Hello Everyone,
It’s been over a month since I posted here… and whoa, a lot has changed since then. I intended on posting weekly updates with photos on what’s been unfolding at the farm but honestly, it’s been hard to figure out what write, what to share?
The farm feels strangely normal, at least on the days when I can turn my brain off and just focus on the tasks at hand. Seeding trays, prepping beds, setting up irrigation, etc. But other days… you probably know the ones I’m talking about, I definitely feel overwhelmed with stress, anxiety and am having a hard time accepting all the uncertainty.
So, I’ll write about what I do know. Local food production has always been important, but it does feel more important now than ever. I wake up every morning knowing that one thing is for sure - we will continue to grow and harvest produce for our local communities. And, we will continue to put our hearts, minds and bodies into this work.
Our Summer CSA is SOLD OUT.
We hit our target and have sold 150 Summer CSA Shares! WOW. We are so inspired and humbled by how quickly the Summer CSA filled up. As most of you know, on March 24th, we announced we were doubling our CSA from 75 Members to 150 Members due to the challenges we are facing with wholesale sales. To be honest, I was unsure if we would be able find an additional 75 members… especially not in less than 3 weeks.
THANK YOU for helping us spread the word about our CSA! Most of our new members were referrals from friends and co-workers. This CSA Community is incredible and we couldn’t do this without YOU.
Now… onto the Farm Updates
We have been seeding the many trays of kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, chard, scallions, head lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, herbs and so much more. These starts are all tended to with care in the propagation house until it’s their time to move to the big field and greenhouses in May.
We seeded the first beds outside with salad mix, baby kale, arugula, mustards, cilantro, spinach, carrots, turnips and radishes. These babes are all germinating and covered with multiple layers of row cover (aka, farm blankets) to keep them cozy while we still have cold nights. And I might add… it was a crisp 9 degrees here this morning. Brr!
We filled the high tunnel beds with kale, chard, scallions, snow peas and more carrots last week. We designated this tunnel as an early spring and late fall production house last season and I love it. These plants are already settling in to their new space and have doubled in size.
The soil moisture was dreamy last week so Mike spent couple days on field prep. We had a cover crop of triticale, pea and vetch growing in both fields. Mike disced in the cover crop and now the plant residue will have a few weeks to breakdown before we start planting in early May.
In addition, Mike has been reaching out to farmers/ranchers across to the region to see how everyone is doing and what people need at this time. He put together a survey with the Four Corners Farmer and Ranchers Coalition asking these very questions. Over 35 responses came in over the course of a week.
Our region did not have a regional producer directory, and most everyone who took the survey said they would be interested in being listed on such a directory. In collaboration with RMFU, CSU Extension, NYFC, La Plata Farm Bureau, we created a website with a robust directory of regional producers.
We are hoping the Southwest Producers Directory with help connect consumers with their local farmers and ranchers. Check it out!
We are taking lots of steps to make sure your produce is safe. We have a beautiful wash/pack facility that we are able to sanitize before and after harvests. We will be making changes to our CSA Pickups once we have more direction from CDA, CDPHE and our Local Health Departments.
We are a small farm crew. Mike and I (Mindy) run the farm with our rock star employees. These ladies are onboard with the updates we are making to our food safety plan, and are ready to help us grow and harvest food for our local communities.
Please know that we are here for you! Agriculture has been deemed CRITICAL and ESSENTIAL in the State of Colorado. This means we are able to continue this important work and will be able to get our produce to you, one way or another.
Stay healthy, eat well and take care of each other.