The transition to having fall crops in the farm landscape is breathtaking each year. Rows and rows of little green plants grow bigger every day. We feel a huge sigh of relief from all of the plants and the people around here – the break in the heat and the approach of fall is so rejuvenating.
Even the carrots are celebrating, giving each other little carrot hugs underground.
Our favorite part of the year is approaching. The most beautiful, the most delicious, and the most enjoyable. The farm is vibrant, the diversity of food is amazing as cooler season crops return (abundance of salad greens, kale and other cooking greens, broccoli, beets, turnips, radishes…) and hot season crops (tomatoes, peppers, squash, green beans, eggplant…) are still producing. We love it.
For now, it is August. August is delicious, but less abundant and therefore less enjoyable. People are always surprised when we tell them that we harvest more in November than we do in August. Every year. August is hard for an organic farm in central Virginia. The bug and disease pressure is its most intense. Months of humid heat (which bugs love!) take their toll on the summer crops, which spend months in the ground. We lose a huge percentage of these long season crops. We are still harvesting diverse and delicious food in August – see this week’s Farm Share pictured below. But August means less food, relative to the spring, early summer or fall, from this piece of earth we tend.
But the fall makes up for it. Fall is glorious. And we are taking sign ups for our Fall Farm Share CSA – weekly shares for all of October and November. If you are curious about what a weekly share is like and want a chance to try a share for free, we have a drawing going on right now through Facebook and Instagram. Like/share/regram/tag a friend in our post with the photo above and you get your name entered into a drawing to win a Farm Share bag, to be picked up on Saturday (at our farm or market booth). We have two new Farm Share CSA pick up sites for the fall and we are trying to spread the word: Wednesday afternoons at Perk! Coffee and Lunchbox in Bon Air, and Sunday mornings at First UU Church of Richmond, beside Byrd Park. Current CSA members: Thanks for helping to spread the word! Future CSA members: Thanks for considering us to be your vegetable growers!
Reminder: We have our cold produce now in our self-serve farmstand! Come visit and see what our refrigerator case has to offer. We occasionally post descriptions of the inventory on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter but the offerings sometimes change daily.
* Mark your Calendars! *
Our 2015 CSA Member Farm Party will be on Sunday, September 27th, from 2-6 pm.
CSA Members: Please join us on the farm to share food, drink, a members-only farm tour, and a celebration of the 2015 season. Bring some food to share and sit with us for a spell. Drop in for just a bit or stay the whole afternoon. Driving directions and information (including tour time, tba) found here.
Available for Market Share CSA members to choose from this week: Chard, Eggplant, Garlic, Green Beans, Kale, Microgreens, Okra, Parsley, Peppers (jalapenos, sweet bell, carmen, lunchbox, padron…), Summer Squash, Tomatoes…and naturally leavened Hearth Baked Bread.
2015 Market Share CSA Members: Reserve your selection online to pick up on Saturday, August 22nd at our farm, at the Brandermill Green Market, The Market at Magnolia Green, or at the South of the James market – HOWEVER we cannot be at the South of the James market. Our apologies for a last minute change and because of the late notice, if you order for pick up at SOJ, we will get your order to you somehow. We will email you with details and instructions after you order. Thank you!
Vegetables not ordered by our Market Share CSA members will join us at the Brandermill Green Market and The Market at Magnolia Green this Saturday. Anyone may order select goods from us through Fall Line Farms, Richmond’s online farmers’ market. You can use discount code “broadfork” to earn a complimentary 6 month subscription.
Notes about the upcoming weeks, for your planning purposes:
– We will not be at South of the James market on Saturday, August 22 or 29, or selling through Fall Line Farms (Richmond’s online farmers market) for delivery on August 27. We will be at the Brandermill market like usual.
– We will not be delivering to Good Health Herbs on Wednesday, August 26th or September, 2nd.
– We will not be baking bread on Saturday, August 29.
– Good Health Herbs is moving! Market Share orders for pick up there after September 1 will be at their new location: 13601 Genito Rd. Midlothian, VA.
Enjoy ~ Janet, Dan, and the rest of the Broadfork crew
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