News From Hunters' Greens CSA Farm

This season feels like we're getting off to a solid early start. The garlic crop looks great, more than a foot tall and virtually weed free since we weeded in January. The dry weather has allowed us to work up the fields for the spring vegetables, while we leave cover crops to continue growing on the summer vegetable ground. The first planting of peas is about an inch high, while the second planting is just poking shoots through the surface. We've planted some short rows of Walla Walla onions, and seeded two long rows of the sweet Mokum carrots. We've never got carrots in this early before. Carrots need well worked soil, and it is usually too wet to do that this early. The catalog suggests around April 1, so we fudged it a little.

Another reason for the early start is the inspiration that having another farmer on the property has provided. Jim has always envied how early Brenda Millar of Rosemattel CSA gets crops harvested, and this year we get to watch it happen. Brenda's passion seems to really be for growing things, so she is chomping at the bit the minute the sun peeks out. She already has all the ground we've allotted her tilled up with her little "pony" tiller, and is looking for spaces to interplant between the rows of existing crops. Brenda is a much more savvy composter than we are, and uses the compost as a mulch to retain water, reduce compaction and feed her plants (which explains the lovely tilth in her garden beds). Jim has never been much of a mulcher and tills organic matter into the soil, prior to planting. It will be interesting to watch our two systems side by side.

It is of course the time of anxiously waiting for new members to sign up. We're approaching half full with two months to go.

So that's the news from the farm. We'll keep you posted.

Diane & Jim Hunter, greens@huntersgreens.com
Hunters' Greens CSA, http://huntersgreens.com
Brush Prairie, WA. (360) 256-3788

Hunters' Greens CSA 2010 Shares Available NOW!

Dear Folks,

Just a quick note in case you might be interested in our 2010 Community Supported agriculture shares. Details are at huntersgreens.com. This year's shares are $450. The winter share will be $100. A couple changes from the past are that we no longer deliver to Fisher's Landing and our delivery hours in uptown Vancouver start an hour earlier at 5:00 p.m. Wednesdays.

Hoping all is well with you.

Diane & Jim Hunter, greens@huntersgreens.com
Hunters' Greens CSA, http://huntersgreens.com
Brush Prairie, WA. (360) 256-3788

Spoken & Written Word Services Available From Local CSA Farmers

Hello Community Members!

On behalf of two local community supported agriculture farmers, we would like to present to you our public service outreach and article writing services at no charge! Seasonal eating on a local level is becoming more and more popular yet many folks do not know how to get in touch with the all of the options local csa farmers have to offer. We would like to share with your group/organization to illustrate a version of community supported agriculture and how that ties in to the farming viability of the Clark County areas your members may not be aware of.

Feel free to return this email or give us a call to find out how we would are able to tie in a monthly article for your monthly or quarterly newsletters and 20 minute presentation of what a CSA farm operation is. We will also include the details of efforts and benefits behind it all.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Sincerely,

Brenda Millar and Jim Hunter
Rosemattel's and Hunters Greens CSA Farmers
(360) 576-9767

2010 VSA Shares and CSA Coffee Talk w/ Rosemattel's CSA & Five Star Farms

Open House CSA Farm Produce Subscription Information Night Every Monday of November at 8806 NE 159th Street Battle Ground WA 98604. Learn how your subscription to a CSA farm is healthy for your family and the "growing" community! By supporting your local Clark County Farmerettes you are keeping agriculture alive! Free admission!

Free coffee or tea and take home an organically grown winter squash. Other farm products available for purchase as well.

Don't have time for an open house? Already know what a CSA is?

Also accepting payment plans for 2010 CSA Season! Pick up days are as follows:
Monday Afternoon at 159th farm from 1-3
Monday evenings at Barberton Grange 4:30-5:30
Wednesday Afternoon from 2-4
Friday Afternoon from 2-4
Saturday at BG Farmers Market located at 199th and 503 (BG Cinemas Shopping Center) 9-3

For pricing and harvest week details, please see
rosemattelscsa.com
fivestarfarms.biz

Wishing You Had Signed Up For A CSA This Season?

Well you're in luck! The growing season is just starting to ramp up and there is plenty of time left to enjoy the bounty of our awesome Southwest Washington CSA farms. Here is a short list of a few CSAs that still have space for one or two more shareholders.


