SUMMARY: THIRD WEEK of SPRING 2021! - EXTRA VEGGIES! - FARM CREW SPOTILIGHT - NEW* - NURSERY SPOTLIGHT- ACI DONATION UPDATE AND DONATE TODAY! - DID YOU KNOW? - LOCATIONS AND TIMES - WHAT TO EXPECT THIS WEEK - WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT WEEK
Week 3 - The THIRD Week of SPRING CSA 2021!
HELLO DEAR CSA MEMBERS!
🤣🤣🤣🤣LOL! Oh boy, I feel like such a dope! Last week, you'll remember, I wrote this:"...sun is out and shining! The weather miraculously turned around from the coldest winter on record to a VERY hot Spring!," and no sooner did I hit "send" did the clouds move in and they haven't left ever since! And yes, I've been thinking about it all week with all this freezing and windy weather - oye! 🤣 The weather this week has been pretty cruddy, but oh well, that's life! But this Peyton wind!? We had a day last week, during the pickup that hit 55mph! Days like that are miserable, the trash from miles away comes our way and the dust and dirt fills your ears and eyes...then there's the damage that get's left behind. Without question, there is always some damage left behind...but I digress.
We have some great news! This week we hired a new employee named Esther! She will be starting with us in 2 weeks (exciting, but that means we are still short for 2 more weeks!). We also had our first Story Time on the Farm this past Friday! It was such a great event and our teacher, Tracy, did a fabulous job and the kids went home very happy (see picture above). We also have another amazing CSA for you this week! Loads of beautiful lettuce, scallions, radishes, turnips and more!
See below for event updates, new articles and announcements!
Enjoy your share this week and don't forget to join the fun and share your recipes and pictures in the Facebook Community Group!
Volunteering
Want to volunteer? We need weeders, harvesters, nursery workers, bag-packers, washers, construction/project helpers and we need help at the pickup locations and more! There is so much to do, there is something for everyone! Kids can help too (over 10y/o with supervision).
We still have some openings for some work-exchange shares as well.
Want to volunteer? Simply e-mail our amazing Administrator, Bekka at aci@ahavahcommunity.org to get more information and to sign up!
THIS WEEKEND! SUNDAY, APRIL 18th IS A VOLUNTEER DAY & OPEN HOUSE!
Come anytime between 12pm and 5pm to get your hands dirty and check out the farm!
The big project will be in transplanting the tomatoes and onions! We also have tons of winter cleanup to do and plenty of weeding too!
Pack a snack, some gloves and a water bottle and come on out! See you then!
EXTRA VEGGIES and PLANTS FOR SALE
DON'T FORGET: SNAP MEMBERS ALWAYS RECEIVE 50% OFF!!
&
As always, all prices are
"Pay-What-You-Can-Afford."
See the weekly "What's in your Bag" e-mails that get sent on Wednesdays for your "extras" list.
👀GARDEN PLANTS ALSO QUALIFY FOR SNAP AND 2x DOUBLE-UP BENEFITS!!!👀
For Payment: Cash or Check at the drops or the balance can be sent via PayPal to contact@ahavahfarm.com or via Venmo to Ahavah Farm, LLC or by paying with credit card over the phone.
SUMMER SHARES STILL AVAILABLE
We still have about 35 CSA memberships left for Summer 2021 - but that's it!!
Go to www.ahavahfarm.com/csa to sign up.
If you are not an auto-renewal member and have not signed up for Summer, but want to save 5%, please e-mail Havah at contact@ahavahfarm.com to be placed on auto-enrollment and automatically save 5% every season.
DID YOU KNOW?
One of my favorite quotes of all time is from a Texas rancher name Jim Fischer and it goes like this: "Not a moment of life is wasted on a farm. Others may have been more places, but they haven't outlived me."
I asked my wife, Havah, one day what is one thing that she would want me to know before I die and her response took my breath away. She said, "Thank you for a full life." Wow! What a great response. When asked to unpack that response she hit me with the realities of what we have in our life and how grateful we really should be for every single second of this incredibly full and abundant life that our Creator has blessed us with.
