Dear CSA members all,

The farm harvest this week is:

  • Potatoes
  • Leeks – the first fall leek harvest! We sowed the leek seeds in the seedling greenhouse way back in March. They take a long time to grow.
  • Japanese Turnips – the first of the fall season. These are the farm team favorites this week. Also the arugula. Actually, we like all the vegetables.
  • Bok Choy
  • Rainbow Chard
  • Arugula
  • Lettuce
  • Parsley
  • And, Apples for Fruit Share members.

The Farm announcements this week are plenty, also! The Fall Fair and a new event, Sowing the Future, are great ways to get to know your farm a bit more and have fun with the farmers. We extend warm invitations to all our CSA members.

On Saturday, October 10, Hawthorne Valley Farm is hosting our annual Fall Festival, starting at 10:30 am. In addition to the great food and children's activities that you have come to expect, highlights of the day will include an in-flight falconry demonstration, the return of the oxen team, an afternoon contra dance, and an expanded Farmer's Market tent featuring local food producers. Adults may be particularly interested in the sauerkraut- and cheese-making workshops ($15, pre-registration recommended) and the keynote presentation by "No Impact Man", environmental activist Colin Beavan. And, don't forget the annual Pie Baking and Scarecrow Contest! Bring your goodies for display and judging. Prizes will be awarded in both a children’s and an adult category for pies.

On Friday evening, October 9, we will be screening the movie “No Impact Man” at 7:30 pm. Colin is a regular customer at the Hawthorne Valley Farm greenmarket stand at Union Square, and then became so interested in the farm here that he has visited several times, getting to know our positive impact on the world. Come and see the movie with us on Friday evening, and enjoy a local-ingredients meal prepared at Local 111, a restaurant 10 minutes away from the farm. A list of local Bed and Breakfasts is attached here, and will be sent to you in the post as well, if you would like to come up on Friday evening and stay for the Fair on Saturday.

The weekend before the Fair, on Sunday October 4, 2:00 until 4 pm, you are heartily invited to Sowing the Future, a new event hosted by Hawthorne Valley Farm and Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program in conjunction with The Nature Institute. We will learn about grains and explore the role of grains in the development and history of Columbia County. SteffenSchneider, Hawthorne Valley Farm General Manager, and Craig Holdrege, Director of The Nature Institute, will speak about the importance of seeds, seed sources and the cultural and economic implications of a changing seed industry. In addition to all of the learning and discussing, we will sow a rye field together with the farmers. Please bring sturdy shoes, as we will walk the field, sowing the rye seeds by hand. Bringing a mug for refreshments would also be handy. There is an old tradition of a community coming together to sow a field together, and then together reap the future harvests. This rye field will be harvested in July 2010, and the rye will be used in the Hawthorne Valley Farm Bakery to make the sourdough rye bread throughout the year.

Please look out for the schedule of events, directions, and more information about the festivals in your mailbox. We are sending CSA members all the information via the post mail next week.

Also, please look for your regular weekly CSA newsletter email next Wednesday evening. Today (Thursday) the high-tech people are testing the email system out here at the farm, because sometimes we have gotten our emails all frozen up here when we send out the CSA newsletter emails. I am glad (I think we are all glad) that I am not in charge of the farm computers. For me, it’s easier to move the whole milking herd down the cow lane than it is to move a frozen computer screen.

I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful fall weather as much as the farmers are.

-farmer Katy