This past Tuesday, I woke up and rushed down to the barn to
grab the harvest log and meet with the crew in my usual, beginning-of-the-week
frenzy.
I pulled a new sheet out from
the log book and as I began to write the harvest list, remembered that we didn’t
need those 200 heads of lettuce, or 150 bunches of carrots.
It was our first Tuesday since May that we
didn’t need to load the truck up with hundreds of pounds of produce for the
distribution ahead.
For most of the
season, our week on the farm is organized according to the rhythm of the
harvests, of the distributions, of the times when you begin arriving at the
barn to collect the week’s bounty.
Without that deadline, my Tuesday morning energy lost a little steam and
I let out a small chuckle to my crew, who were, at that moment, probably
wondering why I came into the office like a steam roller, ready to get out to
the fields!
It’s taken me a few days to adjust to this shift from summer
CSA to winter CSA, but I am getting there.
Our crew, now just our five full-time farmers, head out to the fields
each day to pick thousands or pounds of roots, take down hundreds of row feet
of tomato stakes, and process the last of our shallots, onions and garlic,
cleaning and sorting and weighing until the light becomes dim in the barn. As we work on our hands and knees in the
cooling fall soil, spread a good distance from each other, I can take good,
long breaths in between pulling each potato from its dark, moist, hiding spots
and think about the 2013 summer season.
At this time every year, I am reminded that the value of our
CSA goes beyond our “share value report.”
Powisset Farm means something different to each of us. For some, it is simply a place to get local,
organic vegetables. For others it is a
place to connect with your friends once a week, while picking cherry tomatoes
in the field together. For others, it is
a place to let your children run free in the flower garden and watch your
littlest ones walk their first few steps.
For some of us, it is where we learn to farm, or drive tractors, or eat
swiss chard for the first time.
I love writing the share report because it allows us all the
opportunity to compare how we felt
about the season with what was actually provided to you up in the barn and out
in the fields. I always wonder, does the
share report change how you feel about your farm season? Does it seem surprising? This season we focused on providing variety
without overwhelming you. We did our
best to offer some choices, while staying true to our model of a CSA, where we
encourage you to try new things. We
worked hard to offer extras in the stand, like honey, eggs, yogurt, cheese and
pies that would make your stop at Powisset even more fulfilling.
Every season has its joys and its challenges.
This season we had a great onion and leek
crop and were able to offer alliums almost every week in the share.
We had beautiful carrots that almost lasted
all the way through the season.
Our
tomatoes were delicious and plentiful, without making your house too overfilled
with the beauties.
Our lettuce crop was
OK, but our hope is to do more small lettuce mixes and more consistent head varieties
next season.
As usual, we want to do
better at growing spinach and other greens, while making sure you are not
overwhelmed with cooking greens you don’t want.
For me, our spring festival, summer potluck and volunteer drop-in
afternoons were joyful highlights that reminded me that there is more to this
farm than growing great vegetables.
What were your joys?
What was challenging to you about our CSA season? Please feel free to
share with me your feedback about this 2013 growing season.
This is our farm that we are creating
together and as we move into the planning phase for next season, we hope to
incorporate your thoughts!
(please get
in touch with me via email at:
mlatronica@ttor.org
if you want to share your experience).
Thank you all for another great summer season at Powisset
Farm. You all make this farm the
wonderful place that it is. I am lucky
to work these fields and fill this barn with food that feeds us all.
I hope to see you next season or at our winter markets!
Meryl & the Powisset Farm Crew
(I will be continuing to update the blog weekly through the
end of the year, and then monthly in the winter months)
Powisset Farm 2013 Share
Value Report
Our 2013 farm season ran for
19 weeks, beginning on June 4th and ending on October 12th.
The value of the share
distributed at the barn (not including pick-your-own crops) was $625.48.
That is an average of $33 per
week of Powisset veggies, not including PYO crops.
Including PYO crops, the
value of our farm share this season was $825.73!
We compiled our share data
by tracking the amount given each week in the share multiplied by the price of
each vegetable. In our report you may
see a range or a fraction of a bunch given—this represents when a vegetable was
part of a choice—maybe you could choose between kale or swiss chard, we would
enter that in our records as distributing a half bunch of each item.
As you can see, we exceeded
the amount that you paid for your share! Each season, we strive to provide you with the
produce that you paid for (this season our share price for TTOR members was
$590) and maybe a little more. Our
produce is grown in accordance with all organic standards and growing practices
and our prices are set based in comparison to organic and conventional prices
at nearby supermarkets, farmers’ markets prices and neighboring CSA prices, also
taking into consideration the cost of running our farm. This season, in response to your feedback, we
strove to provide you with a well-rounded bounty each week that would feel
plentiful without being overwhelming.
