Persephone Farm

Sustainably Grown Vegetables & Flowers – Indianola, Washington

News: CSA

Subscribe to Persephone’s CSA

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Subscriber boxes waiting for pickup late last summer

First pickup and orientation is June 5th

Hors D’oeuvres • Lots of New Information • Garden Tour • First Produce Pickup

Shares still available! If you know of anyone who might be interested in joining us, please spread the word.

CSA subscribers: You are invited to bring your family and join us for an evening at the farm. Wednesday, June 5, 5:30 – 7:30 pm. See your summer vegetables growing! Taste a leaf of sweet Fennel or sour Sorrel as you stroll the fields. (No dogs please. Our chickens and peacocks are free-ranging) It is quite important that at least one member of each subscriber household attend. After this meeting, our pickups will be on a self-serve basis and must run smoothly for everyone to get his/her share of the just-harvested bounty.

We’ll explain the system at the orientation, as well as sign you up for bread, cheese or egg shares, or other delectable additions to our own farm’s harvest, if you’re interested. Each of these is an add-on to the CSA, a delicious way to support local producers, and an opportunity to collect an even more abundant basket each week.

Your first vegetables of this season will be ready for you to take home. The distribution will come at the end of the evening for new subscribers. Returnees may pay their balance, grab veggies and go if you like. Bring a bag or box to carry your bounty down the driveway. Please park on Midway or in the designated pasture area halfway up the drive. Our parking area at the orientation site is limited, please, to those who cannot make the 100-yard walk up the hill.

Your final payment will be due at the orientation. Most full shares have already paid a $250 deposit—the balance is $400. Split shares sent a $150 deposit and have $350 remaining. Checks should be made payable to Rebecca Slattery (Bainbridge Island) or Louisa Brown (Indianola).

Rebecca, Louisa, Bill and our apprentices are very excited to see this program starting for another glorious season. We look forward to meeting all our new subscribers and seeing the familiar faces of friends and neighbors.

If you have any questions, please call Rebecca at (360) 297-1877.
PERSEPHONE (Greek Goddess of Spring, Flowers, and Rebirth)

Subscriber Orientation is today – June 6

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Wednesday, June 6, 5:30-7:30pm at the Farm
All registered subscribers are requested to attend. (If you’re not yet a subscriber and would like to join, please contact us.) It’s important that at least one member of each subscriber household attend. After this meeting, our pickups will be on a self-serve basis and must run smoothly for everyone to get his/her share of the just-harvested bounty.

We’ll explain the system at the orientation, as well as sign you up for bread, cheese or egg shares, or other delectable additions to our own farm’s harvest, if you’re interested. Each of these is an add-on to the CSA, a delicious way to support local producers, and an opportunity to collect an even more abundant basket each week. Your first vegetables of this season will be ready for you to take home. The distribution will come at the end of the evening for new subscribers. Returnees may pay their balance, grab veggies and go if you like. Bring a bag or box to carry your bounty down the driveway. Please park on Midway or in the designated pasture area halfway up the drive. Our parking area at the orientation site is limited to those who cannot make the 100-yard walk up the hill.

Rebecca, Louisa, Bill and our apprentices are very excited to see this program starting for another glorious season. We look forward to meeting all our new subscribers and seeing the familiar faces of friends and neighbors.

 

Join Persephone’s CSA!

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First pickup and subscriber orientation is soon — June 6th

Fom what I hear, the 2012 Season is looking to be abundant! The first CSA pickup and “Orientation” is a special event. All subscribers converge at the farm, (including the Bainbridge Islanders). Tasty hor d’oeuvres are served, subscribers learn how the self-serve pickups work, tour the garden to see their veggies growing and meet the new apprentices. Also we can choose “add-ons” from local producers — wonderful cheese, bread, eggs, honey, etc. If you haven’t signed up yet, give Rebecca a call and reserve your share (360) 297-1877. Imagine having lots of fresh very local, sustainably grown veggies every week, June – October! Start a healthy, yummy habit. Learn more about Persephone’s CSA.

Save 10 to 15 percent (and help the bees)

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It’s spring at Persephone Farm, the peas are growing and the flowers are blooming bright and beautiful. Our CSA is still welcoming members for the coming season. In addition to a bounty of fresh vegetables and flowers, members save 10-15% when purchasing a share from Persephone.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a collaboration between grower and eater, rather than a mere exchange of dollars for vegetables. We aim to provide 10-15% more value over the season than the cost of similar produce at other local outlets. It is our way of thanking you for paying in advance, which helps the farm at the beginning of the season to defray the cost of seeds, tools and other inputs. To extend the season, subscribers also receive a 10% discount at our Bainbridge Island Farmer’s Market stand, open early April through late December.

Flowers are another special part of a Persephone CSA share. As ecological farmers we appreciate our flower beds and borders for not only their beauty, but also for their ability to attract precious pollinators and beneficial insects.

Flowers help us add diversity to our crop rotations, and are essential to our farm’s sustainability. Our CSA subscribers tell us that choosing their flower bouquet is a high point of their week, beautiful selection – and beneficial to the bees too!

Read more about our CSA here.

Thank you to Lisa from Gluten Free Foodies for the beautiful video of Persephone Farm.

Filed Under: CSA

February News from the Farm

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Like many of you home gardeners, we’ve avidly scanned our seed catalogs looking for interesting new varieties to try out this season. So much seems possible from the comfort of our arm chairs this time of year, doesn’t it?

It’s only a matter of weeks until the four new interns arrive: one from Montana, two fromWisconsin and one from Seattle. The recent string of warm days tempted the farmers out into the greenhouse and fields to get a few early seeds started. But we’re trying to hold back our enthusiasm in order to allow the new interns to join us in starting at the very beginning of the farm cycle. Persephone Farm is extremely proud of our internship program. Training the next generation of sustainable farmers is one of our farm’s most important objectives.

Katt, Adam and Tess from last year will all be managing their own farms in New England this summer, Tess in Maine, Katt and Adam in Vermont. Hiram has followed his new Lady Love to Maui where he is developing a business as a personal chef, specializing in local, organic cuisine. (Ah, to have pineapple and passion fruit as part of our 100 mile diet!)

Community Supported Agriculture is another of our most rewarding endeavors. Seeing the kids excited about their veggies warms every adult heart, parent and farmer alike. Have you noticed, too, how fully children take in the sensory pleasure of the flowers? They’re so alive to all aspects of the fragrance and color. It’s a thrill watching them try to choose the family bouquet. Your support for our farm is integral to our overall success. Thank you for taking the annual leap of faith with us as we step into a new growing season.

Even though the 2011 season started out with unprecedented cool temperatures well into July, Mother Nature came through with a bang in the fall. The “summer that wasn’t” still produced one of our best tomato harvests ever. Onions sized up well with all the dampness. And cucumbers exceeded everyone’s expectations. Sweet peppers were late but prolific. Winter subscribers can attest to the bounty even in November!

Overall, last year’s shares yielded 16% more produce than the price of the shares!! Whooohooo!!

The corn crop was less happy. Incomplete pollination made for small and misshapen ears in all varieties. We’ve not seen this before and must attribute it to the unseasonable weather. Corn is wind pollinated, so, thankfully it’s not a result of bee colony collapse disorder. This problem seems not to be affecting us .The zucchini crop attests to this, as each blossom must be visited by a pollinator at least five times in order to produce a normal fruit.

We look forward to seeing you and your families at our Orientation and first veggie pickup, Wednesday June 6th.

Please feel free to call Rebecca with questions: (360) 297-1877

Spring feels just around the corner!

Photos by subscriber, Leslie Newman