CSA Opening Day June 24th!

Dear members,

Dust off your harvest baskets, sharpen your clippers, and put that picnic blanket in the car because we’re about to embark on 6-month adventure of harvest abundance!

We are excited to announce that our 2023 CSA harvest season opens next Saturday, June 24th: The first Saturday pickup is on June 24th and the first Tuesday pick-up is June 27th.

Read on below — especially new members — for all the details!

ORIENTATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

All new members are asked to attend a brief orientation tour their first time picking up their harvest share. This tour will help you make the most of your harvest season: We’ll give you your farm tote bags, show you ropes in the flower and herb garden and the strawberry patch, and go over farm safety and common questions.

Please join us promptly for one of the tour times below:

WEEK 1:
Saturday, June 24: 9:00 am, 11:00 am, 1:00 pm
Tuesday, June 27: 1:00 pm. 3:00 pm, 5:30 pm

WEEK 2:
Saturday, July 1: 9:00 am, 11:00 am, 1:00 pm
Tuesday, July 4: 1:00 pm. 3:00 pm, 5:30 pm

WEEK 3:
Saturday, July 8: 9:00 am, 11:00 am, 1:00 pm
Tuesday, July 11: 1:00 pm. 3:00 pm, 5:30 pm

You can come get oriented and pick up your first share on either day (Saturday or Tuesday), whichever day and time works best for your schedule. Tours last for about 30 minutes. We ask that all adult members of your share who will be regularly enjoying the farm attend an orientation. If you are sharing-a-share (alternating weeks) with another household, one household should attend an orientation Week 1 and the other an orientation on Week 2.

If you can’t attend a tour time above, please reach out to us to schedule a time that works for you.

2022 CSA members do not need to attend an orientation tour.

IMPORTANT LOGISTICS:

What time is harvest pick-up?:

• Saturday harvest pick-ups run from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

• Tuesday harvest pick-ups will run from 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Oriented members can come to the farm any time, 7 days a week, sunrise to sunset, to enjoy the farm, u-pick crops and garden.

2023 CSA program dates: Our harvest season will run this year from June 24th - December 19th

Where is the farm? The member parking lot is located at 1720 Cooper Rd., Sebastopol, CA 95472.

Where should I park?: Follow our sign on Cooper Rd. down a short gravel driveway. Please find a parking spot under the solar panels to your left, or up against the straw bales further down.

Where is the food?: The produce pick-up barn is just to the right of the solar panels and above our big greenhouse, you can’t miss it!

What should I bring?:

• Pint baskets or small containers for strawberries and herbs (if you have some)

• A vase or water bottle to keep your flowers happy

• Clippers or secateurs to cut flowers (if you have some)

• Water / sun hat / picnic supplies if you plan to stay awhile!

Newsletters & email communication: You will receive a newsletter in your inbox from this email address every Friday evening outlining the harvest and u-pick options for the week ahead. All our important CSA communications are through this email address, which seems to be getting spam blocked a lot. Please make sure this email address is in your address book so you get important CSA communications. All newsletters and important updates are also posted on the Newsletters page of our website weekly.

Kayta, Anna, Tristan, Paige, Asa, Ashlynn, baby Alice and I are so excited to see you on the farm and share this harvest season of abundance with you!

See you in the fields,
David

5/9/23 - Strawberry U-pick at 7 Pints this Week!

Dear members,

We just wanted to send a quick heads up that the strawberry plants are exploding and the returning member strawberry u-pick limit this week (May 13th - May 19th) is 7 pints!

We hope you can enjoy some sweet spring strawberries this beautiful Mother’s Day weekend!

See below, or refer to last week’s email for all the details.

See you in the fields,
David & Kayta

NOTES ON THE STRAWBERRIES:

How many can I pick? We will run the u-pick just like we do during our regular harvest season by posting the weekly u-pick limit on the u-pick board in our barn. The limit will change each week as the plants ebb and flush berries throughout the Spring. Please mind u-pick limits when you are picking strawberries to ensure every share gets an equal share. If you are alternating weeks please coordinate with your share partner.

Can new members pick? Unfortunately, no, this is a perk we like to reserve to returning members who have already been oriented to the farm and know the ropes.

What is a pint? See the picture a below. A pint is the green guy on the left, a two-pint container is the guy on the right. Please bring and re-use your own pint baskets.

FLOWERS & HERBS:

The garden is starting to wake up — there are a few perennial flowers and herbs ready for your enjoyment.

Herbs: In the herb world the Oregano and Thyme never look better; Mints, Marjoram, Tarragon, Sorrel, Chives, Lemon Balm, Sage. As usual, we will put signs on the herbs ready to pick.

Flowers: The earliest of the perennials — mainly Foxgloves — are starting. More flowers will unfurling as things warm up.

As usual with flowers and herbs, please pick with your fellow members in mind and according to the plants size and the abundance of foliage and blooms.

CAREFUL! This is also the time of year where there are tons of vulnerable young seedlings and transplants in the garden. Please watch your step and train your kiddos not to walk on beds!

Strawberry U-pick Open to Returning Members!

Dear members,

We are excited to let you know that our bodacious new strawberry patch has started producing the first berries of the season, and boy are they beautiful!

Starting today, strawberry u-picking is open to returning members. This is little perk we like to offer folks who already know their way around the farm and want to check in the on the verdant progress of spring, pick a few strawberries and enjoy the first garden blooms. Please note, if you are alternating weeks with someone who is not a returning member, they will not have received this email

The new strawberry patch is located next to where last year’s new patch was. Weekly u-pick limits will be posted on the u-pick board in the barn just like always. Please bring your own pint basket(s) and/or a container for your strawberries.

NOTES ON THE STRAWBERRIES:

How many can I pick? We will run the u-pick just like we do during our regular harvest season by posting the weekly u-pick limit on the u-pick board in our barn. The limit will change each week as the plants ebb and flush berries throughout the Spring. We will start this week at 2 pints per share. Please mind u-pick limits when you are picking strawberries to ensure every share gets an equal share. If you are alternating weeks please coordinate with your share partner.

Can new members pick? Unfortunately, no, this is a perk we like to reserve to returning members who have already been oriented to the farm and know the ropes.

What is a pint? See the picture a below. A pint is the green guy on the left, a two-pint container is the guy on the right. Please bring and re-use your own pint baskets.

FLOWERS & HERBS:

The garden is starting to wake up — there are a few perennial flowers and herbs ready for your enjoyment.

Herbs: In the herb world the Oregano and Thyme never look better; Mints, Marjoram, Tarragon, Sorrel, Chives, Lemon Balm, Sage. As usual, we will put signs on the herbs ready to pick.

Flowers: The earliest of the perennials — mainly Foxgloves — are starting. More flowers will unfurling as things warm up.

As usual with flowers and herbs, please pick with your fellow members in mind and according to the plants size and the abundance of foliage and blooms.

CAREFUL! This is also the time of year where there are tons of vulnerable young seedlings and transplants in the garden. Please watch your step and train your kiddos not to walk on beds!

Happy spring & see you in the fields!
David & Kayta