Dear KCSA community,
Yes, this is the final week of the 2020 harvest season! Twenty-six weeks of delicious, nutrient-dense vegetables from Kimberton CSA is over for yet another year.
A big thank you to all our 2020 members. Without you this would not be possible! An extra special thank you to all those members who have already signed up for 2021. For those who want to take advantage of our December online store, please sign up before Thanksgiving.
WHAT'S IN THE SHARES THIS WEEK!
SALAD MIX, YUKINA SAVOY, CABBAGE, ONIONS, DILL, SORREL, MINUTINA, NAPA CABBAGE, CARROTS, KOHLRABI, BEETS, SPINACH, & SWEET POTATOES
Next year will be Kimberton CSA’s 35th growing season, however, the end of the CSA’s 34th season is quite a benchmark for me. At the end of this week, I will have completed my tenth full season farming.
As a little promise to myself, I will be celebrating this momentous occasion by wearing my new Carhart jacket. This idea stems from a training course I went on many years ago where an experienced farmer and educator exclaimed that you could only earn the right to wear a Carhart jacket after having farmed for at least 10 years. Although I think he was being a little facetious, this thought has stuck with me and has often led to some interesting conversations about what farming is, who should call themselves a farmer, and who, in fact, farms.
Now, for full disclosure, I did purchase the aforementioned jacket (see above) in Spring 2020, in anticipation of this moment, as there was a 70% off winter Carhart sale in ACE Hardware. Plus, I am not a stranger to the Carhart brand. I have a few pairs of Carhart socks, hats, and long underwear and currently wear a Carhart hoodie but I have never worn that quintessential Carhart farmers’ jacket! I feel like I haven’t deserved it until…well…maybe…now!
Ten years in a job is quite a long time. But the interesting thing about farming is that having only “farmed” for 10 seasons, I have actually only been involved, in say, growing tomatoes 10 times in my life! To be fair, over that time I have probably harvested close to 100,000 tomatoes (not including cherry tomatoes), clipped and trellised close to 10,000 plants. There can’t be too many jobs that you’d place your faith in a service that had only be done 10 times before. Haircuts? Surgery? Dental appointments!
But such is farming! Experiential learning—problem solving—followed by experimental learning! Thanks for putting your faith in us to grow those veggies for you! Technically, Frank, Becky and I have an amalgamation of 23 years, so you are in good hands! Speak to you in the New year.
Cheers,
Andrew
