Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Community Supported Agriculture’

Meet your Farmer! (or pick one out if you need one)

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on March 9, 2015|

2015csa guild poster-page-001Stop by and see me at the Local CSA Farm Open House on Friday, March 20, 2015, 5:00 – 7:30 pm at Clyde Iron Works, 2920 W Michigan St, Duluth.

You can sign up for a Stone’s Throw Farm CSA share at the event, or find another CSA that suits your needs.

All of the farmers contribute local food and/or goods for a great raffle — the winner will be pulled from the hat at 7:30 pm, right before Farmers Take the Stage starts in the same venue! Stick around and let the farmers entertain you.

The CSA Open House is FREE. Farmers Take the Stage costs $10 and benefits the Lake Superior Sustainable Farming Association.

Read Full Post »

Sign-Up for Stone’s Throw Farm CSA Shares Online

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on January 28, 2015|

2015_STF_Flyer_yella_revisedYou can now sign up for your 2015 Stone’s Throw Farm CSA Shares online! Fill out our new online sign-up form and then send or drop off your payment to us at 1420 Jefferson Street, Duluth, MN 55805. To take advantage of our “early-bird” discount, send full payment by March 10, 2015. This also is the date by which we stop holding 2015 shares for our returning farm members. In other words, we’re holding a spot for our 2014 farm members until March 10; after that, it’s first-come, first-served for all. New members can sign up before March 10, too. Use the same form, please. PinkHeartWe know that 2015 is the year of the potato in Duluth; what else will the season bring? Sign up and find out! If you have any questions about our CSA shares, please feel free to contact me. Thanks.

Read Full Post »

Advice for new farm members, from our veterans

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on January 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

 Stone’s Throw Farm 2015 CSA shares will be for sale soon.  If you’re thinking of buying a CSA share for the first time and aren’t sure what to expect, check out some very good advice offered by our 2014 CSA members (via the 2014 end-of-season survey):

  • CircleSalad“Decide what’s for dinner based on what you have in your box this week and meet the challenge to eat it all or share with friends!”
  • “When in doubt… chop everything up and toss it in a stir fry.”
  • “Schedule your pickup time around when you can process the veggies. I pick up my share on Thursdays, and it really helps that I’m able to be home on Thurs night to take care of everything.”
  • “Don’t forget to pick up your share!”
  • “Go down to the farm and see it in person; you’ll get a feeling for the hard work and dedication (and love) that goes into a CSA.  Plus you get to taste veggies right off the vine.  Wonderful!”
  • “Buy a salad spinner.”
  • “Get a compost bin set up before the growing season. Also, don’t be afraid to chop up pretty much any veggie and fry it with some oil for a quick meal.”
  • “You have to give up control of what you get and appreciate that aspect of it; I do!”
  • “Be bold and try it all!”
  • “Split a share with a friend so if there is something you don’t care for you can trade veggies.”
  • “Prep your veggies when you get them and you will be sure to use them throughout the week.”
  • “Be prepared for an adventure!”
  • “Go with a 1/2 share the first time.  Read the veggie handling guide for tips on freezing, etc.”
  • “Eat veggies for breakfast!”
  • “Don’t buy produce at a store until you get a feel for the variety and amounts you will get in your share box.  Learn to ‘eat in season.'”
  • “Have fun with the veggies you’ve never prepared. When in doubt, grill it with evoo, salt and pepper.”
  • “Keep an open mind and don’t be afraid to ask questions.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself! Thanks, farm members.

Read Full Post »

Warm Fuzzies (aka Testimonials)

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on December 18, 2013| Leave a Comment »

As I’m starting to gear up for CSA renewals next month, I thought I’d remind myself how appreciative our Stone’s Throw Farm members can be and share a few super-sweet comments from our 2013 end-of-season survey with you:

I thought you all did a wonderful job–thank you. It was more exciting and wonderful than I imagined!”

We’re planning on [buying a CSA share again] next year. We tell all of our friends and it has changed the way we think about food.”

The [snap] peas were FANTASTIC. Each pod was absolutely perfect and incredibly delicious.”

I joined this year after being with a different CSA last year. I was really impressed by the variety and amount of produce . . . I especially love kale, and the variety of beans, and peppers. I was also so impressed by how clean things are. A very user-friendly experience all around.”

We will never tire of the spicy salad mix. It’s what I look forward to the most every season!”

The newsletter helps me keep a pulse on the natural ebb and flow of farming as it relates to weather, precipitation, insects, etc. I enjoy fresh produce for many reasons and being aware of how Mother Nature affects farming is important to me.”

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the spinach! I’ve always been a spinach fan but the quality of your farm fresh spinach is so superior to the store-bought stuff, that there’s hardly any comparison!”

We enjoyed the share this year, especially your newsletters each week. They were very informative and provided great information about the veggies. It helped us identify the veggies we have never seen or used before. We tried several new items this year, thanks to you, and we loved them.”

The pork was amazing. The pigs were very happy and friendly and my 2-year-old loved them.”

We have been thoroughly pleased with our share this summer! I bragged and talked about it through the whole season. It felt like Christmas every week. I’m already looking forward to next season!”

Me too, anonymous farm member–thanks to your enthusiasm.

Read Full Post »

Onto the Stove, Into the Salad: Where do all the veggies go?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on November 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

AutumnSaladBehold a beautiful autumn salad made up almost entirely of vegetables included in our final Stone’s Throw Farm summer share box of the season, way back in mid-October. Salad artist:  friend and farm member Alisa DeRider. Looks good enough to eat!

