First Week of CSA 2010!

Hello All,

Welcome Back to the Red Wiggler CSA. We are happy to bring you the first harvest of many good things this season! Here's what we've got on tap this week:

Garlic Scapes--you know you've missed them!
Braising Mix--with a little spinach mixed in
Spring Onions
Kale
Collards
Turnips or Radishes
Butler's Strawberries

Enjoy!

Chicken Little -or- Chicks arrive at Red Wiggler!

The chicks are here! They arrived yesterday evening after a short ride down from Whitmore Farm and settled into their new digs for what ended up being a chilly night. Even so, the little ones kept each other cozy through the night and were happily chirping away in the barn this morning. We are all very excited that they are here, and they are bound to be a source of frequent comment in this space!

After spending last week freshening up the wagon with a new coat of paint and rigging just the right brooding situation...

we abandoned the outdoor setup in favor of a smaller, more insulated brooding space inside the barn- at least until these cold overnight temperatures subside!


The chicks were greeted by some eager farmers...



(Adrienne still thinks they are awfully cute, even when they leave unexpected surprises on her clothes)

and when acquaintances were made, the chicks settled in for the night. Night chickies!

Planting Potatoes

The potatoes are in! In classic Red Wiggler style, we have planted not one, not two, but six (yes, six) beautiful varieties of potatoes over the past two weeks. Red Norlands, Yukon Golds, German Butterballs, French Fingerlings, Purple Vikings and All Blues have been tucked into their beds and are waiting for a nice rain to get them on their way.

Our crew did the lions share of the planting work, and we were lucky enough to get a helping hand from enthusiastic volunteers from the Community Foundation Mothers and Daughters group for the last two varieties to go in. One of our crew, Samantha, shares her perspective on the potato process here:

Some of the staff and growers cut potatoes in quarters, then we let them dry out. We planted them within the week to prevent mold from growing on them. We rolled out potato fabric and cut holes in the fabric. Then a piece of cut potato was placed in each hole. We also made hills in the dirt and planted the potato cut side down, skin side up, then covered the potato with dirt. To keep the holes in the fabric lined up with where the potatoes were planted, metal stakes as well as some wooden stakes and rocks were placed on the fabric to keep the fabric from blowing off during a storm or in high winds.

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!

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

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!

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!