September News
As a small, start-up organic farm we live daily the adage: “you make the road by walking.” So many challenges lie ahead and each requiring its own unforeseen innovation. As another season winds towards its conclusion we take a few cautious glances backward to the road behind us. Amid the slowly composting piles of what we have left undone, it is sometimes hard to see our way clear to a pat on the back. But there is cause to celebrate. Even more so, amid what can feel like an impending doom on the global environmental front, it feels good to be working together toward a solution we can live with, literally. It has been a delicious summer of food, reduced reliance on fossil fuels, reduced waste, and an increase in good people coming together. In farming, the future is always tenuous, but these fields on the ridge (of Ridgefield) will see another summer planting, so we are all cheering. I hope many of you can come to the farm and join in the conversations around the place before the cold weather sends us scuttling indoors to mend and rework and rewire by the fireplace.
HAYRIDES AND PUMPKIN PICKING – SEPTEMBER 27th – OCTOBER 26th! Open Saturdays and Sundays from 10am-6pm. Come enjoy a tour of the farm from the haycart, visit with pigs and chickens, and hunt for a perfect jack-o-lantern in our pumpkin patch. It is a beautiful time of year on the farm and the colorful views make for a special autumn outing. Word-of-mouth is truly our best advertising, so be sure to tell your friends, family, and co-workers: we have a big pumpkin patch this year with a LOT of pumpkins!
CSA 2009 – As some of you know, we are nearing the end of our second season of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Our CSA shareholders are near and dear to these farmers’ hearts. Our CSA families were with us all summer and got a weekly tasting of a local, seasonal harvest. Together we picked strawberries, shared recipes, chased piglets, and explored hayfields. CSA is the backbone of our farm, and next year we plan to significantly increase the number of shares we will offer. If you are interested in learning more, visit our website. To include yourself on the waiting list, first register to create your Hickories account, then fill out the CSA form at http://www.thehickories.org/our_csa
While we are taking a moment to be thankful for the harvest season, we send thanks to the larger community, as well. The Ridgefield Farmers’ Market started this year and the outpouring of support for locally-grown food was overwhelming. Ancona’s Market has stepped up to show an impressive commitment to our farm and other local and organic producers by selling our food in their store. The new Ridgefield Organic Market seems to be thriving. These small gestures that people make add up – that much is certain – and we, as a community, are starting a real groundswell.
Steven L. Hopp contributed to Barbara Kingsolver’s book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle with this inspiring challenge: “If every US citizen ate just one meal a week composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That’s not gallons, but barrels.” What you have done by eating food raised by local and organic farmers is a massive gesture of hope writ in cherry tomatoes and salad mix. Back pats all around. It has been a beautiful summer. See you in the pumpkin patch.