Another quote that I like goes like this, "Farming is not a career, it's a lifestyle." These two quotes go hand in hand with each other and coupled with Havah's statement about a full life I can begin to understand what it is that we have created (or what's really been created around us!). We can't complain about not getting a lot of free time, or not making a lot of money or in not having a lot of conveniences because the life we live is an intentional life, purposely focused away from those very things. We started a farm not because we wanted money, I was an engineer at the time making over six figures per year! We didn't start a farm because we wanted an easy life full of convenience either, because quite frankly that's what the city life gave us: cushion, convenience and ease.
When we first chose farming we thought of the ideal lifestyle with our bare-feet in the soil and naps in the hammock and evenings watching the sunset. LOL. No, although moving to Peyton over 7 years ago and starting a farm has been an experience and a lifestyle of our choosing, it has been anything but that ideal dream-life we envisioned! We have found that farming has been a constant, never-ceasing, 24/7 effort and grind full of back-breaking and highly-stressful work from sun-up to sun-down. It's 7 days per week, holidays included, regardless of the weather. Farming doesn't take a break during snow-days, in fact it get's harder and more frustrating and the summer-time isn't a time for vacation, it's the time when our efforts need to increase the most! To top it all off, we discovered that what they say is true: farmers really do live under the poverty level. So what is there to be grateful for then? It sounds horrible!🤣
So yes, farming is a full life and it is busy, tiring and sometimes unbearable and full of disappointment - but that's not the whole story. See, when Havah told me, "Thank you for giving me a full life," she meant all of it and more. She meant the difficult times as well as the good times - for it is out of the difficult times that our family has forged our character and it is only through difficulty that anything meaningful can be produced.
What we have produced on this farm and the number of people we have been able to touch has been beyond words: Last year we were able to DONATE almost 20,000 meals to families in need! We were able to share our lessons with hundreds and fill our own lives with hundreds and thousands of lessons along the way (from all of you!). From homeschooling our children to guiding our team of employees to learning ourselves how to live a life without regrets while making the biggest impact we can to as many people as possible has been what this farm has really been about - whether we saw it or not!
Sure, Ahavah Farm grows amazing food - pure to the core and environmentally sustainable to the "T." However, I used to think that was what this farm was meant to be all about, but it never really has been - it's been about a lot more.
Ever since we started this farm our mission has been not about the calories we produce, instead it's always been about the lives that are being impacted through our daily interactions (and perhaps even more-so about the all of you coming into our lives and impacting US!). Whether that is through our smiles, our donations, our environmental projects or through the ethics and values that our children and employees put forth into the world - and we know this because it's what you tell us. You tell us about how much love our family and our organization has brought to the community, and as uncomfortable as it is to acknowledge this, we must do so in order to make an even bigger impact by recognizing where it comes from!
So how did we instill these values into our children and our team? Well, I don't think it has much to do with us. Sure, we try to live upright lives by example, but you can't TEACH work-ethic and self-sacrifice. You can talk about it and preach about it all you want, but when we shelter and protect our children by giving them everything they need and spoiling them, they will never understand what work-ethic and self-sacrifice really means. Therefore, I believe that it is the very things that we sometimes complain about (our busy and physically difficult work-week and our lack of freedom away and apart from the farm and the lack of financial abundance) that has made us strong and impactful in our world. It's the very hard-work and long hours and sense of dedication and determination that has molded our children and our family values into what they are today - and no amount of travel, convenience or easy-living would have given us 1/100th of the lessons we now carry in our pocket of life-wisdom - like the quote says, we may not have traveled like everyone else, but we sure have lived full lives!
When we moved here 7 years ago we were not seeking (necessarily) to become better people, to achieve some sort of "mission" or to even "find ourselves." However, it appears to us, and possibly to the people around us, that we have achieved (at least to a degree) all three of these ideals. We have found who we truly are meant to be and discovered a purpose in living intentionally and outwardly towards our community and our planet that has been very fulfilling and rewarding (we still have a long way to go, don't misunderstand!). We have also discovered a greater sense of value and have solidified our morals and purpose in living while allowing our faith to grow and while watching our family to flourish.
