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 We are so happy to announce that our 2012 CSA is now open for registration!
And we have made some exciting changes this season!
2012 Changes to our CSA program: First, we're adding two extra weeks to the end of the harvest season for the Traditional Vegetable share. These last two weeks of the season can be quite volatile with early cold and wet spells, but we've gotten quite confident in our greenhouse growing abilities, and we look forward to offering two weeks more of fall harvest! (And note, we have not raised the price from last year.)
We also have decided to add fruit to our traditional vegetable share. It won't be fruit that we grow ourselves - we only grow berries, figs, and melons as far as fruit goes. But the fruit portion will be certified organic and local whenever possible. Many people have requested fruit, and we know of some great sources for fresh and delicious organic fruit. Plus, fruit does really sweeten up the basket! We grow all the vegetables in the share baskets ourselves - we are certified organic and certified animal welfare approved.
We have a new Add-on to the CSA share this year - a Mushroom Share - Certified organic mushrooms with your basket each week - Shitake, Maitake, Portabella, Crimini, White Button, and more!
Our Egg Shares will be arranged a bit differently this year. Egg season doesn't really correspond with Vegetable season very well. So we're offering a Winter Egg Share of 12 weeks of eggs starting in February and going until mid-May, and then a Summer Egg Share that is an add-on to the first 8 weeks of the Summer Vegetable Share. Pick up for the Winter Egg Share can be any time of day on Wednesdays and you can pick up 2 dozen every other week for convenience. For the Summer Egg Share, your dozen eggs will be in your vegetable basket each week for the first 8 weeks of the summer shares season.
And finally, we are offering a "Heart of the Season" Share this year. This is basically a half share - it is 8 weeks in the middle of the growing season. It works two ways:
~If you do a lot of canning/preserving or have a big family, you can add this extra 8 weeks of produce to your Traditional Vegetable Share for $325.00.
~Or if you just want to do a half share, you can join as a Heart of the Season shareholder for $458.00
(We may also be able to do a Bread Share Add-on or possibly a Meat/Dairy or Sweet Share Add-on ...we're still trying to organize these so please stay tuned!)
Please note that there is a $50 discount if you sign up by January 31st!
Registration Form can be downloaded here!
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What is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Program?
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In the words of The Robyn Van En Center, CSA brings together community members, farmers, and agricultural land in a relationship of mutual support based on an annual commitment to one another - a commitment that ensures the survival of local farms today and for future generations.
If you are new to the concept of a CSA, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture where a household subscribes to a local farm for the growing season and picks up a weekly basket of fresh, organic produce at the farm. The basic idea of CSA farming is a cooperative relationship between the small farmer and his/her customers. With a preseason payment, you purchase a share of the season's harvest. You then receive a weekly basket of fresh produce during the course of the harvest season, from June to September. By subscribing to a CSA, you are providing a farmer with a very welcome measure of certainty, and in turn the farm is dedicated to providing you with varied, nutritious vegetables. The arrangement guarantees the farmer financial support and enables many small-to moderate-scale organic family farms to remain in business.
Ultimately, CSA creates agriculture-supported communities where members receive a wide variety of foods harvested at the peak of ripeness, flavor, and vitamin and mineral content.
Members of a CSA are called "shareholders" or "subscribers". The portion of the harvest each shareholder takes home is referred to as a "share."
The methods of operating a CSA vary considerably. Each CSA is designed specifically for its community and farmer, yet all CSAs strive for a truly sustainable operation, both economically and environmentally. Crops are planted in succession to provide a continuous weekly supply of mixed vegetables chosen for flavor and nutritional value, and to support biodiversity. The farmer frequently grows a large assortment of seasonal vegetables so shareholders can expect a wide variety. This greatly diminishes the risk of crop failure while enhancing soil fertility without the use of synthetic chemicals. Organic growing techniques such as crop rotation, companion planting, green manuring, and composting are often standard practice.
 Each week the farmer harvests fresh, ripe crops that are divided equally among shareholders. Usually, shareholders receive their food within 24 hours of picking. A share is generally enough for a family of four or a couple on a vegetarian diet. The price of a share for a season varies widely depending on each farm's costs of operation, total months of distribution, variety of crops available, and soil productivity.
I see the #1 most important reason to join a CSA is to dedicate and commit yourself to receiving, and thus using and eating, a whole basket of super-fresh, seasonal, organic, local, vegetables, greens, and herbs each week!
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How the Midsummer Farm CSA Program Works
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 We are accepting registrations now for the CSA ; all you need to do is download the registration form, fill it out, choose the options that work best for you and your household, enclose your check, and send to: Midsummer Farm at 156 East Ridge Road, Warwick, NY 10990.
