ORCHARD HILL FARM COMMUNITY GARDEN
2008

Welcome to the twelfth CSA season at our farm! We have expanded the garden to 160 shares this season and are looking forward to a good harvest. We have three apprentices with us. Yehuda Nestel is back again in a Senior Apprentice position. Anna McFaul and Maciej Jamrozik are here for their first season. Jessica Foote is also joining us for the month of June.

Important info about the CSA

Children going to the barn must be accompanied by an adult.
Please stay clear of the rear end of the horses in the barn.

Pick-up times: 11:00 am – 7:00 pm (on your regular pick-up day)
If you are unable to come on your regular pick-up day, another person can pick-up your produce. Please let them know pick-ups don’t start until 11:00 am. You can also switch from your regular pick-up day to a Tuesday or Saturday for that week, however we need to know at least one day before the pick-up.

Working Shares
The sign up sheet is in the pick-up room. Please make an effort to come when you sign up. We are counting on your help. If you can’t make it please call as soon as possible `ahead of time. We enjoy getting to know our members while we work together. It is also a big help to have the extra hands, especially with the high labour crops.

Mesclun tips
When you take mesclun home, keep it in a container that is not too wet.
If storing mesclun in a plastic bag, add a paper towel to the bag and leave the bag open.
If storing in a plastic container, add a paper towel or keep mesclun in a cloth bag.

Recipes
If you have a recipe to share bring it along and we will post it. If you are unsure of what to do with some vegetables just Google: “CSA Recipes” There are lots and lots of websites with recipes that explain how to use the wide array of produce that you receive.

Fall Harvest Pot Luck Party
Mark your calendar now!
Sunday, September 28th
2:00-4:30 pm
End of season. Last pick-up days will be as follows:
Tuesday – October 7
Saturday – October 11

Orchard Hill Farm CSA
Spring, 2008

Dear Members Past and Present,

Another year has rolled around! We are anticipating spring and the seedlings for early transplants are coming up in the greenhouse. Some head lettuce and Pac Choy have already been transplanted to our hoop houses. Our apprentices are lined up for this growing year. Yehuda Nestel will be returning for his second season. Jessica Foote, a future farmer who expects to have her own CSA in 2009, will be joining us for the months of April and June. Anna McFaul, a farm girl from Prince Edward County and University of Guelph student, will be here for the full season. Maciej Jamrozik, a University of Toronto Forestry and Geology student will be here from May to the beginning of September. They will be a good team to work with and we hope you will enjoy getting to know them during the coming season.

The bunkhouse is up with the windows, doors and the solar electric panels in place. The frame came from the woodlot, the straw from the farm field and the clay for the plaster on the walls is dug out of our hillside. We enjoyed two work bees in the fall, when many of our CSA members came and helped with the frame raising and straw bale wall building. The building has taken on a wonderful energy from the natural beauty of the wooden timber frame and the fun that everyone had in its construction. Building the straw walls reminded me of a making forts in the barn when I was a kid. At the end of the day my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. I can hardly wait to get into the mud pie stage when we cover the straw with clay.

Michelle Jory, who apprenticed here for three years, is starting her own farm business this year. She is renting land from us and using our horses and equipment. You will be hearing from her about her Fall/Winter CSA.

After much consideration Ken and I have decided not to renew our organic certification when our current certification runs out, since all of our produce is now marketed locally to you, our CSA members. Organic certification is required where organic products are shipped long distances and the consumer needs assurance from a certification body that the producer is indeed abiding by the spirit and the letter of organic agricultural rules. We will continue to use organic practices and are happy to answer questions you may have and explain our methods to you. We feel we are going well beyond compliance with organic rules by using draft horses to address concerns about fossil fuel use in agriculture. We also hope to have the whole farm off the electrical grid by 2010 by using renewable energy sources, because of concerns about nuclear and coal electrical generation.

It is with a great sense satisfaction that we share the bounty of our local organically grown harvest with you our CSA members.
We hope to see you in the spring,

Martha Laing
519-775-2670
kmlaing@execulink.com

Orchard Hill Farm CSA
Spring, 2008

Dear Members Past and Present,

Another year has rolled around! We are anticipating spring and the seedlings for early transplants are coming up in the greenhouse. Some head lettuce and Pac Choy have already been transplanted to our hoop houses. Our apprentices are lined up for this growing year. Yehuda Nestel will be returning for his second season. Jessica Foote, a future farmer who expects to have her own CSA in 2009, will be joining us for the months of April and June. Anna McFaul, a farm girl from Prince Edward County and University of Guelph student, will be here for the full season. Maciej Jamrozik, a University of Toronto Forestry and Geology student will be here from May to the beginning of September. They will be a good team to work with and we hope you will enjoy getting to know them during the coming season.

The bunkhouse is up with the windows, doors and the solar electric panels in place. The frame came from the woodlot, the straw from the farm field and the clay for the plaster on the walls is dug out of our hillside. We enjoyed two work bees in the fall, when many of our CSA members came and helped with the frame raising and straw bale wall building. The building has taken on a wonderful energy from the natural beauty of the wooden timber frame and the fun that everyone had in its construction. Building the straw walls reminded me of a making forts in the barn when I was a kid. At the end of the day my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. I can hardly wait to get into the mud pie stage when we cover the straw with clay.

Michelle Jory, who apprenticed here for three years, is starting her own farm business this year. She is renting land from us and using our horses and equipment. You will be hearing from her about her Fall/Winter CSA.

After much consideration Ken and I have decided not to renew our organic certification when our current certification runs out, since all of our produce is now marketed locally to you, our CSA members. Organic certification is required where organic products are shipped long distances and the consumer needs assurance from a certification body that the producer is indeed abiding by the spirit and the letter of organic agricultural rules. We will continue to use organic practices and are happy to answer questions you may have and explain our methods to you. We feel we are going well beyond compliance with organic rules by using draft horses to address concerns about fossil fuel use in agriculture. We also hope to have the whole farm off the electrical grid by 2010 by using renewable energy sources, because of concerns about nuclear and coal electrical generation.

It is with a great sense satisfaction that we share the bounty of our local organically grown harvest with you our CSA members.
We hope to see you in the spring,

Martha Laing
519-775-2670
kmlaing@execulink.com