Root Down Farm Ramblings

There is no pick up this week for you Winter Share members, but there is a lot goings ons.

If you are on the wait list and received a sign up email from us please respond ASAP there are currently 4 more spots available for 2021. If you have not received an email from us to sign up it is because we are not to your name yet...and I'm sorry for that. We had the best share renewal rate we've ever had and simply do not have as many open spots for new comers. This makes me sad, but also we don't really have a choice. We are limited by space: physical space as far as prime farmland, u-pick fields, and parking space (no we are not going to take away more farmland for parking spaces). Anyhoo, I am sorry for not being able to accommodate everyone.

We also just finished "attending" via Zoom, the NOFA-NY Winter Conference. We gleaned a little from all the sessions we attended, so we are already incorporating what we learned into our upcoming season.

Also the friggin' Bills lost last night. It was ugly, and I could barely watch. I guess now that I don't have to think about them in the Super Bowl anymore that frees up some mental space ;)

The last Winter Share pick up is next week, so look for an email from us at the end of this week.

Onwards and upwards

Did you know that in late March/early April of last year there was enough toilet paper on shelves of stores, in people's homes, and in the works to wipe every single person's behind? It's true. However, something sparked a panic insinuating that somehow COVID miraculously overnight caused the whole toilet paper supply chain to stop! People bought way too much TP and then some were left without. Now said TP hoarders still have their hoards, but I'm not sure they learned a lesson. And what lesson would that be? Simple: if we all looked out for each other there would be enough. Look at each other as family, and then put that family above self. Simple. But it only works if most everyone buys in... I'm in.

This week we started signing up new members for the 2021 growing season. People on Wait List "A" all received emails with info and how to sign up. If you did not receive an email yet it is because we haven't gotten to your place in line yet. If you cannot wear a mask to the farm please do not sign up, and then please re-read the first paragraph of this post.

There is a Winter Share this week and it will include: carrots, beets, potatoes, winter squash, celery root, turnips, radishes, onions, kale, kohlrabi, and cabbage, as well as head lettuce and other goodies from the farm!

The puzzle exchange in the share room is going great! Feel free to bring a puzzle and/or take a puzzle while you're here picking up your veggies.

This is another "off week" for our Winter Shares, but it is an "on week" for us for sure! We got the seeds for this whole coming season ordered already, now it's time for all the tax and payroll loose ends to be tied and delivered (a part of owning a farm I dislike doing). We also have an immense amount of planning to continue from our end-of-the-year meetings we had. It includes ways to continue to improve and make our work easier...which somehow always feels like we are climbing to the top of a mountain only to find it was just a small plateau on the side of an even bigger mountain. These planning sessions remind me of that Price Is Right 'Cliffhangers' Game where the Swiss yodeling music plays as the little man climbs the mountain only to succeed and win the prize or fall off the mountain. We'll see which is it this season..haha.

We are looking to the future with hope for what 2021 may bring. We just got informed that all essential food producers are in tier 1b of the COVID vaccine distribution which means soon everyone showing up to work to grow and pack food for the masses will be able to access a vaccine. This is great news. I am trying not to think too much about our days getting "back to normal" because I don't want to waste too much mental space daydreaming, but this is a step toward being able to be inside a packed building with my fellow community members enjoying each others company. How wonderful it will be... eventually.

Snapping back to reality, we are also making sure to really make some downtime to honestly just do nothing. It's an important part of resting and renewing for the season coming. I always say I hibernate during these months. Plus we gotta be ready for the coming 'Roaring 20's' that will inevitably happen once we get rid of COVID!

**We will be emailing the wait list for this upcoming season soon**

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Steve and I spent our first Christmas together with just the two of us. That's right, every single Christmas since we met has been spent with family of some sort somewhere. Now if you live around your whole entire family and married someone who's whole family is also from around here, then this may sound odd to you. My closest family member lives 5 hours away. Steve's closest family member lives 3.5 hours away. So in a non-pandemic world we travel, because though 5 hours isn't that bad in a car, once you drive it you're staying for at least one night. So we travel and stay on air mattresses, small old beds, floors, and couches, and though it is great to spend time with loved ones it is by no means relaxing or rejuvenating. Fun, but after a long season not very restful.

