Sunday, July 19, 2009

The Garden




This summer we grew many heirloom varieties of vegetables and enjoyed a lovely array of colors, textures and flavors. Our garden grew so well that we have decided to offer a limited number of CSA subscriptions for next summer (2010).
Our garden plan includes 117 varieties of colorful and unusual open-pollinated and heirloom vegetables and fruits—of squash, pumpkins, watermelons, muskmelons, tomatoes, string beans and lima beans, tomatillos, ground cherries, cucumbers, sweet peppers, spice peppers, eggplant, okra, roselle, sweet corn, and oriental baby corn. Some of these varieties we have already grown and loved and others we would like to try.

The CSA would begin May-ish and last for at least 16 weeks (August-ish). One large basket of varied produce would be provided weekly for 4 months. For variety our baskets will include ferments, fresh herbs, herbal vinegars, oils and seasonings, dried fruits and vegetables, fresh fruits (such as blackberries and blueberries) and flowers. We will also include a little newsletter with recipes and serving suggestions each week and interesting history about the varieties you’ve received.
The cost is $200 for the entire season, which comes out to be $12.50 per week. This is a lower price than other local CSA’s in this area.
Because we are inexperienced with gardening for a market, we are looking for customers who could tolerate mistakes on our part and who would be willing to take the time to give us constructive feedback. If we have a crop failure—or maybe an over-abundance of something like zucchini, we can substitute eggs, goat milk or meat. If everything is a complete disaster we would of course refund your money.

For those of you not familiar with our growing practices—we are not certified organic, but we do not use chemical fertilizers or sprays. We use natural means, such as soap, essential oils, companion planting, soil mineralization and mulching to correct problems, and we fertilize with kelp, fish and crab meal, sea-90, compost and cover crops. We let our animals graze over the garden when the season is over to increase the soil fertility

If you have any questions or are interested in joining our CSA, please contact us at Foxgrapefarm@gmail.com. We hope to hear from you!

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