Newsletter: Thankful for Box #3

Photograph of Emmalyn holding a pie pumpkin in the center of the picture. — Just in time — these little pumpkins are perfect for pies!

For the past three years, I've been talking to my grandma a lot more. Grandma Elaine was a farmer for many years. Now that I've got some acres of my own, it's been really nice chatting with her about the "family business.” Sometimes we talk about crops, sometimes we talk about rats in the chicken coop. We always talk about the weather. Whenever finances come up, she always asks me one question: "Are you making your payments?"

The answer, so far anyway, has always been yes.

Before I get into the meat of the letter, I want to address a few things about the last newsletter. We've received a number of responses, and Emmalyn and I have been pretty blown away by the outpouring of support. First, to be clear, we're not failing right now. Finances are tight but above water, fall harvest yields are high, and, most importantly, we still get excited about growing food for a living. I'd say on the "Failing" to "Thriving" scale, we're right about in the middle, solidly in the "Surviving" range.

On that (bank) note, we are NOT asking for financial support. Everybody is struggling right now, we're incredibly grateful that you all value the food we grow as much as we do. Emmalyn and I are starting to brainstorm for next year. We're looking at different ways use our varied talents to switch up our business plan a bit. We're also continuing to focus on how to make our food more accessible to people in lower income brackets. We might come doorknocking at some point, but not until we can tell you definitively what your extra dollars will be going toward.

OK, on to the main course. It might be (it is) cliche, but with Thursday being what it is, and especially after the downer I wrote last week, I want to dedicate the rest of this letter to giving thanks. For as much as has gone sideways this year, there are many things that have gone right, and plenty of folks that helped turn the former into the latter.

First, I’m thankful that we have three years of experience running this business. The twists and turns keep coming, but we are a whole lot better equipped to deal with them now than we were in 2020. During our first CSA pack day in April 2020, Emmalyn and I didn’t finish packing boxes until well after midnight. Fridays before farmers markets our first year were equally long and chaotic. This year, boxes are often packed and ready to go before lunch, and pre-market Fridays are equally smooth. The systems we’ve been tweaking are starting to reap rewards for us, in crop quality and yield, as well as in time management.

We’re also grateful that our extra work implementing our no-till system is starting show results. Emmalyn describes no-till as a “slow burn”. Soil prep, mulching, and tarping unused beds takes longer than conventionally tilling, and the first year or two are spent fighting more weeds than you would by just tilling everything under. Now that we’re wrapping up our second full year without tilling, weed pressure is significantly less, our crops are growing quicker and larger, and the soil (and frogs!) are healthier than ever.

Last, and most importantly, we are thankful for our incredibly supportive community. From friends to members to neighbors to family, we have leaned on so many people this summer. From my brother helping us out when we were short-staffed this summer, to my mom cooking us lunch on CSA pack days. From my friends Jose and Tim emergency harvesting carrots with us, to my Uncle Bub who sends us a check twice a year to buy a CSA for a family in need. From our neighbors at Community Homestead for lending us their equipment, to my 91-year-old grandma for lending an ear.

I'm also thankful for Buck Owens and a lesser known hit of his, "It Takes People Like You To Make People Like Me." I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it a couple hundred more times before we're done, but we really couldn't do this without our CSA members. The financial support is nice, vital even, but it means so much more to have you all championing our cause. Whether it's telling your friends about our produce and our practices, visiting with us at farmers markets or CSA pickups, or sending words of encouragement, we really feel the love and support. Thank you for believing in what we do, and thank you for believing in us.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Cody

What’s in the Box?!

A blue bin full of washed carrots is pictured above a wet concrete floor. — **-Pie Pumpkin:** Wonderfully sweet for classic pumpkin pie filling, or as the base for a pumpkin turkey chili to use up leftovers.
**-Beets:** This cylindra variety is very deep in color and has a sweet earthiness. I am obsessed. Peel and roast. To save yourself clean up, use a piece of recycling to cut on.
**-Kickin' Greens Mix:** A mix of sweet and spicy East Asian greens. Purples and greens make a very striking mix for a salad.
**-Hakurei Turnips:** Love these. They have a flavor all their own, and the greens are wonderful too as a morning scramble add.
**-Brussels Sprouts:** Great to roast, sauté or shave into a salad. Enjoy!
**-Leeks** (Community Homestead): We partner with our neighbors at Community Homestead to help us grow leeks. It's a fun to learn from them and spend time together doing what we love. We’re thankful for this year's continued collaboration.