If you are new to the concept of CSA and/or new to our
farm, this letter is for you! It was
written by longtime CSA members of our farm, Carol Wilson & Bob Philbin. We hope you’ll take a few minutes to read it
and consider their insights as you think about joining a CSA for the 2019
season! We did not ask them to write
this letter, this is something they chose to do on their own as a way of
sharing their perspectives of their CSA experience over the past 20 plus
years.
--Richard & Andrea
Spring 2019
Dear Prospective Harmony Valley Farm CSA member,
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| Pollinators planted alongside crops. |
You have a bewildering number of choices about which CSA
is right for you – length of season, variety of vegetables, cost, convenience
of pick up location, day of the week for pick up, etc.
Another topic to consider is what the
farmer(s) of the CSA are doing to address the health of our environment.
Richard de Wilde and Andrea Yoder, the
farmers of Harmony Valley Farm, are conscientious stewards of the land.
They have a system of land management that
both produces healthy and nutritious food for their members, and provides
healthy habitats for insects and animals that are part of their comprehensive
organic growing practice.
In addition
their processes also address climate change by planting cover crops that
sequester carbon thereby reducing the carbon in the atmosphere.
Farmer Richard has been planting cover crops
for over 40 years, well before carbon sequestration was being talked
about!
His farming practices are
informed by science as well as by his decades of experience as an organic
farmer.
As the plight of bees, monarchs, and other pollinators
has become known, Harmony Valley Farm has included “pollinator packs” in the
CSA share. These packs have native
flowers and grasses that offer “habitat and food sources for a variety of
species that provide pollination services, help control pests, and contribute
to keeping our ecosystem healthy and in good balance.” Because of these packs, we now have a lovely
patch of anise hyssop, silky wild rye, and other flowers and grasses to offer
our neighborhood insects.
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| Cover crop growing in our fields. |
Harmony Valley Farm (HVF) has been our source for
vegetables, beef, and pork since our adult children were young.
Richard and Andrea do not rest on their
laurels, though they could!
They are
always learning about and trying new vegetables, new varieties of vegetables,
and new ways of helping their members to make good use of their CSA share. There
are so many things to appreciate about being part of HVF including the
informative, educational, and practical newsletters, the variety of vegetables,
the value of the share, and the length of the season.
As part of the HVF CSA, you receive all of
this AND the knowledge that you are part of the environmental and climate
change solution.
You can learn more about HVF by visiting their
website and by reading their
blog.
Check out a newsletter or two to see how Andrea shares ideas and recipes
for making use of all of the veggies in the box.
Good luck with your decision and we hope to see you at
HVF Strawberry Day!
Carol Wilson and Bob Philbin
