Share Value Update:
Despite this year’s record breaking rain both at the start and now at the end of the season, we are on track to provide you with at least 10% off organic retail prices. Each week we take time to calculate the value of your share, and we aim to give you a good deal for your membership. Thank you to everyone for your support during this difficult season. Many of us growers are already looking forward to wrapping it up and thinking about 2012! We hope you too take the long-term view of your CSA share. Some seasons are more bountiful than others, but over the long haul, not only the value of your share, but your support of our local farm, knowing the folks who grow your food, and connecting with your neighbors all makes a big difference!

Our 2011 CSA season has come to an end. Winter shares are to be picked up this week (week of October 10). Thank you all for a wonderful summer. We look forward to seeing you again next year. -Mimi

Wellspring Farm featured in Nathan Winter's blog "Cooking up a Story"

Nathan Winters rode a bicycle across America to discover first-hand why our food system had grown to be unsustainable, and to find alternative solutions. He traveled into the homes and communities of organic, conventional, urban and Amish farmers and community organizers. Read his article on Wellspring Farm here.

 

 

Photo courtesy of the front page of the Times-Argus. See a scan of that photo and the caption here.

Mimi makes public radio news here.

You might ask yourself "How does she do it? How does Mimi make the front page news every week?" Even her webmaster wonders. But here she is, in Seven Days.

Professional photographer Corey Hendrickson visited the farm the other day with his camera. See the spectacular results here.

Our Farmer Goes to Washington

On April 5-6, 2011 I had the honor of joining other farmers from around the country in Washington, DC. We were invited by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition to lobby our legislators to support conservation and programs serving small scale, sustainable farmers. We in Vermont are very lucky to have extremely dedicated representatives on Capitol Hill who are doing their best. While the forces at work felt overwhelming to me (Tea Party demonstrations, threats of government shutdown and the like), I left with a great sense of gratitude that I farm in a supportive, energized community right here in central Vermont.

2010 Share Value! 18% Discount compared to local purchases

 

You received a 18% discount on your share contents in 2010! This means we delivered a bonus of approximately $104 worth of produce to our Full shareholders and $69 worth of produce to our Small shareholders. Winter shareholders received a 15% discount, or an additional $11 worth of produce. 2010 was a notable season for hot, dry weather which made the crops thrive. We passed the bounty on to you, our dedicated members. Thank you for your support and we sure hope you enjoyed some great eating!

 

Volunteering at Wellspring

A few weeks ago the Sunday newspaper had a story about "weed dating."  This is a variant of speed dating and allows people to pay a small fee to meet people in the fields and get to know one another doing farm chores.  At Wellspring, you can go weed and talk to people for free.  All you have to do is alert Mimi ahead of time that would like to come out and work for a couple of hours, and she will be plenty happy to organize your time.

We have been doing this occasionally over this growing season and can attest to the virtues of volunteering at Wellspring, which include sweating and getting dirty with a handful of delightfully entertaining and bright apprentices, WOOFERS, working members, and of course farmer; seeing firsthand how our CSA food is grown, harvested, and stored; learning about the myriad and constant threats to the plants' survival; and generally and specifically coming to appreciate even more the value of locally grown organic food -- especially the ones that you can snack on as you work.  The work can be hard at times but Mimi is terrific about pairing the person to the job and rotating jobs so that we wouldn't repeat motions or stay in the same position too long.  Prior knowledge is unnecessary; Mimi is a skilled, thorough, and gentle, teacher.  The "regulars" are tremendously appreciative of having extra hands in the field. 

All of us who show up have commented that we think and behave differently now.  We now scan our neighbors' gardens for the dreaded galinzaga weed, even when we're only there on a social visit.  We listen to people talk about their CSA experiences elsewhere and proudly proclaim "Well, Mimi does it this way!"  (From PYO to presentation, Wellspring is clearly tops.)  We scrutinize the food we buy in other places and see in other houses and wonder if too long a stem was left on the pie pumpkin and too short a stem left on the garlic -- and whether the squash had been stored for a couple of weeks after harvesting and before being put out for consumption.  But most of all we have become much more discerning about what goes in our mouths.

This growing season is winding down and the weeds no longer can threaten anything.  And this is a little sad to us because it means we'll have to wait awhile before we can enjoy once again Mimi's tutelage and all the bounties of Wellspring -- one of which is definitely having the chance to volunteer there.  Anyone would find it a treat to donate some time.....and remember, unlike weed dating, it's free. (contributed by Dick and Adele Corbett)

"Putting Food By" packages available August through September of each year.

“Putting By” Packages $12 each. Available while supplies last. These introductory canning & freezing packages are great for folks who are interested in starting slowly. Each package includes produce plus a tried and true recipe. Order multiple packages to increase your yields. The results make inexpensive, tasty gifts for the holidays. Loads of information on canning at http://www.freshpreserving.com/ . Experienced canners, please send us your ideas! Pick up your order at CSA distribution. Please order 24 hours in advance. We may need to put you on a wait list if we don’t have sufficient supply. Freezing tip: Don’t fill your jars too full otherwise they can break from expansion as the food freezes. Leave the canning ring off until the food is fully frozen as a precaution.

