Relish the Zucchini!

Dear KCSA community,
 
She might be busting out record breaking temperatures in Siberia at the moment, but Mother Nature has been a little kinder to us as we slowly, but surely, get past our slow, cold and wet S.E. P.A. spring! Our zucchini replanting’s are coming in and our summer squash replanting’s are not far behind. Get ready; and relish!
 
Our timely—but slow growing—carrots and peas will make it onto the share this week for full and partial shares. Unfortunately, yields will be down a little due to spring wash out, seed corn maggots and time constraints. Particularly with the peas. Our snap and snow peas will be on u-pick. As always, all full and partial shares have access to u-pick, so everyone please stick to the limits.
 
Beets will also be a new item this week and will make it onto all the shares. We had to re-sow the majority of these and a lot of effort has gone into keeping up with the cultivation, especially for those that have been in the ground for a month longer than planned!

Now, as Chester County is moving toward the green COVID-19 mitigation phase, I think a little CSA housekeeping is in order:
 
If you need to alter your pick-up day due to new work or travel arrangements, I will need to know before noon the day prior to your scheduled pick up at the very least. In other words, if you pick up 1pm-4pm or 4pm-7pm on a Tuesday, you need to email me before noon on Monday (and receive a subsequent email confirmation from me). If you pick up at 1pm-4pm or 4pm-7pm on Friday or 9am-12pm on Saturday, you need to email me before noon on Thursday (and receive a subsequent email confirmation from me). If you just need to swap your pick-up/u-pick window within the same pick up day, please also email me to let us know your change of plan, but the time constraints aren’t quite as important.
 
As all our pre-harvested vegetables are being boxed this season, we only harvest the exact amount of vegetables that we need. This is great, as we literally have no harvest wastage. With this system, however, if you miss your pick-up, you miss your share. Please understand that there is a lot of thought, organization and work that goes into producing each member’s share. And although some fruit does grow on trees…lettuce heads don’t! Your 26 shares (or 13 for partial shares) are planned, budgeted and implemented with intentionality. Anything above this is an extra expense for us on an already tight budget. I like to use the analogy of takeaway food. If you order a pizza on Tuesday but aren’t able to pick it up, you don’t expect the pizzeria to make you a fresh pizza on Friday, free of charge! With a little bit of thought in advance, we have the flexibility to accommodate almost any requests that fit into our current farm hours. Also, please remember, you can ask a friend or other family member to pick up for you as well.
 
As farmers, we are also constantly in flux, and just like the pizzeria, we don’t have the capacity to hold on to your share beyond your agreed upon pick-up time. For those members that don’t pick up and do not reschedule ahead of time, we have a couple of outlets where we can donate their missed share. Having said that, we do not have the capacity to take donations from you. This includes any particular items that you don’t want in your box or other perishable and non-perishable goods. Please remember, we are a small farming business, not a non-profit organization focused on food security. We don’t receive grants or endowments. Please seek these types of organizations out in your locale and get involved!
 
And finally, as a reminder: we are allowing one household per member to pick-up/u-pick for the time being. Children must be supervised at all times on the farm. No dogs are allowed. The farm is only open to members Tuesday & Friday 1pm-7pm and Saturday 9am-12pm. Overflow car parking is available at the Kimberton Waldorf High School parking lot. And masks must be worn at all times.
 
Stay cool,
Andrew
 

A Strawberry Jam

Dear KCSA community,

It was a pretty bad call by me in last week's newsletter to have the strawberries remain on the u-pick list. Obviously, the fresh, tender berries found it tough with the excess rain and unseasonable hailstorm the week before last. They will return to u-pick this week, but with a tentative pint limit. Please stick to the limits. All full and partial share members have a share of the u-pick.

The new succession is coming in. Members, please be careful when picking in the new section as the plants are more susceptible to unnecessary roughness! Please hold on to the plant as you pluck the berry, so you don't uproot the plant or damage it. This new succession will be where the early flush is next year! The math is simple. The more plants that survive 2020, the more berries there will be in 2021.

Berry growing can be a little fickle. As us biodynamic farmers know, there are good years and bad years. This goes for most fruits. I've been told by a credible source that berry yields are down in the locale and even conventional farmer's prices have risen sharply this year for them to be able to make ends meet.

