This Wednesday is the 20th week of our CSA (an even week), and our last week of CSA.
Farm pick up on Wednesday 11 – 7, Northside (Allegheny Commons) on Friday 3 – 7, and Squirrel Hill (beacon/bartlette) on Sunday 9 – 1.
Don’t forget that you can place an order and we’ll bring it to the markets for you!
This is more like a Boo-hoo-hoo’s Letter. Look at the destruction of the kale patch. The deer have ravaged the kale and are marching across the fields in pursuit of fresh organic vegetables.
Here we are fortifying our fencing. Each night, the deer work their way back in.
One sale this week:
It’s time to move the ground pork out of our freezers an into yours! Take advantage of this sale this week!!
Buy 10 pounds (individually packed into one pound chub packs) of ground pork for $60 ($30 off!). Use the coupon code “ground23” when you check out online.
Annnnnd that’s a wrap!
What an emotional roller-coaster farming is…. in the midst of summer, with the heat, the bugs, the drought, the weeds…. I wonder why do I keep doing this!? But then…. I remember – it’s all seasonal.
In the cool autumn days, with a palette of reds, oranges, browns, and greens against a slate gray sky, I think…. this is the life! Fall bliss sticks with me until the first or second heavy frost – when my hands start to ache from the cold, and I have to wait until the sun melts away the morning frost. Then, I move into the high tunnels, where there’s warmth and protection from Old Man winter, and I get to soak in some Vitamin D and hang out with green growing things! In the midst of Winter, I park by wood stove and blissfully search though seed catalogs, making grandiose plans and dreaming of how beautiful our crops will be throughout the year. In the Spring, I’m prepping the fields, freshly tilled, orderly and ready for potential! Then, Summer time creeps in, bringing along with it burnout and overwhelm (most farmers go though this….). There’s so much to do, not enough help or time, and the challenges keep coming. In early September, I can see a glimpse of Fall!
As the CSA comes to a close, and we say goodbye to you all until next Spring. I am reminded of the steadfast reason that keeps us going throughout the whole year, in every season. It’s you all! Thanks for being our “regulars” for these past 20 weeks of the growing season (and from previous years too!) Thanks for “going with the flow” and trying new things, and/or eating the same thing week after week! Thanks for hanging out, chatting, exploring, playing, and relaxing. CSA day is the highlight of our week (and one of our days “off” in the week). We’re super thrilled that you are a part of our farm and we hope you come back in the spring. Each year is different – with new successes and certain failures.
Stay tuned, via this newsletter, for any winter-time updates and what we’re working on for the CSA in 2024. I’ll keep sending this out – with reminders to order, notifications as to new pick up locations and times in the city, and random antics on the farm.
Art on the Farm
Make some time, slow down a bit, and enjoy making some farm art!
Join local artist and long time Blackberry Meadows CSA member Maritza Mosquera this coming Wednesday, from 4-6 pm, while she offers space and time to sketch, draw and paint during our CSA pick up at the farm.
Maritza has been an artist and teacher all her life. She will be sharing her love for food, nature, animals, people, and art making practice as a gift to us throughout October, during CSA Wednesdays, from 4 – 6 pm.
This time we will focus on drawing and printmaking veggies and fall leaves. All materials included. Come and Enjoy!
Donations welcomed, good energy accepted.
Pizza Day!
Because it’s our last CSA pick up at the farm – we’re having a Pizza Party! Wood fired pizza starts around noon and we will keep cranking them out until we run out of dough or heat… whichever comes first!
