Clagett Farm Notes

2006 Order Form

Time to order!  Previous members have priority over shares until April 1, 2006.  We fill orders according to the date they were sent (that way you can mail your order and you won't lose your share to a person that faxed it on the same day).  Most years we sell out of shares in May, so you still have a couple months to send it in.  You can send your order form and payment by mail or fax, or call in your credit card number.  We are suspicious of e-mail security, so e-mail your credit card number at your own risk. 

Click here to download the order form: 2006_CSA_order_form.pdf . 

We will update our homepage (www.clagettfarm.org) with the 2006 information this week.  In the meantime, the only major change is that we are raising the price by $20. 

This year's prices are as follows:
Dupont Circle, Tuesdays 5-7pm, $445
Clagett Farm, Tuesdays 3-7pm and Saturdays 1-4pm, $405
Anacostia Farmers' Market, Wednesdays 3-7pm, $405

Just as last year, you may pick up at any site you wish from week to week, as long as you have told us which is the site where you pick up most often.  That way, if you forget to pick up one week or have a schedule conflict, you can get that week's share another day.

Within a week of receiving your order, we will send you an e-mail confirmation. 
Thanks!

Becoming a 2006 member or worksharer

Thanks to everyone who has expressed interest in joining our farm for the 2006 season as a member, volunteer or worksharer.
  We will probably begin signing up members in March.  We will post a message here as soon as we do, so if you would like to be one of the first to hear that we've begun taking orders, then click on the <RSSFWD:> link at the upper left of this page.  Then submit your email address, and you will be notified any time we post news on this site.  At any time if you wish to stop getting this notification, it is easy to be removed from the list.  Our deliveries and other details about the share for 2006 should be the same as 2005, although we might raise the price by $20.  You can read about those details at www.clagettfarm.org.  We will include any new information and a new order form on this page as soon as we begin taking orders. 
   Volunteer opportunities include office work (starting now, although we prefer a commitment of more than one day), greenhouse work (starting in February), and field work (starting in March).  Before May, our schedule is irregular, so it is best to call us to let us know you're coming (301-627-4662).
  After May, we are happy to offer a share of vegetables to any adult who works 4 hours or more. This "workshare" begins in May as soon as we start distributing vegetables (we are aiming for May 9).  There is no commitment, and you do not need to sign up in advance.  Simply show up to work any weekday between 8am and 4pm, or Saturday between 8:30am and 1pm.  There are more details on our website (clagettfarm.org) and of course, we will post any changes on this weblog, should they arise.

Live in Maryland? Write a Christmas card to your Governor!

This is the time of year when our fields are planted in young, green cover crops.  They add organic matter to the soil, retain the nitrogen from last season, and add some more, so we don’t have to spread fertilizers.  Don’t you wish all farmers did that?

Nitrogen pollution is a big problem in the Chesapeake Bay.  Two years ago Maryland committed to improving the 66 largest sewage treatment plants in Maryland. This one action will, when completed, remove close to half the nitrogen pollution entering the Bay from Maryland sources.  Congratulations!

So now it’s the farmers’ turn to reduce pollution from agriculture (another major source of nitrogen in the Bay).  The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (the organization that owns Clagett Farm), is asking Governor Erlich to budget $120 million to help farmers use Bay-friendly agricultural practices, such as planting cover crops in their fields and forest buffers along the streams.  That’s less than one half of one percent of the state’s budget.   That money also includes additional funds for farmland preservation. 

If you would like to read a more detailed description of this proposal, check out

www.cbf.org/mdag

In the meantime, write your Governor a Christmas card!  Ask him to fully fund agricultural conservation programs in the 2007 budget. 

Governor Robert Ehrlich, Jr.
Office of the Governor
State House
Annapolis, Maryland 21401-1925

Our members and volunteers have gone the extra mile to support our little farm, and I’m sure one big reason is that you want to encourage environmentally responsible farming practices and farmland preservation.  Well now is your big chance to tell the Governor what you think. 

Thanks everyone!  This means a lot to us!

Gleaning--what's available

It's that time of year when our members, worksharers, and friends can glean whatever remains from our fields.  Beginning tomorrow (Friday, 11/18) through Sunday afternoon, you can come to the farm anytime and harvest.  At the washing station we will have a map telling you where to find everything, and around the farm we will post signs to help guide you to the fields.   If you would like to come when we are there to help you, we will be around 9am-5pm Friday, 10am-2pm Saturday, and noon-3pm Sunday.  A small volunteer group will come Sunday afternoon to help us glean what's left for a soup kitchen. 