Now, that's not to say we are having a particularly bad berry year ourselves. The second succession is a little slow in coming in and they should continue to produce for a while yet. But it ain't as good as last year, that's for sure!

The varieties are the same, the planting schedule was almost to the day and we have weeded and cultivated them more than ever before. As you will see this week, they really do look immaculate! You have our staff and workshares to thank for that!

Another quick tip for members, unlike tomatoes, strawberry don't ripen off the vine. Please only pick the ripest ones!

Cheers,
Andrew

Keeping our veggies cool! 😎

Dear KCSA community,
 
Two weeks of pick-up down, twenty-four to go! All Full, Partial and Box shares have had their first scheduled pick-up. The handful of members that did not make it out have been informed and arrangements have been made for those that missed out.  From our perspective things have gone very well. Thanks! We’re excited for the upcoming weeks as new, in season, items become available for harvest.
 
Now that everyone is used to the new pick-up routine, we ask that all members provide us with at least 24-HOUR EMAIL NOTICE in the event that you are unable to pick up your share. Without notice, your share will be harvested. Remember, you can designate someone outside your family to cover your pick-up (please be sure to share our pick-up instructions with that person).

As of this week we are lifting the restrictions of one member per share on the farm to one household per share on the farm. This means young families can bring their children to help u-pick. All children must be supervised by their caregivers at all times and everyone must wear a mask. You still need to bring your own harvest tools and containers. All areas not open for u-pick are strictly out of bounds. And we are still restricting member households to a maximum of 30 minutes to u-pick. We encourage members that plan to stay for the duration to u-pick to please park at the Kimberton Waldorf High School parking lot and walk over. We also ask that you all keep in mind that members’ dogs are not allowed on the farm.
 
On Tuesday, we have a little early basil treat, where we have “pinched” the tops of the plants and have bagged them for members. Parsley will replace this on Friday. Unfortunately, with the first pinching there is never enough to go around for everyone. However, we pinch as it encourages branching and in the long run produces more basil. Bunches will soon follow and assuming we stay relatively disease free, the basil will be on u-pick until the first frost...
 
We introduced our pickling cucumbers to members last week and we now have our fabled euro cucumbers on the share as well. These are longer, seedless and have a thinner skin than their pickling counterparts. Bunched radishes are finally coming in, as are our scallions. This will be the last week of garlic scapes and the mustard/arugula mix will be on the share Tuesday/Friday respectively.
 
And finally, a big thank you to Andy Fifer who generously set up a generator for us last Friday during the power outages. Andy help us keep our veggies cool during Friday’s pick up.
 
Cheers,
Andrew  

Partial Share Group B first pick up this week!

Dear KCSA community,

Yes, we are into our second week of harvest and it is Tuesday and Friday Partial Share Group B’s first pick up this week. A big thank you to all our Full, Box and Partial Share Group A members for helping make the first pick-up/u-pick run safely, smoothly and seamlessly—it was a great success! Let’s keep it up.

 

As we are still playing catch up at the farm, the shares will look pretty similar again this week. One difference will be the introduction of our cucumbers. First on the share will be the picklers, which you should easily be able to identify as they will be between 4”-5” long and a little knobby. But don’t worry if you don’t have pickling vinegar on hand! We specifically chose these varieties as they are good eating fresh as well. Please see our cucumber blog page for some recipes.

Kale is the only spring brassica that has not taken too much of a hit during the cold, wet start to the growing season and should be a staple on the share throughout the season. Our radishes and turnips are still a few weeks away and spring broccoli is caput (more planned for fall)! However, our arugula and mustard greens are at that gourmet, tender first cutting stage and one or the other will be on the share this week. We’ll have some sort of cilantro/dill/parsley herb combination this week as we clear out some beds and wait for regrowth.

 

Nothing else to report this week! Stay safe.

Cheers,

Andrew

First pick up for Full, Box and Group A members!

Dear KCSA community,

That’s right! The harvest season is upon us…where did the time go!? All our Tuesday and Friday Full, Box and Partial Share Group A share members will start their pick up this week. Partial Share Group B will have to wait for one more week before their first pick up!

