Crop Talk October 23, 2017

Help Us Improve

This is the time of year when we look back on the ups and downs of the CSA season and begin to imagine what we might like to do next year.

This year, in an effort to reduce spoilage, we streamlined our packing process -- many of our crops were picked, packed, and delivered on the same day, and we got fewer reports about spoilage problems, so that effort seems to have paid off. We also took our entire delivery process back in-house this year, and we saw the number of delivery problems drop as well.

We had some items in super-abundance this year -- peaches, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, greens. Some of that abundance came through repeated successive plantings, and some of it was purely Mother Nature.

We tried to help you make fuller use of your share this year by subscribing to the Cook With What You Have website and keeping the CSA manager in the market to talk about crops and recipes with members.

With those changes, we thought is was a good season. We'd be glad to know how it went from your perspective as we think about improvements for next year. So please take a couple of minutes to respond to this survey . We'll process the results and get back to you.

Thanks for your membership this year. 2018 shares will go on sale in mid January. We hope to see you again next year!

Thanks for a great season!
In the Market

The CSA season may be over, but the fields are still producing. Stand bonuses for members this week include eggplant, winter squash, peppers, apples, and leeks -- while supplies last. That list is subject to change from one day to the next as crops come and go from the fields.

We have a variety of pumpkins for cooking and decorating available through October 31, including neck pumpkins, which make great pies and soups, so come on out.
Fall Pumpkin Harvest Festival

Our annual celebration of the great squash continues. Festivities this weekend include Tony M and the Roosteraunt Band, plus P-Rex shows, pig races, and visits with the Pumpkin Princess. We'll also be picking pumpkins.

Visit our website for more information.
Seasonal Bonus Value: $15.00
Year-to-Date Bonus Value: $223.68

This year's you-pick bonuses were worth $223.68. That's nearly 40% of the cost of a farm pick-up share.

Bonuses this year included: 8 quarts of strawberries, two bags of spinach, four bundles of asparagus, three quarts of sweet cherries, a quart of tart cherries, two pints of black raspberries, 3 quarts of blackberries, 54 peaches, four nectarines, 30 apples, five bags of green beans, two bag of grapes, a jack-o-lantern, a neck pumpkin, and six sunflowers.
Great Country Farms | 540-554-2073 | CSA@GreatCountryFarms.com | www.GreatCountryFarms.com