Next week marks the end of our season together. The garden beds have gone from sodden muck back in May and June, to productive soils which have fed us through the summer and now, for the most part lay fallow or are planted to cover crops. The cycle is nearly complete. This is a bittersweet time for me. I am sad to see the end of the productive season, yet I look forward to a winter of physical rest. The gardening season in Maine, even in a normal year, is short and intense. But this season was made even shorter and more intense by the extremely wet spring and cooler than normal August. Nevertheless, we have been provided with an abundance of food and flowers which have decorated our tables and nourished our bodies. I am grateful to all of you for the role that you play as consumers of the products of this labor. You are the heart of Hope’s Edge Farm CSA.
This season is not quite over and yet I alredy have an eye to next year. This week we will plant next years garlic. New land has been plowed for next seasons corn, winter squash, and potato crops. Cover crops have been sown and other measures to prevent erosion have been put in place. This is also the time of year when I ask you to think about next season by signing up now for your share in next years garden, and by paying a $50 deposit toward that share. I know that next season is a long way off for some of you, and there is some uncertainty about whether you will participate again. But, for those of you who like to plan ahead and who are commited to joining again next year this is a time to make that intention known. By signing up now and paying the $50 deposit, you not only help me plan for the size of next years garden but you also provide “seed money” to purchase seeds, potting soil, greenhouse fuel, etc… .All purchases which need to be made long before there is any produce to be picked up. So please, if you are one of those shareholder who know that you want to participate next season, let me know by sending me your relevent information and a $50 check. My address is 73 Morse Road Hope, Me 04847. Thank you so much.
your farmer Tom
PS Last pot-luck is Sunday October 29th at 4:00 PM