 

As a quick reminder here are the cliff notes of our 2020 pick-up protocol:

  • All shares will be prepacked and boxed for a quick pick up.

  • Members must wear a mask on the farm.

  • Only one member per share is allowed to pick up and u-pick.

  • Members must bring their own scissors and containers for u-pick.

For those wanting a more a more in-depth rundown, please view your introduction package or last week’s newsletter.

A few weeks ago, we informed you of a few issues with the cold wet spring and how that had exacerbated a bit of a bug problem. Although we were looking on the bright side, and have recently had a nice spell of warm dry weather, Mother Nature doesn’t play catch up! We are still a few weeks behind. A tell-tale sign are the strawberries. They are not ready to be picked yet! Furthermore, for the first time ever, we have staked our tomatoes before our peas! Anyway, we will be cobbling a decent first share together this week (and next) but it won’t be until the third or forth week of harvest that I believe we’ll be back on track.

 

Below you will see our: “WHAT’S IN THE SHARES THIS WEEK!” section. This was a nice addition to our newsletter last year. This year, we have added an interactive element. Thanks to our wonderful Assistant Manager, Becky Brett, we have a blog post for (almost) every vegetable we grow! You can access them via the hyperlinks. The posts provide you with some fun facts, cooking and preservation tips, and recipes! Hopefully, it will also double as an identification guide for some of our new members for the lesser known crops grown at KCSA like kohlrabi and ground cherries.

WHAT'S IN THE SHARES THIS WEEK!

LETTUCE, KALE, SWISS CHARD, DANDELION, RADISH, SPINACH, DILL, PARSLEY, SPRING GARLIC, BEET GREENS.

U-PICK:
HERBS

Members should, however, note a few things. First it is a guide. There is no guarantee that these crops will be available. A lot can happen in a few days on the farm, but we will try our best to be as accurate with our predictions as possible. Full and partial share members should still check the u-pick board for quantities as well as availability during their pick up/u-pick time window. Strawberries are coming in very slowly and will be on the share when they are ready.

 

Quantities are too difficult to predict, especially as summer is in full swing. You can presume that greens will be bunched. Bunches will vary in size throughout the year. Items like arugula and spinach, however, will sometimes be bagged. This goes for lettuce as well. As the season progresses, items like carrots, beets and turnips can go from being bunched to being loose to being bunched again to being loose again. This is related to its yield and storage capabilities.  

 

And finally, the idea of the Box Share (pre-pandemic) was to give us a little more freedom with the ability to swap a couple of items around if we have too many of one thing and not enough of another on harvest days. So, just to confirm box shares will have a selection of the items of “WHAT’S IN THE SHARE THIS WEEK”. As Frank likes to say “it’s farmers choice!”

 

See you (only one person per share) outside the shed (masked and 6ft away from anyone else)!

Cheers,

Andrew

KCSA vs COVID-19 (Round 4)

Dear KCSA community,
 
Next week is the first pick-up for our Full, Box and Partial share Group A members.
 
It has been a crazy year so far, and that ain’t going to change as we head into the harvest season. Luckily, we have a new pick-up protocol that will hopefully see us through these uncertain times. Usually, we judge a good year on yields, productivity, and whether we manage to meet our budget. This season will be deemed successful if we all remain fit, healthy and virus free!
 
We have been informing you of our changes to pick-up/u-pick protocol since the middle of March. All 2020 members have been put on our newsletter mailing list and the newsletters have been subsequently uploaded to our blog. These weekly newsletters have been keeping you updated as our protocol has evolved. Further, all 2020 members have been sent an introduction package to the email address they used to sign up with, which describes what to expect whilst picking up your share. The majority of our members have read this and signed up for their pick-up/u-pick window. Thank you! If you haven't gotten to this, please make it a priority.

Here is a quick and final refresher for everyone.
 
