February 2011 Newsletter

Happy Snow Days! Though I love the snow, I am definitely ready for some warmer weather. The need to get my hands in the dirt, plants some seeds, and grow things gets stronger every day. Lots of things to talk about this month. We are starting the major planning part of the year. Putting together Weekly Produce Box Info, planting lists and schedules, events, building and fence reconstruction, and the fruit hill are some of our main focuses right now. I would also like to do more teaching this year about what homegrown products can do for your body. If you want to learn more about what types of foods may help a specific health issue, let me know. We want to help anyone we can, which may mean growing a certain type of veggie, fruit, or herb.

I had a great opportunity to attend the 13th Annual Value Added Agriculture Seminar in Madison last week. Taking classes on Farm to School, Cost of Goods, Grants, Agroforestry and sustainable fruit production, and Find Your Fit, was fun and I learned a lot. After the 2 day seminar was over my head was spinning. Not only did I learn about how to better our products, but how to connect with you, the customer. It will take a few years to really reach our true potential as produce farmers and providers, but we are well on our way down the right path. We dug our hole last year so this year will be dedicated to building a strong, reliable foundation.

A BIG THANKS goes out to all of you that took some time to fill out our farm surveys. We got some great feed back and look forward to using the information to run the farm this year and years to come. The following are a list of the WINNERS from the SURVEY RAFFLE.

CONGRATS TO:
Becky Ward - Won a $10 Massage Gift Certificate (from Jamie)
Carrie Knutson - Won a $10 Essential Oils Gift Certificate from Young Living Oils
Becca Biasi - Won a $10 Farm Gift Cert. for the purchase of any product from the farm.
Rhonda Janskowski - Won a Hillsong Ridge Farm 2011 Coupon Book
Again thanks for all your support and keep your eyes open for more raffle opportunities in the upcoming months.

2011 WEEKLY PRODUCE BOX (WPB) PROGRAM information:
The Weekly Produce Box program is a 20 week season that was designed to help you save money on produce, teach to eat seasonally, and provide members with special product privileges. The deadline for WPB sign up is March 15th 2011. If you are interested in an every other week program (10 wks), please contact me individually so we can figure out what you are looking for and create a program that works for you. Payment is due before March 15th, in the form of cash or check. You may pay in full or pay ½ now and post date a check for the other half for July 15th 2011. Remember: As a WPB member you agree to share in the risks, as well as the bounty, with the farmer and other members. Understand that due to wildlife, weather, and/or other production factors, the quantities and varieties you receive may vary seasonally from one year to the next.

WPB members will receive discounts on Bulk Buys (for canning and freezing) thru out the 2011 season. They will also ALWAYS get any fruit product we have available first before farmers market and drop by customer sales.

Large Box - 4 or more people = $42/wk = total of $800 for 20 wks
Standard Box - 2-3 people = $25/wk = total of $500 for 20 wks
Small Box - 1 person = $18/wk = total of $360 for 20 wks

Adding Egg Shares to your WPB program:
Large = 20 wks= 18pk of eggs every week = additional $75
Standard = 20 wks = 1 dozen eggs every week = additional $50
Small = 20 wks = 1 dozen eggs every other week = additional $25

We have not decided on Pick up days (at the farm and Sauk). It will more than likely be Wednesdays and Saturdays, but we are always open so if those days don’t work for you to pick up your box just let me know and I will get you on a different schedule. We are still working on finding a few drop off locations, but it will depend on who’s interested and where everyone lives. We will do our best to accommodate your needs. If anything we will offer home deliveries this year! Please do not let pick up days and locations keep you from entering this program as we WILL get you your produce no matter what.

For those of you that are interested in buying your produce in a box form but would like to pay for your box weekly or pick and choose what you want in your box every week, let me know. This option will be available every week, but know that your box price will be higher than the WPB program and prices will change weekly depending on the products in your box. (box form will be cheaper than buying each item separately) I do want to know if you are interested though because it will help us better determine how much product we need to grow. Just remember the WPB members will always get any available fruit first and the rest will be First Come, First Serve.

LIST OF 2011 PRODUCTS: (N) = new product for us this year. I do not know individual varieties yet.

Early (May-June)
Radish - red and white
Lettuce - multiple types
Spinach
Rhubarb
Strawberries
Kohlrabi
Peas (snow & snap)
Scallions (N)
Turnips (N)
Table Onions
Herbs (many diff. types)
Swiss Chard (N)
Greens (collards, kale, mustards) (N)
*We are currently looking for organically grown Asparagus, more Strawberries, and Garlic from neighboring farms, so they may be included.

