“Transitional Year of Wonderment” may, in some ways, have seemed a better name for 2020 than 2021 – after all, the whole of humanity basically transitioned overnight to staying six feet apart from one another. And I suppose it was a bit of a wonder that we managed to keep modern society functioning (more or less) despite this.
But at Hilltop we've taken the slogan as our operating plan for the coming year, having been inspired to imagine what might be possible after seeing seven billion normally fractious and querulous human beings pivot in unison like a school of fish. Erin exercised a long-considered decision to step away from commercial flower production, and I suppose I should have taken the supportive and parallel step of putting down the vegetable CSA – which would not have been an unreasonable move after 28 years.
But – querulous human being that I am – I decided to keep the CSA going, only with a re-imagined format that would require less work so that I could keep it running without distracting Erin from delving into new training or other avenues of interest. It remains to be seen how successfully this plan will work. Erin is nothing if not a supportive spouse, and I suspect that showing up at the garden gate with a hoe in hand will be a distracting temptation no matter my intentions to the contrary.
So, while this transitional year may end up slightly less transitional than my dear wife would have preferred, we will hopefully have devised a more efficient strategy for getting the farm work done and food into our members' hands. And – as we mentioned in January's newsletter – that will involve some changes from our previous practices.
Unlike past years, we will not be bagging-up individual shares for members but letting them instead select produce from what we deliver to our porch. This will require a certain amount of discipline for those retrieving their shares. We will have a check-off list with members' names on it and you will need to observe how many have yet to pick-up and leave an appropriate amount to accommodate them. We'll also try to provide some guidance – either on a chalkboard or the sides of the coolers – as to the approximate amount of each item that should be taken.
The other major change will be going to an every-other-week pick-up schedule. As the main season draws closer, we will email members with what that schedule will be. But one thing is certain: As with our 20-week share, the first two deliveries are going to fall somewhat randomly, depending on when the early ephemeral foods (like ramps and bergamot) and perennial crops (like rhubarb and asparagus) come ready. So far, it's looking like the first delivery will be in late April and the second sometime in mid-May. The regular every-other-week routine will then proceed from about mid-June onward.
We thank our members in advance for their flexibility in accommodating these changes, and we're gratified that so many of our long-standing subscribers have stayed with us and that we've been able to pick up a few new households now that the yearly share-size has been reduced. We'll keep our fingers crossed for a decent harvest and hope that our 'transitional' year doesn't also mark a transition back into some of the climate chaos we've experienced in recent seasons. (We'll keep our toes crossed too.)