Welcome to Harvest Week 24, Final Week of Extended Season Delivery, Nov. 19th – 23rd, 2013

In Farm News this Week, Farmer John Writes About Planning for the Future Then and Now

This week wraps up the 24 week long harvest season. We’re super happy with how the year has gone. We hope you are also happy with the season.

Enjoy a 7% Discount if You Sign Up for 2014 before the 2013 Season Ends
We think the best time to sign up for the next season is while our current season is still fresh in your thoughts and in your meals. If you sign up now, it helps us considerably in our planning for next season. We think it will help you, too, in knowing you have a dependable supply of fresh, organic, local vegetables coming your way in 2014.

Sign Up by Monday, Nov 25
If you haven’t already joined us for 2014, sign up by Monday, Nov 25, the last day of our 2013 deliveries, for a 7% discount.  You can easily sign up at Member Assembler, our convenient CSA management system http://angelicorganicsfarm.csasignup.com/members/returning

Use coupon code NOV7 for your 7% discount on all vegetable share types.
After the season ends, we will no longer be offering this generous discount.

Please mail your payment to: Angelic Organics, 1547 Rockton Road, Caledonia, IL 61011

You can also pay by credit card for an additional fee at the Local Harvest site http://www.localharvest.org/csa/M111 . (We prefer if you pay by check, but we offer this additional convenient payment method so you can secure your 2014 share now.) No coupon code needed if paying using localharvest.org.

Reminder: receiving the early discount requires both signing up and paying by the deadline. Please sign up only if you plan to pay by the deadline.

If you have questions, call Shelly weekday mornings at 815-389-2746 or email her at email hidden; JavaScript is required

The Crew
Neither rain nor sleet nor heat nor cold nor wind held our stellar crew back this year. Thank you for all the acknowledgments of the crew that you’ve sent us this season.

Other Angelic Organics CSA Heroes: the Delivery Site Hosts
Please take a moment to reflect on the generous service offered by your delivery site host. The hosts make our CSA system possible. Without them, we would not be able to deliver to a convenient location near you. The hosts are most appreciated by the farm.

Another Hero, Charlie Trotter
We are Forever in Your Debt: a moving tribute in the Huffington Post
Back in the early 90’s, Angelic Organics sold heirloom tomatoes to Charlie Trotter. In appreciation for our service, Charlie invited eight of us, including my mom and myself, to his restaurant for a gratis 15 course meal. He provided us with our own dining room and two full-time attendants. We must have been quite a sight in Charlie Trotter’s, with our calloused hands, windswept faces and ruffled clothes. By the time we got to the 5 courses of desserts, the my companions were full, so I offered to eat their desserts. “You’ll get sick,” they warned. “No, I’ll get happy.” And all those desserts made me very happy.

After dinner, Charlie gave us a tour of his kitchen. I said, “Charlie, those were otherworldly sensations tonight…completely new to my palate. I felt like I was tasting the stars in the sky.”

Good work, Charlie.

The Weather This Past Week
Rather mild. Some rain. A bit of snow. Our veteran crew members have commented that this is the best fall weather ever.

The Crops
We have harvested the last of the crops for your final box. You will enjoy extra sweetness in the spinach, and kale , due to the recent frosts they have experienced. Some of the butternut squash is not in ideal condition; examine yours closely. Some of the blemishes are only skin deep, but you might need to cut out a bit of the flesh in some cases. It was a challenging year for squash, as it seemed to ripen prematurely, and therefore did not hold up as well as usual.

Farmer John Writes: Planning for the Farm’s Social Future and the Farm’s Business Future
Many years back, my mom and I were driving to nearby Clinton. As we passed the Pann farm, she spotted construction work. “Look at that,” she said. “They’re building a new barn. They believe in the future.”
At Angelic Organics, in deference to the future, we’re re-constructing our milkhouse. (Well, first, we’re de-constructing it.) Unlike the Panns, who built their barn for dairy and are still milking there, we are re-building our milkhouse for the social future, to facilitate easier and safer access via an indoor staircase to the Community Loft for social, educational and cultural events. (Thanks to all of you who donated to this project through our crowd-funding campaign this summer.)

It’s interesting from a design standpoint to undertake this milkhouse project, as the milkhouse has been a prominent feature on our farm since when it was built in the mid-50’s. Its length will be more than doubled, which will make it even more prominent. And now the arched roof is beckoning a decision: we are pondering whether to go with the same broad arched form that the milkhouse currently displays, or a slightly narrower, taller arched form. In the whole scheme of things, one can think that such details don’t matter, but they do. The point is to decide on details at the right pace, not get sidetracked by them. Sometimes they sidetrack me; sometimes they don’t. In the mid-50’s, when my mom asked me if I wanted the shape of the milkhouse and barn roof to be curved or straight, I pondered briefly, then pointed to the curved form she had drawn. But she didn’t then provide me with two rather similar curved forms to choose from. That might have sidetracked me.

I was planning the barn’s future 55 years ago, and I’m still planning the barn’s future.

Every 3 to 5 years, we replace the cover on our greenhouse, because the old cover gets brittle and begins to crack and lets out the expensive heat that we’re trying to provide to the transplants. Plus, the poly becomes less translucent, letting in less light, which might make some of the transplants spindly.  We put on two layers of poly and keep an air space inflated in between, to provide a thermal barrier.

The future is always barreling our way.

Upcoming at the Angelic Organics Learning Center

Please Tell Your Favorite Teacher to Bring Their Class to the Farm!
The farm-to-school movement is spreading throughout the nation. Teachers and professors of all levels seek out the Learning Center as a regional leader in farm-based education.
Our 186-acre living classroom exposes students to topics covered across the school year, including nutrient cycles, ecosystem dynamics, animal physiology, plant growth and life cycles, environmental topics, and more. Our expert team of educators leads groups in fun, educational, hands-on activities. Groups have many choices, like the opportunity to harvest vegetables from the fields, milk the goats, collect eggs and prepare a farm fresh field-to-table meal.

We also offer custom programs to scout troops, homeschool groups, church groups, birthday parties, and more. For more information about our custom programs or to schedule your group, email email hidden; JavaScript is required or call 815.389.8455.

Like the Angelic Organics Learning Center


Please like and follow the Angelic Organics Learning Center on Facebook. The Learning Center is a very important part of our community, helping to connect people to the earth, to their food and to one another.

Thank you for supporting local foods this year!

Box Contents
Please Note: this summary is written before you receive your box—please be aware that some guesswork is involved. As always, be sure to thoroughly wash all of your vegetables.

Salad Greens – Spinach
Fruiting Crops – A Butternut or Buttercup Squash
Alliums – Storage Onions, A bag of Garlic cloves
Root Crops – 2 bags of Potatoes, Beets, Carrots
Cooking Greens – Maybe Kale tops
Brassicas – Brussels Sprouts in some boxes, maybe a Cabbage