Then starting in June, we will harvest and pack a bushel basket of heirloom, super fresh, certified organic produce for you each week from our small biodynamic farm.
Pick up is at the farm - just stop by each week for your big basket of delicious vegetables, along with recipes and ideas for using and storing. We also send out a weekly CSA newsletter with more recipes and information on the week's harvest.
We have two pick up times - Wednesdays between 6:30 and 7 pm and Fridays between 10 and 10:30 am.
Traditional Vegetable Share: 18 weeks, $695.00: Wednesday, May 30th - Sept. 12th or Friday June 1st - Sept. 14th
Add-ons: Herb Share - (18 weeks) $65.00
(For the herb share, we add 6-12 bunches of fresh culinary herbs to your basket each week; one specific culinary herb will be highlighted each week with recipes and info, and we'll also be including a highlighted medicinal/tea herb as well each week.)
Flower Share - (middle 5 weeks) $60.00
(For the flower share, you'll receive a big bouquet of cut flowers for the five middle weeks of the CSA season. If you are having an event where you would want your flowers earlier or later we would be happy to accommodate that!)
Summer Egg Share - (first 8 weeks) $60.00
(For the summer egg share, you'll receive 1 dozen eggs in your basket for the first 8 weeks of the CSA season.)
Mushroom Share - (18 weeks) $78.00
(For the mushroom share, we add a container of fabulous certified organic mushrooms each week - a variety of types, recipes also included. Mushrooms combine so well with vegetables...)
If all the Add-ons appeal to you, we also have a Special Share, we call the "Total Taste of the Farm" share. It includes the Traditional Vegetable Share, along with the Herb, Flower, Summer Egg, and Mushroom Share for $932.00. You also get other farm products we produce in small quantities such as honey comb, smoked and dried peppers, duck eggs, and more!
What to expect at Pick Up... We aim to have the baskets all ready to go when you arrive. We don't have a lot of refrigerator space so we usually are harvesting for the shares the same day you pick up. We will try to have some extra fruit or other organic products available for sale that same day as well. Although you can just drop in fast and grab the basket and go, it is also a chance to talk with the other CSA members, discuss recipes and cooking tips, tour the gardens and greenhouse, visit with the chickens, and enjoy the company of like-minded people.
We want to encourage our CSA members to spend more time in the garden - as the season progresses, we'll have some pick your own options - that are especially nice for children - we'll have pick your own cherry tomatoes, green beans, and raspberries.
We have an artistic and gourmet vision for our CSA shares. We are a small farm - our cultivated garden area is under 2 acres. We do all of our growing, maintenance, harvesting, and packaging ourselves. This allows us to grow varieties of vegetables and greens that just cannot be grown on a large scale, where produce needs to survive mechanical harvesting and mass storage. You won't ever see most of the stuff we grow in any supermarket and only very rarely at the farmers' markets. Our lettuces are soft and frilly and our tomatoes and squash are tender-skinned and perfectly ripe. Many of our veggies go straight from the field into your basket - never seeing the inside of a fridge.
We also provide plenty of recipes and ideas for using your veggies as sometimes the unusual varieties may be a bit overwhelming if you're not used to them. We are dedicated to making sure that each of our shareholders can make good use of each week's harvest basket. We don't want anyone to feel over-burdened with veggies! And we understand busy schedules - our recipes and tips are designed for cooks with limited time but advanced taste-buds!
As a Holistic Health Coach, I really recommend becoming a member of a CSA - one of the key ways to achieve better health is to eat more vegetables and greens. By joining a CSA, you are automatically receiving a big basket of fresh vegetables every week and you have to use them! For some it may be a healthy challenge - but it is one well worth the effort! And we're here with all sorts of ideas and recipes for helping you make the best use of all the great veggies!
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Here's a list of the types of crops you'll see in your basket during the four months of our CSA program:
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 In June: You'll see: two different sorrels, lovage, lamb quarters, a huge variety of different frilly, soft heads of lettuce, baby greens mixes, garlic scapes, three different kales, rainbow chards, red and white dandelion greens, our fabulous collection of heirloom chicories, radicchio, frisee endive, escarole, edible flowers, flat and curly parsley, french breakfast radishes, round cherry radishes, watermelon radishes, long white sweet turnips, round tokyo turnips, collards, 4 different types of chives, green onions, scallions (both white and crimson), welsh onions, raspberries, strawberries, various colors of beets, fresh peas, rainbow carrots, nettles, spinach, and more! 
