Banner 
What is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Program?
How the Midsummer Farm CSA Program Works
Month by Month Basket Contents
7 Reasons to Join a CSA
Info on Registering for our Limited 2015 CSA Program - Big Changes for the 2015 Season!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CSA Baskets Announcing our new Gourmet and Diverse Heirloom CSA Program!

We are currently accepting registrations for our 2015 Growing Season! But we are only offering a very limited number of shares this coming year!

We have been doing our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture - see below for more info on how a CSA works, if CSA's are new to you) program for many years (since 2006), and we are planning some major changes to make the farming experience more interesting for us and the harvest more fun and exciting for our shareholders, or farm members!

So next year we are going to switch it up a bit - change the tone a bit - create more abundantly diverse baskets. We want to really go crazy with wonderful heirloom vegetable varieties!

We want the CSA experience for our customers to be more of a learning experience - providing new types and varieties of vegetables and hopefully sparking your cooking to be more exciting and diverse as well. We have been gathering a group of awesome recipes that we would like to try to grow toward each week, and we have really been inspired by books like Vegetable Literacy by Deborah Madison.

As always, our CSA program is certified USDA Organic. We also are Animal Welfare Approved, and we practice totally sustainable, as well as biodynamic, agricultural methods. We never ever grow anything that is GMO. The  food in our CSA baskets is grown in a beloved small scale garden environment on land that has been designed and developed using nature and sustainability as a guide.

spicy globe basil

HERBS
We had more people sign up for our herb share in 2014 than any other year! As a holistic health practitioner and herbalist, I can't stress enough the healthy benefits of using fresh herbs in your meals, and so the herb share will now be incorporated into the Traditional Vegetable Share! We'll also include recipes as well as different ways to use the herbs - both in a culinary sense and in simple and easy medicinal ways too (like using fresh fennel fronds to make an after-meal digestive tea).



TRULY SPARKLING SALADS
A fresh salad every day is a fountain of youth - and an easy summer meal. Next year, we will be growing micro-greens and shoots each week as well as a bigger variety of tender and sweet heirloom lettuces and baby greens and edible flowers. We have some wonderful experimental plantings in the greenhouse now that we are very excited about incorporating into the growing plan next season!
 

ORGANIC FRUIT
We are also going to add more fruit to the basket each week. We love the addition of fruit in the baskets. And we thought the quality and freshness of the fruit we received this past year was great. And we're also adding a new option to get an additional share of fruit added each week. I also have some new and different recipes that use in-season fruit with in-season vegetables that will be incorporated into our weekly basket contents.


LIMITED MEMBERSHIP

Unfortunately, all these special and unusual veggies and greens and herbs take a lot of time and effort - that's why they are unusual! And if we're adding types of vegetables and more to each basket, we have to plan around our current field space. So to do this newly diverse and artful type of CSA program next year, we will have to cut back on our total membership - we're going to cut it by about half. So our shareholders will be a truly elite group of farm members!


EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT AND BONUS BOOK!
CSA basket contents

Like many small farming enterprises, we really struggle financially at this point in the year, and as diverse farmers, we also like to plan and organize as early as possible - so we are offering a $75 early bird discount once again if you sign up and send payment by November 15th.

And for an extra incentive - We are excited to offer one of the books that has been really inspiring us, Vegetable Literacy by Deborah Madison, if we receive your registration and payment by the end of this week - 10/24/14! We'll send you a copy of this fabulous book, which truly reflects the garden and the variety we have planned for next season, as a free bonus so you can also start getting inspired now for a wonderful season of vegetable cooking next spring!




Do consider registering as soon as possible as we will fill up fast!
We also suggest that you reply to this email and let us know if you are planning to register as we are seeing our membership for 2015 filling up very fast....
golden chard
REGISTRATION

More info and details can be found below...
Registration forms with all the pricing info and start dates can also be downloaded here:
There are three forms in all, the Main Form is the traditional share form with all the options. There is also an Extra Egg Form and a Heart of the Season form.

Or you can pay using PayPal on our website. There is also more info on our website, including pricing, add-on options, start dates and pick up times, etc.

onions in field
Please do not hesitate to call or email us with any questions! 

Very best and thanks,
~Barbara and Mark
Midsummer Farm 

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 845-986-9699  
 
Midsummer Farm
Barbara and Mark Laino
Midsummer Farm
156 East Ridge Road
Warwick, NY 10990
 


PS: Watch for nest week's newsletter, featuring all things Fennel - great recipes, how to grow, how to store, traditional varieties, and medicinal uses! 
What is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Program?   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
puntarelle
CSA is a new way to purchase farm-fresh vegetables. It brings together farmers and eaters and encourages a commitment between the two for the growing season.

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. 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." Tomatoes Marinating
 
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 plated tomato saucechemicals. 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.


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! 
   
How the Midsummer Farm CSA Program Works  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Broccolini in CSA basket We are accepting registrations now for the CSA ; all you need to do to become a member of our farm, is to 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 May/June, we will harvest and pack a bushel basket of heirloom, super fresh, certified organic and non-GMO 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: 
16 weeks, $765.00: Wednesday, May 27th through Sept. 23rd or Friday, May 29th through Sept. 25th
 
Add-ons: 
Herb Share - (16 weeks) FREE WITH Traditional Vegetable Share
(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!)

Double Flower Share - (middle 10 weeks) $110.00
(For the flower share, you'll receive a big bouquet of cut flowers for the 10 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) $72.00
(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 - (16 weeks) $84.00
(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...)

Extra Organic Fruit Share  - (16 weeks) $104.00
(Fruit is already included in the Traditional Vegetable Share, but you can add extr fruit to your share using this Add-on option.)


Sweet Share - (16 weeks) $360.00
(For the sweet share, you'll receive a fresh farm baked good each week with your vegetable basket. Baked goods will usually have nuts or herbs or vegetable components and will be made with our own eggs and organic ingredients.)

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, single Flower, Summer Egg, and Mushroom Share for $975.00. 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.
Grilled Eggplant
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!  

Here's a list of the types of crops you'll see in your basket during the four months of our CSA program:

basket 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 leeks and raabcabbages, 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 -
Summer Squash and Zucchiniwe'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 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Late Summer CSA basket - under the greens!
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!
[email protected] | 845-986-9699  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Disclaimer

� Copyright 2015 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.

Midsummer Farm Contact Info:
Barbara and Mark Laino
Midsummer Farm
156 East Ridge Road
Warwick, NY 10990
845-986-9699
[email protected]

Holistic Health Counseling Contact Info:
Barbara Taylor-Laino
Barbara Taylor Health
156 East Ridge Road
Warwick, NY 10990
845-986-9699
[email protected]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Join Our Mailing List