Garden Share Information
Thank you for your interest in LoonSong CSA. For 2012 we will not be running a CSA program, however we will maintain our primary focus on milling of flour and rolled oats.
Though we aren’t offering a CSA program this year, the following information from 2010 gives a sense of how our program has worked in the past.
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The Crops We Plan to Grow for 2010
We plan to the best of our abilities, however in the end what we harvest – the types and varieties of vegetables and the quantities – depend on a myriad of factors. As we’ve learned (together with share members) in previous years, when we experience particularly challenging conditions of drought or insects, we may not always harvest some of the varieties we planned on. But with the wide range of vegetable types and varieties we plant, we are pretty well assured enough successes that we are still well fed and any crops that go missing don’t leave us feeling wanting. Below is the planned “menu” for 2010. Along with the many old favourites that CSA members look forward to we are attempting to expand culinary horizons from time to time with particularly interesting varieties we come across.
Crops we’re pretty sure about are: Arugula, Asian greens*, Beans (Green* and Yellow*), Broccoli, Cabbage (Green and Red*), Cauliflower, Beets*, Beet Greens*, Chard, Cucumbers* (Slicers and Picklers), Carrots, Eggplant, Flat Pole Beans* (Green), Flowers*, Garlic*, Garlic scapes, Heirloom Sweet Corn, Hot Peppers, Kale, Kohlrabi*, Ground Cherries*, Leeks, Lettuce (6-8 varieties including some new ones for 2010)*, Muskmelons*, Onions, Parsley, Parsnips, Patty Pan Summer Squash*, Peas (Snow*, Snap*, and Shell*), Pumpkins* (Pie and Jack-O-Lantern), Radishes, Scallions/Green Onions, Spinach, Sweet peppers, Tomatoes (Red*, Yellow*, Green*, Cherry*), Tomatillos, Turnips, Watermelon (Red and Yellow), Winter Squash* (several varieties), Yellow Summer Squash, and Zucchini*
New crops for this year to include: Sugar beets, asparagus, Hungarian Yellow Pole Beans, and more herbs and flowers!!!
*Asterisk indicates crops that we are growing from our own LoonSong saved seed!
Seasonal Character of Share Contents
Of course, all of the vegetables listed above won’t be in the share every week. The share sizes will vary with time, being smaller in the spring, then growing as the season progresses. We seem to be finding share sizes that members have been relatively happy with, so, given Nature’s cooperation, will likely have approximately the similar amounts as in the last couple of years. Following are examples of what might be typically included for different times in the season:
Early July: spinach, lettuce, radishes, snow peas, green onions, garlic scapes, swiss chard
Early August: beet greens, swiss chard, beets, first zucchinis, broccoli, a few tomatoes, shell peas, kohlrabi, basil, parsley, lettuce, a pepper, first beans, flowers
Late September: lettuce, lots of tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, patty pan summer squash, zucchini, melons, cauliflower, onions, cucumbers, eggplant, beans, basil, dill, winter squash, flowers
Share Member Participation
Part of our CSA program format encourages a contribution by each share (i.e. individual, couple or family) of some time during the course of the season to participate in gardening and/or associated tasks. This could be such things as helping plant tray seedlings, transplanting, weeding, or harvesting and sorting… there are many options and opportunities. Though this share member help contribution represents a limited fraction of the work that goes into the garden in a season, it is very meaningful and necessary to ensure the sustainability of the garden. It is also a primary opportunity for share members for learning – to gain an experience of the growing and harvesting of the food and to develop a connection with it through participation. Many share members have reflected on their participation in the garden as positive, educational, and nourishing, and many do regularly come to participate in the garden even though we’ve now removed it as a requirement. We always welcome as much assistance as share members are willing and able to give, and try to continue finding ways to keep it nourishing and inspiring. Though there are many opportunities for participation, during the largest part of the season, our primary needs for help are for Wednesday evening and Thursday harvest days. Please contact us if you have any questions about the “garden help” aspect of the CSA.
Share Pick-Ups
Share pick-ups for 2010 will remain the same as last season: every Thursday, 4pm – 7pm, at the farm, just outside Little Current. We plan for late June through mid-October harvesting each season, however we realize that the weather will have the final say. The last three years’ harvests have been for 16 weeks so we’re expecting this year will likely be similar, though it may be more if weather allows. We are ever conscious of traveling distances on Manitoulin and the energy it requires, and though we do appreciate seeing sharemembers at pickups, we continue to encourage share members who live further away from the garden to organize group pickups for those. Many of you will have others somewhere nearby to coordinate with.
Social Events/Community Education
We are planning for a summer garden potluck as well as a fall harvest potluck for share members again this year. If logistics allow, there may be more regular potluck/dialogue sessions this season. In past years we have hosted talks/educational sessions on topics such as local geology, canning and preserving foods, etc. We have also done several presentations to various groups each season about the LoonSong Garden/CSA project, and are happy to do this as part of our interest in widening community education about local organic food. We also have plans to receive student group visits this year. Please let us know if there are other ideas/interests for hosted talks, community presentations or visits and we will see how we can incorporate these.