Hawthorn Farm’s Winter Staples CSA is an answer to eating locally year-round.
Partnering with Suncrest Acres in Maltby in order to have more acreage, we focus on growing nutrient-dense staples available for pickup at the field in the early fall. Be warned, it might be more than one car full!
You, as one of only 5 CSA customers, influence what we grow. Love beets? Can’t stand potatoes? I’ll plan the crops accordingly. You also share the risks of production. I’m honest about what I think will grow successfully. I’ll do my best to provide an awesomely nourishing value. You truly get a share of the crops we grow.
If we grow more than you want, we donate our excess produce to the local food bank through HopeLink and Northwest Harvest.
WHAT WE CAN GROW FOR YOU:
Tried, true, and popular:
Winter squash (primarily Buttercup/Kabocha and Delicata) 400 pounds
Carrots 3 bushels
Beets 3 bushels
Parsnips 2 bushels
Potatoes 100 pounds
Onions 1 bushel
Popcorn 2 bushels of ears
Slightly more experimental possibilities:
Small grains like wheat or barley
Amaranth for grain
Flax seeds
Corn to grind for flour or polenta
Garlic (fall-planted in 2018, availability depends on if these plants survive the winter)
Dry beans and soup peas (deer love to eat peas, so I won’t fully commit to providing this—but I will try)
Poppy seeds
Summer pickup required, if desired: tomatoes for canning/drying, tulsi, calendula, and other herbs for tea.
HOW WE CHOOSE CROPS: Do you especially love any of the products named above? Can’t stand them? Have other ideas? Please include your thoughts in an email to me by January 31, 2019. If I don’t hear preferences from you, I’ll grow a good mix, going heavy on the tried-and-true while still including some experimental plantings.
PAYMENT DETAILS: A $199 deposit is also due by January 31, 2019, as I will need to order seed in February. After the $199 deposit in January, you can pay $150 a month in June, July, August, and September (or $600 in any one of those months)—whatever makes good local food more accessible to you! Checks work best at the moment, but we will have PayPal available in January 2019.
UNITING YOU WITH YOUR FEAST: Pick-up at the farm in Maltby will be in mid-October. We will offer a few different days to pick up. If you would rather have us deliver to you in the Seattle area, we can do that for $175. I’ll update all the CSA members throughout the growing season on how the crops are doing, and offer several days to come visit this lovely field. It’s very near Bob’s Corn. I’ll also tell you our harvest days, if you would like to harvest your own as part of your pickup. Digging potatoes is like finding buried treasure! A priceless way to get kids involved and invested in the home food supply.
This CSA should feed a family of four through much of the winter. Squash keeps well in a dry place, and can also be cooked and frozen. Root vegetables store well in a cool damp spot. Much of the Northwest qualifies! We keep ours in well-ventilated boxes in an unheated room. A north-facing porch would also be good, if produce is kept from freezing. You’ll get a sheet of our root-cellar tips when you sign up.
If getting connected with your food, saving yourself many trips to the grocery store, and supporting a local resilience-building farm sound good, make sure to reserve your spot by sending your deposit and food wish list to us through an email here.
Thank you from all of us at Hawthorn Farm!