Spring 2010 CSA
Newsletter February 1, 2010
I was speaking over the weekend to a friend whom resides in Maine and was surprised to find their winter, thus far, having been extremely temperate for the most part. That seems so ironic when SE Texas is having a cooler than normal winter. Just this past Saturday my feet felt like ice cubes as that cold concrete parking lot created one of the most uncomfortable Farm Market mornings that I have experienced over the past five years or so. (Perhaps I am showing my age?) Thanks again to all of you that came out and supported your local growers.
Okay since our last update, the farm seems to have inherited an emu. Yep thats right, its about 5 tall and resembles Big Bird on Sesame Street! While it was initially humorous, it is now becoming kind of a pain, as it seems as though it likes being around people. Consequently it follows some of our workers around and walks through our freshly planted lettuce houses leaving giant footprints in the freshly planted beds. (Now I can relate firsthand the connection between dinosaurs and birds.) Too cute to shoot, but it sure is a pain. Anyone out there wishing to adopt Big Bird let me know. Photo to follow,
A lot of you that are regular customers of the farm know that the last few years have been a period of transition for me personally. With my lifestyle getting back to a smoother schedule now, the prospect of bringing more visitors to the farm is one of my goals for 2010. Consequently, a few chefs and myself are going to sponsor a Farm Dinner here at WDF in early April (probably Saturday the 3rd). The event will likely begin around 3pm and include a tour of the farm and then be followed by a five course family style meal featuring locally grown produce and meats. (Be warned Big Bird?:) The chefs heading the culinary side of this event are Drew Wilson and Brandon Shillings. Drew was executive chef at Benjys in the Rice Village for the past five years and Brandon was the sous chef. Both have recently ventured together to create artesian style cheeses with their newly formed company, Pola. You can find them at some of the area Farm Market locations, as well as their products, in select restaurants and Whole Foods locations. The Farm Dinner event will be $75 per person, BYOB and limited seating. CSA members will be provided a 20% discount. Once the date is finalized, as that is the Saturday before Easter Sunday, the info will be posted on our website. Any feedback on the event timing (pro/con) will be appreciated.
Regarding the winter plantings, the land we cleared last summer is now ready for compost and fertilizers and it was raked again last week and leveled with a bull dozer. Hopefully the rain forecast for most of this week will be minimal as we could use some drying out. Greenhouse seedlings are growing pretty slow with the cloudy cool weather.
If you are considering participating in the Spring 2010 CSA program, I urge you to let us know ASAP as we are limiting our program size this year. A link to our CSA application is provided below. Hopefully our website will provide answers to many of your questions, but feel free to call me should you have any questions.
All the best,
VanCell 713 876 8645
csa@woodduckfarm.com