Our report below shows you
how much of each item you received during the 2013 season:
Crop
|
Units distributed to each
share:
|
Price per unit:
|
Value in share:
|
Arugula-bunches
|
6
bunches
|
$2.50/bunch
|
$15
|
Basil-bunches
|
5.5
bunches
|
$2.00/bunch
|
$11
|
Beets-bunches
|
8.5
bunches
|
$2.50/bunch
|
$21.25
|
Beets-loose
|
3.5
pounds
|
$2.50/pound
|
$8.75
|
Broccoli
|
10.5
pounds
|
$2.50/pound
|
$26.25
|
Cabbage
|
4-6
heads
|
$2/head
|
$8-$12
|
Carrots-loose
|
2.5
pounds
|
$2.25/pound
|
$5.50
|
Carrots/bunches
|
10
bunches
|
$2.25/pound
|
$22.50
|
Cauliflower
|
1.5
pounds
|
$2/pound
|
$3.00
|
Celery
|
1.5
bunch
|
$2/bunch
|
$3.00
|
Celeriac
|
0
|
$1.50/pound
|
$0.00
|
Chard
(not in pyo)
|
3-4
bunches
|
$2.50/bunch
|
$7.50-$10
|
Cilantro
|
3
bunches
|
$2/bunch
|
$6
|
Collards
|
1
bunch
|
$2/bunch
|
$2
|
Corn
|
2
dozen (1/2
dozen for four weeks)
|
$5/dozen
|
$10.00
|
Cucumbers
|
12.5
pounds
|
$1.25/pound
|
$15.60
|
Eggplant
|
15.5
pounds
|
$2/pounds
|
$31.00
|
Escarole
|
1-2
heads
|
$2/head
|
$2-$4
|
Fennel
|
2-3
bunches
|
$3/bunch
|
$6-$9
|
Green
Garlic
|
1
bunch
|
$3.bunch
|
$3.00
|
Garlic
|
5
bulbs
|
$1.50/bulb
|
$7.50
|
Garlic
Scapes
|
3
dozen
|
$3/dozen
|
$9.00
|
Specialty
Greens bunches/heads (tatsoi,
mizuna, broccoli raab, bulls blood, komatsuna, bok choi)
|
12
bunches/heads
|
$2.50/bunch
or head
|
$30.00
|
Hakurei
turnips
|
9
bunches
|
$2.00/bunch
|
$18.00
|
Kale
|
8.5
bunches (not including pyo)
|
$2.50/bunch
|
$21.25
|
Kohlrabi
|
2-3
bunches
|
$2.50/bunch
|
$5-$7.50
|
Leeks
|
3-5
bunches
|
$2.50/bunch
|
$7.50-$12.50
|
Lettuce
|
23
heads
|
$2.50/
head
|
$57.50
|
Lettuce
mix
|
1.5
pounds
|
$3/pound
|
$4.50
|
Melons
(watermelons)
|
2
pieces
|
$3/piece
|
$6.00
|
Onions
-loose
|
7.5
pounds
|
$1.50/pound
|
$11.25
|
Onions
-bunched
|
3.5
bunches
|
$1.50/bunch
|
$5.25
|
Parsnips
|
0
|
$1.50/pound
|
$0.00
|
Peppers,
bell (green, colorful, sweet)
|
10
pounds
|
$2.50/pound
|
$25.00
|
Peppers,
hot (not in pyo)
|
1
pound
|
$2.50/pound
|
$2.50
|
Popcorn
|
2
ears
|
$1/ear
|
$2.00
|
Potatoes
|
15
pounds
|
$1.50/pound
|
$22.50
|
Pumpkins
|
1
pieces
|
$2.50/piece
|
$2.50
|
Purple
Top Turnips
|
3
pounds
|
$1.25/pound
|
$3.75
|
Radishes-bunches
|
6-8
bunches
|
$1.50/bunch
|
$9-$12
|
Rutabaga
|
1.5
pounds
|
$1/pound
|
$1.50
|
Scallions
|
7
bunches
|
$2/bunch
|
$14.00
|
Spinach
|
3.5
pounds
|
$4/pound
|
$14.00
|
Summer
squash
|
16.5
pounds
|
$1.25/pound
|
$20.63
|
Sweet
potatoes
|
6
pounds
|
$2.50/pounds
|
$15.00
|
Tomatillos
|
2.5
pounds
|
$2.50/pound
|
$5.00
|
Tomatoes
|
27
pounds
|
$3/pound
|
$81.00
|
Winter
squash
|
8.5
pounds
|
$2/pound
|
$17.00
|
|
|
|
|
Total share Value without
Pick-your-own:
|
|
|
$625.48
|
The total value of PYO
crops offered was $200.25. That is an
average of $10.50 per week over 19 weeks.
We know that you didn’t always make it out to the fields to participate
in the pick-your-own part of our CSA, so you probably didn’t take home all
$200.25 worth of PYO produce this season.
But, most of you spent time picking and we are proud to have a CSA that
continues to provide the opportunity for you and your friends and family to get
your hands dirty, find joy in picking your favorite bean, and bending low to
get that last pint of husk cherries.
Below is our Pick-your-own report for 2013:
PYO crop
|
Units Distributed
|
Price per unit
|
Value in Share
|
Bush
beans
|
4.5
quarts
|
$2.50/quart
|
$11.25
|
Chard
|
10
bunches
|
$1.75/bunch
|
$17.50
|
Cherry
tomatoes
|
10.5
|
$3/pint
|
$31.50
|
Dill
|
10-13
bunches
|
$1.50/bunch
|
$15-$19.50
|
Fava
beans
|
2
quarts
|
$2/quart
|
$4.00
|
Hot
peppers
|
4
pints (roughly 30 pieces)
|
$2/pint
|
$8
|
Husk
cherries
|
6
pints
|
$3/pint
|
$18.00
|
Kale
|
8
bunches
|
$1.75/bunch
|
$14.00
|
Peas
|
6
pints
|
$3/pint
|
$18.00
|
Strawberries
|
6
pints
|
$3.50/pint
|
$18.00
|
Flowers
(including sunflowers)
|
12
bouquets
|
$3/small
bouquet
|
$36.00
|
Popcorn
Stalks
|
Up
to 25
|
|
|
Herbs
from herb garden
|
unlimited
|
|
|
Raspberries
|
3
pints
|
$3/pint
|
$9
|
|
|
|
|
Total Value PYO Crops:
|
|
|
$200.25
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Share Value:
|
$825.73
|
|
