Welcome new members! As a Farm Share member, we'll be getting to know each other as we embark upon the growing season. We're really excited to share our triumphs & bounty with you as well as our challenges. Folks like you are the reason we grow so many Jersey Fresh crops. We appreciate that this season you've chosen to eat fresh, eat healthy, & eat local, as we truly believe it's important to know your farmer and know your food! Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns ... we'll be in touch as the season draws near.
We’re growing! You know that whole 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' concept? Well, pictured above is your future food ... so far we’ve started tomatoes, peppers, & onions from seed in the greenhouse. The soil trays are seeded & put on heat mats until the seeds sprout. The heat of the mat helps to warm the soil, which when combined with sufficient moisture, helps the seeds to start growing. After just a few days on the mats the trays are moved to the greenhouse floor, making room for more seed trays to be started. These plants have a lot of growing to do, but once the weather warms they'll be planted out in the field. As long as Mother Nature cooperates, we'll all be eating homegrown tomatoes in July!
We hope you're enjoying our mild winter. We are, but it also has us concerned. This mild weather is tricking some plants (crops) into thinking spring is right around the corner and at this rate, our perennial crops (berries, apples, peaches, etc.) will soon start making buds & start growing. A hard freeze after buds are made will most likely kill the buds, and therefore any fruit those buds would have developed into. A cold wet spring could cause trouble as well ... remember how we said seeds like warm soil to grow? If the soil in the fields is wet and cold (due to cloudy, rainy, & cool spring weather) rather than warm and moist (thanks to sunshine and occasional spring showers), the plants and seeds will take much longer to grow and mature, making a later, and possibly lighter yielded harvest. Our fingers are crossed that spring truly does arrive early!
Thank you for your continued support of our CSA & Crop Share Program!
We'll be in touch again soon.
--Cindy
**Remaining balances are due by March 15th, 2020. The full payment will automatically be assessed at that time.
