LOCAL FOODS... NATURALLY GROWN

CSA STORE IS OPEN UNTIL TUESDAY AT 9A.M.

                                             ORDER VEGETABLES HERE

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

ORDER MEAT AND EGGS HERE

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

Before we get started on this extended version of the TRF newsletter, can we just say WOW... what a winter. Seriously, I was hot enough working outside to be down to short sleeves, and it is just the first week of February. Pretty amazing!

Take advantage this week of our kale, there won't  be too many years that you will have the opportunity to eat kale grown outdoors in Indiana the first week of February. Spinach is doing wonderful as well. The leeks are further behind than anticipated, looks like mid to late March before they will be ready. Late March and early April will be when our variety broadens again.  This includes 9 pigs that we have been feeding this winter and the 300 new hens that will begin laying in late March.

CSA NEWS:

This is the critical time to get your CSA share set up and ready to go for the 2012 season. Remember, in order to receive your full discount, you must be paid in full by March 1st.  This means a full share at $525 gives you $600 worth of online credit for vegetables, meat and eggs. A half share at $325 gives you $375 to spend online.

Full payment by April 1st gives you $562.50 and $350 for full and half share respectively. Memberships will be accepted after April 1st but you will not receive any discount over the membership cost.

It might seem difficult to decide on what size share to purchase. Keep in mind that you can purchase any products available online, including vegetables, meat and eggs. We will make available other local items throughout the summer as well.

Sign up here:  http://www.tranquilridgefarm.com/members

FARM/LIFE NEWS:

We have some exciting news about the future of our farm and have been anticipating sharing it with all of you. We are coming up on the 4th season of the CSA and our 7th season growing food for a living. We have finally moved past the 'can this farm really work', to 'this is the future for our family'. We feel very fortunate to have meet the Moore family and form a great partnership with them here at our current farm. Without the opportunity to lease land and buildings we would not be where we are today. But, with the future in mind of not only Emily and I, but also the family we will leave behind some day, we have always wanted to own a piece of land. With today's land prices going from $7-8,000 per acre, the idea hasn't looked too promising.  After a lot of discussion about not only the possibilities, but also the huge impact of moving from one incredible community into another, we are fortunate to be able to bring life back to a farm owned by Emily's father and located in Clinton County (Emily's stomping grounds). I have lived within 5 miles of our farm for about 36 years now.  Montgomery County has certainly always been home to me.

So the opportunity has come. We are going to be moving the farm to the Rossville location over the next couple of years. The farm is a beautiful 120 acre piece with a small woods on the North boundary, a golf course on the West boundary and the town of Rossville towards the south.  It has been in Emily's family for four generations now. Unfortunately, there are no improvements such as a house, barn, or, well anything else! So we have to start from scratch. Emily and I have built and remodeled several houses together over the years and the one thing we did not want, believe it or not, was a NEW house. We love the character and stories behind old houses. Plus, I would rather be farming, than building a house!

I was driving around the farm one day and happened to see this old house, apparently vacant and in the middle of an adjacent corn field. I was curious enough to check it out real quick. It was perfect for what we wanted: exactly a mile east of where we planned to build, no power lines in the way, and Emily's relatives owning the land in between the house and our farm. We found the owners, pitched them a plan, and decided to have the house MOVED to our new site. When we found this deal it finally made the budget and the time frame we had available work. With only a few short cold months, I have been able to do most of the work during this winter. So what I have I been doing this last month and a half?  We have dug the foundation, poured the concrete, and jacked the house up off the existing foundation and onto its dolly.  The only problem we have run into is that somehow in the middle of January and February we can't seem to get the ground to freeze!! Although it looks like we are going to give it a shot this next week if it stays dry.

Once the house is in place, we will take a summer break from the project for the most part but will update you along the way.

Let's talk about good and bad to this new adventure.

The Bad. We are leaving what we call home and starting all over from scratch...again from the house to barns to well, everything.

The Good.  Our deliveries and markets will not change or be affected. We get to create an amazing example of sustainable agriculture and all its amazing benefits on a 120 acre piece of land. The exciting journey that we will be on through the next 5 years is going to be amazing.

Thanks for all your support,

Nate, Emily & Jensen

LOCAL FOODS... NATURALLY GROWN

CSA STORE IS OPEN UNTIL 9 AM TUESDAY

ORDER VEGGIES HERE:

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

ORDER MEAT & EGGS HERE:

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

Farm News:

There's not much going on around here at the farm these days!  Wednesday is the last delivery for a few weeks as we take a mid-winter break. There will not be a delivery to the Indianapolis area this week. 

We are settling in for a great holiday season, and we hope all of you have a safe and happy one as well!

Happy Holidays

Nate, Emily & Jensen

TRANQUIL RIDGE FARM

LOCAL FOODS...NATURALLY GROWN

Store is open until Tuesday 9am

Order vegetables here:

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

Order meat & eggs here:

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

FARM/CSA NEWS:

Brrr it's cold out there!  Thank goodness the market is an indoor one! With the holidays approaching, we only have 2 more weeks of deliveries in the month of December, this week and next.  We're planning on taking most if not all of the month of January off, but might sneak in a week of delivery, so keep your eyes open for a newsletter from us during that month. 

January is a busy month for us.  We start ordering our seeds for the year We get ready to fire up the heated greenhouses and start planting seeds!  CSA memberships will continue to be open and ready to use immediately after signing up.

