This is probably the most important newsletter you'll get all season. Please read through to the end!
As you know, we pushed the CSA Season back a week due to the weather and things not growing very fast. We want our CSAs to reflect the amount of care and effort that we've put into the season and starting this week wouldn't have been a good showcase to the start of the season. Now with this heat, we're seeing a lot of growth and we're really excited to share with you what we've been up to this spring!
We're excited to get the ball rolling, with our first CSAs starting Monday June 27th!! Depending on your site, your pickup day, location and time will vary. Please reference your handbook for that info, it'll be at the top of the second page.
A few years back I created the handbook, so you'd have all of the info I want you to know, before the season even starts. Veterans and New Members alike, PLEASE read through the handbook in it's entirety. We will expect that you've read the handbook before the season starts, but I promise, there won't be any other info like that coming out throughout the season. Once you've read the handbook and we both understand our roles in our CSA relationship, there aren't any surprises!
If you're looking for your handbook it should have come in the CSA Confirmation or the most recent email about the season delay. Please search for my email in your inbox and it should pop up. If not, please reach out to me and I'll send you your Member Handbook.
EMAIL TROUBLES
This is a sore spot for me. We have been sending emails and newsletters out and it seems like everyone has a spotty deliverability. But from my end, it shows that they're being delivered. This is due to email filters for spam and junk mail. If you've received all the notifications, wonderful!
If not- and I HIGHLY SUGGEST THIS FOR EVERYONE- please look up "whitelisting". It's essentially the opposite of blacklisting. This is important for everyone because at any point, I could be labeled as spam, which is so frustrating I might add! One of my biggest goals is to keep everyone in the loop, up to date on what we're harvesting, and also to share all the recipes and tips for the season. This is the secret to a good CSA experience, and I try really hard to make sure everyone knows whats' going on around here.
Let's start with why an email might not make it to you, even when we're sending it to you. Everyone's emails are the same in that they come with standard protections for spam and junk and they both have their own respective folders. The problem is, the filters on your email aren't always representing what you want to get. So for example, if you don't open my emails for a month at a time, you'll just stop getting them altogether. At that point the only real way to start getting them again is whitelisting. I wish I would have known about that sooner!!
Even for those who open the emails religiously, there may still be a problem with email filters where they see me as spam or junk. But it's just me, Jodi Brown, I promise!
Back to whitelisting. The google definition: Whitelisting is the process of adding an email to an approved sender list, so emails from that sender are never moved to the spam folder. When a recipient whitelists an email address, they are confirming that they know and trust the sender.
Every email server is different, so you'd have to look it up in regards to your email server (gmail, yahoo, aol, comcast, etc). It's just a checkbox setting basically that says "Hey I want to get all of her emails!". PLEASE do this for me. I can't stress enough how much anxiety it gives me to hear that you're not receiving the emails especially when they're so important (like pushing the CSA back a week)!
They're not big yet but they're growing nicely!!
To make sure the season goes smoothly, I have a couple reminders!
1. The boxes are on a rotation, so when you pick up a box you need to bring back your empty box from the week before. (Obviously not the first week though). Some people bring reusable bags and empty their CSA contents into their bags and leave their boxes at the site. However you want to do it is great, we just like having your box back every week.
2. Everyone’s names are on their CSA Share boxes. It’s a safety precaution to make sure that we have the least number of people handling your CSA boxes.
3. Make sure you take your CSA box. You’d be surprised by how often it happens that folks take the wrong box actually. It’s almost always when you’re out of town and send someone else. People don’t always look before they grab a box and go. There is a fee if you do end up with someone else’s’ box because it’ll help cover the special deliveries and additional produce we’re out. The only time there is any chance of an additional charge throughout the season is if you take the wrong box ($50) or if you dispose of your boxes ($5 replacement fee).
4. Please make sure to pick up within the time frame your site has assigned. If you don’t pick up in that time frame your CSA is considered forfeited, unless you make arrangements with me in advance, in which case we’re happy to help communicate that with your host! If you’re looking for your pickup time frame, it’ll be in your handbook at the top of the second page.
Understanding these protocols helps our season run very smooth and we appreciate your willingness to help us out :)
Pushing the CSA back a week: We didn't cancel the first week of CSAs, we're simply pushing the season back a week. Meaning that the harvest season will run through the second week of October.
We’ll do our best to have more varieties available that last week. This means planning and planting more varieties so they're ready for the end of the season. I can tell you that it will definitely be centered around storage crops because at that time in the season there is a good chance we would have already had a frost. Some varieties are naturally frost tolerant, meaning they can actually get their foliage frosted with no damage. A hard frost is different, but we don’t expect those until November usually. As always though, we’re going to put our everything into making sure the last week is just as fabulous as the rest of the season!! :D
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS SEASON!! We've got a big season planned! I'm sure you already know this- but we don't even go to farmers markets anymore. We have one farm stand on the weekends. We focus 99% of our produce into our CSA program and curtail what we grow and how much of it, depending on what we're hearing from you guys on a year to year basis. Our entire farm is focused on CSA Shares and we hope that's reflected in the amount of care and enthusiasm we have for sharing all of these farm fresh goodies all summer long!!
Stay well Friends,
~The Farmer's Wife