Fall CSA Newsletter
Welcome, Fall CSA Members! We are looking forward to a wonderful apple crop, along with some delicious pears, peaches, berries and, oh yeah – pies!
If you are new to us, check out the FAQ’s section below. You’ll find answers to your questions there. If not, just send us a note!
This is your special page on our website. We’ll post each week’s news, recipes, and you’ll find the distribution schedule, just in case you need reminding.
We’re delighted you’re joining us – and we cannot wait to see you on the farm!
Your farmers,
Sally and Bob
Photo credit: Marietta Fitz
Distribution Schedule
Hours:
Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Wednesdays, 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Week 1
Sat, Sept 7
Wed, Sept 11
Week 2
Sat, Sept 14
Wed, Sept 18
Week 3
Sat, Sept 21
Wed, Sept 25
Week 4
Sat, Sept 28
Wed, Oct 2
Week 5
Sat, Oct 5
Wed, Oct 9
Week 6
Sat, Oct 12
Wed, Oct 16
Week 7
Sat, Oct 19
Wed, Oct 23
Week 8
Sat, Oct 26
Wed, Oct 30
October 18, 2013
Here comes week 7!
It is difficult to believe we are approaching the end of our CSA distributions for 2013. We began the summer CSA during the first week of August; and now, as the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting cooler, we’re coming to the home stretch of our fall CSA. We have enjoyed the amazing weather and the bumper fall crop….we hope you have, too.
For the final two distribution weeks, we are going to try something different: we are going to lay out 5 or 6 varieties of apples and you can stock up on whatever apples you like. We’ll also have more Asian pears – a large, green variety. So, plan to spend a few extra minutes at the farm this week, and get ready to stock up on apples.
If you haven’t picked up your pie or used your coupon, now is your chance! The coupon is no longer valid after the CSA distributions end, so check out our vinegar, cider, picture cards and honey and take advantage of that coupon!
In case you’re looking for even MORE apples….we have “slicer” apples available at 50 cents/pound. A mixed variety of great baking/sauce apples for a great price. We sell these apples at our farm stand, or you can purchase them at pick-up time.
Some of our favorite old apple recipes are now posted on our website – just click on the recipes link above.
And here is a link to an article about apple harvesting technology. We won’t be using these machines any time soon, but the videos are fun to see!
See you on the farm!!
~ Sally and Bob
October 10, 2013
We continue to enjoy seeing you all each week! We hope you're enjoying the fruit! Here's the latest news....
Apple Picking This Sunday!
This will be our final apple picking of the season. These Come by this Sunday, 10/13, from 11:00-4:00. The event will be open to the public; CSA members are welcome to arrive at 10:00. Parking will be in the CSA parking area. The price is $1/pound. Several varieties will be available. We hope you can join us! (Check the website and email if the weather looks iffy).
What's in the Share?
This week, we will have a mix of Empires and Liberties - these are our most prolific apples at this time of year. But, we will also be mixing in some later apples, such as Criterion, Golden Delicious, and Jonathan. We also have more Asian pears, but a different variety than the Hosui's we have been enjoying. The newer Asian pears are more of an acquired taste, but we'll let you be the judget. We've also got more slicer Asian pears as well.
We're Begging...Donation Deliveries Still Needed
Thank you to Lucy McMurrer, Nancy Reffsin and Jen Veshia for helping to deliver the Not Bread Alone donation on Saturdays. It has been so wonderful to be able to share so much of our harvest with Not Bread Alone and the Amherst Senior Center (on Wednesdays)! We are particularly in need of a volunteer for Saturday, 10/19 - we have several overlapping events on the farm that day, so we could really use the help. If you've got a few minutes in the morning (between 9:00-10:00), please let us know. Many thanks!
Your Pie Awaits You!
Just a reminder to pick up your pie soon. In fact, for all of you Saturday folks, it would be great if you picked up your pie this coming Saturday so we can make room for MORE pies which are arriving on Monday. You have your choice of apple pies (apple crumb or 2-crust, traditional pie), raspberry pies and a few more blueberry pies. (We will have a limited supply of our pumpkin pies, arriving on Monday!).
