It’s that time of year! In the midst of snowstorms, we’re dreaming of seedlings. While slipping and sliding on hard ice, we’re thinking about sprouts growing out of soft soil. And when watching the cows make their way through freezing slush, we look forward to the day that they kick up their heels and heads out onto bright green pasture. But those days will be here soon enough and, in the meantime, we’re still enjoying the relative peace that winter brings.

The exciting news is that as of today, the 2018 CSA sign-up is underway! Our family is getting down to the last of our cabbage and carrots and can’t wait for the first fresh greens. Bill and I are busy planning out the planting schedule and harvest, and have been referencing last year’s member survey as we figure out what to grow more of and differently in 2018. We’re trying to fund raise as much as possible for the member Financial Aid Fund, and we’re adjusting a few of the add-on CSA shares to better meet member needs. We’ve even made the final decision about who this season’s apprentices will be, and our kids can’t wait for their new honorary big siblings to arrive.

One small change based on the member surveys is that in 2018 the Tofu CSA add-on will be every-other-week (instead of weekly). The price is accordingly half of what it was last year, and because it stores well for a long time, you can sign up for multiple shares if you want more than a block every other week. There is now a spring, summer, and fall heritage pork share, and I hope to soon have additional information with a lacto-fermented add-on from Gracie’s Garden, which will hopefully inspire everyone to start experimenting with fermenting their own CSA veggies! It’s a perfect use for those seconds that are on the extras table.

Remember that if you sign up for all three CSA seasons, you get a $20 discount. Also, please keep in mind that you must sign up for a veggie share in any given season in order to have add-on shares in that same season. The add-ons are intended as a benefit of membership and add a lot of complexity to running the CSA, so they are available only to our veggie members.

One last piece of farm news is that Bill is running for Maine State House of Representatives! We’re pretty excited by the thought of a working farmer representing Warren, part of Union, Hope and Appleton. If you would like more information, you can reach him at pluecker4rep@gmail.com. He’ll still be full-time on the farm, but we’re hiring some extra field support and are grateful to all the encouragement we’ve already received.

New Member Sign-up:
http://hatchetcovefarm.csasignup.com/members/types

Returning Member Sign-up:
http://hatchetcovefarm.csasignup.com/members/returning

Be in touch, let us know if you have any questions, and we can’t wait to see and feed you all again soon!

Reba, Bill, Eli and CJ

p.s. When you sign up, please check to make sure that your mailing address is correct! The post office returned many of the farm’s holiday cards this year, and if you’d like to receive them in the future, make sure that your address is entered correctly!