In July: You'll see: broccoli, early and savoy cabbages, basils, cilantro, summer squash (zucchini of various colors and flavors, pattypans, trombicino squash, cucumbers of all sorts (we are planning 18 different varieties of cucumbers), peppers (sweet and hot varieties - we are planning over 40 different types of peppers), blueberries, currants, mulberries, gooseberries, a variety of different frilly, soft heads of lettuce, baby greens mixes, some kale, lots of rainbow chard, the bigger heirloom chicories like punterellas, radicchio heads, frisee endive, escarole, hot-weather edible flowers, flat and curly parsley, collards, continual green onions, scallions - both white and crimson, welsh onions, summer onions, various colors of beets, stringbeans (green, yellow, purple, flat podded), and more!
In August: You'll see: tomatoes (a huge variety of colors of cherry, plum, slicing, and giant tomatoes - we're currently planting seeds for over 40 different varieties), various colors and sizes of eggplants, cauliflower, tomatillos, leeks, broccoli, basils, cilantro, summer squash (zucchini of various colors and flavors, pattypans, trombicino squash, cucumbers of all sorts (we are planning 18 different varieties of cucumbers), peppers (sweet and hot varieties - we are planning over 40 different types of peppers), some lettuce, some kale, rainbow chard, the bigger heirloom chicories like punterellas, radicchio heads, frisee endive, escarole, hot-weather edible flowers, flat and curly parsley, collards, continual green onions, scallions - both white and crimson, welsh onions, summer onions, and more!
In September: You'll see: fennel, burdock roots, other cool roots, winter squash, turnips, various colors of beets, brussel sprouts, tomatoes (a huge variety of colors of cherry, plum, slicing, and giant tomatoes - we're currently planting seeds for over 40 different varieties), various colors and sizes of eggplants, tomatillos, leeks, broccoli, basils, cilantro, peppers (sweet and hot varieties - we are planning over 40 different types of peppers), baby spinach and lettuce mixes, kale, rainbow chard, the bigger heirloom chicories like punterellas, frisee endive, escarole, flat and curly parsley, collards, scallions, welsh onions, storage onions, storage cabbage, and more! |
7 Reasons to Join a CSA
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1. You and your family's health. The number one missing ingredient to a healthy disease-free lifestyle is a variety vegetables! If you have a big basket of fresh veggies on hand, you will use them! And we are here to fully support you in using them!
2. Living more sustainably - by joining a CSA, you are personally and directly addressing the flaws of our global food system. By paying attention to what you eat, you participate in a more environmentally and socially sustainable way of life.
3. Living more ethically - you are supporting a circular farm with animals, plants, and the soil itself being treated with respect and care.
4. Supporting Local Business and strengthening your community.
5. Supporting Organic Farmers. It is more than just supporting the particular farm you have a membership with - it is about showing policy makers that people want local, real, organic food, and it is about showing the local farming community that you appreciate their efforts.
6. Creative cooking - to be the ultimate 'foodie' you must cook! In your basket will come a huge variety of flavors, scents, textures, and all of these can be cooked up and presented in thousands of different ways!
7. Saving fossil fuels - Typical grocery store produce travels 1,500 miles to get to your table!
Questions? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please do not hesitate to email or call us!
CSA@midsummerfarm.com | 845-986-9699
Thanks very much and best wishes,
Barbara and Mark
Midsummer Farm
Warwick, NY
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Disclaimer
© Copyright 2012 Barbara Taylor-Laino, HHC / Barbara Taylor Health. All Rights Reserved. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Barbara Taylor Laino is required.
This information newsletter is designed as an educational tool for better health. Recipes and information are included as examples for you learn from; they are not diagnostic or prescriptive. Everyone's health needs are different. This newsletter is not to be used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment of any health condition or problem. Any questions regarding your own health should be addressed to your own physician or other healthcare provider. The entire contents of this newsletter and the websites of Barbara Taylor Laino and Midsummer Farm are based upon the opinions of Barbara Taylor Laino, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author(s), who retains copyright as marked. The information on the www.midsummerfarm.com website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Barbara Taylor Laino. You are encouraged to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.
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Midsummer Farm Contact Info:
Barbara and Mark Laino
Midsummer Farm
156 East Ridge Road
Warwick, NY 10990
845-986-9699
info@midsummerfarm.com
Holistic Health Counseling Contact Info:
Barbara Taylor-Laino
Barbara Taylor Health
156 East Ridge Road
Warwick, NY 10990
845-986-9699
info@barbarataylorhealth.com
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