Newsletter for Week 7 of Winter CSA 2022
Only 1 more week of Winter CSA after this one - then onto Spring 😮!!!
Hello FaRmily!
I will start by saying that this is the SECOND time I am writing this entire newsletter this week. After 4 hours of putting this together yesterday I went to publish it and everything got lost. I wanted to cry 😭😭! I almost decided to scrap this week's newsletter all together, as losing 4 hours of work is heartbreaking, but I put my big-boy pants on, and realized that this newsletter is a very important mode of communication and many of you thoroughly enjoy it, so here goes round #2! Hopefully it's as good as the first! 🤣
🔔Round 2!🔔
Well everyone, I hope you are doing absolutely wonderful and you have been enjoying your CSA through 6 weeks so far! I can't believe there is only 1 week left after this week and then we are on to Spring!
There is a lot to talk about this week and plenty of exciting announcements down below. We have announcements regarding Ahavah Community Initiative, our CSA memberships, a new farmer's market we are starting, classes, the nursery grand opening and more! See below and enjoy this week's newsletter!
REMINDER:👉 Every week we will be sending out this newsletter on Monday/Tuesday and every Thursday we post to the blog and to the Ahavah Community Facebook Group all the details of your bag contents, the extras available for purchase and what to expect to be available for Market-Style members.
👉Please see the weekly updates below including a word from Farmer Yosef, some educational articles, announcements, changes, interviews, highlights and more.
💲💲CURRENT MEMBERS: USE CODE "RETURNINGMEMBER" FOR 5% OFF!💲💲
📢See below for event updates, new articles and announcements!📢
⭐Enjoy your shares this month and don't forget to join the fun and share your recipes and pictures in the Facebook Community Group!⭐
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🌷SPRING SEASON STARTS MARCH 31st and April 1st.🌷
Don't miss our pre-season meeting on March 21st at 6pm in the Ahavah Community Facebook Group.
This meeting is required for all new members and all members are suggested join as well. Joining live is the best opportunity to ask questions, but it will also be recorded and available to watch at a later time.
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ARE YOU PLANNING A GARDEN IN 2022!? Pre-order your seedlings and have them when YOU are ready (you can even have them delivered!)!!
Place your Ahavah Farm Nursery orders (up to April 15th of 2022) and CURRENT MEMBERS get 10% OFF when you order using code: NURSERY10 (All caps no spaces)
Browse our incredible selection of Organic, Heirloom varieties now at ahavahfarm.com/nursery
Questions? Email us directly at Nursery@ahavahfarm.com We can't wait to help you plan your 2022 Garden!!!!
#AhavahFarmNursery #nurserylife #garden2022 #seedlings #gardening #organic #heirloom #AhavahMeansLove
We've added 13 brand new items to our catalog this year! We now have two types of beans, sugar peas, different types of mint, calendula, echinacea, and we will even have some specific things available at the drops and at our Nursery store (when it opens) that aren't available on the website like Aloe, Golden toothed Aloe, Jade, Mother of Thousands, and Spider plants!
Yes, you read that correctly... we're working on opening a Nursery Garden Center store - OPEN IN MAY! More announcements to come!
✨AHAVAH FARM NURSERY & GARDEN CENTER GRAND OPENING IS MAY 2ND!✨
We are getting so excited about our opening of the Ahavah Farm Nusery & Garden Center! Inventory is starting to move in as we start to build out our space and prepare for May 2nd, our Grand Opening! We will have the purest, locally grown plant starts (the majority are heirloom crops and they are all successful to our area, started from seed - all Organic with no fertilizers or chemicals of any kind!). We will also have planter boxes, pots, soil and other items available. Come check us out and support us as we start small and aim for a bright future of supporting our Calhan, Peyton, Falcon communities!
Our May 2nd Grand Opening will be from 9am to 3pm and all items will be a whopping 20% off for the day only! Don't miss it!
Come to 7545 Log Rd, in Peyton CO 80831 and get your garden started and save 20%!
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WORD FROM YOUR FARMER:
Hello my dear friends and FaRmily ❤! This week my "Weekly Update" video has a few special announcements and some VERY important info that I felt would be important for all to hear - so, I've also sent this out directly and I'm asking everyone to take a few minutes to watch. Yes, 9 minutes is a lot of your time to ask, but there's a lot happening and we need your help (or you can skip to the 5:45 minute mark for an important conversation about Ahavah Community Initiative, and how you can help) -- Love you all, Yosef.
0:00 - Introduction and recap of last week, the harvest coming up and growth on the farm. 0:50 - Come see the farm! 2:03 - Storytime and activity with Ms. Tracy! 3:03 - Nursery & Garden Center OPENING Announcement! 3:50 - Farmer's Market Announcement! 5:45 - Ahavah Community Initiative
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VOLUNTEERING
Our volunteers are the backbone of our organization and we couldn't do it without them... but we need more help! We need help with so many things, things like:
Construction Projects
Landscaping Projects
Composting Projects
Harvesting, washing and prep.
