Category: A Note to the Hope’s Edge Community

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Season Finale

This is it! The final week of the 2022 CSA season. Can you believe it is already here? I certainly can’t. The season went by in a blur, but has had it’s share of highlights. I’m feeling a lot of gratitude, so wanted to reflect on all that went well.

While not all of our experiments were successful, some produced great results. We learned quite a bit and have been making notes about what to repeat in the future. We have a list of successful interplantings (scallions and lettuces were perhaps #1, with trellised cucumbers and parsley a close second) and our mixed cover crops provided great coverage and lots of mulch each time we cut them back. We’re looking forward to seeing what the soil feels like in the spring when the full effects of this boost in organic matter should begin to be felt. I’m grateful for all the insects and microbes that work so hard to build the soil in this way!

Despite the incident with the sheep and the chard, the chard made a comeback! It grew back more beautifully than before. We were thrilled to be able to include it in the final two CSA distributions and it’s looking like there will be plenty to continue to stock the farmstand for the next few weeks.

Our little student-built farmstand at Sweetland School turned out to be a great way to introduce the neighborhood to Hope’s Edge produce. We saw many long-time customers, but also met some new ones who hadn’t previously known about us. We are grateful for the student builders as well as our many loyal customers! It took a lot of labor to keep this little stand running each week, but the community response made it feel worth the effort. (Admittedly, we are relieved to relax into the on-the-farm farmstand location for the remaining weeks.) We’ll be open daily from 7am-7pm in the CSA shed. We hope you’ll visit!

Speaking of the students, we have been continually grateful for the energy, enthusiasm, and tremendous help the Sweetland students provide at the farm. Each week they arrive, ready to tackle whatever projects we’ve planned and often additional ones that we hadn’t dreamed of getting to! Mondays are always fun, productive days and we are so glad to get to spend them with this amazing group.

Finally, a huge hug of gratitude to all of our wonderful CSA members. You were all willing to take a chance on us this season. Your support, encouragement, and presence at the farm truly made this all worthwhile. I’ve loved getting to know each of you in the little moments of passing. You’ve shared stories, ups and downs, excitement and exhaustion. Thank you for being an integral part of the Hope’s Edge Community. We couldn’t do it without you!

~Rachel

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Introducing Your 2022 Season Farmers!

Hello!

We are writing to introduce ourselves and to tell you a bit about our shared vision for Hope’s Edge Farm this 2022 growing season. We are Jason Rawn and Rachel Olsen and we will be overseeing the farm in Tom’s absence, while he embarks upon a cross-country bike trip. We are both excited to continue what Tom has begun here and are hoping to be able to provide you with the same level of quality and thoughtfulness that you’ve become accustomed to receiving.

Both of us have been involved with the farm in varied capacities for multiple seasons. Jason has spent many seasons in the fields and as handyman and farm equipment wielder. Rachel has spent two seasons in the fields and at the computer, as the writer of your weekly farm emails. We both value permaculture principles and have a deeply held respect for the land and the many gifts exchanged in partnering with it.

This season, we plan to reestablish the CSA on a smaller scale. We will be offering 35 CSA shares on a first come, first served basis with one pick-up day each week. Our hope is to also open the farm stand on a second weekday, so those who prefer to self-select vegetables and those for whom we are unable to provide a CSA share can also be fed!

We recognize that we are taking on a lot and will certainly be missing Tom’s presence, so we are trying to equip ourselves with a robust support network. We’ll be calling upon several long-time volunteers for harvest assistance and advising as well as on Rachel’s husband and daughter for help wherever needed. In addition, we are hoping some of you will choose to join our team of weekly volunteers!

We are seeking 4 additional volunteers willing to commit to 4 weekly hours of work in exchange for a CSA share. This work could be in the fields, at the sink, at the farm stand, or wherever your unique abilities and interests intersect with our goals. Like a monetary investment in the farm through CSA membership, this work commitment provides us with a dependable team to ensure that the weekly harvest is achievable. Many hands make light work! Please contact Rachel at hopesedgefarm@gmail.com if you are interested.

We thank you all in advance for your support as we embark upon this new season. We look forward to being in community with you through Hope’s Edge Farm!

Jason and Rachel