CSA Newsletter 4/3 – Welcome to a New Season
Welcome to a new CSA season here at Red Dog Farm! For those who are long-time members- we’re so happy you’re continuing on! And for those new to our CSA, welcome! We hope everyone will be happy to join in on some delicious seasonal, farm eating! The season feels off to a strong start with these gorgeous sunny days and blue skies. Our fields are drying out fast and we are chasing the dry ground with plow and tiller to get our fields ready for crops. After the brutal late winter, we are ready for this sunny break! You may notice over the next...
read moreCSA 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...
read moreCSA Newsletter 12/12/18- Winter Wonderland
Well, we knew it was coming, so it is not quite fair to say that winter “snuck up” on us, but after such a lengthy, lovely fall, that crisp, wintry air was certainly an awakening! With lows down into the teens at night we awoke to Center Valley dusted in a white, wintry mix nearly every morning last week. The frost was thick enough to trick you into thinking there had been light snowfall overnight. The low temperatures reminded us here at the farm that winter can certainly be a hard time to farm on the peninsula. We are lucky enough to be...
read moreCSA Newsletter 12/5/18- 2018, The Journey
One of the best things about growing vegetables is how closely aligned with seasons we become as farmers. In the summer time when the sun stays high in the sky the crew is out in the field bringing in as much of the harvest as the day allows. In the winter the lack of sunlight, coupled with cold wet weather, means it’s time for the fields and weary farmers to take a break. Starting in those peak season months we all start dreaming about how we will spend our winters. Some of us will go back to visit family or friends that we didn’t get to see...
read moreCSA Newsletter 11/28/18- An Ode to the Fields
Nanci, Patsy, Joni, Loretta, Townes and Roscoe are all names that are frequently shouted over the radio and woven into daily conversations on the farm. These names are the landmarks to which we interact with each other and the many rows of vegetables. Each field expresses its own personality through the soil, the landscape, the size and the location. Patsy and Nanci boast the best wildlife sightings. Sitting closest to the creek boundary and adjacent the kestrel box, we have appreciated many bird sightings. The furthest boundary of Patsy,...
read moreCSA Newsletter 11/21/18- Giving Thanks
This time of year always causes me to pause and remember all of the things I have to be thankful for. Sometimes the most basic of things, like having clean water to drink, fresh air to breathe, and just being alive is truly something to remember not to take for granted! But more often my mind goes to the more peripheral and yet essential blessings of everyday farm life. I am so thankful to all the amazing people who have worked on the farm this year. From dedicated permanent employees, to 3-month crew members during peak summer, work traders,...
read moreCSA Newsletter 11/14/18- Winter Migrations
Fall is ending and winter is closing in fast. As temperatures change across the globe plenty of migratory birds are making their way to warmer weather. Some, such as the Trumpeter Swan, have already arrived and often stop in a neighboring field for rest, providing our lucky eyes with quite an astonishing sight. With a wingspan larger than seven feet, standing height of roughly four feet and a weight of nearly thirty pounds these birds are quite easy to spot when making their abrupt, near-perfect trumpet-sounding calls as they flock amongst...
read moreCSA Newsletter 11/7/18- The Coming Winter Rest
As the days have been getting shorter and grayer I have found myself wanting more sleep and I see this need to conserve energy in our crops too. There is still abundance in our fields, but the growth is slowing and it is clear that we are entering a period of rest as the winter approaches. After a summer packed full of long harvest lists and late evenings in the field, making sure we didn’t waste the food that we all helped nurture from young seedlings to fresh, delicious fruits and veggies, this rest time is welcomed by all of us. I love...
read moreCSA Newsletter 10/31/18- Finding your Place
When you think about home, what comes to mind? The promise of comfort, routine and contentment? A warm shower, a kettle atop the wood stove or tea before bed? It seems for a lot of folks that “home” is made of such niceties, but I could never quite find that sense of peace in such things. What about work? Is it just a state you find yourself in from 9-5 or that place you must go in order to get the things you want? Is it your craft or simply your rung in that chain of command? Some live for their work, some work solely so they may live. Both...
read moreCSA Newsletter 10/24/18- These Unexpected October Days
I haven’t checked any records, but we here at the farm are feeling like this has been one of the best Octobers on record for beautiful weather. The sunny days have helped to keep spirits high as we feel the descent into winter: sitting outside at lunch in the sun, needing only to wear a hoodie in the afternoons to keep warm and having the fields dry enough to drive the trucks around have been a few of the highlights! In addition to the positive attitudes the warmer weather has brought it has also helped to keep some crops around longer this...
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