CSA Newsletter 12/19/18- The End Has Come

CSA Newsletter 12/19/18- The End Has Come

And here we are, at the end of the CSA season and the farm season; another cycle complete. It is always hard to imagine in the spring, when all our good plans are starting in motion, the greenhouse is full of tiny plants, the abundance of crops to come just a twinkle in our eyes, and a new crop of crew members enlisted and showing up week-by-week, that we will ever get to this point in late December.

What a good season it has been! We had a great crew of people, growing food and learning together. This has been one of the most friendly farm crews I have ever had the pleasure to work with. They learned so much about farming, some of them never having worked on a farm before. Together, we grew soooooo much produce! And to top it all off, we have record numbers of crew returning for next season. The weather this year has been amazing and our fields have never been so productive. Most days it was a sprint to bring in each day’s harvest. We had a great CSA turn-out this year. Our member numbers averaged 94 members each month for the season, which is our highest membership yet. Thankfully the abundant season matched our abundant CSA membership!

And now, with winter mere days away, we get to rest. Over the years, winter has become my favorite season. Finally, I get time to think! The spring, summer and fall are all about go-go-go, and now is the time to rest, reflect and consider all that has happened. Pretty soon it will be time to start planning the next cycle. In fact, we have already hired most of our in-coming farm crew. Soon comes crop planning, which takes about 2 months to complete. The rest of winter will be spent cleaning up the barns, repairing tractors and other farm equipment, creating new systems to improve efficiency, updating records and paperwork, and gearing up for another busy farm season. Before we know it, it will be spring again and we will be sprinting once more.

I can only imagine that for most of you, life is not so aligned with the seasons. Perhaps you work the same number of hours whether it is the height of summer or the dead of winter. Perhaps for you, the summers are a more relaxed time of year. For some, the winter can be a hard time, isolating and endlessly dark. And for those of you who rely on your CSA box each week, I can only imagine that the end of the CSA each year is not a joyous event you look forward to. And for that, I am extremely grateful! Thank you for supporting Red Dog Farm this season by being a part of our CSA program. I hope that you seek out local, organic produce from other outlets during the next three months, and that you sign up for CSA again in 2019! In the meantime, I wish you a restful, peaceful winter.

~Karyn