Friday, March 26, 2010

Adventures in CHICKENS!


That’s right friends, the rumors are true- Red Wiggler will be adding CHICKENS to our farm this season! Ready to start this project off on the right foot, Andrea and Liz headed out to Whitmore Farms at the beginning of March to visit our old friend Loran and our new friends, Will and Kent, owners of Whitmore Farm. Whitmore Farm is a certified organic farm that specializes in American Heritage breed livestock raised on pasture. Loran showed us around, giving us the chance to see how they raise their laying hens, have a look at their mobile coops, and see the hatchery operation, where our Red Wiggler Chicks will come from!

All in all, the day was a huge success! We walked away knowing exactly what we’ll need in a chicken wagon and how to get it, as Whitmore Farms has offered to sell us one of theirs (that beauty in the picture above). We also got to meet the various heritage breeds that will make up our flock- The Welsumers, deep red chickens that lay large, dark brown speckled eggs;




Delawares, our white feathered friends with the bright red comb, eye, and wattle laying light brown eggs (the light yellow chicks )

and the Ameraucanas, best known by their beautiful blue eggs (pictured below as fluffy little chicks).



Since our visit, we have been busy plotting and planning both our strategy for raising a happy healthy flock and thinking about how we’ll get the support we need to make our chicken dreams a reality as soon as possible. We have decided to go organic and raise our flock on pasture, which means these chicks will be tended by us from their second day out of the shell. This also means that there will be a long period where we’ll be supporting the chickens before they are mature enough to produce eggs to sell. If you'd like to support this new project please consider making an on line donation. We are very excited to watch them grow, and if you are too, let us know!

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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Support Red Wiggler by eating at Chop't

Hello Loyal Friends and Supporters!

We wanted to let people know that if they stop into Chop't Restaurants in DC--there are 5 convenient locations--you can support Red Wiggler by ordering their featured salad for the month. Part of the cost will go to Red Wiggler to support our programs. So eat a healthy delicious meal and do good for one of your favorite NGOs!

Thanks in advance!!
-Red Wiggler
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Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Farm Conference Fun!

We're off to the annual PASA (Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture) conference at Penn State University in State College, PA. We're sure to meet old and new friends and learn a few new tricks to bring back to the farm. Whoohoo!
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Monday, January 25, 2010

CSA 2010 is Complete

We want to thank all those who submitted applications for the Red Wiggler Community Farm’s 2010 CSA. We have a limited number of shares available and many applicants. We limit our CSA to focus on growing in a safe and sustainable method for our fields and our employees.

Our farm is a unique Non-profit with a diverse social mission and we have many great events open to the public throughout the year. For those who’d like to possibly come out and volunteer with us, please visit the volunteer page of our website here.

There are lots of great resources for finding fresh, local food in our area. For other CSAs, we recommend looking at Local Harvest. They are a great resource. Each CSA is a little different and brings added benefits. The Washington Post also lists local CSAs in the beginning of February each year in the Food section of the paper. Here is last year’s (2009) article. Another great resource for local food are farmers markets. Here is the listing of farmers markets in the metro area.

We thank everyone for their interest and support and wish the best in local eating for 2010 and look forward to connecting with everyone in the future!

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Wednesday, January 06, 2010

2010 CSA Lottery Receiving Applications Now

Our 2010 CSA season shares are open to the public via Jan 19 lottery! (The lottery has taken place for the 2010 season- see our web site for 2011 details)

We've had an 82% return rate from our 2009 customers. Again this year, we are holding a lottery for the available shares the week of January 18th with all submitted applications and $50 checks. If you are interested please read our CSA page where you will find a FAQ page and more info. Then download the 2010 Registration/Application form. The Application and $50 check must be received by COB Jan 19.

Please read the entire document/web page before calling or emailing-thanks.

-Red Wiggler Community Farm Staff and Growers
2010 CSA Lottery Receiving Applications NowSocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Sunday, January 03, 2010

Saturday, December 05, 2009

First Snow

It was a beautiful day on the farm today with 4 inches of wet snow falling over the whole day. Snow slowly adds nitrogen to the soil as it perculates down into the aquifer. We like winter snow!
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