almost there

IMG_9514The rain of the past couple days is so welcome.  As Texas dries out we are starting what we hope will be the process of catching up with moisture lost over the past couple months. It is so unusual to have prolonged dryness combined with cool the temperatures we’ve had this spring.  We are still running behind for the simple reason we have not been able to plant much.  Greens, our major crop this time of year, don’t mind cooler soil but depend on water for their small root systems.  Root crops, nightshades, and onions need heat in order to develop (as well as water!).  This double whammy of dry and cold has kept the greenhouse full of plants waiting to go out as we all waited for heat and rain. April brought us three inches (four is average, and some of that was snow)!  May was California-like with only a half-inch of rain instead of our usual four minimum. Needless to say we are happy we have irrigation systems and have spent many evenings running water here and there to keep young seedings rooting in dusty ground.

There’s always a silver lining…IMG_9573

While all of the rain has been a challenge to our vegetables the bees pollinating our blueberries have been enjoying the uninterrupted sunny days.  Bees don’t fly on rainy days so with all this sun they have been working hard. Wild blueberries begin to bloom in mid-May and there is a tight 3-4 week period where each flower must be visited by a pollinator to create a berry. While there are many native pollinators about we also bring in bees to help maximize the potential number of berries.  This year we trucked 72 hives from Swan’s Honey in Albion to spend a month in our berry fields. An exciting trip, we try to load the bees in the late evening when they are calm and likely to stay in the hives.  After sunset I arrived in the fields with the humming flatbed and before sunrise I unloaded the hives which woke up and quickly got to work.

With the immediate water debt behind us, we are very enthusiastic to start harvests and the CSA next week. Look for our weekly newsletter on Mondays which will detail what you can find in you share along with a recipe and news from the farm.

When Do I Get My First CSA Share?

We start next week!  (The week of June 8th):

Brunswick members: Tuesday or Friday 2:00-7:00, come either day – just once during the week.  You do not need to commit to a day or let us know if you change days.

Portland Area Delivered Share: Wednesday afternoon delivery.  Check with your site coordinator for the time and where to find your farm box.

Portland Area Delivered Share Orientation

For our Portland Area members, we welcome you to come to the farm, meet your farmers, and see where and how your veggies are growing!  A great chance to learn the ins and outs of the upic field.

Sunday July 12, 4:00 p.m.

Saturday July 18th 4:00 p.m.

Egg share

Here’s how it works… You will have a dozen eggs waiting for you each week when  you come to the farm for your share or in your delivery box.  The eggs are from our friends at Sparrow Farm who raise their hens on pasture, ensuring they have a diverse diet and orange yolks. The share runs for 20 weeks (June 16-October 27) and is $110. Click here for the link.

We will have eggs available for sale ($5.50 per dozen, same price as egg share) each week as well if you do not want to commit to the egg share.

Mushroom share

Here’s how it works… You will have a fresh mushrooms each week when  you come to the farm for your share or in your delivery box. Oyster Creek Mushroom Co. raises and wildcrafts these for us.  Each week she provides a different type of mushroom.  The share runs for 18 weeks (June 16-October 13) and is $207. Click here for the link.

Email Contacts!

Please check to see that your your share partners and family members are receiving this email.  If they have not, anyone may be added to the list by following this link.

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So busy we misplaced spring…

IMG_9589I feel like we went over the falls in a barrel this year.  All of a sudden we went from snow to summer.  The days are warm, and things are growing at such a speed that I can’t feel the ground beneath my feet!  The good news is we are catching up and the greenhouse that has been bursting at the seams for the past six weeks is starting to look empty.  Onions, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant have all gone out in the last week.  Carrots, beets, kale, and lettuce are coming up strong and with any luck we will be starting our harvests on time.

Here’s what’s ahead in the newsletter…

  • When Does the CSA Start?
  • Pick-up and delivery info
  • Newsletter lists: Email contacts
  • Egg Shares
  • Mushroom Shares
  • New member orientation!!!!!
  • Payment link
  • Local food helps with the drought out west
  • Energy alternatives on the farm

When Does the CSA Start?

We will have an answer to this all important question next Monday, May 25 so look for an email from us by then end of the day.

When do we pick up/expect our first box?

Brunswick members: Tuesday or Friday 2:00-7:00, come either day – just once during the week.  You do not need to commit to a day or let us know if you change days.

Portland area delivered shares: Wednesday afternoon delivery.  Check with your site coordinator for the time and where to find your farm box.

Email Contacts!

Please check to see that your your share partners and family members are receiving this email.  If they have not, anyone may be added to the list by following this link.

Egg share

Here’s how it works… You will have a dozen eggs waiting for you each week when  you come to the farm for your share or in your delivery box.  The eggs are from our friends at Sparrow farm who raise their hens on pasture, ensuring they have a diverse diet and orange yolks. The share runs for 20 weeks (June 16-October 27) and is $110. Click here for the link.

Mushroom share

Here’s how it works… You will have a fresh mushrooms each week when  you come to the farm for your share or in your delivery box. Oyster Creek Mushroom Co. raises and wildcrafts these for us.  The share runs for 18 weeks (June 16-October 13) and is $207. Click here for the link.

