Clagett Farm

Quick schedule update

Here we are, in the midst of our final week of shares!  Honestly, when we were in the middle of this year's drought, I never thought we could make it all the way to the end of the season with reasonably-sized shares.  It feels like a miracle. 

Our last share pick up will be this Saturday, November 10.
Next week (probably Tuesday) we will be harvesting strictly for donation, mostly to Salvation Army and Reston Interfaith.  If you would like to join us, we would love your help.  We're not sure yet which days we will be harvesting, so if you'd like to make sure you are coming to help harvest rather than mulch garlic, give us a call first at 301-537-3038.  Next week we will also be emailing you a survey to find out what you liked and didn't about your shares this past year. 

Next weekend, beginning November 16, you are welcome to the farm to glean whatever remains in the fields. There will at least be lots of greens and herbs, and I have been told more than once by members in years past that they were eating salads from our farm's greens all the way through December.  Do you really want to get caught buying salad greens from the supermarket for Thanksgiving?  That would be silly.  We will post what's available on this weblog on November 15th, so feel free to check here if you would like to know in advance what you plan to pick before you come.  We'll post maps and signs around the farm to help you find what you're looking for.

Then the farm staff will take a much-needed break.  We'll resume making plans for next year, putting everything away for the winter, fixing up the new greenhouse, and lots of other chores after Thanksgiving.  Then Rob and I are expecting a baby in mid-January.  We're anticipating that this might delay when we send all of our returning members an invitation to sign up for 2008 shares.  So look for that in February.  New members will be invited to join by April.   Then 2008 shares will begin in mid-May! 

So that's the plan, at least.  We'll see you soon, I hope!

Your farmer,
Carrie

Coffee for sale at Saturday's pick-up

Recently we met a coffee roaster in Baltimore who works directly with a couple of farmers in Ethiopia and Costa Rica.  They sell organic, fair-trade, shade-grown coffee, and we were impressed with the smooth flavor.  We thought you might appreciate being able to buy some good coffee beans when you pick up your produce, so we've ordered just a few bags for this weekend.  If you like the idea, we can continue offering coffee in the future.  Each 12-ounce bag is $10.00.  They will roast it on Thursday, and you'll get it on Saturday, so it's extremely fresh! 
    We're keeping a small margin to make it worth our trouble, but really we're selling this for your benefit, so do give us feedback to let us know if you like the taste, and appreciate the option to buy it here.  If you like these first few bags, we'll buy more to offer at all the pick-up sites in the future.  We would also be able to re-fill your bags with a full pound for the same price of $10. 
    The name of the roaster is Farm Direct Roaster, and you can find out more information about the coffee farms from their respective websites: www.kaffaforestestate.com and www.greenearthcoffee.net.
-Carrie

Looking back at 2006

by Carrie and Gail

Now that the 2006 season has ended, we thought it would be helpful to give you all a summary of how things went.

2006 Season Results: The Raw Numbers
77,474 pounds harvested
~    an increase of 9,119 pounds from 2005
~    an increase of 11,416 pounds from 2004

Distribution:
~    51% sold as full-priced shares to CSA members
~    7% earned by worksharers
~    45% distributed to low-income individuals (up from 36% in 2005)*.

The Share
~    27 weeks (an extra week from 2005)
~    average share was 7 pounds (down 1 pound from 2005)

2006 Season Results: Our Thoughts
Our goal was to distribute 50% of our harvest to low-income folks this year, so we got closer but did not quite reach it.  Even though we increased the number of total pounds harvested, the increase went more to low-income families which resulted in a lower per-week share average for CSA members. In the end, you received roughly the same amount of vegetables as last year, however, because we extended the share by one week.

It is clear to us that the average weekly share size this year was too small, and increasing the size and value of your share will be our primary focus for 2007.

Feedback from CSA Members- Thanks!
    As in previous years, many of you (63.2%) felt that a single share typically feeds 2 adults.  And most of you (85%) supplemented your share with other vegetables, such as onions, carrots and summer lettuce.  There were no items that a majority of you wanted less of or none at all. There were 11 items that most respondents wanted more: asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, corn, spinach, strawberries and sweet potatoes.

We had a total okra crop failure this year, and perhaps that means many of your prayers were answered.  As ever, this is a polarizing vegetable.  64% were happy that we got none at all while 36% of respondents wanted more.

Spinach and strawberries were the only items that no one wanted to get less of, which offers us one of those rare opportunities when we could please EVERYONE. Fruit (blueberries especially), onions, celery and brussel sprouts were the ones that ranked highest among new crops we should start growing next year.

