Thank You! Volunteer Day and Potluck

What an amazing turn out for the volunteer day and potluck on Saturday! This was definitely our most well attended volunteer day ever! And thank goodness, because we had a Herculean task of weeding the parsnips! Imagine a sea of green, now imagine you have to find a needle in a hay stack, and now imagine the CSA parsnip harvest depended on it- that was the task that everyone was up to on Saturday. And we succeeded; the parsnips are now looking better than ever! Thank you to everyone who squatted, crouched, and knelt alongside those parsnips for hours! And also a big thank you to Blaise who is a long standing shareholder, and showed up with his own weed wacker to tackle a multi-year project of clearing the fenceline. To celebrate a successful day of work, we all shared a feast at the picnic tables and enjoyed a beautiful summer evening on the farm.

Be sure to mark your calendars now for our next volunteer day,Saturday July 12th from 9:30 to 3:30 at our beautiful farm in theAwbury Arboretum. If you haven’t been to this farm, this is a great opportunity to come and check it out.

End of Season Potluck a Success!

Thanks to all of you that came out to our end of season Potluck!

Support of the Community

There were three instances this week when I truly felt the support of the community at the farm. Each instance reminded me how grateful I am to be part of this farm-centric community.

The first was Monday, Memorial day. Most holidays mean nothing to the farmers- the plants don’t know its Memorial day, and the CSA pick-up still happens on Tuesday, meaning we have to harvest to be prepared. However, Weavers Way organizes an all-staff picnic every Memorial day at one of our other farm sites. It’s a rare opportunity for our farm staff to spend the afternoon with the other staff at the store, and enjoy one of our farms in a non-work oriented manner. So… rather than exclude the farmers from this nice occasion, we squeezed a full-day harvest into half a day on Monday morning, and were able to enjoy the rest of the day at the picnic. I want to thank farm staff Emma and Nancy for waking up super early to start the harvest with me. And I want to thank working shareholders Lory, Ali, Annie, Laura, and Chris who all helped out on the holiday! We’ve never finished the harvest that quickly!

The second moment of true community support was the volunteer day. It was a hot, humid day, yet some loyal volunteers and shareholders braved the weather and came to help us get through some daunting tasks. Brian helped us trellis the peas, Liza and Mel meticulously weeded the carrots, and Mike pounded heavy tomato stakes into the ground. Thanks everyone!

And lastly, the potluck was our best attended potluck to date! Delicious food and great company was shared under the shade of the cherry tree. Potlucks are a rare time when the farm staff actually sit and enjoy a couple of relaxing hours at the farm with fellow shareholders. We were all particularly happy that Matilda Sinclair (pictured above with mom Joanna and dad Duncan), our newest CSA shareholder, was able to join us, only four days old! Congratulations to Joanna and Duncan, the proud parents!

June 1st Volunteer day and Potluck

Now that the CSA has started, our farm team spends two full days every week harvesting. This significantly cuts into the amount of time we can tend to the field planting and weeding. This means we need your help! We have a job for everyone- kid friendly weeding, physically demanding tomato stake pounding, or wheel barrow repairs for the handy fix-it minded volunteer!  You can join us for any amount of time between 11 and 5pm on Saturday June 1st. Bring a lunch, water and sun protection. Sign up on the online work calendar to get credit for your hours toward your CSA and/or Weaver Way 5% discount.

After a good day of work, the best way to celebrate is with good food and good company. Join us for our season kick-off potluck from 5-6:30pm. Bring a dish to share, and your own plate, bowl, cup and cutlery. Friends and family welcome!

End of Season Potluck

I can’t believe the end of the season is just around the corner. Come celebrate a great season together, and reflect on the successes and challenges of your CSA experience. Share one of your favorite dishes with fellow members.  I enjoy the potlucks thoroughly, it is a rare opportunity for me to sit and relax and talk with members at the farm. I hope you can come!

Potluck at the Farm

Thank you to everyone who came to the potluck on Saturday. It was perfect weather and we had a great turn out. We shared delicious dishes, got to know one another a bit better, and soaked in the beautiful setting of the farm. For me, it is also really refreshing to spend some quality time on the farm what is relaxing and not just work! Just before we sat down to eat I quickly harvested a salad from the field. I was proud to share the first 6 cherry tomatoes and beet harvest in that salad! The cherry tomatoes are in one of our hoop houses and will be U-pick, when they come on in full swing. Soon there will be more than only 6! At the table we asked people to write down what they love about the farm or are looking forward to in being a CSA member.  Here are the great responses:

Judy Freed: I love that my produce is grown ten minutes from my home- doesn’t get more “local: than that!

Hollie Holcombe: The CSA gives me many opportunities to “MacGuyver” dinners that I never thought to make before.

I know where my food was grown, and I even have a hand in growing it! I feel like this is “my farm,” which is especially nice since I live in a small apartment with no yard!

Ann Keiser: I am excited to have met so many wonderful people in my community. And I am looking forward to seeing Monarch butterflies at the farm.

Matt Rupert: Feeding my child food that is healthy, tasty, and safe.

Shareholder Potluck and Movie!

Please join us for a kick-off-the-season potluck on Saturday June 11th at 5:30, at the farm. Bring a dish to share with your fellow shareholders and enjoy a meal together at the site where your produce is grown. We will have tours of the farm and watch a short movie about one family’s relationship with their CSA near Media, PA, called “Fridays at the Farm.” If there is rain, we will eat inside the building where you pick up your vegetables.

If your last name begins with:
A - F bring a protein
G - R bring a side salad
S - Z bring a dessert