I love it when farm members send me photos or stories of what they did with their veggies — otherwise I have no idea what happens to them when they leave the farm. For example, after she got her canning tomatoes, Jane sent me a photo of her Stone’s Throw Farm tomato sauce simmering on the stove (as well as enthusiastic & encouraging notes on a regular basis — not that she’s the only one to do so!). I’m happy to receive any and all recipes that people have tried and liked, and I really appreciate it when farm members respond to questions I’ve posed in the weekly newsletter (e.g., how do you like this new variety of ___?)

stoveOnce a year, I get to see and taste what the professionals would do with some of our produce at Farmers Take the Stove. Your friendly neighborhood chefs cook up the best local foods dinner around using ingredients donated by local food producers. Some of us amateurs bring our best dishes, too. This year’s meal is coming up on Thursday, November 14, at Peace Church in Duluth. Get all the details (or contribute to the cause if you can’t make it) at lssfa.org.

Read Full Post »

CSA members are the best

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on June 3, 2013| 1 Comment »

As if I wasn’t already convinced that CSA members are some of the best people on this earth, the Duluth News Tribune reports today that our across-the-road neighbors, Rick and Karola Dalen at Northern Harvest Farm, got some help from their CSA members in financing the balloon payment on their farm loan.

The DNT also points out that there’s still time to join a CSA! We still have 2 shares left at Stone’s Throw Farm, and WhatDoYouHavewe’ll have info on how to order our pastured pork soon.

Time is running out before the first leafy greens of summer are delivered, but there still are openings for additional members at some of the 15 Community Supported Agriculture farms in the Northland.

Community Supported Agriculture connects farmers with eaters to form a sustainable system for local food production and consumption. Most of the farms are organic and use far fewer chemicals to produce their food. They also are local, meaning less energy is used and less pollution expended to harvest the crop and bring it to consumers.

Members benefit by having direct access to fresh local food on a regular basis. And they also may gain a connection to the land and the source of their food.

The farmers gain by having a set income, no matter what the weather or market conditions bring. Members share in the rewards of a bountiful harvest but also share in the risk of farming.” – Duluth News Tribune

Thanks to John Myers and the rest of the staff at the DNT for bringing all this to the attention of their readers, and to Rick & Karola for sharing their story.

PigClusterLuckyPigAnd now, a couple more pictures of our currently-muddy piggies (they were so clean for a while! But, they do love to root in the mud). As Elden said this weekend, “When did the pigs get big?”

Read Full Post »

When tax day is snowy . . .

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on April 16, 2013| 1 Comment »

I expected to be spreading compost in the fields right about now, not shoveling snow, but there’s no way around it — no matter what the calendar says, it’s still winter here. This weather will shorten our already short growing season and condense our ordinarily rushed spring schedule into what I can only imagine will be a frenzy of field prepping, seeding and transplanting when we finally can work the soil. (Right now, I’d just like to be able to SEE the soil.) I’m already anticipating a delay in our first share delivery in June, but Stone’s Throw Farm members will still get a full season of produce. I’m hoping the seedlings in the greenhouse will see some much-needed sun today, and the snow will end eventually!

 


Look at these big piggies! And notice that there’s NOT a foot of snow on the ground where they are . . . sigh.

Read Full Post »

2013 CSA Shares – Still for Sale

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on April 4, 2013| 1 Comment »

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

My nephew, Graham, likes pigs!

I’ve received a few calls recently from people asking if we still have Stone’s Throw Farm CSA shares, so I wanted to assure our website visitors that we do still have a few available. As soon as the last share is reserved, I’ll update the website here and here.Thursday pick-up is pretty much full, but we have room on Mondays at all those pick-up locations.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

My nephews Franklin and Graham visited the piglets (and their grandparents) in Iowa this week.

In other words, if you’re looking for a 2013 CSA share, go ahead and send that form and check! In the worst case scenario, I would notify you that we were already sold out and return your check.

Feel free to contact me with any questions you might have about the shares, of course. Or, just check out the latest pig pics!

Read Full Post »

6 little piggies went to buy health insurance . . .

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on March 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

???????????????????????????????My dad called yesterday evening to tell me that there are six brand-new piglets in this world that will eventually find a home at Stone’s Throw Farm! It’s not as many as we’d hoped from this litter, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. They’re cute as can be, based on a couple photos my mom sent of the piglets napping under their heat lamp.

The piglets will have a good life — they’ll eat nutritious food (with no antibiotics added) and enjoy a low-stress environment outdoors with each other for company and plenty of shelter, fresh water to drink, and things to do (i.e., rooting in the soil, of course).

There’s no such thing as health insurance for pigs, but if there was, these pigs would surely get credit for their healthy lifestyle. You get credit for going to the gym, right? Now, you could also get credit for being a member of a CSA farm.

Stone’s Throw Farm has been approved for a new Lake Superior Sustainable Farming Association program called the CSA Wellness Initiative, and HealthShare is the first company to participate in our area. It’s an exciting new development spearheaded by Jamie Harvey of ISF, and I hope you’ll check out HealthShare and/or encourage your own health insurance company to join in.

Read Full Post »

Time to buy fresh produce – 2013 shares on sale!

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on March 1, 2013| Leave a Comment »

WingtipsInSnow

Recently at the farm, Elden & I noticed several signs of winged predators.

Yup, it’s that time of year again. Even though there’s still snow on the ground, it’s time to buy fresh, locally grown produce . . . it’s just not quite time to eat said produce. Sign up for your 2013 Stone’s Throw Farm CSA share now, and enjoy the fruit of our labor starting in mid-June.

WingtipsInSnow2SnowyTruck

Soon the farm will be bustling again. I’ll start onions from seed next weekend . . . and once the work starts, there’s no stopping!

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »