A Note From The Farmer

Dear Supporters of Whirligig Farm,Our first CSA farmshare pick-

up is this week - sugar snap peas - await you! If you are not in the CSA, you are welcome to come check out what we have to offer any time this weekend from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The produce is gorgeous, delicious and plentiful; and everyone, CSA supporters or not, may come walk through the farm fields this weekend and taste for themselves!

We are especially grateful for our CSA community, who is truly the heart of the farm, and its economic lifeblood during the early season. Since we are are still signing up people interested in a share of this season’s bounty, I am devoting this week’s note to sharing some of the benefits

of joining our CSA. Please help spread the word! Next week we’ll share the compelling history of how the CSA model started and has evolved.

Why Whirligig CSA? Top Ten Reasons:

1. Save Money: Pay less for your vegetables than farm stand or ‘local organic’ supermarket prices.

2. Beyond Organic: Our Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York designation as a Farmer’s Pledge farm is our guarantee of accountability for practices that are sustainable on many levels, far beyond the exclusion of unhealthy chemicals.

From left to right, Creek Iversen, Dan Moon and Phil Erner play music and sing along with attendees at the farm’s June 7 Pinxter celebration.

The lush leaves of Red Russian kale soak up the late afternoon sunlight.

On a perfect day for transplanting, the farm crew plants a bed of scallions.

Caption

NewsletterJune 2014 Issue 2

Continued on page 3

By Creek Iversen

CSA Vegetable ListWhat you can expect in your share this week

Sugar Snap Peas

Salad Mix: Lettuce, Mustard,

Kale

Hakurei Turnips

Giant Red Mustard

Spinach

Young Chinese Cabbage

Garlic Scapes

Pea Shoots, Calendula Petals

2 3

Why Whirligig CSA? Continued

Meet One of Our Farmers: DanHometown: Putnam Valley, NY. Favorite Vegetables: Spinach, Tomatoes and Hakurei Turnips. First farming experience: During one of my summers in high school I tried to grow some wheat to harvest and make flour from it. I planted a small plot with seeds from one of my mother’s dried flower arrangements. The plants grew well but they yielded less than a cup of grain, which wasn’t even enough to make a cupcake. Fortunately during the season a watermelon seed from the compost happened to sprout in the plot and produced two giant watermelons that we enjoyed! What made you want to work at Whirligig Farm? It has been my dream since I was a teenager to be an organic farmer. It started with my realization that our culture and

food system have diverged too far from nature, which has produced many negative consequences. In addition to growing food and healing the land I want to build a farm that serves as an access point for people to rediscover mankind’s relationship with the land and the many species that we coexist with. This is a vision that I feel is shared with Creek, Michael, and the farm crew. It is also encouraging to see that consumers are beginning to realize the need for real local food, which is why community farms like Whirligig are vital. What’s the future of farming for you? I’ve farmed in Dutchess [County]; Ponder, Texas; Westchester [County] and New Paltz. Whirligig farm is the largest farm I’ve worked on, and it has enormous potential. What’s special about this farm is that there’s space to grow. I look forward to exploring sustainable agriculture on a larger scale, incorporating renewable energy and inputs into our farming practices, developing a healthy farm ecosystem and revitalizing the land through good farming practices. I am also excited about seed-saving, incorporating more livestock, and being part of a vibrant and growing farming community.

On the farm:

Last Seedling Sale!June 14 and 15 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Produce and eggs will also be available

Music JamsSaturday, July 5

Sunday, August 35 to 9 p.m.

potluck at 6:30 p.m.

Farmstand OpeningSaturday, July 5

(Time TBA)Open farm day

Off the farm:

Woodstock Transition Gathering

Saturday, June 14Woodstock1 to 5 p.m.

Music, vegetable and info table

Clearwater FestivalJune 21 and 22

Croton-on-Hudson10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Festival of Music and Celebration of The

Environment

3. Build Local Economy and Local Food System: Support the development of local farmers. Our entire farm crew is hired from the mid-Hudson Valley, and spend their paychecks in your community. Help our region transition to a more local, sustainable, and resilient food production.

4. Maintain Farming Heritage: Help our neighborhood retain its small working farm history, aesthetic and character.

5. Friends and Neighbors: Weekly farmshare pick-ups gather smiling people of all ages who care about healthy food, local farms, and a sharing community.

6. Education: Learn new recipes, garden know-how and a better understanding of sustainable farming. Support our work bringing farm experiences to students and community groups.

7. Music, Arts, Culture, Fun: Evolve the local artistic culture around the celebration of the land -

the beautiful and unique “Hurley Flats” between the Esopus Creek and the Catskill Mountains - and its bounty.

8. Grow Food Justice: Help us make healthy local food accessible to everyone in our communities. From donations to food pantries, to work-for-vegetable barters, to subsidized prices for lower income communities, to community harvest suppers, all may “Come sit at our welcome table!”

9. Participation: Be a part of the growing of your own food in joyful community with others.

10. Taste and Health: Delicious “farm-to-mouth” vegetables all season.

See you down on the farm,

Creek

FARM EVENTS

Dan Moon

Pinxter: This springtime religious holiday was brought by Dutch settlers to North America in the 17th

century; it was a day to rest and gather with friends. “Pinxter” comes from a variation on the Dutch word for Pentecost, Pinksteren. By the 19th century, this celebration was practiced mostly by African-Americans, in which many African traditions were incorporated in a three-to-four-day holiday to dance, sing and spend with family and friends.

Dan Moon prepares beds of soil for planting on a foggy morning as the sun peeks through

the trees (above). The farm crew gets briefed on planting

plans for You-Pick beds of vegetables, herbs and flowers (right).

Greg Cerne, Nina Petrochko, Lisa Mitten, Jasmina DeLeon-Gill and Shay Otis harmonize with the other singers.

Mr. Moon, Cecelia

Hernandez and Shifty (right) join

Creek Iversen and

the rest of the musical

group (above).

d

4Layout deisgner and photographer: Gianna Canevari. Thanks to Phil Erner for copy editing.

1375 Hurley Mountain Road, Hurley, NY 12443

Fast Facts: CSA 2014You will receive 22 weeks of fresh, seasonal,

sustainably-grown vegetables.The weekends of June 13-14 through Oct. 31-Nov. 1

(note that the distribution on June 20-21 will be a small box pickup only.)

READY TO SIGN UP? Download the form: http://bit.ly/1jOsyTr

Email us at CSA@whirligigfarm.com Call us at (845) 331-0316 with questions!

Two Share Sizes:

1. Duo Shares (for one to two

people)

2. Family shares (for three to four

people)

Student Shares:

Available for 11 weeks,

August 21 & 22 to October 31 & November 2. We offer sliding scale share prices, so

you pay what you can afford.

Our CSA members have the opportunity

to immerse themselves in

our vibrant farm community

with monthly music jams,

weekly Saturday coffees, regular

work parties and potlucks,

farmhouse concerts,

seasonal harvest celebrations

and educational workshops!

Friday Evening Farm Social from

4 to 7 p.m. at Whirligig Farm

Saturday Morning Box

Pick-up at Tweefontein

Herb Farm (4 Jenkins Rd,

New Paltz)

Saturday Morning Coffee from 10 to

11 a.m. at Whirligig Farm (or just come

pick up a box we pack for you at any time

over the weekend)

You choose your pick-up time and place:

CSA Feature of The Week: Kale

Our kale is coming up wonderfully!

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of kale• 1 head of lettuce• 1 to 2 avocadoes• 1 handful sunflower • seeds, raisins and sliced • almonds• Juice of 1/2 lemon• 1 Tbsp. olive oil• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar• 1 Tsp. garlic powder• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• De-stem and chop • the kale.• Cut avocado and • massage into kale.• Add lettuce.• Mix olive oil, vinegar• and lemon juice.• Pour over lettuce.• Add toppings and • enjoy!