The Weblog

This page contains news, event information, and other items added by the market managers.



 
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Salad mix, lettuce, and more


Greetings,

Such weather we’ve had! This roller coaster has made for a bumpy start and it may be take a few weeks to get into a regular harvest rhythm, but we do have a few more items to offer this week.

*PLEASE ORDER BY THURSDAY MORNING JUNE 15 AT 8:00 AM.

DUE TO A LATE AFTERNOON OBLIGATION ON FRIDAY, ORDERS WILL BE READY FOR PICK UP AT THE FARM BY 3:30 AND AT UNION MILL BY 4:00.

There’s some nice lettuce and the first cutting of salad mix from the field. The scallions are from the hoophouse where the voles got first dibs on them, but thoughtfully left us some. They weren’t so considerate about the early carrots in the hoophouse.

The cherry tomatoes in the greenhouse are just coming in so we can offer a small amount to start.

And the basil is still growing well in the greenhouse, while the first flush of eggplant is over, with more to come later.

All in all, the field crops are looking good, despite the cold and rain. And heat. Just a little slow in growth.

Thanks and enjoy,
Tim

Ignore Eggplant price in email


Hi again,

Speaking of dusting things off, my brain appears to need it, too. Please ignore the description and price for the eggplant given in the email. The website now has the correct info.

Tim

Basil and a few eggplant


Greetings,

We still haven’t officially started the season as we wait for dry, warm weather to bring on the early greens.

But meanwhile, we continue to have some very nice basil in the greenhouse.

We also have 16 eggplants from the greenhouse, another experiment like the early basil. They’re small – between 1/2 and 1 pound – and mild and tender.

The market on the website is up and running so if you’re interested in either of these items you can order online.

PLEASE ORDER BY 8:00 THURSDAY EVENING. (Ordinarily, the weekly email will be sent out on Tuesdays.)

*PICK UP WILL BE THIS FRIDAY 5:00 – 8:00 AT UNION MILL AND 4:30 – 7:00 HERE AT THE FARM.

It’s not much to offer, but at least we can dust off the ordering system and make sure it’s functioning.

Thanks,
Tim

The season has begun


Greetings,

Despite the freezing temperatures and damaging winds the first seeds of the season have sprouted. These are tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, which will all be grown in the greenhouse. Onions and leeks will be sown in flats in the greenhouse mid-month, followed by carrots being seeded in the ground in the unheated greenhouse on the Spring Equinox. Off we go!

That fierce wind caused some minor damage to the greenhouses, as well as knocking out power and bringing down trees that blocked a couple of roads here in town. Hopefully, that’s enough weather drama for awhile. We have all we need of that politically these days.

I’ll be sending out emails regarding the next CSA share payment to those who still have a balance due.

Thank you all for payments already made.

Tim

HONEY


Greetings,

This is to let you know, finally, that we have 23 pounds of honey in one pound jars. The price is $10/pound.

Please order by Wednesday, December 14.

And please order by email. After I have your orders we can arrange a convenient pick up time and payment.

Pick up is here at the farm or I can drop it off at the Union Mill in the usual place (the lobby of Union Mill, the entrance of which is opposite the back door of Nature’s Green Grocer.)

I was surprised to get honey in light of the drought, but the bees managed, and it seems thicker than last year (less water?)and less prone to crystallizing.

Meanwhile, the greenhouses have new covers, there’s a large pile of compost under a tarp in the field, I picked up a couple of yards of potting soil the other day, and the garlic is waiting for spring under a blanket of snow.

May the new year prove fruitful.

Tim

We're on for 2017!


Greetings,

There’s been enough interest in the CSA for us to go ahead with next season. Thank you very much to all who signed on again.

I’ll be in touch in the new year about making the first payment to your account which will be due Jan. 15, 2017.

If you’re getting this email then you have an active account and don’t need to create a new one or make any changes.

We could still use more members! If you know of someone who may be interested please send them to our website or have them get in touch with me at 878-2063 or tim@newfieldfarm.com.

Thanks again and here’s to a fruitful year in 2017!

Tim

A fuller explanation about online market


Greetings,

When I sent out individual emails I didn’t want to clutter them up with too much information. Now for the clutter.

Here’s why I’m making the change and some more details about how it will work.

The online market had been set up 10 years ago as a kind of offshoot of our main market in Newton, Ma. We grew enough for Newton and then some and the surplus was available for the online market. That’s more or less how it worked and as a result we didn’t have to require a definite commitment from online market members. Now without Newton (after 29 years there it was time to stop) that no longer works. In order to know how much to grow I need to know how many people want to join at a certain level of payment. With that information I can use the sales records from the website for the past nine years to get a good idea about how much to plant. And then I’ll plant more to be safe.

If there’s enough interest then this will work. If not, then it’s back to the drawing board. I’m asking people to respond by next month – by October 15th – so I’ll know if the market will happen and I can start planning and ordering. And if it doesn’t look like it can happen then I can let everyone know and you can start figuring out an alternative for next season sooner than later. But hopefully this will work, one way or another!

Meanwhile, I’ve already heard from some people whose helpful questions and comments have led to some tweaking of the membership structure. The shares now begin at $200 and increase in $50 increments up to an unlimited amount (In theory. In fact I suppose we would cap a share at $5000. Any takers?) And I’ve eliminated the limited number of shares per membership level.

And to clarify in response to one person’s question, when you make your payments before the season begins they go into your account on the website. The balance is reduced each time you order until your account is empty. It’s possible you could add additional funds and continue to order, but there’s no guarantee that will work and at this point it’s safer to assume that that won’t be the case.

In terms of ordering, the market will work just as it has in the past. You go to the website, see what’s available, and then order what you want at the price listed.

That’s it for now. This is a work in progress so as always your questions and comments are welcome. For more details see the Q and A section of the website. http://newfield.locallygrown.net/faq (sorry if this isn’t a live link)

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Tim

My apologies!!


Hi again,

I’m very sorry that my last email showed names. It was supposed to go out as an unidentified group email.

Again, my apologies.

Tim

HONEY, BULK ITEMS, AND MORE


Greetings,

Such a stretch of beautiful weather and a beautiful fall as we wind down the 2015 season.

We finally bottled the honey. There’s a ONE POUND LIMIT PER HOUSEHOLD, but if you want more add a comment to your order and if there’s some left at the end of ordering ON THURSDAY we might be able to add more to your order. YOU CAN ALSO ORDER JUST A HALF POUND JAR WHICH IS THE WAY IT’S OFFERED ON THE WEBSITE.

There’s still some spinach, bok choy, arugula and kale.

Let me know if you have any questions about the bulk order or anything else.

Enjoy,
Tim

BULK ORDER UPDATE


Hi,

Having harvested for our last farmer’s market of the season on Monday, I can see that there isn’t as much “bulk” left in the field for the bulk order as in previous years.

I plan to harvest what root crops remain over the weekend and on Monday so I can list exactly what we still have to offer on the website on Tuesday. And hopefully by then we will have extracted the honey so we can offer some of that as well.

THE WEBSITE WILL BE UPDATED NEXT TUESDAY NOV. 3. ORDERING WILL BE THE USUAL TIME OF TUESDAY NIGHT UNTIL THURSDAY EVENING AT 8:00. PICK UP WILL BE FRIDAY NOV. 5.

I’ll send a reminder next Tuesday.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Thanks,
Tim