So this year we stayed at home. It is also the first Christmas we've ever spent with our dogs Arlo and Linus, and I think they loved it, too because they got their own Christmas dinner. In a nod to Steve's late Grandma Rosemary we made lasagna on Christmas Eve (think back to when his Grandma had all her grandchildren at her house and had to feed them all the night before the big Christmas dinner...so pasta ;). We made it without noodles and instead did layers of roasted parsnips, celeriac, and cabbage. Layers and layers and layers of roasted veg with cheese and our own tomato sauce in between each.

Then for Christmas Day we had a ham steak (because why would 2 people need an entire ham!), kale salad, and halupki... another nod to Steve's Grandma's Christmas traditions. Halupki is very, very similar to galumpki, but Slovakian not Polish. Christmas cookies and homemade fruit cake for desert.

It was enough leftovers to make it all the way to New Year's Eve, which we usually spend together. We do not traditionally go out to eat on this night so we have our own tradition of going to Hayes' Seafood market and buy what's fresh and looks good that day. We then make our own pasta to eat with it. This year we made linguini with our own basil pesto topped with a mixture of our shallots, olives, and peppers with some spices mixed in next to a swordfish steak. We like to put Chambord in our Champagne so we had that too. Dessert was chocolate and more cookies of course.

So all in all we ate too much, slept amazingly well and were even able to do personal projects during this time, as well as read entire books (what!!??) and build an ungodly amount of puzzles. Our Christmas presents are still trickling in, which is kinda fun. And for our family we bought gift certificates to their local restaurants and bakeries. Which as I type this it making me want to order take out soon!

Anyway, that's what we did and we had the most relaxing holiday in a very long while. We also got to see family via Zoom so we saw and talked to everyone we would've. Of course we didn't get to play board games with them, which is sometimes the most fun, but we will be able to do that soon as well. I hope all you all were able to find peace and happiness at some point this holiday.

As for the Winter Share (oh yeah that's what this post is supposed to be about) it will include: carrots, beets, celery root, potatoes, winter radishes, rutabagas, turnips, parsnips, kale, cabbage, winter squash, leeks, kohlrabi, onions, bok choy, and spinach, head lettuce, and even more!

This coming week will be the 5th of 8 Winter Share pick ups, but the last pick up of 2020. It is, unfortunately, going to be COLD this week! We are in the midst of insulating and heating our share distribution room in the barn. We are doing this because the root cellar space that we would normally retreat to in the cold is too small a space for COVID safe distancing and also only has one entrance/exit. So we have taken on the task of insulating the share room already, but the permanent heater will not be hung in time for this week's pick up. Make sure to bundle up and prepare to wait outside the barn if we are too busy inside. Despite the pandemic ("pan" meaning "all" or "everyone of a group", just another reminder this is not just happening to you, it is happening to all of us :), the shares have been our best ever. This share will be the biggest one of the Winter season because we are sending you off for 2 weeks. Of course this was initially built into the farm calendar because usually people are traveling, but I'm gonna say it's now built in for collective reflection.

We here at the farm are reflecting on the whole past season as we are planning for 2021. I know I mentioned this last week, but it is a long process that includes listing all of our accomplishments and disappointments over the past season. These ended up ranging from "great Fall cauliflower harvest" to "no one on the crew getting COVID" to "potato digger frustrations and time wasted with it". From these lists we set goals and also set a plan for making sure our disappointments aren't listed two years in a row. We also make changes to the seeds we order and the dates seeded as we see fit. That process alone takes about a month to complete before we can start ordering seed. But after all the reflection we are thankful for all of you and all of our crew.

On a different note, if you noticed we started a puzzle exchange at the farm. There are a few guidelines including puzzles must be 500 pieces or more, all pieces must be included, and no children's puzzles please. If you pick one up plan on bringing one back at some point.

So this is what's in the share this week: carrots, beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, kabocha squash, parsnips, cabbage, kohlrabi, rutabegas, onions, bok choy, fennel, apples from Bittner-Singer, as well as leeks, kale crowns, lettuce mix, and butternut squash for everyone.

The remaining Winter Share pick up dates are:

Dec. 15th and 17th

Jan. 5th and 7th

Jan. 19th and 21st

Feb. 2nd and 4th

There is absolutely no share pick ups this week. It is the first relaxing week we will have since we were all in quarantine. I'm excited thinking about all the stuff I'm gonna do, including crop planning for 2021, building a puzzle, and watching movies among other things. Soon hunting season will be over so hiking will be on the list soon, too.

