How About A Winter CSA?

Jeff’s latest project is a winter CSA, running from the first Monday in January for 20 weeks to the middle of May.  The main CSA season always starts the day after Memorial Day, which means next year’s  main CSA season begins on May 31st.  That means there is leeway to work with if the weather turns bad.  Preparations are already being made and materials bought to protect the crops through the winter.
There are a couple of considerations you should be aware of as you think about this.  1) Most of the winter CSA will be very much like what we are getting now.  Butternuts, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, greens, and root veggies will make up most of the share each week.  2) We are only offering the single share size. 3) We are only offering 30 shares this first winter.  With over 160 current CSA members, that means most of you will miss out on this opportunity.  4) Participation in the winter CSA has absolutely no bearing on your membership in the primary CSA for 2011.  As in the past, slots for the 2011 season will be made available to all 2010 members first, before I sign up any new members.
What we are looking for are 30 hearty, consistent people, willing to participate in this experiment to see how it works out.  Some of the flexibility we exhibit during the main part of the season will be hard to maintain.  With only 30 people, we can’t pro-rate the month every time you miss a pick-up, there are too few people to pick up the slack.  While the day and location will remain the same, we will be cutting the hours of the pickup down to a two-hour window.  Which two hours can be decided upon once we have a specific group to consider, but as it gets dark early in the winter, earlier seems better than later, maybe 4-6pm.  Depending on schedules, we might even consider 3-5, but that’s just a thought.
Now that this is being announced to all, I’m afraid this has to be a first come, first served situation.  Even if you are one of the first 30 to sign up, we will need January’s payment on your last day of the main season (be it the 12/13 or 12/20) to demonstrate your commitment and make sure we have 30 people there on 1/3.  Each month’s fee will be charged by how many weeks are in the month, so January will be $100, February $80, etc.  You will not be charged if we cancel a pick-up due to weather or lack of product.
On a side note, if anyone needs wood for your fireplace or wood stove, Jeff will also be selling wood, sustainably harvested off the farm.  As usual, you can let me know via email or on the CSA check-in sheets.  Thanks everyone, see you at the pick-up!

This Week’s Harvest:
Mustard, Kale, Turnips, Butternut Squash, Radishes, Arugula, Mizuna, Tatsoi, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Parsley