Zucchini Relish Package
Includes 5 lbs zucchini, 2 lbs onions, 2 sweet peppers, 1 hot pepper & recipe to make zucchini relish to
freeze or can. Yield: approx. 5 pints or 10 half-pints. (vegetable-cost per half-pint: $1.20)

Dill Pickle Package
Includes 6 lbs cucumbers, 8 dill heads, 1 head garlic & recipe to make pickles to can. Yield: approx 4 qts
(vegetable-cost per quart: $3)

Bread & Butter Pickle Package
Includes 5 lbs cucumbers, 3 lbs onions & recipe. Yield: approx 7-8 pints (vegetable-cost per pint: $1.50)

Green Salad Dressing Package If you haven’t tried this dressing yet, you are in for a treat! Freeze in pint canning jars. A taste of summer in winter! Includes 1 lg bunch flat parsley, 1 lg bunch basil, 1 head garlic, 2 cucumbers, 1 bunch swiss chard& recipe.
Yield: approx 4 pints (vegetable-cost per pint: $3)

Ratatouille Package ($18) (for freezing)
Includes 2 lbs tomatoes, 1 eggplant, 1 lb zucchini, 1 lb summer squash, 1 lb onion, 2 green peppers, 1 head garlic, handful basil & recipe. Yield: 6 servings vegetable cost per serving: $3 Serving Tip: Serve with rice and feta cheese as a vegetarian entrée or as a side with lamb or chicken.

Gazpacho Salsa Package ($18)
Includes 4 lbs tomatoes, 1 lb onion, 1 head garlic, 1 lb cucumber, 3 green peppers, handful basil & recipe. Yield: 4 pints vegetable cost per 8 oz: $2.25 Serving Tip: Serve with beef or chicken fajitas and with all types of fish.

Canning and freezing recipes here.

One of our members, Rick Kaseguma, has a Food Blog, where he shares recipes and ideas about how to use the abundance of his Wellspring Farm share. Check it out! Rick's Food Blog

PICK-YOUR-OWN INFORMATION
Pick-your-own crops can be harvested at the farm by all members: Monday & Thursday 10AM to 7PM Tues, Wed, Friday 8AM to 4PM

Available pick-your-own crops are listed in our weekly email newsletter.. Quantities for both share sizes are posted in the farm’s pick-up shed, where you will also find scissors for cutting flowers and containers for picking. Follow the painted signs in the fields to locate the crops.

Please note the following requests: 
1) Pick only those items on the list.  While other crops may appear ready they may be recovering or ripening
2) Please only harvest the amount posted so that everyone gets a share
3)  We appreciate your walking carefully between the beds.  Supervised children are welcomed. 

GREEN MOUNTAIN CROP MOB

On Saturday, June 5, 2010 the Green Mountain Crop Mob descended on the farm for a planting and weeding volunteer extravaganza! Lots of great conversation occurred over weeding carrots and salad mix, planting winter squash, and eating scrumptious flatbreads prepared by NECI student-chefs in our bread oven. Thanks for everyone who lent a hand!

 

 

What does a farmer do in a long Vermont winter?

What do vegetable growers do in the winter? I spend many weeks mapping out exactly what I am going to plant, how much, where and how often. My spreadsheets get really long! I am highly motivated to get organized while my schedule is quieter, because come summer I do not want to be flying by the seat of my pants. Here is a sample of my crop plan. Planning for over 100 varieties takes quite a bit of time.

Food Safety Practices At Wellspring Farm

                 Spinach, tomatoes, peanuts...they’re all good for you, but recently they’ve been in the news as causes of food borne illness. Of course, it’s not the vegetables themselves that made folks sick, but contamination by virulent forms of the bacteria such as salmonella and E. coli.
                The bacteria E. coli is most often traced to contamination from manure produced in large feedlots, and is primarily associated with beef cows that are raised on grain instead of grass. When fresh manure is improperly applied to fields or infiltrates irrigation water, it can be a source of harmful bacteria if produce is contaminated. Pathogens infecting vegetables are likely to increase under poor storage conditions, such as bagged, sealed salad greens or produce that has been stored for long periods at sub-optimal temperatures. You won’t find any of this at Wellspring.
                 At Wellspring Farm we are committed to producing the highest quality and safest produce possible. We harvest the bulk of your CSA share the very day you receive it, ensuring it is fresh and healthy. By purchasing whole, non-processed, non-packaged produce direct from our organic farm — grown by a small staff of farmers you know and from fields you may inspect yourself — you can have great confidence that the produce you consume is safe and healthy. The fact that we are certified organic and pass a thorough annual inspection means that we adhere to a high standard of ecologically-based agricultural practices. Emerging national food safety standards for vegetable production neglect the importance of maintaining biodiversity in the soil which is the basis for safe agriculture. Our farming philosophy rests firmly on preserving balance in the natural world.
                While statistically the incidence of human diseases caused by fresh produce is very small, we follow food safety guidelines and practices to ensure our produce is healthy and safe.  Here are some elements of our food safety plan (full version here). Please ask us questions or for more information on our practices.

What Wellspring Farm Does:

• Employees are trained in and required to follow proper sanitation and good agricultural practices.
• The source of water used to clean produce is tested annually; only potable water is used.
• Manure used for soil fertility is fully composted and applied a minimum of 90 days prior to harvest.
• Organic pesticides, amendments, and other soil and crop
• applications on the farm are documented and on file, including name of person applying materials, date, field/crop location and amount applied.
• Harvest containers, harvesting implements, washing and storage facilities are cleaned prior to use.
• Harvest containers are used solely for the carrying and storage of crops and non-produce items are not allowed in these containers.

What You Can Do:

• At home always keep vegetables separate from seafood and meat.
• Always wash your produce. We rinse off field soil and cool your produce, but it is important to thoroughly wash all produce at home.
• Store your produce under proper temperature conditions (potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, onions don’t need refrigeration).

Recipes

Please see our newsletters for seasonal recipes.