We’re signing up members for the fall CSA

Summer is winding down, school is about to start, and everyone is coming back from vacation. Get excited about eating well this fall: sign up for our fall CSA! Don’t miss out on wonderful cool weather crops like kale, collards, spinach, mustard, lettuce, turnips, watermelon radishes, sunchokes, and other tasty stuff.  You can sign up for the autumnal bounty by clicking here.

What’s in a share?

We put 4 – 5 items in the single share and 8 – 10 items in the family sized share. You should be able to make 2 – 4 meals each week. Members report that they are often able to make a few dinners each week and have leftovers for lunch the next day.

Seasonal produce plus other farm items such as local eggs, mushrooms, honey, medicinal herbs, and flowers are put on a table.

In the fall we typically have a lot of greens and salad roots such as radishes and hakurei turnips, but also storage roots such as watermelon radish, daikon radish, purple top turnips, and rutabagas that are good for soups and stews. We aim to have beets, carrots, leeks, and bunching onions as well.

Our CSA is multi farm which means that we are able to include winter squash and sweet potatoes from co-op member farms to add to the produce grown on our tiny (1/2 acre!) vegetable plot in the middle of DC.

New for fall session: cooking demos!

Need some ideas for what to do with your share of veggies? We can help with that! Local food educator JuJu Harris will be sharing her culinary wizardry with on-site cooking demonstrations on September 15, October 13, and November 17. Pick up your share, as well as some tips for easy and delicious preparation.

Hey, don’t forget those three important words: share the wealth! Let your family, friends, frenemies, coworkers, and fellow local food fans know about Three Part Harmony’s CSA and get them to join. We will reward you for your efforts with some great prizes:

photo by Laura Otolski

Current CSA Customers:

Refer a friend, win a prize! For referring a friend who signs up for a single-sized share, you’ll receive one handy Three Part Harmony tote bag or one set of 5 notecards featuring colorful images of the farm.
Extra Special Bonus! For referring a friend who purchases a family-sized share, or two friends who purchase two single-sized shares, you’ll receive one of our super cool Three Part Harmony T-shirts. Available in two styles (crewneck and scoopneck) and a variety of colors.

Thanks so much for the enthusiasm and compliments you’ve shared at the Thursday pick-up over this sweltering summer. Harvesting vegetables in the intense heat can be challenging, and it’s really nice to be reminded what a special job I have growing food for people.

Looking forward to seeing you in the fall!
Laura Otolski

The CSA (community supported agriculture) program asks members of the community to make a financial investment in your neighborhood farm to support what we do. That basically means you pay in advance for seasonal, farm fresh goodies that you receive directly from the farmers on a regular basis. It is an incredibly important way to support the local food movement.

Our Summer CSA goes over 12 weeks in June, July and August. The pick up is from 5 – 8 pm on Thursdays at a community center near Howard University. We have a few slots open for people who want to try out our CSA for the remainder of the Summer CSA season (the amount you pay will be pro-rated based on the weeks left).

Please fill out this form to sign up for our Thursday 5 – 8 pm pick up.  This year we are offering an installment plan to make it more affordable. If you are low income and find the price is getting in your way of joining but you really want to, please contact me so we can work with you.

What’s in a share?

We put 4 – 5 items in the single share and 8 – 10 items in the family sized share. You should be able to make 2 – 4 meals each week. Members report that they are often able to make a few dinners each week and have leftovers for lunch the next day.

Seasonal produce plus other farm items such as local eggs, mushrooms, honey, medicinal herbs, and flowers are put on a table. Members receive seedlings in the spring and fall for their home gardens.

Customize your own share

Each week everything is set up on two or three tables, and we write on a dry erase board how many items to take from each table. It is incredibly interactive and you get the maximum choice rather than picking up a pre-boxed share that is uniform, where everyone is getting the same thing. You are encouraged to try new things, but we don’t make you take vegetables you know you don’t like. We want you to enjoy everything you choose- including this experience!

Bunches of roots (radish, carrot, turnip, spring onion) will be featured this week as we try to juggle harvesting in between rains! I’m especially excited about the carrots we’ve been harvesting since they were wintered over, meaning we planted them last fall, weeded them meticulously (thank you Mia and Laura!) and then covered them in a thick layer of mulch that made a nice barrier between the carrot tops and the snow. It’s great to see how we can extend our season in this climate without the use of plastic.

Lauren Nixon created a delicious, healthy and absolutely gorgeous recipe using the carrot and sweet potatoes. Feel free to share and check out laurennixon.com for more info about Lauren’s work. I especially recommend following Lauren on instagram!