Every share will be boxed for a quick pick up. All members should wear a mask at all times and should keep the recommended social distancing of 6ft (2m) whilst on the farm. We are only allowing one member per share to pick-up/u-pick at your designated time until further notice. The farm will be closed at all other times. No exceptions. The pick-up/u-pick time slots are as follows:

  • 1pm-4pm Tuesday

  • 4pm-7pm Tuesday

  • 1pm-4pm Friday

  • 4pm-7pm Friday

  • 9am-12pm Saturday


Members will have access around the front of the shed, the member designated porta potty, hand wash station, and designated u-pick areas. To ensure everyone's safety and follow state and federal guidelines, access beyond these areas will be prohibited. This includes the water spickets.
 
Members need to bring their own sanitizer and drinking water if these are desired. U-pickers need to bring their own harvest tools and containers. The u-pick map, availability and quantities will be visually accessible to all members outside the shed. U-pick crops will also have signs. Any questions should be directed to either Frank or myself—whoever is in the shed during your designated pick-up window. Please do not approach other staff members.
 
There are approximately 9-10 parking spots on the farm—no idling please! Be courteous as you enter and exit the parking lot. More mobile and able bodied full and partial share members who opt to do their weekly u-pick are encouraged to park at the Kimberton Waldorf School High School and walk over. Under no circumstances should members park their vehicles outside the fence on Seven Stars Farm property. You’ll likely be towed away by a tractor! All full and partial share members are limited to a maximum of 30 minutes to u-pick.

There will be a designated area beside the shed for members to return their wax boxes. We will sanitize and reuse them. Members are encouraged to transfer the contents of their box to their own containers before they leave the premises or return the empty wax boxes at their next pick up. Wax boxes only! Please do not attempt to leave rubber bands, containers, bags or any trash.
 
Those members designated by their household to pick-up/u-pick are highly encouraged to take their temperature at least once a day. If you have a fever, cough, or have trouble breathing, please do not come to the farm. You should self-isolate for at least 7 days and consult a doctor. If you are ill, you can designate a healthy friend or alternate non-exposed family member to come pick up for you.

We appreciate that these are big adjustments for our returning members! And, we appreciate your compliance. As I have stated before, these are temporary measures. Please be sensible and be safe.
 
Cheers,
Andrew

At KCSA, the glass is always half full!

Dear KCSA community,
 
I hope this finds you well.
 
We are still waiting for a handful of members to allocate their pick-up/u-pick window. Please look in your inboxes and spam folders for the 2020 Intro Package. It is dated 4/27. This document is very important as it not only states the pick-up protocol and gives you directions to the farm, but gives you your pick-up dates and pick-up times for the season. All members need open and read this packet so that you can select your pick-up window via the hyper link.
 
Can’t find the intro package!? Email us!
 
As a reminder, here are the most important changes to the pick-up protocol for 2020:

  • All shares will be prepacked and boxed for a quick pick up

  • Only one member per share is allowed to pick up and u-pick and must wear a mask

  • All members must select a pick up window for the season via the link in their intro package

  • Members must bring their own scissors and containers for u-pick

In last week’s newsletter, we mentioned that we were a little behind due to the weather. At KCSA we always (well, mostly) see the glass as half full! This delay has minimized damage from a recently identified corn seed maggot pest problem (although we had to re-sow all our zucchini and lost the spring broccoli) and it has now potentially saved us from some frost damage during this early May cold snap. Yes, we haven’t quite managed to plant our summer tomatoes, basil, peppers, eggplant, ground cherries, or tomatillos yet! During these lows they all remain nestled in our propagation houses snug and warm!

Everything that is currently planted outside can take a light frost. Protected by our row covers, we are confident everything will be fine. We double checked the hardiness of our strawberry plants and with our very last row cover, we draped it over the plants. Strawberry plants lie dormant during the winter so they are really cold hardy! The flowers, however, can be damaged at 28F. There is a little damage on the petals but I think we managed to save them!
 
As we remain upbeat and positive, another bonus of all this rain is a delay in setting up our field irrigation system. Yes, we have not needed to water the plants out in the field yet! Running drip tape, moving sprinklers, dragging hoses and placing headers can be laborsome. This has negated some of the extra work we have had to do because of the rain and means the tractor work has been quicker and less frustrating as we don’t have to hop on and off the tractor quite as much.
 
Another thing we have noticed is the lack of common spring pests like aphids and flea beetles. I’m not sure if that cancels out the seed maggot problems, but we have not had to implement (as of yet) any of our IPM reactive pest control measures.
 
