We held our 10th annual Spring Signup meeting on Saturday and it was a rousing success. An excited crowd of new and returning members joined us at St. Peters Legacy Center in Brookside (our newest distribution site) to sign contracts, get oriented, meet and greet, and otherwise try to bring on the Spring.

Signing contracts and mingling

It was, and always is a unique event. The first two words of CSA were clearly visible. Our Core Group did their usual wonderful job of helping members fill out and sign their contract, schedule their farm work days, and entertain the many childern who came.

Signing up

We were also joined by Parker Farms. Members were able to talk with Tom and Paula and sign up for their wonderful shares of meat and eggs.

We were glad to be able to give the members a bag of spinach in appreciation for their support. The income from the signup is a tremendous help to us, allowing financal concerns to take a back seat, and allowing us to concentrate on the upcoming season. It is an aspect of the CSA model that has a significant positive effect. The enthusiasm of the event is yet another one, and  helps propel us into the season.

View out the window on Saturday night

And if you have looked outside lately you know that this support is needed and appreciated. Despite the snow we are sticking to our gameplan of planting in the greenhouse and high tunnel, prepping our equipment to hit the fields as soon as we can, expanding the packing room and wash area, and otherwise working on the many tasks that CSA farming requires.

We are hoping that the forecast for this week holds true, so that by the end of the week or weekend we can start planting in the fields. This is the coldest and latest Spring we have seen. In looking at our photos it is not uncommon to have snow at the farm in late March, but the grass has always green underneath.

Growing and anxious to be planted

Luckily, mankind has yet to impact the Earth to such an extent that the sun won’t rise higher each day during the Spring. So we look forward to the warming effect of Old Sol and are itching to dig in.