NOTE: This blog is posted by a volunteer. No one from the farm checks or responds to messages here. You must contact the farm directly with any questions, comments, etc
Dear Current & Future Members,
Just wanted to let everyone know that the website is live and ready for you to sign up for the 2022 season. If you prefer to send Jacquie a hard copy form and payment, here are the forms you will need:
Thank you for all the wonderful cards, pictures, letters, gifts and homemade goodies for Christmas. We loved all the wonderful news about your busy lives and appreciate you sharing that with us. We also love seeing the pictures of the family and watching your children change over time. Your thoughtfulness on including us in your Christmas makes us feel like family. Thank you!
2022 Sign-up: It is imperative to return your sign up form and declaration page ASAP. We were filled by the end of March last year and if you want to retain your space, you need to send in your form with your deposit. We are updating the website soon. If you choose to return this form with a check or pay with Zelle, you will pay a discounted price.
If you cannot swing the total deposits at this time, send me monthly payments. Please make a note on the form as to what your plan is so we are all on the same page. You can send monthly payments through September 1st to pay off your Summer Share (7 months). If you purchase a Winter Share or meat, you are welcome to divide out your payments over 11 months with your final payment on December 1st.
Working Members: Working members are an integral part of the functioning of this CSA. They are the important link of getting fresh picked produce into bags, onto trucks and into members hands. Being a working member brings lots of camaraderie, bonding and team building. You will make new friends and learn more about the farm than you ever imagined! The day starts out in the barn filling all the shares that go to the DC’s. Left over produce needs to be stored in the cooler and the barn needs straightening. After that, you go into the fields to do a little weeding or harvesting. You will feel very accomplished as members work together toward a common goal. Work begins at 7am on Tue, Wed or Thr mornings and will continue until 11am. The best part; you take your produce home with you (plus any extras) at the end of the day. You will see first-hand all the hard work that goes toward making distribution possible. Plus, you will meet new friends with a common interest and eating habits. Food is often the subject most talked about and recipes are shared. Kids are always welcome!!! If you can make the time, please consider being a working member.
Distribution Centers (DC): As you know, Jerry and I are stepping back from the farm more each year. We will not be doing the distribution route and we need to combine all of the Denver Metro DC’s into one truck for Tuesday and Wednesday deliveries. We have not had a chance to speak to all our DC’s to see if the switch in distribution day will affect them in a negative way. But are hoping there will be no more changes in DC locations. Days of delivery may change as we move closer to our first distribution day around mid-June.
We have found a replacement for the Yale location. They are near Dartmouth & Colo Blvd. But still need a location for North Boulder (NB) and Arapahoe (AR) & Ellsworth (EL). NB: If you picked up produce in this area, would you please consider being a DC? Everyone who picked up at the 5th & University location will need to either move south or north. AR: I am looking for someone from I-25 & C470 north & west. EL: We have had one person volunteer their home to replace the Ellsworth location. They are located at Logan & Louisiana. Does this work for everyone to move south? If not, I need a volunteer to offer their home. I also have volunteers on the West side of I-25 for this location. Which is better? Please email me with comments.
DC’s are considered volunteers and you can get the Working Member discount. If you are interested, call or email Jacquie and she will send you a DC volunteer work description.
New Members: I understand being a member can be a big commitment. I also understand it can be hard to find the time to clean the produce and create meals. Realistically, where are you going to find prices like this anywhere else and where can you get produce this fresh? So, make it a family affair and get everyone involved! Get your kids involved ~ they love playing in the water. It gives you an opportunity to talk about the food you are cleaning. Ask them to choose something to eat at each meal and they just may be more willing to try it! Get your spouse involved. Nothing is better or more relaxing & therapeutic than fixing a meal together. Share a glass of wine while you’re at it… (Then tell your spouse your farmer recommended it!) Keep in mind it takes two years to get used to getting your produce this way ~ so give it another year if 2021 was your first.
Add On’s: Please keep in mind, you cannot order any add-on’s such as honey, olive oil, fruit or meat without purchasing a Summer or Winter Share. Add-on’s are for current CSA members.
Since Kyle is taking on more responsibilities on the farm (and to retain his sanity), he has decided to continue to raise animals for fall/winter processing only. We have changed the way you order beef, lamb and pork online through the website. Beef will be in quarters, lamb and pork in halves. You may order as many as you would like to fill your freezers.
2021/22 Winter Shares: Everyone who is getting a Winter Share should have this paid off by now. But if you did not pay it off in December, your payment in full is due at this time. Unfortunately, it coincides with the current sign-up for 2022. This is why we suggest you pay this in full by the end of December!
Plans for 2022: It is important to renew your membership this month. We will be sending Info Packets to interested customers from our Wait List as well as accepting orders online outside of the membership (up and running by the middle of the month). So even though you have a hard copy form in hand, if you’d rather signup online, please feel free to do so. It is equally important to inform any interested friends, neighbors or co-workers about joining the farm right away. We can send an Info Packet (which has more information about the shares) or have them check out our website at http://www.monroefarm.com.
Jerry, Kyle and Luis have been busy prepping the farm for winter. The barn has been cleaned up and they have started to work on several pieces of equipment. Lots of garlic was planted last fall and with good luck and weather; we should have a fabulous harvest! They are also spending tons of time researching seed, planning which crops to grow and how much of it. Kyle and Jerry are buried in seed catalogs and ordering supplies right now.
Jerry drove over the fill ditch for our lake the other day and is extremely happy to report the ditch had water in it. They are filling our lake and that is a relief since all the water was used over the horrendously hot summer.
We tried a new planting technique to space the carrot seed farther apart in order to get larger carrots for distribution last summer. Some of this worked and some didn’t. We will continue to experiment until we get the perfect carrot size. However, weather has a huge impact on the performance of carrots. It takes three weeks to germinate the seed, most of the summer to grow to a decent size and then the tender plants are loved by all of Mother Natures’ creatures. This is because they are one of the first new plants to emerge in the spring. But the good news is: Carrots will be planted in two cold frames in a couple of weeks for spring harvest! We will have small carrots in the beginning until the field carrots come on later.
A new variety of Romaine lettuce was also tried in 2020 & 21 that was supposed to grow without too much bitterness during the hot summer months. For the first time in our history, we were able to provide greens to members for a large part of the season. We are happy to let you know that we will be growing this again for your enjoyment! Depending on Mother Nature, we may not be able to provide greens every single week, but we are trying.
Conclusion: Those members who have been with us for many years will tell you we have done a pretty good job of growing and distributing produce even with the huge inconsistencies of weather in the past nine years. Our weather has huge fluctuations from spring to summer to fall. There were times you received fourteen different varieties of vegetables and melons in your summer share. I know it can be hard to know what to expect from year to year when there is so little consistency in our weather. This is the reality of farming and what all farmers must deal with. I hate to say it, but this new weather pattern isn’t going to change. With four generations of farm expertise (and the fourth now taking charge), I would say you are in good hands!!! It’s not an easy job, but we love what we do! Feeding people is our passion and we appreciate our members. Your consistent support from year to year is why we are in business and we could not do this without you! We truly have the best members of any CSA. And by working together, either financially or physically; we will make it even better!
Happy New Year. We are looking forward to being your farmers this summer.
Kyle, Jacquie and Jerry
Monroe Organic Farms 