A Bloggy Transition!

Recently, in a 'how to grow your business' kind of book I read this question / answer set.

Q : It is better for me to have a blog or a website?

A: Ultimately, both - for each serves a different purpose to the consumer.

In the last couple weeks since our new website went live I have come to understand how very true this is. I can't speak, for you - the consumer, but I can say that I LOVE the new site for many reasons.

Let me list them for you:

1. I love the way that the facts you want to stay put - do.
2. I love that I can create picture galleries!
3. I LOVE that there are menu tabs allowing you to navigate the information at your own rate.
4. I really love that every time you go to the site a different picture in the slideshow greets you.

But, most of all, I love that it is the 'grown up' version of this blog. The go-to place when you have any questions farm or CSA related.

That said, I am quite fond of the blog too because this is where I get to use my farmer's wife snarky side telling stories of a purple-thumbed gal navigating foreign soil!

All of which is a long winded (did you catch that about me yet?) way of saying that the blog will remain a place for me to tell tales of veggie woeness, silly stories of harvesting, share more recipies that didn't make THE one of the month, etc.

BUT, for any 'grown up', read: business aspect information - please try the website first.

http://www.littlevillagefarm.com/ It's where we live now.

Oh - and a HUGE shout out to my good friend Ken Saccardo, owner of Spring River Enterprises in Ludlow, Vermont. Not only did he design the site for us, but he endured side-by-side content design with me and successfully taught me nearly enough to maintain the site on my own!

CSA OPEN HOUSE - SATURDAY JUNE 12TH

Tomorrow (or perhaps - today, depending on when you read this) is our CSA Open House. Please, feel free to drop in anytime between 11am and 3pm for a garden tour and a snack.

We will have coloring contest sheets for the kids and early vegetable recepies for the adults!

Rain or shine (for gardens like them both) we will be here!

Hoping to see many of you shareholders...

CSA UPDATE

Hello from Little Village Farm!


We hope you are having a wonderful Spring (Summer)!


It's time for a few updates:

• Our new website is in the planning stages. Ken Saccaro, from Spring River Enterprises in Ludlow, is designing it for us. Very soon you will be able to access it and the first of many newsletters online!


• This blog will not disapear. It's function will become more newsbased, however, so check back here for working shareholder information and more!


• The garden is growing nicely! This weather sure does make things pop! First harvest date is not set yet.

You are cordially Invited to Little Village Farm's OPEN HOUSE! Please stop by anytime between 11am and 3pm on Saturday June 12th for a garden tour and complimentary barbeque! We have been working hard to make the garden clean, organized and user friendly for all you working shareholders!

We hope to see many of you there and feel free to bring a friend! THERE ARE ONLY 4 SHARES LEFT and we anticipate them going quickly.

Growing Strong,

Farmer Jer

KICKING OFF THE FARMER'S MARKET SEASON!

SETTING UP A TABLE AT THE LUDLOW FARMER'S MARKET TONIGHT FROM 4-7 FOR OUR LITTLE VILLAGE FARM CSA!

FIRST ONE OF THE SEASON. STOP BY AND SEE US.

• COLORING SHEETS FOR THE KIDS
• TAKE HOME INFO FOR INTERESTED SHAREHOLDERS (ONLY 4 SHARES LEFT!)
• INVITATION TO OUR BIG OPEN HOUSE ON JUNE 12TH!

HOPE TO SEE YOU ON THE GREEN AT OKEMO MOUNTAIN SCHOOL.

What's Doing At Little Village Farm

Well, I went away for a few days last week and came home a completely different looking field!

The bee hive has been prepped. Two swarms will be arriving on Friday, the 28th. POLLENATION HERE WE COME!

The chickens have been producing like crazy! They like them some nice warm weather too. Want eggs? Come and get 'em!

The tomatoes cages are built and placed...no leaning tower of fruit this year!

An electric fence runs the perimeter, keeping out the critters and keeping our crops safe! Man- but digging the holes for all those posts gets me tired just thinking about it!!

All the plants are in and rows are clearly marked. Our former-'back yard' is really beginning to look like a sweet little village farm!

Thanks to all of you who have entrusted your vegetables to Jer. Starting a farm from scratch is no small task, but if anyone can do it -- he can!

It's Snowing You Say? Good Thing My House Has Become A GREENHouse!

Right. Cold front...if you've got your ears on, hear this: You didn't get aaaannnnyyyy of our plants!!!

Happily growing between piles of paperwork and piles of laundry

On Chairs....

Floors... and Freezers....Oh My!

CSA Shareholders....no worries. Just bring back the NICE weather so we can plant!!

Potato - Potahto ~ Tomato - Tomahto

No matter how you pronounce it, there are an inordinate number of both nearly ready to go in the ground!

The tomato army is holding strong! Of 108 plants, only one has given in the fight. RIP little tomato plant...

