It’s time to sign up for the 2016 season!

Why Join a CSA?  First and foremost, you build a relationship with a real person who works hard to bring you fresh produce every week;  You save gas by not flying in your produce from California (or other countries), you keep a small farmer in business, you help keep land undeveloped, and you keep toxic chemicals off the land by supporting organic farming.  You also got to see the face of your food and eat a variety of fresh, local, organic produce!

 Know your farmer.  Know your food.

Did you know that John spends over $30,000 on seeds each year?  When we pay ahead of the season, John can pay for his seeds without having to pay interest on his credit card bills.

The price structure for the 2016 season remains the same as in previous years, but with a late fee for last minute signups:

• $625 if paid in full by March 1
• $650 if paid in full by April 30
• $675 on or after May 1 (subject to availability)

You can put down a non-refundable deposit of $200 to save your share.  If you have extenuating circumstances and need to work out a payment plan we can work with you.

Email westfieldcsa@gmail.com for more information or click here to download an application form.

As before, you can split a share with someone else. If you need help finding someone to split with, let us know and we will pair you up as I get requests!

Returning members will be guaranteed a spot in the CSA if registered by Feb 6. After that registration is first come, first served.

Share this information with anyone who may be interested in joining the Westfield Area CSA!

Hi Folks, A few words about the stock up share.  We ended up not having very much winter squash; it did not keep well for us this year. There is only acorn and some small buttercup. I recommend cooking the buttercup soon and freezing what you don’t need. The acorn should keep for a while but it does get stringy after many weeks in storage.

We have tried to make up for this with other items – notably sweet potatoes, which were not promised and have not been in the shares in years past.  We put them in plastic bags because they poke holes in paper ones, but they should be removed immediately and stored in paper bags or in a bowl on the counter.  It is better to keep these warm.   (more…)

Hello Everyone!  So we have reached the end of the season and it is time for me to bid you all adieu until next year.  It was a challenging year, but with farming I have come to accept that each year will have its own unique problems and glitches.  It was, for the most part, a dry year, which is always better than a wet one.  We received just enough rain to get by, and irrigated when it began to get to dry.  Overall I am pleased with the production we had and with what I was able to provide to the members; I hope you all feel the same.  I feel we’ve been improving each year and will continue to strive to provide you and your family with the best variety and quality we can.  We have a very nice share for you this week, so we end the season on a high note. (more…)

Hello Folks! As we head into the final weeks of the season we are becoming more dependent on roots and tubers to fill your basket. This week we will have carrots again, as well as beets, sunchokes, and salad turnips. The beet tops were damaged by the cold snap a few weeks back and so we will ship them loose without tops. The salad turnips still have beautiful greens, which, as always, I encourage you to eat. (more…)

Hi Everyone, we had about 2 inches of much needed rain this past Wednesday. Although heavy at times it came over an extended period and so was mostly able to be soaked up by the soil. This should be a big help to the spinach and brassica plants as well as to our last planting of carrots. Temperatures remain balmy and this too will enable what is left in the field to continue growing and reach a respectable size. (more…)

We will be offering one additional share to be delivered during the week of November 22^th (Thanksgiving week). This will be a “stock up” share and will include various vegetables that store well, so that you will be able to enjoy produce from the farm well into the winter months as well as provide veggies for your Thanksgiving feast. The total weight of this share will be between 50 and 60 lbs. Approximately a third of the share will be an assortment of butternut, acorn, buttercup (kabocha), delicata, and sweet dumpling squash. The share will also include an assortment of root vegetables such as carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips, celery root and radishes. I expect that the root crops will comprise about 12 lbs. of the share. (more…)

Hello Everyone! So after the ice had melted and a few days had gone by we were able to assess the damage from last week’s deep freeze. It was fairly substantial; many crops that are generally quite hardy had leaves burned and appeared quite droopy for several days. Some have recovered and others are still trying to come back. The Swiss chard was badly damaged and probably won’t recover. The kale had a lot of leaves burned but is beginning to grow again; we just need to let it rest a bit. The broccoli and cauliflower had leaf damage as well; so the heads they produce will be smaller. (more…)

Hello Folks, We had a flurry of weather events over the weekend including a brief flurry of snow. On Friday night we had our first frost of the season followed by our first hard freeze on Saturday and again on Sunday night. We had 26 degrees at 6 AM Sunday morning and 24 degrees this morning – brrrrr! Last week in preparation, we were scurrying about trying to harvest anything that would be damaged and covering a few crops we thought maybe we could save. (more…)

Hello Everyone! So the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder. While it is forecast to be a mild fall with above normal average temps we will still have a killing frost soon — probably next weekend. This past weekend we had a very light frost which blackened some of the sweet potato leaves and burned the pepper plants slightly. This normal and expected and most of what we grow for the final weeks of the season can tolerate frost and even a hard freeze. (more…)