It’s Time to Plant the Garden!
We are totally in that critical month when everything in the garden can be planted. If you can’t make it out to the Petworth farmer’s market on saturdays, check out our locally grown seedlings at Annie’s Ace Hardware in Petworth or Brookland.

Petworth Farmers Market Starts this Saturday May 7th!

Find Three Part Harmony Farm and our Community Farming Alliance co-op members at the Petworth Farmers market starting this Saturday, May 7th at Georgia and Upshur streets NW from 9 – 1.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel at the 3rd Annual Equitable Development Conference hosted by ONEDC and the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service.

After an incredibly inspiring and thought-provoking opening interview between Eugene Puryear and Bill Fletcher, Jr. our panel was tasked with answering the question: Black Lives Matter: Moment or Movement (and what does that have to do with equitable development?) Umm… are we here all day or just one hour?

I am not the kind of person who stands on a podium and presents a comprehensive plan to change our cities’ economic landscape, let alone the nation or the world! However, obviously farmers and especially Black farmers have a lot of experience when it comes to creating alternative economies that exist outside the framework of the transitional capitalist model. If anyone understands how devastating it can be to have a loan officer not call you back on time and otherwise ignore your needs to borrow money to pay for seeds during the proper planting window, it’s Black farmers. Without an on-time loan from my “bank” I too would be a farmer without a crop.

I didn’t invent the CSA (community supported agriculture) model, but I sure as heck do use it to replace that old model where reliance on lenders and institutionalized systems are rife with racism. It is not the only way that people can support our farm as well as the other farms in our co-op, but it is an essential one (financially speaking) to get us started each season.

Our first harvest of the season is this Thursday, April 7th but we won’t really get into the main harvest until May. However, by the end of March I’ve already bought 85% of the seeds, plants, and supplies I need plus brought on board the three part-time folks I need with me in the fields making sure we can deliver vegetables by April 7th. The customers who come tomorrow to pick up their first share have given our farm an interest free loan, and for that I’m grateful. But it is just a loan- you’ll get that back and more in vegetables through the end of the season! It’s a serious commitment on both sides; certainly more than a transaction. You’ve “joined”, so now we are part of the same community, you might even say part of the same family. None of us is changing the world, but we made a ripple.

A post script: a lot of folks have mentioned to me that you want to join our CSA but you are low income. I say: welcome to the club! Farmers are all low-income so I know what you are talking about. My suggestion- pool money with friends. Share your share, and the meals you’ll make too. That’s what we do in my household. Also, for anyone who wants to use your federal and state issued checks, cards or produce plus dollars, check us out at the petworth farmers market on Saturdays starting May 7th.

Happy New Year!

People have been asking me what happens at the farm when there is snow on the ground. I think the snow covered fields are peaceful, almost blissful. After a major storm I count my blessings if nothing collapsed or blew away.

thanks Sonal for checking in on the farm!

Also, this is the time of year to make plans for what to do when the snow melts.

First: I’m taking applications for the 2016 season to work with us.

Next: I’ve also opened up the CSA registration for our 2016 season which will go from early April to mid November.

I leave today for my second farm conference – headed to Southern SAWG in Kentucky. Earlier this month I spoke on a panel at Future Harvest/ CASA in College Park, MD. And save the date: rooting DC is coming up on February 27th. The winter is time to learn new tricks to try out!

Making plans for the season involves working out the logistics and checking the calendar to pick the 33 harvest dates of the year. It means buying supplies, cleaning and sharpening tools, updating spreadsheets, improving budgets, networking with other farmers, and finally on February 15th getting the first seedlings in the germination chamber.

What’s new this year?

We’ll have a spring event this year, in addition to the annual fall festival. Tea time with tulips will take place on a saturday afternoon in late april- date TBD. This fall we planted 1100 tulip bulbs along the 4th street fence, so I figured it would be a good reason to open our gates this spring and invite folks to see the blooms up close.

Tours: I’ve been getting a lot of requests for tours of the farm. I’m going to try to figure out how we can offer tours during some of our work days this year. We’ll have tickets available in advance so that we can keep the number manageable, but keep a few tickets available for passersby in the neighborhood who want to visit their closest farm. If you have a group that wants to volunteer and get a tour as part of that experience, we already do that 6 times a year.

bok choi and tat soi perfect for stir fry

The warm weather and abundance of sunny days has done wonders at our farm and now we’d like to share the bounty with you this winter. This is our first winter CSA! A lot of you have asked me when will we have a winter CSA: well, this year’s extended season has made it possible for sure.

Jerusalem artichokes make a tasty soup!