For those who noticed changes in the share room this last week we are in the middle of insulating the share room in the barn so we can heat it come January and February. We are doing this because we usually go into the root cellar for Wintertime share distribution, but the space is too small for COVID safety. There is also only one way in and one way out so it really isn't a good option during a global pandemic (not that there could ever be a pandemic these days that didn't include the whole world, but I like to remind everyone that we are not the only ones living the pandemic).

So come January we will have the share room in the barn heated and will have watched all 8 of the Harry Potter movies. The 2021 season will all be planned and Steve and I might be a few pounds heavier ;)

Oh but we do have 1 more share pick up this month next week. It will be the last of the bigger sized shares for the Winter because afterwards we go on an even longer break!

Remaining Winter Share dates:

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I hope you all did too! We had 2 Zoom calls and we got to see people we wouldn't normally see, which was awesome. I have cousins in Alaska, Oregon, Michigan, and aunts and uncles in Michigan and Illinois and we all got to see each other this year. And we also got to see Steve's family which we never see on Thanksgiving because we are always in Michigan! This will be a Thanksgiving to remember, and I know that the reason is a global pandemic so of course I am not happy about that, but it made me think of the other memorable Thanksgivings I've had.

Plus we had amazing food, too. We made a chicken instead of a turkey. We had mashed potatoes with parsnips and yogurt, roasted carrots, stuffing, and kale and napa salad. I also made a pumpkin apple pie because I wanted both kinds, but didn't want to make 2 pies for 2 people. Then the next day I made biscuits out of the leftover mashed potatoes and biscotti out of the leftover baked pumpkin (which was butternut squash).

But now that we have all collectively eaten too much it's time for another share pick up. This week's share will include: potatoes, carrots, beets, squashes, celeriac, salad turnips and radishes, fennel, parsnips, arugula, scallions, onions, bok choy, kale and leeks, cabbage, kabocha squash, and lettuce mix for everyone.

Yes, the 3rd Annual Thanksgiving Market at the Farm will be on Tuesday the 24th from 1:00 to 4:00 in the barn. We set up the barn like a farmer's market and sell our produce a-la-carte for your Thanksgiving table or your fridge. Bring cash or check (no cards) to pay for your grub. Everyone is required to wear a mask covering their nose and mouth and observe social distancing guidelines in order for all of us to be able to celebrate come Thanksgiving.

**I feel like I may need to state the obvious: if you are in quarantine or have had direct contact with anyone with COVID please do not come to the farm**

If you would rather us shop for you please call or text us your order and we can bag your order for you and you can pick it up after 4:00pm. If you would rather email us your order that is fine but please do it by Monday the 23rd and not the day of the event.

We will have: potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, parsnips, celery root, butternut squash, pie pumpkins, beets, rutabegas, turnips, leeks, scallions, kale, lettuce mix, salad radishes, spinach, arugula, mustard greens, tot soi, bok choy, cabbage, ginger (frozen), cauliflower, and broccoli. We will also have apples from Bittner-Singer Orchards available.

The Winter Share has another pick up this week from 3:00 to 6:00. It is the last pick up before Thanksgiving. Usually it is a big lead up to sending all you off for big celebrations and for us to head off to Michigan to visit my family. Instead, things aren't going to be as big of a hoop-la this year. Which isn't a sad statement for us to make since I feel steadfast in my duty to keep my family and my community safe, and I feel a great sense of pride saying that.

We go to Michigan every Thanksgiving to see my mother, my sisters (who drive from the Hudson Valley of NY and from Northern New Jersey), my aunts and uncles, and some cousins (from Chicago, Detroit, and Western Michigan). My mother cancelled Thanksgiving this year, which makes perfect sense to me given that we all pack into her house and sit and watch the Lions play then all pack into her dining room to eat. It would be a perfect situation for COVID to spread. This is the only time of year we see my mom, but instead we are all going to do a Zoom call.

COVID isn't spread by random people passing each other in the grocery store, or waiting in line at the bank...all with masks mind you. It is spread by being inside with people for a long period of time without wearing masks i.e. in your homes. It is spread by younger people going out with friends and hanging out inside for long periods of time without masks. So this makes Holidays difficult. And we all have to make difficult decisions sometimes. But I've already heard 2 stories just last week of COVID spreading amongst families, because that's who you spend the most time with, indoors, without masks.