And of the specific varieties that people prefered, all types of tomatoes were the stand-out favorites, especially Striped German, Black Prince and Garden Peach.  Among the heirloom tomatoes, the Striped German is a very poor producer and what we can harvest usually spoils before it gets to the pick-up.  But man, it sure is delicious.  During tomato season, it’s not a bad idea to plan on a picnic at the farm!  Picking your own tomatoes and eating them straight off the vine is one of the enjoyable moments of being a shareholder in a local farm; tomatoes will never taste the same once they’ve been put in a truck.

The vast majority of you appreciated our additional labeling this year, with some good suggestions.  My favorite comment was, “The kids enjoyed taste-testing different varieties. They tried veggies they wouldn't normally eat in the name of science.”

We heard loud and clear that many of you missed getting the weekly email about what was in the share.  We'll try this winter to iron out a system that allows you to easily choose what kinds of emails you get from us so no one's inbox fills with junk and everyone gets the information they need.  Bear with us!  On the opposite side of the communication spectrum, we're finally getting close to saturating the need for recipes.  There were several requests for more summer squash and kohlrabi recipes.

Most of you (70%) were satisfied with the quality of all your produce, but there was a significant number who were disappointed with the bugginess (11 respondents) and/or poor taste (6 respondents) of the sweet corn.  Sweet corn is a troublesome crop for organic growers because the best way to eliminate corn ear worms is to dab the corn silks at just the right time with Bt (an enzyme lethal to caterpillars but non-toxic to everything else) and horticultural oil.  This can be quite time consuming and expensive.  Corn also has a narrow window when it is sweet, so the timing can be tricky to make sure every share gets a fair amount of premium-quality ears.  Some years we're luckier than others.  Note, also, that conventional growers use seed treated with fungicide, so they can plant corn earlier in the season than we do.  Our suggestion is to join us for harvest on any Tuesday or Saturday around 7:30 or 8am during sweet corn season.  Corn is never sweeter than the moment after it's harvested, and a good harvester tests a few ears each morning just to be sure we're getting a good crop.  Fortunately, raw corn makes a great breakfast.

We got lots of good suggestions for improving you-pick for the coming year, including making more maps available and clippers and signs in the field.  Our own line drawings of the farm have been difficult for people to understand, so we might solicit the help of a professional artist.  There was also plenty of encouragement to include more items on the you-pick list, which is generally limited by what crops we are able to grow in excess, and how accessible their fields happen to be.

As for the pick-up sites, we concur with the suggestion that staff should wear nametags or some  identifying article of clothing so you all would know to whom to direct questions.  Most of you were quite positive about your experiences with us, although the biggest hassle was certainly getting to the pick-up site each week.

It sounds like there's also a feeling among some that we should have a spring event to help you all get to know each other and get oriented with the farm and fields.  That's a great idea.  And we'll also work out a way that you can contact other members in your area before shares begin so you can coordinate pick-ups.

The End
    All good things come to an end, and this email is the official end of the 2006 Clagett Farm CSA season. From all of us at From The Ground Up! CSA, we just want to say thanks again for sharing this experience with us and making Clagett farm part of your lives. The direct relationship between grower and consumer is a rich one that CSA’s strive to recover. Have a great winter! We hope to see you all again next May.

*Last year we would have told you that we had to distruted 42% to low-income individuals, but that's because we used to include the food distributed to worksharers.  Since not all worksharers are low-income, we made two separate categories this year.

Clagett Farm Festival

photos by Roshani Kothari and Fred Delventhal, text by Kathleen Davis

About 125 friends and family attended the annual Fall Festival at the Clagett Farm on Saturday, October 21, 2006. Revelers were treated to lots of activities including hayrides, pumpkin painting, corn holing, a silent auction, and a potluck lunch. Music was provided by The Clagett Farm String Band. And of course, regular CSA shareholders picked up their weekly share of vegetables and the CSA made its regular donation of vegetables to a local charity.

Carrie Vaughn welcomed everyone to the Festival and invited all to share in the potluck lunch and hot apple cider.

The Clagett Farm String Band gave its first performance at the Festival and delighted the crowd with toe tapping bluegrass and old time music. Band members are Craig Highfield (mandolin), Bart Merrick (bass), Rick Truett (hollow bodied electric guitar), and John Shields (rhythm guitar). Phyllis Saroff sat in with the band on 5-string banjo.

Susan Sanders, a CSA member, donated many jars of homemade jam, marmalade, chutney, and relish from Clagett Farm vegetables.

The silent auction raised seven hundred dollars, which is much more than any previous year.  That extra income helps us give away more food.  Friends generously donated many beautiful items for the auction including a hand painted silk scarf, a tea time basket of homemade goods, a soy candle, hand crocheted scarves, a painting of the Farm, theatre tickets, and framed photographs of the Farm. Special services for nurturing the mind-body connection - health counseling and yoga classes -were also donated for the auction.