Weeding
Bag Packing
Teaching Classes
General farm cleanup
and more...got a skill you want to share? Let us know!
Volunteering is Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4PM.
Please let Jessie know you are interested, she will send more information and necessary paperwork, and we will welcome you with open arms!
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NEW - Farmer's Market
Mark your calendars for Friday May 6th from 9am to 12pm and every Friday after that until the Fall! We will be hosting the Ahavah Farm Farmer's Market during our current CSA drop with lot's of local vendors, classes, tours and activities. Our current lineup of vendors include vegetables, eggs, meat, baked goods, cosmetics, wood working, crafts, children's activities and so much more!
We are so excited about our current line-up of vendors, but we are still seeking more!
If you are a local vendor and are interested in attending our FREE farmer's market, please reach out directly at contact@ahavahfarm.com and we will send you information and the vendor agreement.
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CLASSES & EVENTS
Brought to you by ACI (Ahavah Community Initiative)
OUR FIRST TOUR OF THE YEAR - MARCH 18TH
Want to see the farm, meet the team, learn how we grow? Come on March 18th for our first tour of the season and see it all!
The tour will last a good hour or more and you will meet the team and can ask any questions you'd like. We do this once per month, so if you can't come this week, the next one will be Friday, April 22nd.
Register at www.ahavahfarm.com/classes and be sure to checkout the rest of the classes - there's a ton going on!
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Ahavah Farm & Ahavah Community Initiative UPCOMING Schedule
👉March 18th @ 10am: Tour
👉March 21st @ 6pm: Preseason meeting.
👉March 27th @ 10am: KIDS CLASS! STORYTIME & Activity
👉April 1st @ 10am: Class #2 of 4 - Full Season Garden Class.
👉April 22nd @ 10am: KIDS CLASS! STORYTIME & Activity
👉May 2nd @ 10am: Ahavah Farm Nursery & Garden Center Grand Opening! (please note the correction in dates)
👉May 6th @ 10am: Class #3 of 4 - Full Season Garden Class.
👉May 6th @ 9am: Farmer's Market Begins (Through September)
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🥕🍅🥒🧅🌳🌵EXTRA VEGGIES and PLANTS FOR SALE - Every Week!
Please be sure to check out the extras table, available for all members and even NON-MEMBERS!
Simply come to any of the CSA locations on Thursday and Friday and pick up some of our beyond-organic veggies for sale!
⭐Winter and Early Spring selection is limited.
And as always, remember: SNAP PARTICIPANTS ALWAYS RECEIVE 50% OFF!! & all prices are
"Pay-What-You-Can-Afford."
For Payment: Cash or Check at the drops or the balance can be sent via PayPal to contact@ahavahfarm.com or Venmo to 719-233-7828
FOOD PRODUCING GARDEN PLANTS ALSO QUALIFY FOR SNAP AND DOUBLE-UP BENEFITS!!!
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SUMMER REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
& SPRING is SOLD OUT
Go to www.ahavahfarm.com/csa to learn more (Auto-renewal members receive 5% Off Plus if you pay by check you get an additional 3% Off!).
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SNAP / EBT
Did you know Ahavah Farm accepts EBT / SNAP and DOUBLES your value with the help of #doubleupcolorado !?
Not only do we accept EBT / SNAP for our CSA memberships and extras, but did you know that SNAP members also get DOUBLE the value when using their benefits!? That's a 50% savings on the freshest, purest, most nutrient-dense veggies you can find!
To sign up, simply go to www.ahavahfarm.com/csa and when checking out, select "Pay Offline". Then send us a quick email letting us know that you will be using your EBT and we will add it to your membership!
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⚠ ⚠ ⚠ BAGS! We need your bags (PLEASE🙏) !!⚠ ⚠ ⚠
Thank you everyone for recycling your LARGE bags with us! When we receive your bags we immediately quarantine them for 2 weeks before reusing them to ensure they are safe of any yuckies. Thank you for bringing them and any others you may have (we need any large PAPER-ONLY grocery bags you may have) THANK YOU!
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REFERAL PROGRAM!
Refer a friend to Ahavah Farm's CSA and you BOTH will receive $35 in credit to use ANYTIME you want! Use to buy extra vegetables, or take $35 off your next CSA purchase - your credit will never expire!
New members simply send an e-mail to contact@ahavahfarm.com to let us know who referred you and you BOTH receive your $35 certificate! It's that easy!😁
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DID YOU KNOW?
