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Dear Common Thread Members and Friends,
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Lauren and Ethan weeding herbs
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We are pleased to introduce you to our 2016 Apprentices: Alice, Ethan, Lauren and Packard. You can learn more about them on our "meet the farmers" page (scroll down). Farm apprentices come to Common Thread to learn about sustainable vegetable production while helping to run the farm. We appreciate their enthusiasm, hard work and curiosity and look forward to a great season!
We started planting outside yesterday! We were so excited to have a beautiful 70 degree day and to start putting plants into the ground. We put it lettuce, beets and swiss chard. Today, the crew is working on scallions, kale, cabbages and broccoli. We've also been busy seeding in the greenhouse, weeding perennial plants, prepping ground for planting, redoing our CSA distribution space in the barn (for more space and easier reach), and getting spaces and equipment ready for the season.
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Our newest pick your own crop: raspberries!
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A big thank you to John Edwards to volunteering on the farm! John has been helping us with a number of projects including making new work and storages spaces in our equipment shed.
We are looking forward to seeing many of you at our Open House on Saturday, April 30 between 10 am and 2 pm. It's a chance to meet/catch up with the farmers and apprentices, go on a farm tour and learn more about sustainable agriculture. We'll also have snacks with farm ingredients. The rain date is Sunday, May 1, 1- 5pm.
For folks in the Utica area, Wendy will be given a talk on Sustainability, CSA and Eating in Season at 5 pm on Wednesday at The Spot for Fitness, Health and Wellness in Utica, at 1712 Whitesboro St. Free and open to the public.
On Sunday, April 24, Alice will table for Common Thread CSA at Syracuse
University's Earthfest from 12-6 in Thornden Park
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| | August goodness |
We still have plenty of CSA shares available and have space at all our pick up sites. We also still have funds to sponsor shares for low income participants, as well as the ability to set up payment plans. We are glad to say we will be able to accept food stamps/EBT this year from CSA members who pick up at the farm and at the Clinton Farmers Market! (We have to swipe EBT cards in person, so we don't have a way to accept EBT from members who pick up at other sites at this point). We are also still accepting donations for our sponsored share program. Thank you to everyone who has donated already! We currently have seven CSA member households that have received a subsidy for 2016 and with funds for a few more.
We are planning new sites at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Utica, Utica College, Cooperative Extension in Morrisville, Brenda's Natural Foods in Rome and on Allen St in Syracuse. We plan to continue our deliveries to Clinton Pottery, Clinton Farmers Market, Utica Coffee, Cafe Domenico in Utica, Utica National, Human Technologies Corporation, Manlius, Freedom of Espresso in Fayetteville, Syracuse University (in the fall), Dewitt, Green Planet in Fairmount, and the YMCA in Norwich. There is a minimum number needed to deliver to each site, so please keep spreading the work to your friends and neighbors to help us reach the numbers needed to be able to deliver to your site, to keep the farm thriving and to connect more members of your community to the good food we are growing here at the farm.
We are posting photos and updates on our facebook page regularly, so if you enjoy keeping up with what is going on on the farm we encourage you visit our page to see more photos and news. You are also welcome to post your own photos and comments on the facebook page.
Yours in the field, Wendy and Asher
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