Mid (July - Aug.)
Beets (many varieties)
Beans (green, purple, yellow)
Broccoli
Carrots
Cucumbers/Pickles
Eggplant
Herbs
Fennel (N)
Greens (collards, kale, mustards) (N)
Lettuce - multiple types
Onions - sweet and Spanish
Peas (snow & snap)
Peppers (green, red, orange, yellow, purple bells) Red Italian frying peppers and other hot peppers
Potatoes
Swiss Chard (N)
Tomatoes (many varieties, including cherry)
Watermelon
Zucchini/Summer Squash
Muskmelon
Sweet Corn

Late (Sept.- Nov.)
Apples (some)
Beets
Beans
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts (N)
Cabbage (green & purple)
Carrots
Cauliflower
Cucumbers/Pickles
Eggplant
Herbs
Fennel (N)
Greens (N)
Leeks (N)
Lettuce - many types
Muskmelon
Onions
Parsnip (N)
Peppers
Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Pumpkins (pie and carving)
Radishes
Raspberries
Turnips (N)
Scallions (N)
Spinach
Swiss Chard (N)
Tomatoes
Watermelon
Winter Squash (Delicate, Butternut, Buttercup, Spaghetti, Acorn)

Possible Fruits this year: Raspberries, Strawberries, Apples, Cherries, Pears, Peaches, Blueberries, Blackberries, Grapes.

Chicken Update:
Our winter batch of chickens are almost around 4lbs. Anyone interested in whole or cut chickens at this size please let me know. We only cut chickens when they are around this size so now is the time to order as we will not have fresh cut chickens again until June-ish. I’m guessing we will be butchering next week. Current Chicken Price =$2.50/lb (+ $1.00 added to the total for cut chickens to pay for labor and packaging) FYI: As the cost of feed continues to rise, we will have to raise the price for our meat chickens and fresh eggs in the near future.
Fresh Eggs Available Daily: $2.50/doz

Check us out on FACEBOOK & our BLOG PAGE!
Become part of the Hillsong Ridge Farm face book page and get weekly/daily updates about the farm, along with the chance to see pictures of what goes on at the farm. Our blog page:
http://hillsongridgefarm.blogspot.com/ is also used to communicate updates, but I would mostly like to use this page to share recipes, including weekly menus for the busy households. If you have a favorite recipe you’d like to share please send it to Hillsongridgefarm@gmail.com.

Information I am Looking For:
For those of you that have your own business, I would like to organize an event on the farm this year for you to come advertise. I think it will be a good way to support our community. Please send me an e-mail to explain your business. I am looking for info now but will not be holding this event until later in the year. As I am due at the end of April, I want to get as many things together for the farm before than. I am also wondering who would be interested in a “Kid/Family Event Day.” I wish we could have them every weekend at the farm but this year we will probably be limited to 1 or 2 event days and some pre-planned visits. Some things we are considering are days to interact with the animals, learning how to make food and juices, learning how to can and freeze, planting/gardening days, wagon rides, plant your own seeds for take home projects, and pumpkin carving contests. My questions: Would you like to volunteer to help out on an event day? Any ideas for farm events? Do you have a group event interest, like field trips for daycare or play dates?


Sauk Wellness Night: Join us for the 2nd Annual SPA NIGHT!
Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Time: 6:00—8:00 p.m. Community Center Gym
730 Monroe St., Sauk City
You’ve worked hard and now it’s time to reward yourself with a “Health Trip Spa Night”! Enjoy an evening of being pampered featuring local businesses who specialize in making you feel special! Free demonstrations and services such as massage, reflexology, guided imagery, yoga, reiki, scalp massage, pedicures, and nutrition counseling will be available for you to try. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see what it’s like to be treated like a King/Queen! This event is free to all Health Trip participants, any non-members can attend by contributing $5. Proceeds will go to the Sauk Prairie Food Pantry.

Hillsong Ridge Farm will have a booth set up at the community center that night. We will be raffling off 2011 Farm Coupon Books and Free Product Give-Aways! We plan to teach about our farm fresh, chemical and hormone free products along with the benefits of Locally Grown Foods, and homemade baby foods. There will be lots of opportunities to learn good health tips and pamper yourself. Come Join Us!

Please feel free to send this newsletter to any family members, friends, and co-workers you think may be interested. If you know anyone that wants farm info but does not have e-mail access just have them call me or send me their address and I will mail the newsletters to them.

Thank you for your support and have a great February! (Spring is almost here!)
-Jamie