We are humbled and extremely grateful to announce that our board has approved the donation
of $14,000 worth of free food to families that need it the most for the Spring 2022 season! That's 12 weeks of farm-fresh vegetables harvested fresh for every week of the season! All of this is due, completely to our amazing and incredible community!
We are so beyond-blessed to be a part of this, however, it's not enough. We had 85 applications this season and the $14,000 we have been able to commit to is an approval of only less than half. This concerns me for the Summer 2022 season. With applications on the rise, and economic turmoil at our doorstep including major increases in food prices, we are going to need as many donations as is possible.
We are calling on our community to please step up, make a tax-deductible (501c3) donation that, unlike most other non-profit organizations, goes directly, 100% to families in need.
👉We currently have ZERO overhead costs (all overhead and marketing costs are donated by Ahavah Farm and run by volunteers), so every penny you donate will go directly into the hands of a family who needs it the most.
Please consider donating today and help us approve more families for the Summer 2022 season!
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Taking Applications: ACI BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEMBER OPENING
ACI currently has a few board openings and we are taking applications until vacant positions are filled. If you are interested in being considered as a member of our board we would love to hear from you!
All board appointments are two year commitments with monthly board meetings, events and official activities requiring board presence. We anticipate that all board members provide a personal, anonymous, donation to ACI as well as be an active participant in serving our community.
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AHAVAH COMMUNITY INITIATIVE BRING-A-BUCK!
"Hi, nice to see you! Did you bring your buck today!?"
These are the words you should hear every week when you show up at the CSA locations to get your veggies.
That's because, supporting families in need through ACI, is the MOST IMPORTANT and BEST part of being a CSA member with Ahavah Farm! Don't say your $1 isn't important! IT IS!! The Bring-A-Buck program is how ACI has sustained its food donations, so we thank you members! - EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS!
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Thought I'd Share...
It's fun to see the farm from this perspective. We just re-named all the farm growing spaces and buildings and so I made this map to help us with the change and I thought I'd share.
When looking at our farm from this perspective, it makes me realize just how much we have grown and accomplished in just 7 years (our tiny farm isn't so tiny anymore!)! So much has happened in those 7 years: ACI, the AF Nursery & Garden Center (opening April 15th), the thousands of people we've been able to serve and feed with donations, the hundreds or events and classes for our community and of course the thousands of customers, supporters and friends we have gained along the way... it's all so priceless and NONE OF THIS would be possible WITHOUT YOU! Thank you!🙏
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NEW!! - Meet YOUR Community!
This week's interview is with a very special person who has been with us since nearly the beginning. Nancy, one of our favorite people, never mind volunteers and supporters is here with us in this week's interview and she's a part of your community you MUST meet. I hope you enjoy and get a chance to meet her in person some day, she sure is a blessing to us and to this community! We love you Nancy!
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Microgreen CSA Shares Are Available! Sign Up Today and SAVE 💲💲💲!
Love our microgreens but haven't signed up for a Microgreen CSA?
✔ You can sign up anytime after January 26, 2022 to receive your weekly Microgreen CSA starting the first week of February. You can cancel anytime in 2022 too!✔
All Packaging is Compostable and Green!👉👉
We pride ourselves on our microgreen quality as being not only absolutely pure - grown without chemicals, fertilizers or inefficient energy (we grow with 100% solar, renewable energy!), but they are absolutely beautiful, long-lasting and delicious! We really can't rave enough!
WHAT'S IN A SHARE? In your Microgreen CSA you will receive a combination of 3 microgreens every week with the option to purchase add-ons and extras when available.
Pickup locations and times are the same as Ahavah Farm Veggie Share CSA but you do not have to be a veggie-share member to be a microgreen CSA member - these are two independent programs combined into one.
Order yours today at https://www.ahavahfarm.com/microgreen-csa
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Be a part of our ZERO-WASTE mission here at Ahavah Farm and bring us your compost! PLEASE REMEMBER - NO PLASTIC BAGS or Animal products (except egg shells). Want more information? CLICK HERE to learn about the program. Thank you everyone who has been bringing their compost! We are so excited that we can help on your personal mission to become Waste Free!
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CSA PICKUP LOCATIONS AND TIMES
Times are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances.
**Please be aware that it is your responsibility to check the newsletter at www.ahavahfarm.com/blog for updated information and changes.
North Colorado Springs @ Colorado Mountain Brewery
- THURSDAYS
- 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM
- 1110 Interquest Parkway,
Colorado Springs, CO 80921
Go to cmbrew.com to learn more about this location.
Denver @ Jewish Community Center
NOW INSIDE! Turn left, park then use main enterance. Bring ID. Thanks.
- THURSDAYS
- 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
- 350 S. Dahlia St, Denver CO 80246
Go to www.jccdenver.org to learn more about this location.