Dancing Crane - Battle Ground - SHARES AVAILABLE
Bernie Crane - 360-687-1210
incana@teleport.com


Gee Creek Farm - Ridgefield - SHARES AVAILABLE
Lyle Stanley - 360-887-0463
www.geecreekfarm.com

Gus & Co. - Ridgefield - SHARES AVAILABLE
April Jones - 360-601-6671
www.gusandco.org

Providence House Farm - LaCenter - SHARES AVAILABLE
Tammy Woltersdorf - 360-904-2578
providencehousefarm@gmail.com

Red Basket Farm - Battle Ground - SHARES AVAILABLE
Kate Rae - 360-687-7030
bkaterae@comcast.net

Rosemattel’s CSA - Vancouver - SHARES AVAILABLE
Brenda Millar-Stanton - 360-576-9767
otbgsm@yahoo.com

Wisteria Gardens, Inc. - Vancouver - Brush Prairie - SHARES AVAILABLE
Kevin & Jo Lyn Cornelsen - 360-907-1151
www.wisteriaphotos.com

Call around to a few farms and talk to the farmers. They all have different personalities, different crop varieties, and different programs. I know you'll find one that feels like a good fit for you. These folks are some of the most passionate growers you'll ever meet and they are all dedicated to providing you and your family with the healthiest, freshest food available ANYWHERE. If my little, amateur, urban plot is any indication of how productive this season is going to be, I am confident that the pros will have you up to your ears in outstanding food for the next few months.

Now go and git yer CSA on!!

Dee Creek Farm CSA Openings!

Just in case you've been procrastinating with your commitment to a CSA subscription this year, I just got word from Summer @ Dee Creek Farm that they have a few spots left for their CSA this year. They also run a poultry CSA as a separate offering that still has a few spots open as well. Here's the scoop from Summer:

Produce CSA

If anyone is interested in a Produce CSA subscription with Dee Creek Farm, please email, as we have a few openings. Our season goes from July 1st - October 31st, and is $400, half due up front. With limited space, let me know as soon as possible!

Poultry CSA

Well folks, I've been promising this long enough, and usually have it out by January, but alas, here is the Poultry Order Form for 2009! Please let me know if you have any trouble opening it, or if you'd rather a print out. You can also order via email, and I can fill it out for you. Your order is not final until I confirm your order directly, and then receive your deposit.

To learn more about how we handle our poultry, check out our website, where you can find descriptive information about how we raise our chickens. We take pride in growing quality-pastured chickens that are healthy, tender, juicy, and tasty!

What Makes Our Poultry Unique

- I (Summer) am a board member with the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association

-Our pastures have been chemical-free for over 35 years

-We use fresh grains from a local mill to supplement foraging,

using custom recipes, and working with animal nutritionists

-This summer we will mix and mill on the farm for quality assurance

-We are the only licensed facility in SW Washington, legally able to offer

our poultry with options (cut up, delivery, farmers market, etc)

- On-farm processing promotes humane, healthy, and sustainable practices

- We offer a diverse array of products produced at the farm, supporting a more

full "shopping" experience, as well as promoting healthy, well-rounded land,

based on permaculture practices

For various reasons, this year there are several local poultry farmers that are cutting back in a big way, or not raising poultry at all. Because of this, and since often we're already sold out many months in advance, I'd suggest you place your order sooner rather than later.

Also because we raise our poultry for 7-24 weeks, it is imperative that you place your order sooner than later. Please prepare for the "off season" (November-April) when putting in your order as well.

Below I've attached the Poultry Order Form (*NOTE: You'll have to e-mail Summer for a copy of the order form because I can't post a Word document here @ Blogger*) . Please read through it, fill it out, and email me your order or me to confirm before you send/give payment. We can arrange for you to mail a check, or pay at deliveries.

How it works, in a Nutshell

We generally get our baby chicks in March, and finish in October. That way our chickens are raised during the most nutritious seasons for foraging. This means that we have chicken available May through October. Our turkeys will be ready early this year, near late-September.

This season our meat chickens are Cornish Cross. Our stewing hens are various breeds of layers: Sexlinks, Black Austrolorps, Aracauana, and others (and only available when I put it in a Thursday Locavore Delivery email, not by pre-ordering). Our heirloom turkeys are all bronze - no white broad breasted this year!

We offer a Seasonal Chicken CSA, or one-time purchases. For either, we need your order as early as 8 weeks in advance of pick up. For our Seasonal CSA offering, you will need to commit to a minimum of 4 chickens per month, for at least 3 consecutive months. This will ensure that your order will be filled, and at an excellent rate of $13.00 per 3.5-4 pound bird (approximately 10%-15% discount from our retail price). If you choose to make an order for one-time pick up, our price per pound is $3.85 for chickens & turkeys. We expect our turkeys to be 15-23 pounds each.