As for Steve and I, we are already making a menu for our Thanksgiving on the farm for 2 adults and 2 dogs. It won't be the same, but we will undoubtedly remember it for the rest of our lives. Good thing we will have fresh produce to celebrate with. This week's share will include: carrots, beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, leeks, radishes, salad turnips, purple top turnips, parsnips, broccoli, cauliflower, greens, kale, fennel, scallions, onions, bok choy, and butternut squash and lettuce for everybody. There will also be apples from Bittner-Singer Orchards. As you know ALL THE VEGETABLES in the share grown by us!

**There will be a Thanksgiving Market at the farm again this season on Monday the 23rd. Look for more info soon!

This year's Winter Share is already looking different than last year's share...no, not because there is a global pandemic, but because this week's weather has been down right amazing! Last year this week it snowed and then the temperatures dipped below freezing for 5 straight days. Let's just say that that changes things for a farmer ;). So we still have lots-o-green- things this week. So make sure to grab those greens and soak em up while the sun stays out because once the days get really short and the cold moves in the greens will be gone (other than the kale and head lettuce). This great weather also helps us get a jump on next season. Steve is spreading compost on our early 2021 fields right now and also doing some more field work. I really like it when November acts it's age: it is a month in Fall, not Winter!

Anyway, this is what will be in this week's Winter Share: carrots, beets, winter squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, radishes, cauliflower, broccoli, parsnips, scallions, greens, fennel, onions, bok choy, and kale, leeks, and lettuce for everyone!

Please remember that if you are under the weather or have traveled recently to please call in your share and pick it up after the share room has closed. There is a big uptick in new COVID cases in our county and we want everyone to stay safe while getting their shares. *Info in the email we sent you Winter Shares*

**PLEASE NOTE: Winter Share pick up hours are from 3:00 to 6:00**

Woohoo. Here we come Winter Share! The good news is we have harvested more vegetables for the wintertime than ever before. The bad news is it's about to get cold. Everyone who has signed up for the Winter Share was sent an email with additional info about the share (please don't tell me you didn't get it, just check your spam folder and save our email address in your address book ;).

There is info in there about our COVID protocols for the Winter Share. They are an extension of the same protocols for the Summer Share, like you have to always wear a mask at the farm (duh), call or text during share hours if you have traveled to or been visited by anyone in the listed quarantine states in order to have your share bagged for you so you can pick it up after 6:00 when the share room is closed. Oh, and please do not come to the farm if you are sick in any capacity at all. Just call or text during regular share hours in order to get a share bagged for you that you can pick up after 6. You know, the same stuff we have been practicing all season long. Also, if you are voting on Tuesday and run into long lines that may prevent you from getting your share please call or text and let us know so we can accommodate you.

We are continuing these safety measures because we are essential workers and we want to be able to continue growing and distributing food to everyone. Obviously we want to keep you all safe, too, so you can in turn keep your family safe.

This week has been a cold and wet one, but the forecast next week is coming up roses! The first Winter Share will include: carrots, beets, small winter squashes, potatoes, radishes, cauliflower, broccoli, kohlrabi, cabbage, scallions, fennel, bok choy, greens, as well as fresh ginger, spinach, and head lettuce for everyone.

Thanks to all our members who have renewed for next season! We have already met our average renewal rate and it looks like we will potentially have our highest member retention rate this year once all the stragglers get their renewal forms to us. So thanks for all that support and we are happy you all enjoyed this year's season so much!

This is the breather week we needed so bad last year so that we built it into this season. Last year we had CSA pick ups from the end of April thru the week of Thanksgiving (counting the Spring, Summer and Winter shares). It was too much to then also get everything else done that we need to do before the Winter weather sets in.

We are taking this week to harvest everything from the fields that cannot withstand a deep freeze. We are also mulching out garlic and planting a few other things we are planning on overwintering and harvesting next year. Putting the farm to bed if you will, plus major Fall clean up, plus more bulk harvests means we are in for a busy week. This is why it is easier to focus on essential work needing to be done at this crucial point in our growing season without additionally having to plan, harvest, and distribute a share. It looks like we even might get a little snow at the end of the week (emphasis on 'little' because it better be :).

It is also a good time for the farm to collectively reflect on the season so we can make sure to build on it.

For all you Winter Share members, we'll see you in a week.

Wowee we made it to the final Summer Share pick up. This season's final pick up is actually a share and a half so it'll fill your fridge for sure. It is also time to bring us your renewal form for 2021. We sent out another email to current members with a link to the renewal form, but we still have them available in the share room as well. Of course you could just send them to us via snail mail as well, but just make sure to let us know you are renewing so we don't accidentally give your spot to someone on the wait list. 

