedly in the same spot.
Their new piglets are featured in the photo above.
This week's shares are filled with summer's bounty: tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, peppers, and more! About 50% of our members are customizing their shares each weekend, so about half of you are happy with the way Harvie uses your preferences when filling your shares. Some of our members just like to tweak their shares a little when planning their menu, like ordering more tomatoes to make sauce or salsa.
Don't forget that we have lots more products available in our Webstore, including some new cheeses from Cherish Creamery and a $5 discount when you order 5 of their products. When you place a Webstore order, be sure to choose "CSA Member" at checkout to avoid an extra delivery fee.
Have a great week, and eat healthy!
On behalf of your NWPA Growers farmers,
Amy Philson