Special Events and Visitors on the Farm!
We have several civic groups and schools coming to the farm this year:
~ Two weeks ago, a pre-school from Crocker Farm Elementary School visited the farm. They picked apples, fed Cutie Pie and enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous day at the farm.
~ This past Tuesday, the fifth/sixth grade class at the Common School visited the bee hives that live on our farm this year. Valerie Hetzel - a UMass graduate student - is conducting research on bee hives. Our farm is one of 3 sites in the Pioneer Valley. During the school visit, Valerie talked about the amazing world of honey bees. Some of the students were even able to don bee suits and join Valerie in the hive area (see picture below). The visit created quite a buzz.
~ This weekend, we are hosting the Hampshire Young People's Chorus as they gather for their annual retreat (we get to hear some beautiful singing while we harvest and sort fruit)!
~ In the next two weeks, we are looking forward to hosting two Girl Scout troops from New York, coming to spend "A Day on the Farm" with us. They will help us get the farm ready for the winter (and feed Cutie Pie, of course)!
See you on the farm!
Your Farmers,
Bob and Sally
September 26, 2013
Hi, everybody! We're so glad some of you could make it to last week's PYO. If you missed it, you've got another chance to come and pick! See details below.....
Pick-Your-Own This Saturday!
We continue to have enough apples to host another PYO. These are the first PYO events we've held since 2009! Come by this Saturday, 9/28, from 11:00-4:00. (We will be closed on Sunday). The event will be open to the public. Parking will be in the CSA parking area. The price is $1/pound. Several varieties will be available. We hope you can join us! (Check the website and email if the weather looks iffy).
What's in the Share?
This week, we will have Empire apples in the share, plus a smattering of several other varieties. And, we will also have Comice pears in your share. These are juicy, slightly sweet pears that are light green and have a skin that is similar in texture to the Hosui Asian pears we've had recently. Yum!
Recipes!
Click on the recipe link above for several apple recipes to help you manage all those apples. New this week: Cider-baked Winter Vegetables and Butternut Squash Soup with Apples. Apples also keep for several weeks if they are kept in a cool, dry place. So, if you can’t get to them now, they will wait for you! Thanks are in order to Jen Veshia for compiling these great recipes!
Donation Deliveries Still Needed
If you’ve got a few extra minutes on a Saturday (EXTRA minutes???), we’d love you to help us deliver the week’s share to Not Bread Alone in downtown Amherst. These shares were purchased by a generous donor so we could share them with people in need in our local community. Jen Veshia is making the Wednesday deliveries to the Amherst Senior Center. If you can, we’d love your help with the Not Bread Alone deliveries on Saturdays. Sally’s got the list of dates – sign up when you pick up your share.
Cider is here!
We pressed cider last week for the first time in two years. As usual, Bob (and Andy) put together an amazing mix of apples to create absolutely delicious cider. We'll have some available during pick-up again this week. A half gallon is $4.00. Our cider is unpasteurized, using our own organically grown apples. It’s a real treat!
See you on the farm!
Your Farmers,
Bob and Sally
September 19, 2013
Wow - it is difficult to imagine that we are rounding the corner to Week 3 already! It has been delightful to see you all at the farm. Here's the latest news:
Pick-Your-Own This Sunday!
Well, a bumper crop + decent weather = PYO Apples THIS SUNDAY, 9/22. The event will be open to the public from 11:00-4:00. CSA members are welcome to come at 10:00. Parking will be in the CSA parking area. The price is $1/pound. Several varieties will be available. We hope you can join us! (Check the website and email if the weather looks iffy).
Concert – a Success!
