Tranquil Ridge Farm Newsletter 11/6/2011

TRANQUIL RIDGE FARM

LOCAL FOODS.... NATURALLY GROWN

CSA STORE IS OPEN UNTIL TUESDAY 9AM

Order veggies here

http://www.tranquilridgefarm.com/store/384

Order meat and eggs here

http://www.tranquilridgefarm.com/store/383

Farm News:

After a long 28 week season, last week off was just what we needed to regroup, catch up and get ready for the season ahead. It feels great to still have 16 vegetable options to choose from in November! From the delicious fall greens of kale, chard and spinach to the unsurpassed flavor of fall grown candy carrots, there is sure to be something for everyone. The exciting part is that there is more to come, our pak chois are looking and tasting great; we had a stir-fry with them this week. One of our greenhouses is stocked full of head lettuce that will be ready in several weeks. The beets are coming along nicely and should be available next week. We are finally making our brussel sprouts available. They had a rough year and really are not much to look at, but taste great and are small enough to not have to split them before cooking. Broccoli is holding on nicely outdoors and our huge planting of cauliflower just might make it here in the next couple of weeks, fingers crossed! Some really nice heads of mini cabbage are looking quite tasty as well, they just need a little more time. The difference in growth this time of year is that of a snail compared to a rabbit in the summer. Our daylight hours are down in that 10 hour range which really slows plant growth, but the temperature has been quite mild, so crops are holding well...just not growing as rapidly as some impatient farmers would like them to!

CSA NEWS:

One of the ways that we can judge how our business model and farm in general are doing is by membership renewal and new member sign-ups throughout the winter. This fall membership season has been the most encouraging that we have had yet. Already 1/3 of our total membership from 2011 has signed up for the 2012 season, with several new folks jumping in right away as well. Generally, we have not reached these goals until sometime in late January to early Feburary. A huge thank you for your support is due!

How is your egg supply? That has been the question of the year. It seems the answer has been the same...not good.  We have decided to work with This Old Farm to help supply winter eggs while our 300 new baby chicks are getting themselves ready for spring. You can expect these eggs to closely resemble ours with the same feeds and the same pasture raised birds. Consequently, we will have stewing hens available as whole, frozen birds as soon as next week. The meat will be great for soups and broth, because of their rich flavor. Eggs can be added to your order under the Tranquil Ridge Meat & Eggs storefront.

Ordering our products? If you have signed up and made your down payment for your 2012 share your account has been credited to match your payment. If you have not signed up for next season yet, you can still purchase our products at the Indy winter market on Saturday mornings.

***If you are a new member, you will need to create a password to use your account do that here:

http://www.tranquilridgefarm.com/login_lostpassword

Sign up for your 2012 membership here:

http://www.tranquilridgefarm.com/members

Have a Great week

Nate, Emily & Jensen