Hello Common Thread CSA Members and Friends,

Thank you for your responses to our survey and for the many welcoming words included in your responses!  It is very helpful to have your thoughts as we make plans for the farm.  We want the farm to be a place that makes you feel comfortable and connected and that grows food you love to eat and your input is critical to make that happen.  If you haven't had a chance to take the survey yet, it's not too late, just click here.

There were a number of questions and ideas that we would like to address in this follow up to the survey:

1. How our on-farm distribution system works

 There have been a lot of questions about how our distribution system will work since it is a change from the bag system that Amy and Chris used.  Our system still allows you to choose the vegetables you prefer and pick your own items will still be available in addition to the vegetables in the room.  The main difference is that rather than being based on what fits in a bag, you choose a certain number of items from a list of options. Also, there isn't a split between greens and other items, you can take the amount of greens that you desire from the list.  We have used this system for several years in Poughkeepsie and our CSA members loved it, saying often how much they like the the flexibility of the distribution system as well as the chance to get out into the fields to collect pick your own crops.  

This is how it works:

Your choices for your weekly vegetable pick-up will be listed on a whiteboard in the distribution area of the barn.  There will be a list of 12-18 items (such as a head of cabbage, a pound of peppers, 2 pounds of potatoes, 1 pound of kale, a bunch of radishes, and several more) and the sign will indicate how many items a standard, small or large share may take.  Some items will be marked as being limited as one per share, to ensure that people will have access to more popular items that are in short supply that week.  If they are not marked as limited, then it is okay to use more than one of your "choices" on that item.  In some cases, it is also possible to take half the unit indicated (e.g. a half pound of peppers) and increase the number of choices by selecting half the unit for another item (e.g. 1 lb potatoes).  In addition to the pre-picked vegetables, pick your own items, such as peas, string beans, cherry tomatoes, flowers, and some herbs will be available.  The pick your own vegetables are available in addition to the units you take in the distribution barn.  They will be well labeled in the fields.  A sign by the distribution room will indicate what is in season, where to find it, and picking limits (if any) for the week. CSA shareholders may collect their pick your own any time although we recommend picking during dry weather to prevent the spread of plant diseases.

2. Ideas for delivered box shares 

We are planning a box of vegetables that has a good variety of seasonal vegetables that will be full of the popular standards (such as lettuce, tomatoes, onions and broccoli) but also give you a few "interesting" vegetables each week (such as brussel sprouts, watermelon radishes, or frisee) and a rotating sample of fresh herbs.  CSA members with delivered shares are welcome to come by the farm anytime to collect pick your own crops as they are available and to pick up at the farm on a Tuesday or Saturday instead of Thursday if you let us know by Tuesday night so that we don't pick and send your Thursday share that week..

We have a few ideas for adding some "choices" into the delivered share option.  If it works for the hosts, we would like to bring a "swap box" that we'll stock with a few alternate vegetables so that members can trade out vegetables they won't use for alternate choices in the swap box. Members who pick up at the Syracuse Farmers Market in Clinton Square will be able to swap items out for other items available at the farmers market stand if they wish.

All of the 2012 drop off sites have been confirmed as hosts for 2013, thank you all of our hosts!  There was a request in the survey for a Utica or New Hartford drop off location. We can consider adding drop off sites if there is sufficient demand in an area that we don't have a drop off site. If you would like to host or have an idea of a good host site, please let us know.  

3. Volunteer Opportunities

We're excited that there is some interest in volunteering in various capacities on farm and community projects!  We have been working at a farm with a high level of member involvement and have seen the connections that can be made and good work that can be done through an active membership and would love to help facilitate those kinds of possibilities here as well.  

Several people expressed interest in a CSA Core Group - this is an advisory group that can meet as little as once a year or as much as monthly to advise the farmers on how to make the CSA the best it can be.  Sometimes a core group will also get involved in helping build the community life of the farm, and/or help with some of the farm administration.  If you are interested in coming to a meeting to help us envision Common Thread CSA in 2013, please let us know your availability here.  

Many of the volunteer opportunities won't start until spring or summer, but a few other things we can use help with sooner are recruiting CSA members and getting recipe and vegetable information onto the website.

4. Enterprises for the Future

It was great to get your input on other farm enterprises that we might take on in addition to the CSA.  We are interested in pursuing most, if not all of these ideas eventually but want to make sure that we are primarily focused on making the CSA successful this year.  At this point, we are planning to offer a limited number of winter CSA shares for November-January, and to plant strawberries and some medicinal herbs this year for a harvest in 2014 and beyond.  There's definitely some delayed gratification in farming!  Many of you were interested in us offering a fruit share from another farm.  We will look into this possibility and consider adding this either this year or next.     

5. Sharing shares for on-farm pick up

We have made a change in share structure for on farm pick up that allows members to sign up for various size shares so that sharing shares is no longer necessary.  It is still possible (and encouraged!) to assist each other in picking up shares, carpool, and cooperate in other ways even if shares are no longer being split.  That said, if it is important to you  to split a share with a friend, you can do that, we just ask that it is listed under one member's name. We prefer people to sign up for separate shares because it is hard to keep track of split shares and we like to know who all our members are, but we also want you to select a system that works for you.  

6. Garlic

There were several mentions of garlic as a desired vegetable.  We love garlic too and plan to plant it next season. We've been growing and improving the same stock of German Extra Hardy garlic since 1998 - it's currently at the Poughkeepsie Farm Project and we will be able to take the portion we brought to the farm years ago this summer. The tricky thing for 2013 is that garlic is planted in early fall for the following season and we didn't get to the farm until late December, so we won't have garlic to hand out until 2014.  We will be planting plenty of onions, scallions, and leeks to be otherwise allium rich in 2013 and will be planning on garlic for future years. 

7. Open house

There was a lot of interest in a farm tour and some requests for a time to "meet the farmers". We welcome all who are interested to come to our Core Group meeting which we are attempting to schedule sometime next week.  We will offer one or two open houses at the farm this spring with farm tours, we'll send more information as plans unfold.  We will also be at the NOFA NY CSA Fairs in Syracuse on March 9 and in Utica on March 30 and would love to see some of you there.

As always, we are available for questions and open to ideas and can be reached at info@commonthreadcsa.com or 315-882-0086.

 Delivered Box Share Form

On Farm Pick up Share Form