Some crops like spinach and lettuce prefer cooler temperatures to germinate (let’s not think about all the others that prefer much hotter weather).
 
And, the heavy rainfall means we can see our drainage pattern in real time!
 
Ok, the last one is a stretch but seeing the swale and culvert in action is pretty awesome, despite my tears adding to the problem.
 
Stay safe,
Andrew

Farm Flora-Farm Fauna!

Dear Kimberton CSA community,
 

All 2020 members should have received their introduction packages last Monday. Search your in boxes and spam folders. If you can’t find it, email us and we’ll resend. This document is very important as it not only states the pick-up protocol and directions to the farm, but gives you your pick-up dates and pick-up times for the season. It is very important that all members open and read this packet so that you can select your pick-up window.

 

As a quick reminder for everyone, here are the most important changes to the pick-up protocol for 2020:

·        All shares will be prepacked and boxed for a quick pick up

·        Only one member per share is allowed to pick up and u-pick and must wear a mask

·        All members must select a pick up window for the season via the link in their intro package

·        Members must bring their own scissors and containers for u-pick

 

It looks likely that lockdown restrictions in PA will be somewhat relaxed over the next month or so. This does not mean the COVID-19 pandemic is over! It means the curve has been flattened and economic pressures are forcing people back to work. In order to keep our staff and members safe, our protocol will remain in place until further notice.

I’m hoping Thursday’s storm was the last for a while. This cold wet spring (or really long mild winter, depending on how you look at it) has made growing conditions difficult on the farm. Although on cue with our planting schedule, too much water and not enough heat has created a few issues with our late spring and early summer crops. Last week Frank and Becky identified a new pest on the farm—the corn seed maggot. For a farm that has never grown corn, this was quite a surprise. The fact that it eats the roots and cotyledons of broccoli, onions, squash, carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, peas and lettuce was an even bigger surprise!

 

Unfortunately, there are no reactive treatments for this pest (see our newsletter on our integrated pest management, which we’ll now have to adapt). We have to wait for the farm to dry out and heat up and they will dissipate. It is cool, wet, fertile conditions that they seem to thrive in. We have heard that the Rodale Institute had a similar problem many years ago and that we are not the only local farm to have had this problem this spring. That gives us some comfort!

 

We have had to rejig the rotation a little and have re-sown to compensate for the losses. The proactive treatment for this pest is to delay planting, so even if we had managed to detect it earlier (despite not knowing what we would be looking for), we would still be in the same position. The first few weeks of pick-up are usually a little light anyway, hopefully members won’t notice too much of a difference when the season starts in 3 weeks.

Although some of the flora is a little delayed, the farms fauna is buzzing. Quite literally, as the bees are out in full force on these sunny days. As always, carpenter bees are eating the shed walls and lots of other flying insects are present on the farm. Although we aren’t in full bloom at the farm yet, there are plenty of flowers along French Creek’s riparian zone to compliment our expertly designed member garden. We are privileged to have talented friends and be located where we are.

 

Lots of flying insects means lots of food for our Purple Martin colony, which is also thriving. It is the biggest I’ve ever seen it and this is down to our avian experts Marylin and Gretchen. We recently put up Marylin’s Purple Martin notes on our blog, you can view that here.

 

As for the farm’s mammalians, we are all doing well! Our full seasonal staff—Sara, Mandi and Sara—are working hard transplanting zucchini…then pulling them out…along with Frank, Becky and I. We have also got our summer staff lined up. Due to the COVID-19 we have taken extra precautions whilst doing our hiring process this season, trying to minimize the risk of infection.

 

Our farm dogs—Albus and Henry—are trying their best to keep critters away, but we are still seeing the usual amount of rabbit, vole and groundhog damage. We don’t mind sharing our veggies a little bit! Other vertebrates are also present on the farm. Spawning toads and tadpoles have been spotted in the flow form as well as a couple of nesting bluebirds—again thanks to Marylin! These are also insect eaters, so we like to encourage amphibians and birds that are beneficial to the farm.

 

Until next week, enjoy the sun and stay safe!

 

Cheers,

Andrew.