Baby Goats!

We have officially reserved our 2 baby goats at Beltane Farm in Lebanon, CT!  We went out to meet and spend some time with the little ladies this week, and will be taking them home in May once they are weaned.  We plan to breed them this Autumn and be milking them in early 2014, though just for our own consumption (no official milking parlor, approvals by the powers-that-be, etc., at the farm just yet).

Meet Ann & Capella!

SAF 2013 CSA

Dear Sweet Acre Farm Patrons,

First of all, Happy New Year!  We are very excited about the 2013 season.  Sweet Acre Farm will be moving from Storrs, CT to the small town of Hampton, another twenty minutes east of our current location.  Thanks to the generosity of our friends at Full Moon Farm, we will be using a beautiful, certified organic, two-acre field complete with twelve-foot deer fence.  Along with some extra pastureland, this will mean greater production and flexibility in our operation.  Specifically, we have plans for more storage crops to get us all through the winter months, our own laying flock of chickens, and two baby goats which we will plan to breed and milk in 2014.  We will continue with our intensive vegetable production, along with our own maple syrup and pasture-raised chicken.

We are writing to let you know SAF is open for business.  Our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) allows you, our customers, to pay forward any amount of money (over $100) that you plan on spending with us over the course of the market season.  Sending a check in January or February entitles you to a 10% bonus – for example, $200 would translate to $220 to spend with us at market.  We do not pre-package anything, so just come and shop as you would for the things you like. We will keep track of your purchases as a declining balance.

For ease of calculating:

• The CSA balance will be used only for vegetables and flowers, but will not be applied to purchases of Syrup or Chicken.
• The CSA balance will be used exclusively at our market stands at the Hartford West End (Tuesday 4-7), Storrs (Saturday 3-6), and Coventry (Sunday 11-2) Farmer’s Markets.
• There are 22 weeks in the market season (28 in Storrs).

In addition to the financial incentive for you (the customer), your timely investment in the farm also allows us to make the necessary pre-season purchases that ensure a healthy season for everyone: from the smallest members of the farm in the fungal and bacteria community all the way to you and the people you share your food with.  As CSA members you will also be invited to come and work with us at the farm.  Every month we will have an afternoon gathering when you can see the farm, get your hands dirty, and share a potluck meal with some new friends.

Checks are payable to Sweet Acre Farm at 77 Forest Road, Storrs, CT 06268.  We will alert you when we officially move to the Hampton location.

Please call or write with questions (203) 240-2724, (860) 748-8046.  We are crop planning NOW!  So now is the time to make your requests known if you want to see certain items at market.

Best,

Jonathan and Charlotte

*Share this info with your friends and neighbors!

*CSA Shares make an excellent gift!

Market Week 9/20/11

• Lettuce Mix
• Spicy Green Mix
• Swiss Chard
• Kale (winterbor (curly), red russian, and lacinato)
• Leeks
• Tomatoes
• Eggplant (Italian, Japanese)
• Pepper (Sweets and Hots)
• Red Onions
• Shallots
• Winter Squash
• Flower Bunches
• Parsley
• Basil
• Eggs

Lots more greens coming out of the ground, but for now they are still selling out fast!

Hey Hartford! Come get your veggies!

Beginning this week, Sweet Acre Farm will now be bringing our fresh-picked vegetables and home-boiled maple syrup to the West End Market twice a week! Tuesdays and Fridays, 4-7pm. We are very excited to see our Hartford customers on a more regular basis. Come stop by the stand to see what’s new this week, or pick up some of your old favorites.

Our eggplant harvest has begun! We will have Italian and Oriental Charm varieties at Storrs market today, and more at Hartford’s West End market on Tuesday.

Oriental Charm and Traviata Eggplant varieties

Our Sun Gold and Washington cherry tomatoes are still holding out on us…..our harvest last night yielded only enough for a couple of hungry farmers. But, don’t worry, the plants are covered in fruit and blushing like a prom date so we should be bringing them to market by Friday at the latest. Man are they sweet!

In other news, our first batch of chickens has been processed and packed into our brand-new freezer. We had no trouble finding each of the delicious birds a home and we will have 50 more for sale in about a month. Let us know if you’d like to try out a heritage chicken raised on fresh pasture and organic grain – I bet you’ve never tasted one like it before.

Alabama Greys in their chicken tractor

Hope to see you at market soon, and in the mean time, keep shaking that rain stick!!