Peyton @ Ahavah farm
NEW CSA LOCATION AT AHAVAH FARM!!
- FRIDAYS
- 1o:00 AM to 11:00 AM
- 7545 N. Log Rd., Peyton, CO 80831
ATTENTION FARM PICKUP MEMBERS! There is a new location. Please see the map above and the video to the right👉! We are so excited because this will make things easier and more streamlined for
weather interruptions and a much shorter walk! We even have introduced Handicapped Parking!
Central Colorado Springs @ Ranch Foods Direct
NOW INSIDE! Enter the bay right of the main enterance.
- FRIDAYS
- 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM (All)
- 2:31 PM to 6:00 PM (Traditional ONLY)
- 4635 Town Center Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80916
- Go to www.ranchfoodsdirect.com to learn more about this location.
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This Week's Harvest
As always, nothing is guaranteed. These are the items that are "in season" and are anticipated to be ready this week (which may or may not be available at the CSA).
Small = 4-6 items per week
Medium = 7-9 items per week
Large = 10-12 items per week
Garlic Greens - OMG THEY ARE BACK and we can't stop eating them!!! So yummy and one of the mostest favoritest veggies we provide 😄! You thought our garlic was good!? HA HA HA, these greens will blow you away - and I bet you didn't even know they were edible!? Well, the members who have been with us know that we grow the garlic more for the greens than the bulbs! Expect them regularly and enjoy them raw or cooked in everything from salads to stews - you got to go to the Ahavah Community group on Facebook and ask for Brian's garlic butter recipe! 😋
Radishes - Nothing beats our radishes when they are the way they are this week! Last week they were a little burned from freeze, but this week...oh my goodness! Our radishes are crispy and crunchy! They are not bitter like store-bought radishes and due to their incredible taste and the huge demand we get for them, they are a staple crop for the fall, winter and spring seasons. The best way to enjoy them? ROASTED! Check out this recipe (and include the other roots too!): Garlic Roasted Radishes
Salad Mix lettuce- A beautiful and soft/fluffy salad mix (with some aruglua and flowers mixed in - YUM!). perfect for a salad base or even a bed of rice etc.
Garlic - amazing hardneck, stored and cured garlic from Fall. Only a limited supply, so get it while you can!
5. Pak Choi Flowers - One of the treats that you will only get at a local farm are the bolted Pak Choi flowers - they are incredibly sweet and unlike any other vegetables - probably the best flavor on the farm. See the video about these beauties here 👉
Onions - Oh yummy yummy onions! a few more weeks of these left so enjoy them while they last!
Rouge D'Hiver - A flat red romaine lettuce with is loaded with flavor, though not as "fluffy" of "firm" as other types. Perfect for a bed of rice or in a sandwich - also great in a salad.
Turnips - As you know, the turnips we grow are absolutely, positively NOTHING like what you will find in a store. Sweet, crunchy, versatile...our turnips need to be bit into raw to fully appreciate! The greens are also delicious and provide more calcium than any other plant! Enjoy the turnips and the greens raw or cooked. Roasted and sautéed are our favorite ways to eat them when we aren't eating them right out of the field!
Living Herb - The majority of the plants this week will be parsley, but we have others to choose from as well including some amazing
Carrots - the carrots this week are to die for and the greens are back - time to make that carrot top pesto again!
Dried Herbs - Basil, dill, mint and fennel (our herb room smells like heaven!😇).
Radish Microgreens - Next to the barley grass and the sunshoots, radish microgreens are some of the most nutritiously-dense items we grow on the farm and not only that, but during our annual survey last year, they ranked as the #1 most requested and love item we grow! They have a fantastic bite to them, last considerably long in the refrigerator and are beautiful in appearance.
Pea Shoots - One of the most desired and sought after items we provide are these pea shoots! Quite literally the best you added to any dish or salad. Our favorite way is to add them to stews and soups. A perfect topper too! Here are four fun ways to use Pea Shoots: http://blog.bostonorganics.com/4-fun-ways-to-use-pea-shoots
Broccoli Microgreens - Last week we told you that Radish Microgreens were the #1 most loved item we grow, well, these microgreens weren't on the list then! I have a sneaking suspicion that these microgreens are the real winners!
Sunshoots - Our sunshoots are certainly some of the nicest, most high-quality sunshoots you will ever find (that actually goes for all our microgreens). They are one of the most beloved items we grow as well and a regular staple to our CSA. Here are some ideas to use your sunnies this week: https://www.martinsgardenacf.com/sunflower-shoots-recipes
That's it for this week! We love you to pieces, are incredibly grateful for each and every one of you and we are blessed to the core to be YOUR farmers!!
Yosef, Havah, Kids and Team The Camire Family
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