As for all you Winter Share peeps, the Winter Share will start the first week of November (which means there is a week between the end of the Summer Share and the start of the Winter Share).

As for us, we've been harvesting with all our might. Planning around our Summer Share harvests, wholesale harvests, and weekly chores in order to get everything else into the root cellar or cooler before we get a first legitimate snow. We've gotten all the sweet potatoes and potatoes out, half the carrots, and half the beets, and most of the parsnips in, but there's lots more to go. Good thing this Fall's weather has been A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. We're lucky for that, but it's looking like this week is going to turn on the faucet, unfortunately. For all you people who aren't on Instagram, but want to check out pictures from what's happening on the farm, click on the camera icon at the top of this page.

As for the FINAL Summer Share, it will include: winter squashes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, cauliflower, onions, salad turnips and radishes, celery, radicchio, kohlrabi as well as butternut squash, cabbage, leeks, kale, and greens for everyone.

The final fruit share will include apple cider, apples and pears.

**CURRENT MEMBERS: Don't forget to renew your share before the end of the season (which is next week).**

That's right, there are 2 more weeks of the Summer Share season, and what an amazing harvest we've had! Yes there were obstacles (many, many of them this year), but we've developed a flexible and resilient field plan and given the successes of the season it looks like it was a great plan. As the Summer season draws to an end the feeling is bittersweet for us. We are proud of our work, and our community, and still harvesting for you all. But we are simultaneously breathing a sigh of relief that the season is almost over. In the back of my mind remains all the work that is yet to be done before we can officially 'sit back', but at least I have some time for myself by this point in the year. Phew.

Now that I laid that out, it's already time to start planning for next year. That's why we ask for renewals now because we are going to start amending said field plan for 2021 soon, then comes budget planning, then comes seed ordering which all happen by the New Year. I know some of this may sound like I'm explaining how 'busy' we are. Everyone is busy. That is not the point. The point is I think that some people assume what we do is somehow magical. It all just happens. Instead what just happens is a lot of forethought and hard work. We even had someone talking to us about their child's job on a farm, "not like ours; a real farm." As farmers it's mind boggling to us how little people have thought about where their food comes from. I don't blame this person for what could be interpreted as an insult, I blame them for their ignorance about their own food system. I blame them for thinking that farms that grow produce aren't farms, or farms that sell direct to customers instead of a middle man are not farms, or farms that don't look like what Old McDonald should look like aren't farms. Among the many things that COVID has taught us one of them should be that local food security is very important. Root Down Farm is part of that local food system.

Alright, now back to the matter at hand. This week's share will include: winter squashes, beets, carrots, fennel, maybe some broccoli and cauliflower, sweet peppers, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad turnips and radishes, radicchio, celery, and leeks and pie pumpkins for everyone.

The fruit share will include apples and pears.

Lots going on as always this time of year. So **Don't forget to renew your share, current CSA members, for the 2021 growing season** You all received an email last week with a link to the form and payment information. You could also grab a form at this week's share pick up and fill it out in your car or at home at bring it back with your payment. NOW IS THE TIME to renew your share!! We open up the share to people on the wait list after the season is over...which is in 3 weeks! So don't lose your spot.

That being said, we will send the email reminder again the weekend before the last Summer Share pick up which is the week of the 20th. So Tuesday's last pick up is the 20th and Thursday's last pick up is the 22nd. We are so thankful for all your support as well as the bounty these fields continue to provide for our community. How precious that layer of top soil is for sustaining all of us. It's a gift that we should all continue to fight to protect.

A little side note: I have what some are terming 'mask fatigue'. This is normal. I am sick of the on-then-off-then-on again dance I take part in every work day here at the farm. Our crew is required to wear masks at work while working closely with others or when we are inside rooms with each other. This coupled with my allergies and asthma this time of year can make things difficult. But I am still doing it in spite of my discomfort because it works. So if you are experiencing mask fatigue like I am remember that wearing them is worth the effort. And we will one day not have to do it. But for now it is worth keeping each other safe and healthy. Plus there is now the added bonus that cold and flu season won't be as bad as predicted because of mask use and social distancing. There. Glass is half full.

This week's share will include: winter squashes, beets, carrots, fennel, cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, eggplant, onions, kale, greens, celery, radishes, tomatoes, plus brussels sprouts and head lettuce for all.

The fruit share will include apples and pears and plums.