Community Supported Agriculture 2008

Ok, first, what is a CSA?

Now that we have that answered, Rose Mountain Farm is proud to offer our customers a chance to get their produce and meats secured for the coming season by offering Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares! We will offer a wide variety of vegetables - from greens to potatoes, shiitakes to eggs - and meats - pork, beef, lamb, rabbit, and poultry. All are raised humanely and free range, hormone and antibiotic free.

We are a Certified Naturally Grown Farm and a member of New River Organic Growers and Carolina Farm Stewarship Association, as well as Certified Appalachian Grown farms and members of Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. We will apply for USDA Certified Organic license this spring.

There are only 10 shares available for this year. Previous CSA shareholders will have first priority for the 2008 season. CSA customers may make requests for specific vegetables by January 20th with full payment of a whole or half vegetable share. In this way, we can structure our garden plan to suit your requests as closely as possible. Shares are based on a 24-week season. A full share will feed four people for the week, and a half share will feed two.

A weekly pick-up at the Ashe County Farmers Market on Saturdays is local and convenient (no delivery will be available). Any family wishing to have larger amounts due to larger family size can receive a 10 percent discount for two full shares purchased by the same family. A slight change this year will be in the pick-up of vegetables. A sign will be posted with the breakdown of available vegetables. You may then pick your variety out of the available choices (i.e., you may choose 2 brandywine tomatoes instead of 2 cherokee purple.) Two absentee weeks during the season will result in the forfeiture of your credit for those weeks, so please let us know in advance if you are not planning to pick up on a Saturday.


** Substitutions are at the farmer's discretion, dependent upon crop production, failure, or weather damage.


VEGETABLES:

The prices below represent about $33.00 a week for a full share and $18.75 on a half share.

A full share of vegetables costs $800.00 paid in full, resulting in $850.00 credit over the 24-week growing season. It feeds four people a week. A payment plan for a full share will result in an $850 credit, and must be paid by the following schedule:

A deposit of
________ $300.00 by January 20th.
________ $250.00 due February 1.
________ $250.00 due March 1.

A half share of vegetables costs $455.00 paid in full, resulting in $500.00 credit. It feeds two people a week.

A payment plan for a half share of vegetables will result in an $455 credit, and must be paid by the following schedule:

A deposit of
_______$200.00 by January 20th.
_______$155.00 due February 1.
_______$100.00 due March 1.



MEATS:

Meats will include pork, lamb, poultry, beef, rabbit, turkey, and/or duck, dependent upon herd growth and processing availability.

Meat shares may be limited to $50 values per week, dependent upon increases in meat processing and packaging costs.

_____$400 full share of meat must be paid in full by February 1.
_____$200 half share of meat must be paid in full by February 1.

Meat and vegetable price lists and quantities are available on request, but please understand that we don't have our seed orders in yet and things can change slightly.

CSA members will receive a 10% discount on all extra purchases from RMF at the Ashe County Farmer's Market.

You can send a check or money order with a copy of this contract to:

Ann Rose
PO Box 225
Lansing, NC 28643
336-977-2535

Or to pay by credit card, send payment via PayPal to ann@rosemountainfarm.com . (buttons will be up soon for each payment option)

February Newsletter

The shiiitake mushroom workshop is rescheduled once again to accomodate the expected attendance. Mark March 17, 2007 on your calendars. The workshop is co-sponsored by NC A&T, Nancy Hoffman of Spin a Yarn, Ann Rose of Rose Mountain Farm, and the Ashe County Agricultural Extension.

Hope all is well, where ever you are. I hope that you all have had a wonderful winter and are planning a busy spring. The seed orders are in and I am awaiting arrival. I am still working on the greenhouse with hope of completion soon.

I am planning a workshop on root cellar construction. Watch your email for a final date and rain date. It will cover different plans and types, with and without gravity water troughs. We'll cover the pros and cons of the different types of cellars. It's your non-electric refrigerator! The workshop will be $20, and bring your own gloves. Lunch will be provided for participants of the construction project. It will start early and end late.

Also, by order only I am processing 3 lean hogs that are just right for holiday hams and roast. I will have available 6 whole hams, shoulders, and whole loins. These are lean, pasture-raised hogs and are ready for your freezer. The hams and loins will be $4 per pound and the shoulders will be $3 per pound. Also the whole sides (bacon) are available at $2 per pound. These will be sold on first-come, first-serve basis. Feel free to call at 336-977-2535 or email.

Thank you to every one who has purchased a CSA share. There are 5 remaining vegetable CSA shares for this year. The pork will continue to be available at the Spin A Yarn store in Warrensville.

Announcements

FOR SALE:

2 acres of large, hardwood-elevated property

Joins Organic farm. No restrictions except no spray drift. Property borders state-stocked trout stream and has paved road frontage. 7 miles from new ski resort. Quiet neighborhood and rural area of Ashe County NC. $20,000 firm. Email ann@rosemountainfarm.com or call 336-977-2535.

SHIITAKE WORKSHOP AT SPIN A YARN... WEAVE A WEB

The workshop and spawn are free!

Shiitake Spawn Orders Due ASAP: Workshop to be held 2/17 *** PLEASE NOTE THE NEW DATE!!***

In conjunction with Ashe County farmer Nancy Hoffman, NC Cooperative Extension is planning a shiitake mushroom inoculation workshop in Warrensville, NC, on Saturday, February 17th at 10 AM at Spin A Yarn... Weave a Web. Snacks will be served, and the workshop is FREE. The date has been changed to accomodate Dr. Omon from NC A&T, an instructor and expert in shiitake mushroom inoculation. The bad weather date will be March 17th. Please bring 3 oak logs, and you will be allowed to take 2 home! Contact Richard Boylan, Ashe Ag. Ext. Agent for more info at 336-219-2650.

The NCA&T State University Mycology program is again operating its shiitake mushroom mycelium (aka – spawn) distribution program. The purpose of this program is to encourage the growth of an NC-based mushroom production network. In order to receive shiitake spawn, growers must agree to cut 200 or more oak logs this season (between now and 3/15/07), and purchase the other mushroom inoculation supplies themselves, including drills, bits, spawn plungers, etc. Spawn for log inoculation will be available from January 22 through March 31 2007. All shiitake mushroom farmers, old and new, should contact their county agents as to their interest in participating in this year’s program. Any farmer who has been in the program more than three years, has 500 logs or more in production, and has specific strains they are interested in should indicate so on their request. Due to problems with some people "planning" to cut 200 or more logs in seasons past, and falling far short of that, spawn will not be ordered for a grower until I have personally seen their stash of logs. If you wish to order spawn through NCA&T this year, you must have at least 50 % of your planned quantity of logs cut and ready by 2/15/07. For more details and to order spawn for Ashe, Watauga, and nearby counties, contact Richard Boylan at the Ashe County Extension Center via e-mail, or at (336) 219-2650.