Here is a list of what is available to pick right now:

lettuce
spinach (very small; requires patience and good knees to harvest)
arugula (plenty)
spicy mix (plenty)
mizuna
red mustard
green mustard
turnip greens
collards
kale
small heads broccoli
tiny heads cauliflower
many immature heads cabbage
about 10 pounds small, slightly-soft sweet potatoes
about 20 pounds garlic bulbs
hakurei turnips
purple-top turnips
watermelon radishes
regular radishes ("cherry belle" and "easter egg")
jimmy nardello peppers (sweet, frying)
padron chiles (hot when larger than a golf ball)
lots of assorted, dried chiles scattering the ground where they were growing
dill
cilantro
garlic chives
oregano
mint
nasturtiums (peppery, edible flowers and leaves--some frost damage)
basil (doesn't win any prizes for appearance--frost damage)
anise hyssop (licorice flavored herb--great for hot tea! Some frost damage  )

Please be warned that many of the above items are scattered in distant fields.  These are items that were not harvested before because there was not enough to serve our hundreds of members, or it was so small or scattered it was not worth the time.  By it's nature gleaning requires some patience and a keen eye for what might be hidden in a field that looks cleaned out.  Please bring bags, and a knife will be helpful to harvest the small greens.  If you're hoping for a couple pounds of salad greens, expect to squat or crouch for 15 minutes or more.  Also, it's been cold and windy at times, so please dress appropriately for the weather, and wear comfortable shoes that you can get dirty.  The frost on the grass will get your feet cold and wet until mid-morning.

If you would like to surprise someone with a Thanksgiving or Christmas wreath, we will have some for sale.  Many include garlic, popcorn and chiles, so they are useful even after the holidays have passed. 

If we don't see you this weekend, have a terrific winter!

Festival plans in case of rain

We've heard there's a good chance of scattered showers on Saturday.  It's likely that it won't rain between noon and 3pm, but in case it does, we still plan to enjoy ourselves, although perhaps in a more intimate atmosphere.  If it's actively raining, the band, auction, and all the food will be moved into the Education barn.  We'll have kid's activities in the barn, as well.  And if anyone is interested, we'll be separating garlic cloves so they can be planted next week.  If it stops raining, we'll head back outside for the hayrides, bike tour, and games, as planned.  See you then!

Farm Festival next week!

Bring something to auction (closes at 2:30),
bring a bike to ride for the bike tour (2pm),
bring something to share for the potluck (noon to 2pm),
and bring your wallet, so you can bid for something in the auction!
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22nd  rain or shine

State of Chesapeake Agriculture

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation released a report on the state of this region's agriculture. Michael Heller, who has managed Clagett Farm for over twenty years now, was a project leader of the report. To mark its publication there was a news conference at the farm yesterday. To read what the Washington Post wrote about it, click here. To learn what the Chesapeake Bay Foundation says about the report and to download the report itself click on the following link, State of Chesapeake Agriculture 2005.

A little help wanted

   Lately we've noticed that our leftovers from the Saturday pick-up aren't getting donated as quickly as we would like because the agencies we serve don't have access to transportation and volunteers on Saturday evenings or Sunday mornings.  If anyone is willing to ferry some boxes of vegetables to a soup kitchen or homeless shelter on weekends, we might be able to get more of it into needy hands before it goes bad in our washing station (particularly tomatoes).  You can choose an agency near you or we'll link you with one we already work with.  We would be happy to count any hours of your help toward a work share. 
   Also, a Food Bank staff member and friend, Andrea Merritt, just moved to Austin Texas.  That's left us short-staffed at the Anacostia Farmers Market (3-7pm, Southeast DC).  If anyone would like to spend a few hours each Wednesday helping out at one of the farm stands re-selling some jams and sauces, or perhaps helping us with various errands during the market or closing down at the end, we would love the help.  And of course, that time could count toward a work share, as well.  The market is a 10-15 minute walk from the Anacostia metro.

Festival date set for October 22nd

Mark you calenders, folks!  We've set a date for our fall festival on the farm.  The steel drum band is booked to join us on Saturday October 22, 2005.  We'll have hay rides and a pot luck and who knows what else.  Everyone is invited!  If you have any ideas for fun things we should do this year, let us know.

Updates via email

We just started using a new free service called RssFwd. I suspect that many of you will find it convenient. By subscribing for email updates through RssFwd, within a few hours of any new Clagett Farm Notes post you will get an email with the contents of the post. If interested, click on the small RssFwd icon on the left upper corner of this weblog (right below the picture).

As most of you know, we used to carry Bloglet for similar reasons, but after a while Bloglet became very unreliable and then it simply stopped working for us. I assume that most of those who were subscribed to Bloglet would choose to subscribe to RssFwd, which, from I what I have seen so far, seems to be a superior service.