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Dear Common Thread Members and Friends, 

 
The early bird sign up forms for 2014 full season, summer and fall CSA shares are ready!  You can find them by visiting the becoming a member page on our website.  We will have paper copies at CSA Distribution and at the Hamilton Farmer's Market, and we will leave copies at the delivered box share sites this week.  

We are excited about the 2014 season!  We knew our first season on this farm would be challenging with lots of extra set up to do and lots to learn about this site new to us.  Despite all the challenges, we had a lot of nice vegetables and a lot of great support and feedback from members and it feels like a real success.  We look forward to building on what we have learned and put in place this season and continuing to get to know and build the Common Thread CSA community.

Please note, this is an early bird form that is due by November 30, 2013. After that date, the 2014 CSA shares prices will increase by about 5%.  It will help us immensely if folks sign up early this year, so that we have the cash that we need to order our seeds and supplies this winter.  This is always true on the farm, but especially true in this first year for our business here at Common Thread. Like any first year of a business, we anticipated that our expenses would exceed our income and that was definitely the case.  We thank in advance everyone who helps us out by signing up this fall for the 2014 season.
 
A few "new" things to look forward to in 2014:
  • Strawberries.  We planted a patch of June bearing strawberries this spring and summer.  We have kept the deer at bay, and if the weather cooperates next spring, we should have strawberries ready for CSA member PYO in June and early July.
  • None-flooding pick-your-own crops.  2013's PYO crops were concentrated in the field most severely affected by an over-flowing drainage ditch during June's heavy rains.  The ditch has been re-dug and will carry a lot more water safely away from crops.
  • Garlic was planted in the fall for the next year.  We weren't here in time to plant it for 2013, but we have 7 beds already tucked into the ground this fall--short of what we consider a full crop, but plenty to contribute to the shares next year.
  • Earlier tomatoes, since the structure we will grow the earliest ones in next year is already up and ready to go!
We'll be putting out a member survey soon, and spending a lot of time planning this winter, so no doubt there will be several more positive changes and new things to look forward to as well.

Yours in the field, Wendy and Asher