April 2016 Update

I know, I'm way past due with the spring update, no excuses, just been putting off sitting in front of the computer vs. spending time outside as long as I can :). It was a much milder winter for the fruit trees compared to the previous two, which was a nice break! The apples all have emerging leaves and blossoms so hopefully the sub freezing nights are behind us.

I enclosed the wash station this spring with plexiglass and plastic so we now have a larger space to work with for transplant starts (instead of the south facing window of our dining room)

Chicks arrived two weeks ago, all are doing well! We decided to go with the Freedom Ranger variety for this batch. They take a little longer to mature, but supposedly they are better foragers, we'll see how they do once we move them onto pasture in another week or so.

The garlic that went in at the end of October last year is looking good. We used card board sheets over a slightly raised bed and then planted the garlic into holes cut in the cardboard, I'm hoping that this will reduce the weed pressure that challenged the garlic crop last season.

Thank you to all of our shareholders that have signed up for the upcoming season! It's great to have so many of you returning from last year and we are excited to meet all of our new members as well. We expanded the number of shares again this season but only have room for about 6 more before we will be completely sold out. We are very thankful for the continued strong support!!

I'll attempt to keep the updates more frequent as we move closer to the start of the season. Have a great week!

-Wade

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2016 CSA SHARES NOW AVAILABLE

Do you enjoy delicious, fresh, organic fruit and vegetables? Do you like to know where your food comes from and who grows it? Does receiving a basket of freshly harvested produce each week during the growing season sound appealing? Well then a CSA share from Decker Farm and Orchard may be for you!

We will be offering both full and half share sizes again this year and in addition to our standard shares which include our organic, pasture raised meat chickens, we will also be offering a meat free share for our vegetarian customers.

2016 Share Prices:

Standard Half Share - $350
Standard Full Share - $600
Meat-Free Half Share - $310
Meat-Free Full Share - $520

Add fresh, organic, soy-free eggs to your weekly shares:

Half dozen - $45
Full dozen - $75

Joining is simple with our online signup form that makes registration quick and easy, and an online payment option is available as well. A $100 deposit will hold your share, with the balance due by May 15th.

Check out our CSA page for pictures and week by week listing of share contents from prior seasons.

We are super excited to begin our 3rd season of share production and can’t wait to see everyone out at the farm!

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CSA Week 17

Our final week for the 2015 season has arrived! A big Thank You to all of our wonderful shareholders that have supported us through another fantastic and very rewarding year. As I've come to realize, almost nothing on the farm goes exactly as planned, but as I reflect back over the past 17 weeks there have been many more ups than downs, and I am already looking forward to next season.

Sometime in the near future (hopefully before the holidays) we'll be sending out a brief survey to all shareholders for feedback on the past season. We would greatly appreciate if you could take a few minutes to complete it and help us to make next year even better!

Chickens went from pasture to freezer on Monday as planned. Average weights were right on target around 5 pounds each. Along with the chickens, this weeks shares include:

Leeks
Green Onions
Parsnips
Tomatoes
Radishes
Turnips
Sweet Peppers
Jalapeno Peppers
Cayenne Peppers

The parsnips look like over sized white carrots, they kind of smell a bit like carrots too. They are delicious in soup and stews, roasted, baked, or boiled and mashed.

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CSA Week 16

We are now down to the last two weeks of the season, this week and next. We had a light frost last Wednesday night/Thursday morning, so most of the herbs are now done along with the late zucchini, but it looks like most of the sweet peppers made it through and continue to color up and will hopefully be ready for final shares next week. We are starting to dig turnips this week along with the final harvests of beets and carrots. Lots of purple this week with beets, turnips and cabbage!

While last week was the final regular distribution for egg shares, out egg supplier will still have a few dozen available this week and next week if any one would like some. Just give me a day or two notice prior to your pickup day. They are $3 for a 1/2 dozen and $5 for a dozen

We experimented with some pumpkin varieties this year, trying to decide if we want to plant on a larger scale next season. We don't have a lot, (20-25) but will make them available on a first come first serve basis. If you are interested in one, shoot me a note and I will hold for you if your pickup date is later in the week.