Turning over the Trunchbull… Most of this tunnel is harvested out and has been reseeded in the open space since this picture was taken. The tokyo bekana (bright green bed on the left of center) will regrow to harvest in a couple weeks, and the rainbow chard (sad looking bed right of center) will rebound soon as well. Most of what we are harvesting these days is from the third tunnel, the Chocolate Factory. Winter greens production requires a lot of planning to make sure we have some full beds ready to harvest while others are recovering or being replanted , photo by Adam Ford

Click here to order your veggies for a delivered bag

This Week’s Availability

This week we will have leeks, red beets, yellow beets, white daikon radishes, purple daikon radishes, watermelon radishes, orange carrots, rainbow carrots, shallots, red and yellow onions (Juniper Hill), garlic, green cabbage, mini red cabbage, red and yellow potatoes (Atlas Farm), fingerling potatoes (Clearfield Farm), sweet potatoes (Junpier Hill Farm), spinach, mesclun mix, and frozen heirloom/beefsteak tomatoes.

The greens are still coming out of dormancy, and will pick up soon, but until then, we ask you to limit the total number of green items (spinach/mesclun mix) you choose based on share size:

Mini shares: 1 item of greens (spinach/mesclun mix)
Small and medium shares: 2 items of greens (spinach/mesclun mix)
Large and super shares: 3 items of greens (spinach/mesclun mix)

The frozen heirloom/beefsteak tomato bags are “2 items worth:” and are delicious for stewing.

Did you know that sweet potatoes store best at room temperature? Being kept in cold storage for too long speeds up their decomposition. Keep them on your counter until you use them.

Click here to order your veggies for a delivered bag

Ordering closes at noon on Tuesdays for Wednesday bags, and at noon on Thursdays for Friday bags.

You do not need to fill out the form if you plan to come to the barn on Wednesdays or Thursdays to pick out your items yourself.

What we have learned so far with the new CSA software

Thanks for your patience as we iron things out with the new system. Here are answers to some common questions that have arisen with CSA members:

For all CSA members:

Check your promotions, spam, and any other filters for our newsletters. Make “eveningsongstore@gmail.com” and “eveningsongcsa@gmail.com” contacts in your email so we don’t get filtered.
The newsletter will arrive in your email very early Saturday morning. If you ever can’t find it, you can go to the “CSA” tab on our website, and then click on the “Weekly CSA Newsletter” subheading to find that week’s newsletter.

For CSA members who pick up at the barn:

My apologies for some of the unnecessary automatic emails you receive. You can ignore any automatic emails about your “veggies being ready,” and just know that the barn is stocked and ready for you to pick out your items on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 am to 8pm. (Currently the system doesn’t filter automatic emails by pickup location, and we are hoping they can make that change for us.)
You do not need to do anything online if you pick out your own veggies at the barn.

For CSA members who order a bag for delivery:

The “store” button on your dashboard has been hard for some people to find. (It’s especially hard to find on a mobile phone view.) We are working with them to change the text on that button to say something like “Order your weekly CSA veggies,” so it’s bigger and also clearer as a function you want to press.
Once you are in the store, make sure you are in the “CSA members” section, which is noted on the left of the screen. Those are veggies listed as items, versus dollar values.
The cart is a little confusing when you order half or double items. The top line calculates your selections (and lists them as “items”), and the bottom line calculates how many items you have left. So for instance, if you select two half items (to equal one whole item), and you are a small share (with 6 items), when you are done selecting, it would save “7 items” on the top line, and then “0 remaining item.” That means you are done ordering, and you didn’t go over, because those 7 selections represent 2 half items, or 1 whole item. (We are working with them to change that text a bit, because it confused me as well!)
Your pickup location and day is displayed on your dashboard, but doesn’t appear in your cart as you are checking out. It will appear again in your confirmation email after the order is placed.

CSA Balance Due

If you haven’t already paid, your balance is due this week. You can pay online through your account, mail a check to Evening Song Farm 48 Nice Road, Cuttingsville VT 05738, or leave a check in the CSA cash box at the barn. It’s very cool to pay in smaller chunks, just let us know what your payment plan is. You can also email or call us to pay with EBT.

last spring’s kale decomposing in place… I love seeing all the spots on the stalks where so many kale leaves were broken off to make bunches throughout the season… I can count 26 places on just one side of one of those stalks on the left side of the picture, meaning that one plant provided at least 3 or 4 bunches on it’s own throughout the season.. plants are awesome, photo by Adam Ford

Farm News

Wowee! Unleashing a new software system is a lot for my non-techy brain! This has been to main focus on my work this week so between being stuck behind a computer and also having a frazzled screen brain, I am a bit more out of touch with what is actually going on with vegetables these days. I know that we are continuing to harvest greens out to make space for replanting in the tunnels. The baby plants keep growing in the grow room in the root cellar, and we will be starting tomatoes this week! Ryan and I are putting some effort into hiring a new team member for this main growing season. (If you know anyone looking for a farm job on an awesome team, send them our way!) We both do a lot more “invisible” work this time of year: Ryan presents for several conferences and workshops on low and no till methods to address soil health in a changing climate, and I am getting to spend much more time with trainings and meetings to address the intersection of food production, land management, and anti-racism work. None of these aspects of our work feel visible through vegetables, but they still feel like important aspects of farming. Ryan continues to log lumber from the woods to prepare for the new solar building this spring. And the kids are home from school due to the weather, so that’s about the extent of the farm news I can squeeze in between battles for my attention. Have a great week!

-ESF Team: Ryan, Kara, Molly, Katie, Taylor, and, Cindy

This Week's Recipe: Roasted Tomato and Sweet Potato Soup