About 50 people attended last weekend’s concert. It was delightful to hear such great music, performed by high school/early college students from the Valley. Shout out to Sally's family and friends who trekked to the concert from New York! Now that we’ve given this a try, we are very excited about planning more concerts in the future. One of the groups who performed is "June and the Bee." They are a funky, folksy group that is really taking off. Check out their performance schedule (and I understand it is helpful to "Like" them) on their Facebook page. You can also see a picture of them performing at the farm, with a lovely note. Check out their page, and find a way to go see them perform!
So Many Apples!
This is about the time people begin asking what they can do with all those apples! Click on the recipe link above for recipes for applesauce and apple butter. A great website to help guide you based on ingredients on hand is alllrecipes.com. Apples also keep for several weeks if they are kept in a cool, dry place. So, if you can’t get to them now, they will wait for you!
More News
This weekend, McKenzie and Sally participated in a photo project that will travel to all 50 states. The project, called My American Pantry, includes foodies and farmers of all stripes. We will appear in the Massachusetts photo (we’ll let you know when it is posted). The photos include a story about each farm represented in the picture. Our story describes how Small ones Farm got started. You can read it here.
Donation Deliveries Still Needed
If you’ve got a few extra minutes on a Saturday (EXTRA minutes???), we’d love you to help us deliver the week’s share to Not Bread Alone in downtown Amherst. These shares were purchased by a generous donor so we could share them with people in need in our local community. Jen Veshia is making the Wednesday deliveries to the Amherst Senior Center. If you can, we’d love your help with the Not Bread Alone deliveries on Saturdays. Sally’s got the list of dates – sign up when you pick up your share.
Cider is Coming!
Bob is going to press apples this Friday. So, starting on Saturday, we’ll have cider for sale. A half gallon is $4.00. Our cider is unpasteurized, using our own organically grown apples. It’s a real treat!
See you on the farm!
Your Farmers,
Bob and Sally
September 12, 2013
Wow! It was so wonderful to see everyone at the farm this week! There were many new members and many returning members. We’re so glad to have you all with us this year!
Concert this Saturday!
We hope you can join us for our first young musicians concert on the farm. We will feature the Amherst High School Jazz Ensemble, and the popular local band, June and the Bee. Come by at 5:00 and picnic in the backyard. It will be on the cool side (a refreshing change after these last couple of sticky days), so be sure to bring a sweater. Parking will be along Middle Street. Hope to see you there! (Please leave pets at home).
PS - If you come to the concert, feel free to pick up your CSA share then.
Donation deliveries needed!
Thanks to help from a CSA member, we have help this Saturday delivering the donated shares to Not Bread Alone. Are you interested in helping on a Saturday in September or October? Just let us know!
Recipes!
Thanks to help from Jen Veshia, we have a great recipe page (check it out here). We will try to post recipes that are connected to the fruit we are providing. For instance, this past week, Jen posted a recipe for Asian Pear Crostini. Have you tried it? Heavenly!
What’s in this week’s share?
Have you worked your way through those Cortlands, Asian pears and peaches? Hope so – this week, we’ve got more Asian pears and an apple variety called Macoun. (How do YOU say Macoun)? This is a very popular apple, with a mixed tart and sweet flavor. And, a great crunch! Macouns hold up pretty well in salads (i.e., they don’t turn brown as quickly as other apples), and they are great in sauce and pies. But, mostly, they are wonderful to just bite into and enjoy.
We have several Asian pear varieties on the farm. The one you’ll see most is the Hosui, which is the more popular Asian pear variety. We also have a variety called Kosui, which is greener in color with a skin that is slightly more course. They are all juicy inside with a mild, sweet flavor.
Don’t forget the farm shop:
Every CSA share includes a $5.00 coupon to our farm shop, where we sell our vinegar, garlic, eggs, pies, local honey, t-shirts and notecards featuring pictures of our farm. And, soon, we will be pressing our apples into amazing cider. Check it out!
In the news again!
We were on the radio for a morning program on WRSI on August 30, along with Phil Korman, Executive Director of CISA. Bob reflected on his memories of being on a farm when he was a boy, McKenzie got to talk about being the “chicken wrangler” on the farm, and Sally babbled….not sure about what. You can hear the interview here.