New Member Orientation!

We invite new members to visit the farm for an informal orientation, to meet us and learn the ropes of the CSA pick up here at the farm.   Please come if you can either Saturday May 30 at 4:00 pm or Sunday May 31 at 4:00.  If you’re not able to come, we will show you around when you do come to pick up your vegetables.  This orientation is geared for Brunswick on-farm members.  

Farm Visits for Portland-area Delivered Share Members!

We invite our Portland-area delivered share members to come visit the farm, meet your farmers, see our operations, and learn how to use the Upic field (this will be available starting in July, more info to come).  Please come either Sunday July 12th at 9:00 am or Saturday July 18th at 4:00 pm.

Payments

We are so grateful for all the payments that have come in over the past several months.  If you would like to make a payment, click here (or find the link on our home page as well).  To help keep track of your payments, you will need your member number, which you may find in an emailed receipt.  If you need help, contact Maura – info@crystalspringcsa.com  Thank you!

Doing Your Part to Help with thew California Drought

Your farm share is is helping California reduce its water use!  Agriculture is the majority user of water in that dry state and by eating local with us this summer you are reducing the amount of produce they have to grow and ship east. It’s amazing how much water it takes to grow many common crops! Follow this link to a great article.MaineCommercialBadge (1)

IMG_4987 copyEnergy on the Farm

We take our energy impact very seriously here and are always looking for ways to use less fuel and electricity. By our thinking, the source of our electricity is also important. How electricity is produced,  how and where oil is drilled reflects the impact of our use as well.  With this in mind we have switched to a couple new energy supplies. Starting this winter we joined Maine Green Power which guarantees that our electricity dollars are going towards Maine tidal, hydro, and biomass production. We have also switched to 100 % Maine Biofuel to run our tractors and heat our buildings and greenhouse. Maine Bio sources all of their fuel from recycled sources, mostly restaurant deep friers!  The tractor exhaust smells much better these days!

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Winter Endures But Hope Springs Eternal

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Dog, pigs and cows wait for spring…

Some times in our lives test our optimism. For all the farmers I know, this spring (and the three months preceding) fall into this category. I could go on at length but all of you have lived through it as well, so I’ll just say we are ready for a change. Leila suggested we keep singing this spring anthem and continue to keep hope alive (click here)

Here’s what’s ahead in this posting…

  • Thawing and Growing: Our farm update
  • Blueberries
  • Improvements at Crystal Spring
  • Green Power at the Farm
  • Shares and Payments
  • Farm Camp
  • New-member Orientation Dates

Thawing and Growing

The farm is cranking along, running full speed towards a glorious season. Our new apprentice crew has been here for the past two weeks, helping to fill the greenhouse with seedlings and care for all of the animals. Ben, Chrystina and Tyler all come to us from Maine (a first) and the culinary world.  All three are eager to get their hands dirty producing food this summer instead of cooking it (Maura, Kristin and I are looking forward to some great crew lunches!) Kristin, our star apprentice of the past two years is back as our first full-time, year round field manager. We are very lucky to have her considerable skill and energy this year.

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Grafted tomato seedlings healing in their spa
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60,000 seedlings…waiting just like the rest of us.

To date we have a little over 60,000 plants thriving in the greenhouse. Walking into that seventy degree space of lush green is about the most therapeutic activity imaginable. Hopefully this coming week of weather comes as forecasted and we can try to get some of these seedlings in the ground soon. The past few days we have been grafting tomatoes which is a process of cutting the fruiting tops off our our favorite varieties and sticking them onto more vigorous and disease resistant roots.  The plants heal together after about ten days and then we have super tomatoes to plant out in May.

Blueberries

This past fall we signed a lease with a local family for seventy acres of wild blueberries.  We are in the process of certifying these acres and hope to be able to offer year-round organic berries grown right here in Brunswick!

Improvements…

While I clocked an exceptional number of hours moving snow this winter, the remaining time available to me has been consumed with our walk-in cooler/freezer project.  Over the past eleven seasons we have gradually outgrown our beautiful old walk-in cooler in the CSA barn. This fact, along with the need for frozen blueberry storage, led me to make some major changes in our washing and packing barn.  This barn had a dairy parlor that was cutting edge in 1955, but of little use on a farm that hasn’t milked cows for over forty years.  After a week of demolition, the dairy parlor and about forty-five yards of concrete are gone, and the new insulated floor is ready to be poured.  Some auction hunting turned up a cooler/freezer combo and with any luck we will have the electrical and refrigeration ready to turn on but June 1.  All very exciting but I can’t wait for the project to be complete and start filling the space with fresh produce!

The Farm Powers Up Green

This year we have been one of a growing number of Maine businesses and households to sign on with Maine Green Power and use 100% sustainable electricity produced here in Maine. Just like the food we produce, all of the power we use here on the farm is local! By pledging to buy power though this program we buy our share of power coming only from sustainable hydro, tidal, and wood waste power plants here in Maine.