And, although the potatoes have yet to see the dark underside of our well composted soil, they have taken over my living room.

Lordy, but I have never seen so many varieties of potatoes! Early growers, mid-season growers, and - yes, you guessed it, late growing potatoes too!

Are you a share holder? Have a root cellar? No, perhaps you better work that out.

And then there is my self-driven husband who has spent the better part of the day being rocked by the rotatiller. Hey, let's play 'where in the field is Farmer Jer?'

If you said upper left quadrant then you are correct. It is rather exciting to think that in a matter of weeks we can refer to these sections by their 'veggie title'.

Check back often for updates, growing status and the first harvest date of the year!

I was only gone for a few days!

And look at this! They have been transplanted and the ground is nearly ready!

If you have verbally committed to a share or split share, keep a look out in your mailbox! If you have returned your signed form - thanks, and we'll be in touch soon!

Oh, and if you are ever in the area please feel free to stop by for a visual and a tour.

You've Got Questions - We've Got Answers!

Well, it's raining, really raining, and looks like it will be for a while. So, I thought I'd take a few minutes to answer some questions that have been coming in via email.

1) Where are you located?

Directions to our little village farm are easy! From the 'school side of town', turn left on DEPOT STREET. Go past the bakery, over the railroad tracks and over the small bridge. Take your first left on PRATT HILL RD then take a quick left on MOUNTAIN VIEW RD. We are the first house on the right, number 48. Park and walk directly back to access the field.

2) I didn't fill out one of your surveys. What are you growing this year?

Our garden plan is broken into three categoies.

Vegetables We are Definately Growing: Tomatoes, Green Beans, Sweet Corn, Zucchini, Beets, Onions, Lettuce, Radishes, Summer Squash, Rhubarb, Cucumbers, Carrots, Peas, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Blue Hubbard Squash, Spinach, Purple Cabbage and Winter Squash.

Vegetables We are Trying To Grow (if they are successful they will be in your box!):

Peppers, Broccoli, Okra, Cauliflower, Eggplant, Japanese Cucumbers, Asparagus, Kale, Parsnips, Swiss Chard, and Hot Peppers.

The Herb Garden: Thyme, Basil, Lemon Oregano, Mint, Italian Oregano, Bay Leaves, Chives, Dill, Rosemary, and Sage

3. How Does a Split Share Work?

A full share is desinged for a 4 person, vegetable eating family. If you don't need the full share, or find that it is too much financially you can split a share with another family.

• Option 1 - You and another family to split a full share with. You sumbit your paperwork and payment then begin picking up produce when it is ready. Please note: your box will be labeled with both family names. It will be your responsibility to decide how the box's contents are divided.

• Option 2 - You and another family split a working share. You submit your paperwork and payment and begin working the garden as soon as weeding season begins. Please note: your box will be label with both family names, as will the hourly working sheet. It is up to you to decide how the hours and produce are split.

Keep sending questions and I'll keep posting answers!

FYI - the basil is smelling gooooooood!

A Man and His Tractor

"I saw him coming down the hill on that tractor the other day", a local friend reported. "He was grinning ear to ear! I don't think he could have peeled it off if he tried."

Ok, maybe this isn't every man and his tractor, but is is mine*. Just Look at him!

I swear, I can just see a sense of calm descend over him when he's slowly checkerboarding that back field. The field, by the way, is just a start. A half-acre earmarked to feed 20 families, but this will grow for it has been in his mind since he was a boy.

Neither of us have any doubts that five years from now we'll be sipping a hot cup of coffee on the back deck looking out at a far larger plot, reminising about how it all began with a 'mere half-acre'. That said, it looks pretty dang big to me, from a non-weeder's perspective that is.

Good thing our kids seem to be farmer's daughters! In fact, here's Caroline volunteering her small, but essential, box of compost to the cause. Just wait till you see her kickin' coveralls!

*In full diclosure - it is a borrowed tractor...but still.

The Beginning

Vision - This is something designing a farm takes. I, the predomnant writer of this blog, do not have it. This picture? Snow and ice and dead grass...that's what I see. And that is why I will be writing the blog, uploading pictures, and designing the newsletters for Little Village Farm.

My name is Cara, otherwise known as 'the farmer's wife'.

This is 'the farmer'.

And this is his vision! Big enough for ya? If you play "Where's Farmer Jer" with a careful eye you can spot him picking rocks.

Jeremiah has always wanted to farm. Watching him ride down twenty mile stream last week perched atop the tractor, a wide smile trailing from cheek to cheek made clear; his life long dream is finally happening.

The starter seeds are planted.

And they are growing!

REALLY GROWING!

And so is Little Village Farm! Every day finds another family excited about purchasing a share of the the 2010 crop! If you would like more information about joining, please email Jer!

Hoping to grow with you this summer!