The Festival was a big hit with kids. Pumpkin painting was particularly popular. The hayrides around the Farm were lots of fun. The kids also had a great time riding the bikes around the barns, making scarecrows, and playing ‘corn holing’ with Kenji.

A new woodland trail on the Farm was walked for the first time during the Festival.

Rita Calvert was on hand with her exhibit, “Working Food and Farmscapes”, and free samples of delicious Lady Calvert’s Chesapeake Popcorn. Rita also had some extra treats of chips, salsa, and guacamole from Chipolte’s Restaurant.

An informal poll of the merry makers at the Festival indicated that EVERYONE was having fun. The poll results also provided the following information:

Favorite activities on the Farm: (listed in order of popularity)

•   Strawberry picking
•   Playing in the sand tires
•   Talking to the cows
•   Chasing butterflies
•   Picking flowers
•   Harvesting basil
•   Weeding

Favorite vegetable, herb, or fruit: (listed in order of popularity)

•   Strawberries (especially in June)
•   Tomatoes
•   Kale
•   Sweet potatoes
•   Kohlrabi
•   Watermelons
•   Hot peppers
•   Okra
•   Zucchini
•   Basil 

The Fall Festival 2006 was a fine day at the Clagett Farm – dear friends, sunny skies, lots of fun. A good time was had by all.

Pumpkins and Tomatoes

This week was “pumpkin week” in the share..... everyone, especially the children, enjoyed the collection of jack-o-lantern sized pumpkins.

This week is also the last week that tomatoes will be in the share. The plants still have many green and some ripe tomatoes available. So starting this Saturday, September 23, 2006, all the tomatoes will move onto the you-pick list.  On Saturday (or after) please feel free to check out the two tomato fields.

CSA shares closed

<p>As of April 26, 2005 our full-price shares for this season at all pick-up sites have filled up.&nbsp; It took us a bit of time to be sure, since we had to finish plugging everyone's orders into the database.&nbsp; We're terribly sorry we have to turn anyone down, so here are your other options:<br />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.<br />2) Come for a work share!&nbsp; You are welcome any Monday through Saturday.&nbsp; We begin at 7:30-8am weekdays and 8:30-9am Satudays.&nbsp; Four adult hours gives you a week of vegetables.&nbsp; <br />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.&nbsp; </p>

1st share postponed

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

What's available to glean?

<p>Gleaning begins tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday, from 9am-noon and 3-5pm both days.&nbsp; Remember, this is when YOU do the harvesting.&nbsp; The crops listed below are scattered in fields all around the farm.&nbsp; We'll be headquartered in the washing station, delighted to direct you.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; This is not a task for the hurried or impatient (or those with impatient children in tow).</p> <p>Available in varying quantities...</p> <p><strong>Sweet potatoes</strong>, <strong>popcorn</strong> (LOTS), <strong>hakurei turnips</strong> (very small), <strong>broccoli leaves</strong> (delicious), <strong>broccoli florets</strong> (few), <strong>mustard greens</strong>, <strong>cabbages</strong>, <strong>red kale</strong>, <strong>collards</strong>, <strong>mint</strong>, <strong>oregano</strong>, <strong>parsley</strong>, <strong>cilantro</strong>, <strong>dill</strong> (a wee bit), <strong>spinach</strong> (a little), <strong>lettuce</strong> (even less), <strong>tat soi</strong>, <strong>turnip greens</strong> (plenty--they volunteered like crazy this year), <strong>watermelon radishes</strong>, <strong>arugula </strong>(lots), <strong>dandelion greens</strong>, <strong>hon tsai tai</strong> (a young, purple-veined salad green), <strong>beets</strong> (many, but very small).</p> <p>Also, we're experimenting with making Christmas wreaths with some garlic bulbs we didn't use for seed.&nbsp; We may try to sell you some.&nbsp; Or if you'd rather, you can help us try to make them.&nbsp; Or help us mulch the garlic field before it rains on Friday.&nbsp; Fun for all!&nbsp; See you there.</p> <p></p>

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 <strong>not</strong> 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!

<a href="http://kolya.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/saturday_pickup.jpg"><img alt="Saturday_pickup" title="Saturday_pickup" src="http://kolya.typepad.com/clagettfarm/images/saturday_pickup.jpg" width="350" height="250" border="0" /></a>

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

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.

<strong>When?</strong>
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.

<strong>Your Reward</strong>
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).

<strong>Your Physique</strong>
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.

<strong>No Commitment</strong>
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.

<strong>Getting Here </strong>
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.

<strong>What to Bring</strong>
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.