Mulberry Creek Farm CSA

Volume 1: Issue 9 – published occasionally at the whim of the editor 9/01/09

In this issue:

Introduction & Farm Stand

Garden News

Poultry & Egg Update

Hive Hearsay

Miscellany

This week’s baskets include lettuce, peppers, carrots, tomatoes, watermelon, green beans, beets and an acorn squash.

Don’t forget to pre-order your poultry so we can have it ready with your basket! (See below for more information)

Last newsblog (don’t tell me it’s really been a month!) I told you about my new job as office manager for the TransPlant Project and of our participation in the farm stand there. The project started well and we had a number of customers stop at the stand, several of whom had become regulars. We had begun selling annual memberships, too. Then, due in part to the illness of our founder’s wife (last week they determined that it is a form of pancreatic cancer) the project was not able to sustain itself, the stand was closed and all the staff was laid off.

That was a long sentence to say that I am now able to devote full-time to farm concerns (including more regular newsblog updates?  Believe me, I have been trying to do more on the site, including more regular updates, but we’ve been having a lot of trouble here with internet reliability and keeping a good connection long enough to upload.

Of course, it also means that now both Glenn and I are, other than the farm, unemployed. So we urge you to get out there and tell your friends and neighbors how much you have enjoyed this CSA! We are planning to offer several more shares next season.

Garden News

We’re in that transitional season between summer and fall. The weather is cooling off and we anticipate more cool weather crops appearing in baskets in the coming weeks. Hydroponically grown lettuce has already been enjoyed. Unfortunately, we didn’t get broccoli and cauliflower planted quite soon enough and the amount of rain we have received this summer has played havoc with several of our crops (we had some onions and potatoes rot in the ground and spinach and other fall greens got drowned before they really took off) so we will possibly be looking to other farms we trust to provide you with a few things from time to time to keep your baskets full and well-rounded.

Our final planting of sweet corn will be ready to harvest within the next week or two and winter squashes and pumpkins are starting to ripen. We are still digging potatoes and our onions will be ready to pull soon, too. We’re still picking green beans, too.

We had hoped that the orchard opportunity would provide you with a variety of apples but the spring freeze and too few pollinators in the orchard mean we will need to go elsewhere for your fall apples.

Poultry & Egg Update

We have delicious duckling at $10 each and broiler chickens at $2 per lb. If you have expressed interest in a holiday turkey, we must have a deposit of $25 to hold your order by the 15th of this month. We have turkeys for both Thanksgiving and Christmas but both are in very limited quantity and they are going quickly. They are $5 per lb. and we will let you know a bit later what the size ranges will be. Those of you who have been to the farm have seen the birds roaming around at their leisure, able to eat grasses and bugs (and grapes, and young spinach …)

Our spring pullets are nearing egg laying age and we will, very soon, be overwhelmed with eggs. If you or anyone you know is interested in an egg share or half share, please call. We pro-rate the egg shares based on the number of weeks left in the season (the next full season begins mid-October). We offer a discount if you return your cartons. A few of you already enjoy eggs and we constantly hear how much you enjoy these eggs! You may also choose to order eggs by the dozen at $3/doz. from time to time.

Hog and Hive Hearsay

Last newsblog I mentioned that the honey would be ready to harvest “soon” and soon is rapidly approaching. The trouble now is “how to harvest?” We need to find a honey extractor within our budget – know anyone who has a spare lying around?

Our trio of Mulefoot Hogs along with three Pomeranian geese arrived a few weeks ago and are enjoying their new home. Although the pigs miss the cookies and pancakes they were used to eating, they are getting lots of fresh garden veggies. We also anticipate piglets in mid-December and they will be for sale by mid-February either to raise for breeding or to feed-out. Please visit our Mulefoot Hog page to learn more about these fascinating animals!

Miscellany

Jams and Jellies are still here! We are adding more varieties all the time (there are grapes on the stove as I write awaiting processing). We will be shiping soon, for those at a distance within Ohio who have ordered. Again, all come in 8 oz. traditional jelly jars and, in fact, we are constantly on the trail to find Ball/Kerr/Mason etc. jars, particularly in the ½ pint (8 oz.) and pint (16 oz.) sizes. We will offer 5c per jar in good condition and an additional 5c if the jar is returned with a ring in good condition and another 5c if the label has been completely removed. We’re open to barter arrangements, too (which, at the moment, is about all we can do!)

Currant-ly our varieties include:

Jams: peach, peach-rhubarb, regular and seedless blackberry, regular and seedless raspberry, red plum, golden plum, plum wine, apricot

Jellies: currant, gooseberry, grape, apple, mulberry, elderberry

We also have apple butter and hopefully (cross your fingers for our pear crop) will be able to offer pear-butter, as well.

As always … eat local!

Peace –

Gail