just a few CSA shares left

THANK YOU to everyone who has signed up for our 2012 CSA!

We have a few shares left, so if you're thinking about joining, now is the time.
 
The CSA runs for 20 weeks, starting in June. Each week our shares contain 8 to 10 different vegetable crops, reflecting what's in season on the farm. Our shares are designed for one household, and typically feed 2 - 4 people. Members choose from 3 pick up options. We also offer "flexible share contents" which means you are welcome to swap items in your share for any vegetables available at our Farm Store or farmers' market booth on pick-up day. To find out more, check out the CSA page.

If you'd like to join, please email Kate at stoutoakfarm@gmail.com requesting a sign-up form.

winter sky

Well, the snow was nice while it lasted. It's disappearing quickly now with the drizzle, and the temperatures creeping back up to nearly 40 degrees. I keep having to remind myself that Spring is still a ways off (good thing too, as there's so much to do before planting season begins). I've spent the last few days indoors at the computer working on crop plans and ordering seeds, but took some time out for a walk yesterday to look at the sky.

CSA details

We are expanding our CSA program this year, as we put more acreage into production at the new farm. Based on feedback from 2011 shareholders, we have increased the size of our shares a bit, tweaked our crop list, and we're offering a new pick-up option on the farm.

The CSA runs for 20 weeks, beginning in early to mid-June (exact start date depends on weather). Each week our shares contain 8 to 10 different crops, reflecting what's in season on the farm. Our shares are designed for one household, and typically feed 2 - 4 people. Members choose from 3 pick up options. We also offer "flexible share contents" which means you are welcome to swap items in your share for any vegetables available at our Farm Store or farmers' market booth on pick-up day.

The cost of share is $550 for the season, but you get a $50 discount if you pay for your share by January 20th. That's this coming Friday!  Read more

If you're ready to sign up, email us at stoutoakfarm@gmail.com and we'll send you the Sign Up Form.

winter reading

A few books we're really enjoying at our house right now:

The Holistic Orchard by Michael Phillips
Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens
The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball
Wisdom of the Last Farmer by David Mas Masumoto

I just finished The Dirty Life and I'm tempted to pick it up and read it again!  Farmer Kristin Kimball tells the sometimes funny/sometimes painful story of her farm's start-up year - a very challenging, but deeply rewarding experience, replete with barnyard animal-related misadventures.

Jeff just picked up a copy of The Holistic Orchard, to guide us as we starting thinking about planting a few fruit trees and berries on this nice south-facing slope:

measuring, re-measuring

The sun is out today, and the winter rye we seeded in early November is still trying to grow!  I just walked the perimeter of our fields again, double-checking my measurements. Now that I'm actually sitting down to calculate how many seeds to order, I need to know how much cultivated bed space we'll have available for growing this year's crops. We'll be using four separate areas of our fields for growing vegetables (we tried to choose the flattest areas). There's one field near the barn and greenhouse, two larger areas up on the top of the hill, and a long skinny field across the road.

We just sent out our first email newsletter today!  To read our January newsletter, click here. If you'd like add your name to our mailing list, click here.