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12.16.2014

Letter to shareholders AND 2015 signups open



Greetings shareholders,
Here we are, reviewing the season and gearing up for next year. Overall it was a productive, albeit not very hot summer. It was an amazing carrot and potato year, less impressive for peppers and eggplant. A single early frost blasted our tomatoes and basil; otherwise they would have made it through October distribution. Here’s to barn parties! The spring event was so memorable we just may try that again sometime.  The greenhouse has been built and we look forward to starting our transplants in there come 2015. Our live-in apprentices were great; thank you Emily, Lauren and Kaitlyn. There were fun groups for the Garden Mornings. The burning question is: will next season’s potlucks contain such hits as Lew’s guacamole and Grace’s dumplings?! We can certainly hope so. Also positive were the many group discussions and tours at the farm including students from Canton and Massena High School, St. Lawrence University, SUNY Potsdam, state assembly woman Addie Russell, congressional candidate Matt Funiciello and the board of the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA). It’s encouraging that the farm continues to draw interest both locally and regionally.

                We are sharing next season’s sign up information sooner than in past years. The majority of our spending occurs in winter and early spring, as such we’re encouraging households to sign up as soon as you are able to. This will cover winter costs of seeds, soil and such. Here’s a link to the 2015 SHARE WRITEUP which can be found on the right panel of the blog along with the SHARE SIGNUP form. Once the form has been filled out, we’ll send you an online invoice for the first payment. While we do prefer payment in full, we understand that is not realistic for everybody’s budget, as such you have the option of being billed up to 3 installments, paid monthly. 

                Shareholders always compliment the ‘As You Like,’ distribution option. It’s intrinsically pleasing to choose how much or little of an item you take. We love to share the bounty this way and it involves less labor on our end in dividing and packaging. Also, members are more likely to consume what they willingly took. We want to keep offering veggies like this whenever possible. How can we keep this option alive? It’s possible if all households sign up for one share per adult in household. Up to this point, we’ve encouraged members towards this option, but HAVE NOT REQUIRED it. Due to the modest size of our town and the farm, we never want to turn away interested subscribers, but it makes it hard to level the investment playing field due to unlimited quantities being available to households who are feeding more mouths with only one share.  Either there is equity across households or we have to parse out every item. It’s a frustrating conundrum, but vital for all to understand. To put it into perspective, the cost of two Fresh Full Season shares will be $750 (same as last year). Split into three payments that is no more than a smart phone bill and a dinner on the town. Please, invest in this community resource (and your health) as much as we all do in Verizon, AT&T and other mega corporations! Do you worry that will be too many veggies? We encourage members to think beyond the quantity of food and more towards the security of knowing that a diversity and bounty of fresh veggies will be available to you as members of this community farm.
 
                Are you aching for Fresh veggies before mid-June distribution rolls around? Does the close of the CSA season come too quickly in October? Consider the new add-on share, ‘You Pick Greens’! This share is meant for folks who want to extend the season with salads and hardy greens. It’s available for 8 weeks total (4 in the spring and 4 in the fall) and will include a variety such as head lettuces, salad greens, spinach, arugula, kale and Swiss chard. 

As ever, we look forward to the adventures that 2015 will bring. Let us know if you have any questions. 

All the best in this holiday season,
Flip & Bob

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