Steps to Spring

Hello, friends and neighbors! We hope that you’re doing well and feeling good, despite the “moody” weather. Spring showed up, for about three days, and then, winter decided to come back around for a little bit. Oh well, it’s not going to keep us from starting the planting season. In fact, we’ve got about 300 (or more) plants started in the shop. We’ve “started” peppers, tomatoes, cabbages, cherry tomatoes and sweet potatoes. We also have onions and red potatoes that are waiting to go into the ground. C’mon spring!

In other news, the “hen hotel” is well into the secondary stages of construction; so, our laying hens will soon be a lot more portable. They’re coming back into their “spring chicken” routines. Soon, they’ll be providing our CSA customers with delicious, all natural, additive free eggs. Of course, if you’re a “year round” egg customer- you already enjoy their “products”. Your eggs will return to their original price, as stated on the website, of $2.50. That is, unless you’re a CSA subscriber. If you have a subscription, you’ll receive a discount throughout your 20 week subscription period. The original pricing shall return on May 1^st.

While we’re on the topic of subscriptions- CSA contracts are due. It helps us plan exactly how much work we need to do when we know how many people are “in needin’ of some feedin’”. As mentioned above, May 1^st is the beginning of our ‘season’ (though, I believe, the shares begin in June). Please submit your contracts as soon as you can. If you have any questions, you can call us here at the farm or email us at hrnhcsa@gmail.com. Thanks and have a beautiful day. We’ll see you soon!

Sow what and chicken butts.

Well, we've had a couple meetings since last I posted a blog. We had a garden planning meeting, a "high tunnel" meeting and a CSA membership meeting. Contracts should already be in by now (though there are a few still floating around) and we've made some choices as to what we're planting and how we plan to change day to day operations. The high tunnel should extend our growing season by about three months on both ends of the spectrum, provided we receive our funding in a timely manner. So, next year we will be able to offer much more produce and sooner, as well.
Ok, we're thinking about some "oddball" veggies and fruits like pawpaws and giant "peach" strawberries. What am I talkin about, you ask? Well, pawpaws have a banana custard flavor and the giant "peach" strawberries are about the size of peaches and taste like...ummm...strawberries with a hint of peach. (Did you think they'd taste like grapefruit- lol, jk). Anyway, there are other items that I'll discuss in a later post, when we decide what exactly we want. For now, sink your teeth into that tasteless supermarket produce and dream of farm fresh veggies that are all natural and super delicious. That's whaty we're about and we're pretty sure you are, too. Later later, sweet pertaters.

Thaw it coming

Well, we had our mid winter thaw (actually it was a bit later than usual). Then, it turned around and dumped half a foot back on the ground. Boo hoo. :) Anyway, the new batch of peeps (we call them "nuggets") is doing just fine. There haven't been any more losses and they're starting to grow their wing feathers out (must be what the kids are doing these days) but... they stink. Oh well, this is a farm, after all. In other news, we've been approved for a "hoop house", which is essentially a cold greenhouse. So, pops is doing research on the best quality for the best price. Mom is "chained to her desk" (this is her season, after all) but, she still finds the time to help with the feeding. All in all, life is good and this farmhand is ready to get to the real work. Shoveling snow is boring. Feeding animals is year round. I want some dirt showing! This has been your HRNH update. Now, back to your life... already in progress!

Hoggin' It Up

Well, our little baby boy has become a full on boar. We caught him trying to catch the lady piggers. So, we had to build him his own house and separate them. Now, we are trying to breed these beautiful large black hogs but, the girls are just a tad on the young side and could suffer irreversible damage to their innards if they become pregnant "teens". They could have serious complications with the birthing process and even die! Anyway, Ama seems to be doing well with his little "bachelor pad" and we hope that, in a month or two, he can resume his <ahem> "interest" in the ladies. Until then, he'll just have to find comfort in his "porkin' pork" dreams. Lol, that's just awful (I'm bad). He'll be alright. We hope that he didn't already "catch" the girls, due to the problems stated above. Well, that's your pig news. Now...back to your life, currently in progress! ;}}

Website Decisions

We recently had a meeting regarding our website (http://www.hrnaturalharvest.com/) and it's maintenance. We intend to create an ease of use and understanding for our customers. We're sorting out the small details right now but, hopefully, we will have everything in working order by the beginning of the primary growing season. A couple of unique and interesting features will be included, such as: "Your Recipe Box", "Your CSA Calendar" and "Your Feedback" pages. We're deciding whether or not to implement PayPal for easy transactions, as well. Also, we're trying to get the "Tour the Farm" section up and running, so customers can get an idea of our little piece of heaven and what it has to offer. We're really looking forward to the coming season. Soon, all will be hectic and life will consist of all day work. We'd like to have a hassle free site up and running by that time. Thanks so much!

Work to live, live to work

As the winter nears it's end, we continue to prepare for the coming season of sowing. We'll have plenty to do this year, planting many of the same crops and some new ones. We're in the process of getting the website fully operational and egg sales continue to increase. In fact, we now have more customers than eggs to give them. (I tried giving the chickens a pep talk but, they just ignore me). Regardless, there are crops to nurture and projects to complete. It's just the three of us here but, I have faith that we can get it all done. We're going to try doing working shares this year, as well as some outreach programs. Research on grants is progressing but, slow. We're aiming to have double the shares as last year so, keep your fingers crossed that we can make it through this efficiently. I have hope. It's all good. ;}

Seasons Change

Soon, the snow will melt and we'll be playing in the dirt from dawn to dusk. A new year means new strategies for planting and growing. Egg sales are continuous and customers are lining up for the coming season. We're excited to try out some new techniques for sustainable agriculture. It's going to be hard work but, hey, this is a farm. You can't really live and work on a farm and be lazy. It just doesn't "work" that way. Anyway, our website is up (though, not yet complete) and we're slowly getting all of our "ducks" in a row. We're doubling our customer base and our efforts to bring you delicious, naturally grown, nutritious veggies. Stay tuned for updates weekly! Later, later sweet pertaters!