We look forward to seeing you on the farm!
Your farmers,
Sally and Bob
August 30, 2013
Howdy, all! We are looking forward to sharing the harvest with you. For the first distribution, we will have apples for you – probably a McIntosh variety and Cortland. We will also have some peaches.
We have two exciting programs to tell you about, but first we want to send a shout out to two great people who have been helping us this year:
Andy Gorrill is our Assistant Farm Manager. Andy comes to us with amazing farming experience. He has been on the farm since April and it would not be an overstatement to say that we owe much of our prolific harvest season to Andy’s efforts this year. Hopefully, you’ll catch a glimpse of Andy – he’s usually wearing a large brimmed hat and a picking box attached to his waist. Thanks, Andy!
Jen Veshia is our Assistant Program Director. Jen can do just about anything! She has been hard at work helping with marketing, recipe-writing, connecting us to fundraising opportunities in the community, and helping us manage the generous donation described below. Thanks, Jen!
Now, here are two cool new programs we are really excited to share with you:
A Gift To The Community
A generous donor has purchased 10 fall shares to be donated to people in need in the Valley. Amazing, right? They have asked us not to share their names, but we CAN say they are incredibly generous people.
We wanted to extend this generous gift as far as possible, so we settled on two local organizations: we plan to distribute 5 of those shares to The Amherst Senior Center, and 5 to Not Bread Alone. Each of these organizations serves people in need in Amherst, across all ages. We are inviting CSA members to volunteer to deliver the shares each week. This is wonderful opportunity to involve the whole family in helping the community, and the time commitment can easily fit into a busy weekend.
Because the Senior Center’s donation timeframe does not map onto our distribution hours, we will make that delivery ourselves. But, the Not Bread Alone donation hours map nicely onto our Saturday distribution hours. So, if you would like to pick up your share AND pick up and deliver the Not Bread Alone share on one Saturday – please let us know!
A Celebration of Young Musicians
Our community is fortunate to have many wonderful musicians, music teachers and musical events. Not surprisingly, then, we have many wonderful young musicians in our area. For a long time, we have had a vision of hosting young musicians on our farm so they can share their talent and enthusiasm with all of us, and we can celebrate their musical gifts. Well, we are taking the first step to making that vision a reality. On Saturday, September 14 from 5:00-6:30 p.m., we will host two musical groups for an outdoor concert on the farm. The Amherst Regional High School jazz ensemble will perform, under the direction of ARHS band teacher, Kara Nye. And, June and the Bee – a trio of musicians who have been receiving rave reviews for their performances at clubs and restaurants in the Valley – will perform a set of their latest music. This event is open to CSA members and their families/friends. Bring a picnic and enjoy the music! (More details to follow next week).
Looking forward to seeing all of you on the farm!
~ Sally and Bob
FAQ's
Hello...
Fall CSA Members! We appreciate your support and we look forward to seeing you at the farm!
Here are some common questions and answers about how/what we do:
Where do I park?
In the CSA parking area, off Middle Street. Look for signs. Or, check out the schematic here.
Where do I pick up my share?
Follow signs past our large pet pig - named "Cutie Pie" - to the garage where we will be waiting for you!
Do you package the share?
Yes, we prepack our fruit shares so we can be sure everyone ends up with the similar fruit/quantities.
What if I miss a pick-up?
We try to hold fruit if members miss a pick-up, but availability of fruit depends on how well it keeps.
What else is available at pick-up time?
We have our fresh eggs, our amazing apple cider vinegar, and some Tom's Wildflower Honey for sale. We also have incredible raspberry and blueberry pies with our summer berries. We'll be pressing apple cider in September, and we'll have a new crop of apple pies as well. You'll find other interesting farm items at our "Farm Shop." So, come and browse.
May I come Saturday OR Wednesday?
Each distribution week begins on Saturday. Feel free to come EITHER Saturday OR Wednesday each week - whichever is most convenient for you.