Clagett Farm Notes

CSA shares closed

As of April 26, 2005 our full-price shares for this season at all pick-up sites have filled up.  It took us a bit of time to be sure, since we had to finish plugging everyone's orders into the database.  We're terribly sorry we have to turn anyone down, so here are your other options:
1) Come to our farmstand at the Anacostia Farmers Market any Wednesday after June 1, 3-7pm. It's on 14th St, SE, between U and V Streets. This is a small, inexpensive market that could use your support.
2) Come for a work share!  You are welcome any Monday through Saturday.  We begin at 7:30-8am weekdays and 8:30-9am Satudays.  Four adult hours gives you a week of vegetables. 
3) Let us know that you are interested and we'll make sure you are alerted about shares for 2006 as soon as they are available. 

1st share postponed

We are postponing our first share a week due to the cool spring we have had this year.  Soil temperatures have stayed so low that although our crops are planted and healthy, they are growing very slowly.  We need an extra week for the strawberries to ripen, and the lettuce and spinach to size up.  Your first share will be May 17 (Dupont and Farm Tuesday), May 18 (Anacostia) and May 21 (Farm Saturday).  We'll call or email everyone to alert you sometime this week.  Thanks for your patience!

What's available to glean?

Gleaning begins tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday, from 9am-noon and 3-5pm both days.  Remember, this is when YOU do the harvesting.  The crops listed below are scattered in fields all around the farm.  We'll be headquartered in the washing station, delighted to direct you.  With a few exceptions, these greens and roots are not plentiful--a gleaner's job is to find what little remains of the things you want before they're covered in snow or dissolved in ice.  This is not a task for the hurried or impatient (or those with impatient children in tow).

Available in varying quantities...

Sweet potatoes, popcorn (LOTS), hakurei turnips (very small), broccoli leaves (delicious), broccoli florets (few), mustard greens, cabbages, red kale, collards, mint, oregano, parsley, cilantro, dill (a wee bit), spinach (a little), lettuce (even less), tat soi, turnip greens (plenty--they volunteered like crazy this year), watermelon radishes, arugula (lots), dandelion greens, hon tsai tai (a young, purple-veined salad green), beets (many, but very small).

Also, we're experimenting with making Christmas wreaths with some garlic bulbs we didn't use for seed.  We may try to sell you some.  Or if you'd rather, you can help us try to make them.  Or help us mulch the garlic field before it rains on Friday.  Fun for all!  See you there.

Election Day: You Have a Choice!

Dear shareholders, for many of you this Tuesday, November 2, is a share pick-up day. Perhaps (only perhaps) some of you are aware that the elections are also going to be held this Tuesday. Well, you have a real choice! You can either pick up your share as you usually do on Tuesdays or you can pick it up on Saturday. There is an added wrinkle for the Dupont Circle shareholders. If you choose to pick up on Saturday, you'll have to go to the farm itself between 1 and 4 PM.

If you are a Tuesday shareholder, please inform us in advance if you are not picking up on Tuesday because of time conflicts with the elections. This will help us in estimating how much to harvest on Tuesday and how much to save for Saturday. Our Dupont Circle stand closes promptly at 7 PM on Tuesday.

Thanks!

Shareholders picking up their shares at the farm a few Saturdays ago.

----------

A quick reminder: if you have not yet done so, please send us your completed survery. We have already received many of them, but the more surveys are completed the better.

Work shares

A "work share" is an option for people who would like to pay for their vegetables with labor instead of money. We've had lots of interest in our work shares this year, which is terrific. More hands for harvesting and weeding! Allow me to clarify some frequent points of confusion.

When?
You can come any day from Monday to Saturday. Weekdays we're now beginning at 7:30am and working until 3:30pm (I say that, but it never ends that early...). Weekends the work shares are in a strict 4-hour window from 9am-1pm. It is most convenient for us to have your help on Tuesday (you can show up as late as 11am) and Saturday mornings when we're harvesting, because we need the help, it's easy to incorporate new-comers into the harvest, and your share will be ready right when it's time for you to leave. If you'd like to come other days, it helps (but is not necessary) to call in advance so you will know where to find us on the farm. There's lots of work all the time, so don't be shy.

Your Reward
In return for four hours of your labor, you get one "share" of that week's harvest. It's generally about a grocery-bag full, which tends to feed between 2-4 adults for a week. If two adults work, you get two shares. You also get the priveledge of harvesting whatever you'd like from our you-pick list. In fact, our regular work sharers tend to get better shares because they become familiar with the farm and they know where to retrieve the delicious morsels that tend to be discarded or left behind in the fields (without, of course taking what we are saving for the future harvests). Also, work sharers and volunteers get special preference when it's time to hire our paid staff the following spring. Some of my best co-workers began as work sharers (and vice versa).

Your Physique
We appreciate your efforts regardless of your brute strength. If you're not sure if you're up to the job, give it a try--you might be surprised. It's hard work in the hot sun, but a little enthusiasm means a lot. Be clear with us if you have any health issues, and please do not do any work that might harm you. We will ask that you sign a liability release form, and you are NOT covered by workers' compensation as a volunteer, so be sure you are adequately covered by health insurance.

No Commitment
We're keeping a list of names with phone numbers and e-mails of interested individuals so we can contact you if there's a change of plans or if we are especially in need of help. But you don't need to sign up in advance or commit to certain days. We'll be happy if we see you, we'll survive if we don't.

Getting Here
Call or e-mail us for directions if you plan to get here by car. Also, the farm is accessible by bus from the Addison Road metro (the Blue line) on weekdays. On Saturdays, we are usually happy to pick you up at the Suitland metro station at 8:45am if you make arrangements with us in advance.

What to Bring
The most important thing to remember is your water bottle. We have lots of delicious, potable water to refill your bottle, but it's not available while we're in the field. Dress for the weather, and be sure to wear a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen if it might be sunny. Be prepared to get VERY DIRTY and VERY HOT. We work rain or shine, and if it's a harvest day, we work in the rain in the muddy fields. If it's not a harvest, we can work under cover. We have tools and gloves for you to use, but if you have a pocket knife, it can be handy. Also, if you have gloves you prefer, you might want to bring your own (our box of spare gloves does not offer a terrific selection).

Yoga classes at the farm

Our friend and frequent volunteer, Jeff Crespi, has offered to begin a yoga class on the farm if there is interest. We suspect that the best time would be Saturday at 4-5:30pm after the share pick-up. Jeff charges $8 per class, and we would need at least 6 more people to sign up to make it worth his trip. As one of his students for several years, I highly recommend it. How else could I stay flexible enough to pick all your greens? We're not taking payments yet--just drop us a line if you're interested.