A deposit of $5 per chicken, and $25 per turkey, is due with y
is due with your order, and will be applied to your total. The remaining balance is due when you retrieve your meat.

Generally your meat pick up should coincide with our weekly deliveries. If not, you will get a heads up so that you can make arrangements!

Please understand that the weather plays a big role in things. We will only have what is available in season. This keeps in tune with nature, and promotes quality rather than quantity - on various levels (soil, animal health, etc). As a reminder: be sure to plan ahead for the winter months, when there will be no chicken or turkey available.

Summer & Spark
Email
Farm Phone: 360-225-9711
Cell Phone: 360-903-6956 (no service at the Farm)

CSA With a Twist

Attention canning and food preservation aficionados! Dust off that pressure canner and buy a few boxes of new lids for all of those jars you've been hiding in your garage!

Rosemattel's CSA Farm is offering a very cool twist on the standard CSA format. You order however many pounds of produce you think you can use for your canning project and Rosemattel's will grow it for you. What a sweet deal. And once you've checked out the list of produce and prices below, I think you'll be hard pressed to find a better deal.

Here's the produce list, prices and contact info for Rosemattel's:

Rosemattel's CSA is offering canning/food preservation shares for the summer and fall of 2009. Prepay for your veggies and we will grow it for you!Items we will be growing for this with pricing as follows:

Sauce/Paste/Drying Tomatoes 1.50 a pound
Cherry Tomatoes 2.50 a pound
Pickling Cucumbers 2.00 a pound for early varieties
" " 1.50 a pound for late summer harvest
Bell peppers 1.50 a pound
Hot peppers 5.00 a pound
small onions 2.00 a pound
Dill 5.00 a pound or 2.00 per harvested complete
Green and burgundy beans 2.00 a pound
Tomatilloes 1.00 a pound
Cilantro (ready in late summer/fall) 5.00 a pound or 3.00 /1.5 pounds
Other veggies available upon request, if you are able to put a deposit down. Prices on these will be negotiable.

call us at 360 576-9767 or email at battlegroundfma@yahoo.com

Meet the Farmers CSA Event Tonight!

Hosted by the Loo Wit, SW Washington Sierra Club Chapter
SW WA CSA Farms "Meet the Farmers"

When: February 11th, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Where: Clark PUD, Downtown Vancouver, 1200 Fort Vancouver Way
MAP

This event will feature local community supported agriculture (CSA) farms from southwest Washington.

We will learn about community supported agriculture, how to determine if a CSA is right for you, and be able to talk directly with the farmers.

Organic edibles, crafts and even pet food is provied by our local farmers!!

Everyone welcome! Hope you can join us.

For more Information: Geri Rowe at rowe9629@comcast.net

Looking for a Few Good CSAs

Bill and Laura Cole of Nature's Choice are looking for CSA farmers who are interested in some added value for their subscribers. The Coles have offered the freshest wild gathered mushrooms, berries, fiddleheads, nettles, etc. to folks frequenting local farmer's markets and the Locavore/Farm Connect crowd for years. I can personally vouch for the quality of their product. Sounds a great deal to me! If you are a CSA farmer who is interested in the Nature's Choice product line, read on for more details. If you are a CSA subscriber, let your farmer know about this added value offer and get 'em onboard.

WE’RE LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD FARMS !!!

After several suggestions from customers and brainstorm discussions with a few of our farming friends, Bill and I put our heads together to come up with ways we could work with others in meeting the needs of our growing locavore & health minded community. We have put together a special CSA supplemental package of strictly wild-crafted edibles that can serve as a wonderful compliment to seasonal CSA produce, meat and dairy packages already offered by local farmers. The cost is expected to be just under $20.00 per week and we will offer membership flexibility and a payment plan so folks can try us out.

We are hoping that after you have a chance to review the details, you might find us a nice fit as a ‘value added’ package to offer alongside your CSA subscription offering. We are open to tailoring a brochure to compliment your own materials, and would love to offer a 5% discount for anyone who signs up through your CSA, just for being your customer. We can make arrangements to deliver the weekly basket to you in time for one of your regularly scheduled deliveries or farm pick-ups, and are open to other ways that we might accommodate a joint effort, such as offering some of your products through our own weekly delivery efforts.

If this sounds like something that might interest you, I would love to get together at your convenience either by phone or over a cup of coffee to answer any questions and to discuss how we might work together. My direct number is 360-852-7851 or you can drop me an email.

Hope to talk with you soon.


Cheers

Bill & Laura Cole





Laura Cole
Nature's Choice
(360) 852-7851 Phone
(360) 852-8835 Fax
www.natureswildharvest.com
laura at natureswildharvest dot com