Napa Cabbage
Salad Mix
Japanese Salad Turnips
Delicata Squash
Baby Butternut Squash
Storage Onions
Carrots
The end of another season is upon us! As always, lots of feelings are running around in our minds and hearts as we draw the season to a close. We couldn’t feel luckier to have such amazing people in our lives. Our CSA members, our workshares, our families and friends, random people who show up and show love … we couldn’t do this without you all.
When we first started the farm in 2018, we truly thought that we were going to have an impact changing the food system. Having nine years under our belt has us humbled and hardened a bit by learning what incredibly hard work it is to make an impact as a small farm. And even though we haven’t made any huge waves in the global food system yet, we’re still trying, and its so much more empowering to keep going when you have an army of support behind you. We had our last workshare harvest day yesterday, and I got choked up looking around at all the people who have showed up for us for all these years, and continue to do so. “Community” supported agriculture isn’t just about the food, it's about building relationships around the production and consumption of food. Growing food with these folks, sharing a weekly meal, and being able to share our produce with you all is incredibly special.
Tuesday crew potluck! Everyone brought something and we had grilled cheese and tomato bisque, apple cider, and apple cider margaritas.
We’ve begun planning for 2027 already. As many of you know, Ali finished her Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counselling in August, and has started working full time for the Bakari Center. She’s going to be reducing her farm hours next season, so she can get experience at her new job with hopes to involve the farm in healing one day. Alex, who has been slowly increasing his hours and role on the farm, will be promoted to “Building and Grounds” Manager and joining us full-time next season. His roles will include managing all things maintenence; mowing, trimming, building and high tunnel repair, crop trellising, fence maintenance, and tool upkeep. This doesn’t mean that he’s the only person responsible for carrying out those tasks, just for holding the mental space on when and why and who, so that they get done in a timely fashion.
Sam is our resident revolutionary. He is involved with many other organizations that take our work here on the farm farther than the land where it grows. His work with the Milwaukee Food Council and the Wisconsin Farmer’s Union require a lot from him, so he’s going to be using a few afternoons a week to carry out that work. That work isn’t as tangible as the list of farm tasks, but it’s important to have an actual working farmer in many of those roles, because we often aren’t represented in those professional spaces. But while on farm, Sam is the Propagation, Harvest, and Records/Finance Manager. He (and I, but mostly him) sits down during the winter with the spreadsheets, and makes sure we harvest everything on time; working backwards from harvest, to planting, to seeding, to ordering seed. Planning in the offseason is how we guarantee success in the on season. During the season, he manages the harvest and distribution, making sure that we’re harvesting the yield we planned for and selling what we planned for.
I (Sara) will continue to be your CSA Member Coordinator. I love corresponding with you all, and it's funny that some of you have been in our CSA for years and we’ve never even met in person but talk via email multiple times a year and I feel like I know you! We really take personal responses seriously, even if it takes us a couple days ;) so if you see a suspicious response that looks like AI, it was an accident and will never be our vibe. My role will also include Field and Fertility Manager; keeping track of which beds are getting planted and how they are amended, which beds need to be weeded and what level of intervention we’ll need (the goal is to always use a long-handled tool so we can stand upright, and never on our hands and knees, but it happens!) Sam and my roles will overlap when it comes to quality control - the field is half the quality, and the harvest and post-harvest handling is the other half. We’re also finding ourselves hosting events as of late, and it’s a really enjoyable experience, so that’s something that I may find myself taking on as we evolve.
Thank you all again for such a lovely season. Every season is a little different and we do our best to be responsive to the ever-changing weather and market. Enjoy the winter and hope to see you all soon!
This outdoor kitchen was probably the best thing we’ve ever added to our land. Being able to share a meal, a drink, and some company are the things we live for.