Farm Blog

Thank you again for braving the blizzard to celebrate, connect with great food, and 'planting an orchard'! Just imagine all those future cherry trees (don't forget to squat:-).
I am so uplifted from all the good vibes, intentions, laughter and seeds shared and planted.

We were able to raise $850.00 in funds! This will go a long way, thank you! Additionally, with all the seeds donated today and from what I've gleaned from others, The women growers in the Sine-Saloum region will be able to plant out a couple hundred row feet/farm. In the past we've planted shared 'demonstration beds' ie since many of the farmers share space/land to grow on we've constructed seeds beds to trial different varieties, plant insectory herbs and flowers and share techniques. From there seeds are harvested and shared forward amongst the individual farmers. So in essence your generosity helped plant teaching/learning/eating/

sharing beds of veggie, herb, and flower goodness!
 

I will honor my commitment and extend the immense gratitude, generosity that was shared during the workshop with the women farmers in the following ways:

Work with NCBA CLUSA Farmer to Farmer Program to transfer funds and mail seeds.
I'll also email and share highlights, photos forward later this week in celebration of our workshop success.

I am tentatively set to travel there Nov/Dec. or January in 2016.

I also finally remembered the name of third grower group, JUBO (means widespread). If you're interested in learning more about how they got started, here's a link to an interview I did as part of my last Farmer to Farmer adventure in Senegal.

I Will keep you in the loop as the project evolves and thanks again for sharing your generous spirit!

For the chocolate lovers:
Becky Otte, who made the amazing truffles, has more of her chocolate goodness to share and is selling some of her creations just in time for Valentines. if you're interested send her an email: raonine@gmail.com

Also Here is a link to Roots Chocolate website.

For the Fruit Lovers:

I've enclosed a handout of some of the different fruits we grow at our farm as well as a flyer highlighting this season's events at the farm! We'd love to have you venture out and tour the orchard, come visit us (though not nearly as cool as the orchard poses we did during the workshop).

Thank you again for helping me transition from being a butterfly weed seed (ie wind pollinated, not knowing where or how my intentions, projects might stick) to more of an oak or cashew seeds - wherein I can deepen my awareness, provide support in the same place(s) in Senegal for the growers and in my backyard in Wisconsin:-). Here's to planting the seeds of the as yet to be imagined on and off the yoga mat! Wishing you all much abundance.

Happy Mid-winter!

Yours in hardy kiwi,
Erin


PS If you are into exploring the planting side as well as enjoying more local fruit creations, we'll be hosting a Local Fruit Tasting May 16, details on our website.

 

"Transitional Year of Wonderment" modus operandi for 2021 CSA

      “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.

ramps in the woods.jpg

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.)