And the winners are ....

One hundred and ninety winter shareholders took part in the Belmont CSA's Winter Ride Share program. These folks walked, biked, car pooled, participated in driving cooperatives or had their CSA share delivered by the New Amsterdam Project. That's 190 shareholders out of 300 total for a whopping 63% of shareholders. Wow. Everyone -- yes, every single shareholder! -- did what they could to reduce traffic congestion and make the distribution run smoothly. Rather than having 150 cars pull onto the farm at 10:00 AM on distribution day, we saw approximately 80 cars arrive, pretty evenly spaced, throughout the five hours of each distribution day.

Here's how the Ride Share program works. Shareholders agree to have their address and contact information placed on a private (ie, available to shareholders only) map. A link to the map is sent to shareholders and they are encouraged to contact neighboring shareholders and arrange to have more than one CSA share travel home in a car. Help was provided: Shareholders Allison Goodwin and Kristin Bray answered questions about the Ride Share program. They also helped connect shareholders who had difficulty finding a Ride Share partner. Enticements were offered: Ride Sharers were entered into a raffle for prizes like gift certificates to Stone Hearth Pizza, Kitchen on Common, Formaggio Kitchen, and Wool Cycles potholders. Subliminal suggestions to Ride Share were embedded in seemingly innocuous emails. Enthusiastic praise was showered on each Ride Sharer when they arrived at the farm by a cheerleading squad who delivered a special farm cheer. (Okay, those last two things aren't true:-)

Initially, I developed the Ride Share program because of concerns about traffic in the neighborhood. The farm is in a very residential location. The influx of 150 cars over the 5 hour winter distribution period could easily upset the peaceful character of the neighborhood and make it difficult to continue offering Winter Shares. Of course there were other reasons for the Ride Share program. Reduction of the carbon footprint associated with the CSA appealed me. I also equated less traffic with a reduced risk of car accidents.

Shareholders have highlighted two benefits I had never considered.

First, many shareholders appreciated having their CSA share delivered to them or dropped off in their neighborhood. I like to think that the folks waiting at home for their share were especially appreciative when the wind chill factor was high or when it was raining.

Second, people met their neighbors, and in many cases, were pleased to get to know them. In some cases, fabulous potluck dinners resulted. In other instances, neighbors were able to deliver shares to neighbors who because of urgent business, religious observance or over-scheduled lives, just couldn't make it to the farm on the distribution day.

So, who won the raffle prizes? The winners, drawn at random from among all the shareholders who participated in the Ride Share program are:
Wool Cycles Potholders: Meg Muckenhoupt; Matthew Bronski & Erin Graham
Kitchen on Common gift certificates: Aaron Kagan; Diane & Russell Barrios
Formaggio Kitchen gift certificate: Gale Pryor
Stone Hearth Pizza gift certificate: Jennifer Nahn

Everyone got a little thank you in the form of a bumper sticker from CISA (this is a fabulous organization that really knows how to support local agriculure) that reads, Be a Local Hero, buy locally grown.

How do you pop corn?

Chris at Vanguarden CSA supplies the winter share with popcorn bouquets. Popcorn on the cob is new to many folks and I get lots of questions about how to cook it.

Unshelled popcorn should be stored at temperatures near 32F and high relative humidity. Once or twice a week, shell a few kernels and try popping them, either in an air popper or on top of your stove using a little oil and a pan with a lid. When the test kernels are popping well and tasting good, shell and store the rest of the kernels. Store the kernels in sealed, airtight containers. If stored popcorn fails to pop, it may be too dry. Add 1 tablespoon of water to a quart of popcorn. Cover and shake at frequent intervals until the popcorn has absorbed the water. After 3 or 4 days, test pop a few kernels to see if it is ready.

Several people have told me they put the entire cob in a paper bag and put it in the microwave. I think you might want to test a kernel or two before throwing the whole cob into the microwave.

I'd love to hear how you pop your CSA popcorn.

A look at the December veg share

A shareholder took this photo of the December multi-farm winter share, noting the name of each veggie. Double click on the photo, then mouse over each vegetable to see the notes.

Winter veggies

All but one item in the December winter share installment were harvested well over a week ago. Picadilly and Vanguarden farmers put these storage crops in walk-in coolers, minimally heated greenhouses and root cellars. Onions, shallots, potatoes, sweet potatoes and winter squash were out of the fields by October 1. Other root crops (for example, beets, celeriac, parsnips) were harvested through October and November, before the ground froze, and then stored in a cool place. During a mild winter, crops like leeks and carrots are often "stored" in the field and harvested as needed and if/when the ground thaws. (Last winter, shareholders had a treat from Vanguarden when the weather unexpectedly warmed up in January allowing Chris to harvest leeks.) Leafy green crops like collard greens, radicchio and spinach can also be held in the field through mild frosts (temps as low as 25 degrees) when covered. Kale can survive through a mild winter as long as temperature fluctuations aren't wide and the plant can thaw out every day.

The unseasonably frigid weather that hit the week before Thanksgiving was a bit tough on the kale still in the field. Kale, especially the Winterbor variety that I grow for the winter share, is well suited to cold weather. Kale can freeze and thaw repeatedly with no ill effect. In fact, kale is much tastier after it has been through a frost or two. Unfortunately for us, the pre-Thanksgiving cold snap saw temperatures remain below freezing for over 24 hour. Our kale didn't freeze and thaw, it just froze. You may notice some damage on the stems and leaves. Collard greens and radicchio didn't have a chance at survival.

Here is what Belmont CSA winter shareholders will find in this Saturday's share:

From Bruce and Jenny Wooster, Picadilly Farm
Shallots, short pint.
Cabbage, a lovely head of green cabbage.
Celeriac, two pieces.
Onions, two pounds.
Parsnips, two and a half pounds.
Purple top turnips, two pounds.
Beets, three pounds.
Sweet potatoes, four pounds.
Potatoes, six pounds.
Carrots, five and a half pounds.
Winter squash, one (or more!) beautiful butternut squash.

From Gretta Anderson, Belmont CSA
Kale, one bunch. It should be used soon.

From Chris Yoder, Vanguarden CSA
Popcorn, one bouquet.
Onions, mostly red, one and a half pounds.