Brunswick Shares Sold Out…Portland-area delivered shares still available

Thank you to all of you for signing on for another year.  The Brunswick on-farm shares are now full!  We do have availability for our delivered shares to the Portland area.

Payments!

For those of you who would like to make a payment, click here.  To make online payments, the form will ask for a member number.  You can find this in an emailed receipt from when you initially signed up.  If you cannot find that email, and need to know your number, just send us an email and we’ll get it to you.  The payment link will now also be posted on the home page of our website.

Farm Camp 2015 Still has Spaces

Farm Camp has a few more spaces for five and six year olds during the week of July 13th.  The program runs from 9-noon, and there is more information on the website.  The other two weeks are now full.  We do have some availability for junior counselors…email Maura for more info.

New Member Orientation

We invite new members to visit the farm for an informal orientation, to meet us and learn the ropes of the CSA pick up here at the farm.   Please come if you can either Saturday May 30 at 4:00 pm or Sunday May 31 at 4:00.  If you’re not able to come, we will show you around when you do come to pick up your vegetables.  This orientation is geared for Brunswick on-farm members, but people who are receiving a delivered share are welcome to come.  We will hold farm visits in July more specifically for our delivered share members, dates to be determined.

Winter…

Hello and happy greetings from Crystal Spring Farm!IMG_1594

We hope you’re staying warm and able to enjoy the abundance of snow!   Three snow days in one week!  We’ve enjoyed some moments here and there of relaxing and reading by the wood stove, but we have ample work to keep us moving outside as well.

Animals

IMG_8288While the vegetable fields rest frozen this is time when the animals on the farm take center stage. We have a very active group of winter pigs who have turned over the house garden in between heavy feeding of brewery grain and kitchen scraps.  The 23 heifers (female cows who have yet to have a calf) on the farm this winter have spent most of the year on the back pasture behind the house but were happy to be indoors for the recent blizzard.

 

 

We know some of you are wondering when the lambs are arriving on the ground.  The blizzard brought our first set of twins.  As Seth was busy clearing snow for many (many) hours on Wednesday, Leila took charge of the care for the newborns.  Unfortunately the mother was not producing milk, so Leila took over the warming, drying, and bottle feeding of these two littles, whom she named Hugs and Kisses (after being licked in the face).  We make sure our pregnant ladies get plenty of fresh air and exercise by putting their silage bales away from the barn.   We’re ready and waiting for more lambing action in the barn!IMG_8668

Inside

Seed orders are done and the packets and boxes have been trickling in each day.  We are due to sow our first flats into our compost based potting soil (also just arrived) the first week of March.

We are very thankful that both Kristin and Tom, two of our star apprentices who are hunkered down with us this winter to assist with animal care, will be back for another season.  Tom will be on the farm part time and Kristin will be our first full time assistant manager.  She will be managing our farm crew and daily details of the vegetable fields to allow Seth to focus his attention on our new blueberry venture.

Blueberries

We just signed a lease on seventy-one acres of wild blueberries adjacent to the farm and are very excited to add this new farm product.  We have a lot to do before harvest begins in late July, including hiring weevers and rakers, buying harvest equipment and putting in a new freezer.

Barn Renovation

With the blizzard snow cleared by Wednesday, on Thursday and Friday Seth began to renovate one of the barns to add a new vegetable cooler and freezer. IMG_1596We have outgrown the beautiful antique cork cooler in the CSA barn we have been using for the last decade. By adding this new unit we will be able to keep everything cool without having to stack crates to the ceiling! To make space for the new walk-in he is pulling out 30-40 yards of concrete that was the old three cow milking parlour from the 1950’s.

Lease

Many of you may have seen an article in the local papers this fall regarding the completion of our long term lease agreement with the Brunswick Topsham Land Trust.  This was a team effort over many years involving blood, sweat, tears, many meetings, lawyers, consultants, revisions, and reams of paper, resulting in a fifty year lease. This a one-of-a-kind document will give us security that we can pass on to our kids or the next lucky farmer here.  As always, we keep you, our customers and supporters at the forefront of our gratitude list.  Your participation in this farm is the critical piece.  Continuing to value local, organic food and knowing your farmer is the root of success for all of us.  Thank you!

Sign up now!

If you have delayed signing up for 2015 now is the time.  We do have shares left.  The link to sign up is on our website, or you can click here.

Please contact us with any questions, we always like hearing from you!

Payment Plan

For those of you taking part in our payment plan, February payments are now due.  Look for an email today with directions and a link to our online payment page.

Farm Camp

The emails and phone calls have begun wondering about our dates for Farm Camp.  We will update all the information, with dates, details, and registration on the Farm Camp page of our website by Wednesday February 4.

Beer waste

For the past year we have been working with Maine Beer Company in Freeport to convert their brewing by-products into animal feeds and fertilizer. Twice a week we pick up spent barley and a pasty product best described as yeasty, hoppy glop. The barley is a great addition to our pigs ration and both the barley and the glop are stellar field fertilizers that exceed sheep manure in their nutritive value. If you like Maine Beer Company brews (Peeper is magic in a bottle) you can drink with satisfaction knowing you are supplying your vegetables with valuable fertilizer!