For those of you who love your eggs, you'll notice the price increase this week.  As you know, we are relying on This Old Farm for our egg supply this winter until our new birds have matured enough to start laying in the spring.  Pastured, organic eggs are all that is available this week due to a dramatic decrease in their egg production.  It turns out that our birds aren't the only ones that get finicky about laying when it gets cold! 

Pay attention to the balance on your account as some of you are approaching zero dollars already!  The system will not let your balance drop into the negative, so your order will not be able to be placed until your next payment has been recieved. 

Enjoy the week,

Emily, Nate & Jensen

LOCAL FOODS... NATURALLY GROWN

CSA STORE IS OPEN UNTIL 9 AM TUESDAY

ORDER VEGGIES HERE:

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

ORDER MEAT & EGGS HERE:

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

FARM NEWS:

Today, we go cut our Christmas tree!  We're hoping the weather cooperates!  With Christmas only 3 weeks away it might seem crazy to some that we have so much produce available.  We have some pretty amazing heads of lettuce ready this week. Along with our favorite buttercrunch, we have two new additions that I am sure you will love just as much. One is a green romaine-bibb type similar to buttercrunch but has a look more like romaine. The other is called Rouge D'Hiver.  As you may imagine, it is a variety from France, a place that has been gardening through the winter for centuries. The salads are second to none this time of year for sure, but the cauliflower and broccoli are the bonus crops that continue to surprise me; still outdoors with no protection and pumping out loads of new growth each week. Enjoy them while we can, they will surely be done soon.

Don't forget to sign up for your 2012 CSA membership, and start taking advantage of all the winter greens right now. You can sign up quick and easy right here.

http://www.tranquilridgefarm.com/members

Have a great week

Nate, Emily and Jensen

TRANQUIL RIDGE FARM

LOCAL FOODS... NATURALLY GROWN

CSA STORE IS OPEN UNTIL TUESDAY 9 AM

ORDER VEGGIES HERE

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

ORDER EGGS AND MEAT HERE

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

Yes, the weather is changing. We have been fortunate this fall to still be harvesting crops outdoors this late into the year without protection. With several nights forcasted to be below freezing, cauliflower and broccoli have a tough week ahead. Enjoy them this week as much as possible. Our spinach and lettuce are doing amazing inside the protection of the high tunnels. New products this week are the stir-fry pack, which includes 3 different types of choi's. Pak choi, Mei Quing choi, and Komatsuna. Together they make a mean stir fry, just add carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and some of that left over turkey and you have a great meal.

CARMEL DELIVERIES WILL START THIS WEEK AT THE GREAT HARVEST BREAD LOCATION IN CARMEL. THE STORE IS LOCATED AT: 12505 Old Meridian St. Suite 100, Carmel.

PICK UP TIME IS FROM 8 A.M. TO NOON ON SATURDAYS INSIDE THE STORE.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK

NATE, EMILY AND JENSEN

LOCAL FOODS... NATURALLY GROWN

CSA STORE IS OPEN UNTIL TUESDAY 9AM

ORDER VEGGIES HERE:

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

DON'T FORGET YOUR EGGS! ORDER HERE:

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

We have added two new delivery locations to bring our food closer to you this winter and beyond. Beginning this week, Lafayette area members will have the option of a new West Lafayette location or the existing Great Harvest Bread Co location.  If you choose, we will deliver your csa orders to West Lafayette at the home of Suzanne Bangert. She lives east of Purdue just off of St. Rd. 26 in the Orchard subdivision. Full directions are available when you choose your pickup location. Also, starting the week of November 27th, deliveries at the Great Harvest Bread location in Carmel will start. Our friends Jerry and Janet Lecy are excited to offer their space to us, and look forward to meeting all our loyal customers in the Indy area. Pick up will be on Saturday mornings from 8am.- noon; the first pickup will be on December 3rd. 

Don't forget! When you sign up for our CSA program, your money is available to you right away and can be spent throughout the year. Your share will not expire until October 31, 2012!

There has been some confusion about a winter share and a summer share. We are not seperating the two. Instead, we offer an all year share option that begins first of November. All you have to do to activate your membership is put down your 50% deposit and start ordering veggies, it's really that easy. Your remaining balance will be due on March 1st, 2012.  The winter deliveries are a great way to get some beautiful fresh local greens to fight through those winter blues.

**WE WILL NOT BE ATTENDING THE INDY WINTER FARMER'S MARKET ON THE 26TH.  THERE WILL NOT BE ANY DELVIERIES TO THE INDIANAPOLIS AREA ON THE 26TH.  DELVIERIES WILL RESUME IN THE INDIANAPOLIS AREA ON DECEMBER 3RD**

Have a great holiday and many blessings to all of you,

Nate, Emily & Jensen

You'll find us at the Lafayette Farmer's Market starting the first Saturday in May through the end of October from 7:30am-12:30pm.  This market is located on 5th Street in historic downtown Lafayette. 

Carmel Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings from May through October 8-11:30am. This market is located at Center Green, Carmel. 

Indy Winter Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings from 9am-12:30pm, November through April.  This market is located in the west wing of the City Market downtown Indianapolis. 

These markets always have an excellent supply of farm fresh meats, breads, seasonal produce & local crafts.

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