For about two weeks now, every night I’ve said to Bill ‘I need to write the members a letter’ — and for about two weeks now I’ve fallen into bed and my eyes have closed before I even had a chance to crack open the laptop. So I am determined to get this missive out to you all before I fall asleep tonight! It has been a really different kind of spring here on the farm — this cold, wet weather is definitely a challenge, but we’re lucky in that we still were able to get out in the fields and plant, and I still have high hopes that the CSA will begin in the second week of June, as planned.

As I sit on our couch right now and look out the window in the growing dusk, I see a small sea of ripping white row cover, warming and protecting the kale, chard, broccoli, and gailon that is planted in the “front garden.” To my right, in the “big field,” is 500 bed feet of spinach, lettuce mix, arugula, cilantro and dill. Scallions, beets and fennel are tucked between the rows of greens, and further out are the 10,000+ onions and shallots that were planted, one little green piece of grass (or that’s at least what they look like) at a time. Further away still is the garlic, planted last October, poking up through the deep hay mulch that kept it snug all winter. Three of the hoophouses are full of nascent radishes, lettuce, and zucchini. The “driveway field” has beds of sugar snap peas, pac choi and kohlrabi. And the heated greenhouse is packed completely full with seedlings of every kind of summer crop imaginable. When I list it out like that, it makes me very optimistic that with a little sun and warmth we’ll all be eating the fresh HCF vegetables within a few weeks!

With Bill up at the State House and apprentices arriving in June, it has been a very different kind of spring farming season than usual, and I couldn’t have done it without our two amazing employees, Christina Verrette and Becky Meinersmann. Along with some other wonderful volunteers who have shown up to transplant and start seedlings and roll out row cover (thanks Maho, Tiff, and Kathryn!), we’ve managed to get so much done.

Here are some important CSA updates:

• Click here to add any add-on shares to your CSA order! The amazing fall Heirloom Apple CSA is now available. Except for milk (which is sold out) you can still add yogurt, eggs, ferments, bread, mushrooms, pork, apples, tofu, oil & vinegar, and honey.
• Ground beef and stew beef are available right now! We’ve been shrinking the herd and we have a lot of beef for sale – grass-fed and raised with love. 10 lbs for $70 or 20 lbs for $130. Send me an email with what you’d like and we’ll make a plan to deliver it to you!
• If you have a balance on your CSA share and it has been a month since you made a payment, please click here to make a payment! Or contact me to make arrangements or with questions.
• I’ll be in touch the week before the CSA begins with information about the first pickup. At this point (weather permitting) we’re planning for the first pickup to be the week of June 10th. All the location details are on our website, and additional details will be emailed to you before your first pickup.

Please be in touch with any questions (email, phone, text — all ways to get in touch with me) and we’ll see you soon!

Reba