The pick ups will be monthly with the first one on December 16th. Our first month will contain a box of fresh produce from our fields: greens such as kale, collards, spinach, arugula, swiss chard and bok choi; roots such as turnips, radishes and sunchokes for roasting; plus fresh herbs, a pot of fragrant paperwhites, and bunches of beets and hakurei turnips with their edible greens attached.

Daikon radishes- great for pickling!

The single ($25) and family ($50) sized shares will be pre boxed and available for pick up at Pansaari in Dupont Circle. You can add in a farm tote bag for an additional $10 if you want a carry option that fits in your bike basket.

Pick up location is Pansaari: 1603 17th Street NW (in the basement at 17th & Q in the old Chaos space)

Pick up dates: December 16; January 22; February 19.
Pansaari is open from 9am – 9pm Tuesday through Friday. Please ask for your box at the chai bar and the staff will be happy to assist you. In December, they are hosting cooking demonstrations and tastings on Wednesdays so you can coordinate your CSA pick up with this lovely class if you like. To register for the class click here.

The order deadline to join this month is Sunday, December 13th at 5 pm. Please email Gail at gail@threepartharmonyfarm.org with the size share you would like (single or family) and the month(s) you will be picking up or fill out this form to secure your spot.

________________________________________

3PH reusable jute tote bag to carry your share home, do grocery shopping, go to the beach, library, etc!

Join Three Part Harmony Farm Winter CSA!
copy and paste your answers into an email to gail@threepartharmonyfarm.org or fill out this form:

your name(s):

your email address(s):

____ single _____ family

___ december, ___ january, ___ february (or all three)

add on: ___ tote bag ($10 for CSA members)

payment preference choose one, we will invoice you:

___ check (made payable to Three Part Harmony Farm and mailed to our po box) or
___ pay by credit card (add $2.50)

vegetable photos by Tyler Grigsby Photography

________________________________________
What’s in the december single share:

Baby beets with greens

GREENS (three)
1 bunch swiss chard, kale or collards
1 (3/4 pound) bag bok choi or baby tat soi
1 (.5 pound) bag spinach or arugula salad mix

1 quart ROOTS w/out greens
for roasting: purple top turnips, Münchner bier radish, sunchokes, or watermelon radish
or for salads or pickling: daikon radish, watermelon radish, muncher bier radish, or sunchokes

1 bunch ROOTS w/ greens
beets or hakurei turnips

1 bunch HERBS
flat leaf parsley, sage, chocolate mint, greek oregano

Paperwhite “ziva”

1 pot paperwhites (narcissus)
Ziva- an early blooming, fragrant classic paperwhite. These bulbs have been planted in soil and we’ve aimed to have them bloom for Christmas or New Year’s, depending on which one you pick.

the family share will be roughly double (i.e. 2 pots of paperwhites, 2 bunches of herbs, plus beets **and** hakurei turnips, etc.)

We’ve worked hard, now it’s time to enjoy.

The end of November is the time of year when the plants, animals, insects and people of our farm all get a break! The downtime usually prompts me to get misty-eyed and remember everything that went into making the season a success.

I’m so incredibly grateful to everyone who supported the farm over the last few years. This year has been successful really because of the cumulative effect of all of the work that has gone into building the farm since 2012.

Our 2015 fall festival showcased this idea, when so many amazing folks came out to create the first farm art project, a mural designed and coordinated by Caryl Henry Alexander. Click here to watch the video!

So thanks! To all of you. And congratulations, to all of us.

Can’t wait till next year!

I hope you all enjoy time with friends and family this week.

Gail

P.S. Please share the video with your friends and post it on facebook and twitter to introduce others to Three Part Harmony Farm. Thank you!

Watermelon Radishes – Photo by Shango Meru Kani

How can we complain when it is still sunny and beautiful? Supposedly we’re counting down the days to our first frost but don’t tell that to the sunflowers I picked yesterday.

At the farm there are 5 different kinds of radishes right now (including the watermelon radish photographed by Shango above) and 2 different kinds of turnips. I am already thinking about hoarding these roots in my vegetable bin so that I can roast them when the cold weather comes, and remember the feeling of the soil between my fingers.

We just passed Dia de los Muertos, also known as All Saints’ Day for some. I spent a lot of time this past weekend in reflection, remembering the ancestors who have come before. I recommend spending some time outdoors with your face turned up to the sun, eyes closed, listening to the sounds of nature and recalling all of the beautiful lessons and memories we carry with us, keeping those spirits alive. If you can, plant something in  their honor.

We only have 2 more weeks left in our regular harvest season. As we wind down the field work, it opens up space for us to make connections with farmers from other countries and think about the bigger picture aspects of organizing a farmer co-op.

Gail