Farm Update and Spring Share Sign Up

Good Eats Spring Share Begins in Just 3 Weeks!

Farm Update Though it still feels like Winter, it's thoroughly Spring here at the farm.  We planned a lot of our plantings and placed our seed orders the first week of January.  Tomatoes are already up and Melissa has started a bunch of other seedlings this week. Yesterday we started tilling in greenhouses preparing soils for the earliest transplants.  I'm fully confident that we'll have our best crops ever this year. We learn so much each season and it's still so easy to make significant improvements that barring a hail disaster or something of that sort we almost have to do better. It's so gratifying to find solution to problems, to permanently solve an issue that has plagued the farm for a time, to move ahead. That is really the spirit of Pete's Greens and everyone who works here, to keep striving for the next thing. Jan. 12 marked the 2 year anniversary of our barn fire. Sure feels longer ago than that! It's such a credit to the folks who work here and the tremendous support of our community that I don't look back on those two years with any negativity. It was an amazing experience and pretty incredible to be part of. Tighten the ship! That's been the motto at Pete's Greens this winter. After a couple years of recovery and then growth following our fire we're settling in and taking care of lots of details. These tasks might not be so sexy but they are the key to excellence. Vegetable storage root cellars are being fine tuned for perfect temperature and humidity for maximum shelf life. The boys have made lots of improvements to our washline making it more comfortable and efficient for the crew. We're working on some new sources of fertility including lots of nearby cow manure. Our sandy soils need lots of fuel and we're excited to see the improved growth that will come from ample amounts of composted manure. We're doing a full financial analysis of the business in order to understand where we can do better, what we should focus on, where we should head. And we're hiring key folks with the energy, smarts and enthusiasm to take us forward. We have a new farm we'll be growing on this year. Last winter my sister Anners bought a small farm owned by the Bickarts in Craftsbury. Jeff Bickart was a beloved local figure, taught at Sterling College and developed a great homestead on his farm. He passed away several years ago and last winter his wife Jen and the kids decided to move a few miles away. Anners was honored to get to purchase the special land and we are excited to grow veggies on it this summer. We have some great food in store for our Spring Share members.  We have never had such an abundance of such a wide variety of crops in storage as we have this year, and with our new cooler system the food is keeping beautifully.  Last Spring we constructed new greenhouse space that more than doubled what we had had before.  We'll get an earlier start growing out there this year so we'll have no shortage of fresh spring crops for you.  Please join us for our Spring share!  ~ Pete Molly, Todd, Anners and Cori with fresh picked spinach for Good Eats last week! Spring Share Sign-up is Underway! Share Period: February 20th thru June 12th The Spring Share begins in just 3 weeks! Join now for 17 weeks of fresh,organic, Vermont grown goodness and the localvore staples you love. Spring is an exciting time at Pete's Greens! The Spring Share begins with weekly deliveries of winter greens from our greenhouses and shoots house, lots of staples like potatoes, carrots, onions, beets and cabbage, plus frozen summer goodies like corn, sweet peppers, spinach and squash puree that round out the diversity. Although it is  very much winter it is our intention to provide something fresh and green every week! By the end of March/early April, with increased daylight crops begin to vigorously grow and winter greens and flavorful herbs are in abundance.  Mesclun, baby spinach and arugula, chard pac choi and various varieties of Asian greens begin to appear in shares.  From late April into May you can expect a wide variety of these baby greens plus spring vegetables like salad turnips, baby beets, scallions and hardy herbs like dill and parsley. In late May and into June warm season vegetables like European cucmbers, basil, and spring onions make their way into the share along with tender greens harvested from the field. Throughout the spring months we will continue to include preserved and frozen items to keep things interesting.  The Spring Share is a celebratory share as each new vegetable makes its way from greenhouse and field into your weekly share.  Experience the difference eating great local, organic produce can make on your health and well being! Visit our Spring Share page for more info. Please visit our delivery page for a listing of Spring Share delivery sites. Have questions about the Spring share?  Visit our FAQ page or send us an email.

There's a size & price range for everyone! FIVE SHARE TYPES Localvore Share - Our most popular share is a great mix of organic vegetables and high quality locally produced staples like cheeses, eggs, flours, grains.  This share is designed to fill your fridge and pantry with enough veggies and local staples to cook healthy and well each week. $46/week. Veggie Only Share - Provides a great mix (8-10 items weekly) of seasonal organic vegetables from our farm.  Great for households of 2-4 people. $29/week. Small Veggie Only Share - a smaller selection (5-7 items) of weekly vegetables designed for households of 1-2 people.  Just $22/week. Pete's Pantry Share  - NO vegetables.  A weekly delivery of high quality locally produced staples like cheeses, eggs, flours, grains, cooking oils and more  $17/week. Meat Share - a MONTHLY selection of locally raised, pastured meats.  You can expect Pete's Greens pastured chicken along with a great mix of beef & pork cuts and sausages from local producers we know and love, plus occasional inclusions of salmon, or lamb or goat. $200 for four $50 monthly deliveries See website for more info or to sign up!   Questions? Email GoodEats@PetesGreens.com or give us a call 802-586-2882 x2 SUPPORT THE NOFA-VT FARM SHARE PROGRAM Help Support the NOFA-VT Farm Share Program. Farm Share assists limited-income Vermonters in obtaining fresh, local produce directly from family farms. In partnership with NOFA VT, we will be offering subsidized CSA shares to qualifying individuals and families within our delivery area. If you, or someone you know, may be in need of this program, please checkout NOFA's Website, as well the Pete's Green Farm Share web page. Farm Share relies on donations from CSA members to help fund those who might not otherwise be able to afford a CSA share. Please consider making a donation to the program when you mail your checks! Traveling some weeks of the share?  No problem. Just let us know the week before. You will receive a credit for your skipped week which you can use toward next sign-up.   Or donate your share to the Food Shelf! Spring Share Delivery Sites Click here for more delivery information Wednesday Deliveries to: Burlington (5 locations) Montpelier Middlesex Northfield Waterbury Stowe Richmond Essex Williston Shelburne Charlotte Morrisville Johnson Hardwick Craftsbury Thursday Deliveries to: Newport St Johnsbury By being a member of the Good Eats CSA you will also receive a weekly subscription to our weekly Good Eats Newsletter. In the newsletter you can find helpful storage and use tips with interesting tid bits of information for the veggies you have received, localvore item descriptions about quality, production and storage, recipes that include that week's share offerings. You will also find farm updates and photos from around the farm, highlights about our employees and happenings around the area that we are affiliated with. It is a great way to learn about your food!