So, in closing, we recognize the enormous amount of sacrifice farming is and has been for our family, and we sometimes do feel like throwing in the towel when it gets too hard. However, we also can't ignore the fact that if it wasn't for our very sacrifice and the struggles we go through (which we never faced in our abundant "other" life that we lived) we wouldn't be the proud parents that we are, or have the merit and blessing to have achieved so much in the way of impact on our fellow human and community. It is through our very "full lives" that we have had such "full lives" and sometimes achieving convenience and abundance is not always the key to a happy life or an impactful, meaningful existence.
🔦 Ahavah Community Initiative SPOTLIGHT 🔦
Please consider making a year-end tax-deductible gift to Ahavah Community Initiative (registered 501c3) by CLICKING HERE.
Since 2018 We Have (not including Spring and Winter CSA's for 2021)...
Donated 154 CSA memberships to families in need! - Over A value of $53,900.00 of free food - OVER1,800 weekly BAGS of veggies😮!
Facilitated the donation of 42 Double Up Food Buck Grants valued at $15,750.00 of free food!
Taught 31 full-length classes on regenerative and biological agriculture.
Attended 48 outreach events to spread regenerative agriculture education to our community including school events, speaking engagements and markets.
Have provided 27 educational tours.
Hosted 4 large public events.
Educated 5 regenerative farming interns.
In addition, Ahavah Farm (aside from ACI) has donated an additional $56,750.00 worth of free food to numerous outlets and families in our local community
We have paid ZERO dollars to salaries or to "other" overhead.
Interested in making a tax-deductible donation? Ahavah Community Initiative is registered as a 501c3 with the State of Colorado as a non-profit organization and all donations are tax-deductible.
Want to get involved with either ACI or as a volunteer on the farm? E-mail us to let us know. We are always looking for volunteers and we would love for you to join the party!
🚨CLASSES AND EVENTS!!!🚨
So many classes are happening this year and registration is filling up!! Go to www.ahavahfarm.com/classes and click on the calendar event to register. Don't miss them!
UPCOMING CLASSES:
Seed starting and Nursery Management 101 – by Lorin, manager of Ahavah Farm Nursery
* April 16th @ 10am
Cost: CSA Members: FREE. Non-Members: $10
Description: Starting a garden this year? Want to learn how to start, manage and maintain your seedlings from scratch? Join Ahavah Farm Nursery’s manager Lorin for a fundamentals nursery class: Learn nursery set up and organization, sourcing seeds, direct seeding vs. transplants, caring for seed while sprouting, learn about diseases and troubleshooting and more!
Class Length: 1 Hour
KIDS CLASS!! Natural and Organic Mother’s Day Windowsill Herb Garden. 2 Weeks. – By Asher Camire
* Class # 1: April 30th @ 10am
* PICKUP: May 7th @ 10am
Cost: CSA Members: $35. Non-Members: $45 (Includes materials)
Description: Bring children out to make a Windowsill garden for Mother’s day! A beautiful pine box stained with an organic wheat-based seal to make for a gorgeous addition to your Mom’s kitchen! We will build the box from scratch and fill it with four beautiful herbs to take home to your Mom for a wonderful gift! Herbs included: Chives, Oregano, Thyme and Parsley
Class Length: 2 Hours.
TOURS:
Tours are educational in nature and last for about 1 hour. We see all the facilities, walk through and see most of the gardens, test some veggies, meet the crew and learn all about regenerative agriculture and our growing methods. Tours have a suggested donation of $10 and is free for all CURRENT CSA members.
Next tour is scheduled for:
* May 11th @ 10am
EVENTS - Put it on your calendar!
Summer Festival, Sunday July 11th from 5pm to 9pm. More information and details to come.
Harvest Festival, Sunday October 17th from 5pm to 9pm. More information and details to come.
AHAVAH COMMUNITY INITIATIVE
BRING-A-BUCK!
Oh the amazing power of community and crowdfunding!
Every week, at all of the CSA locations, we have a bin or jar that looks like this. We ask all of our members to bring just $1 with them every week to help support their fellow-members and community.
Bring $1 every week and be a part of supporting, directly, families in need.
Don't say your $1 isn't important! The only way crowdfunding works is if we all participate. Therefore, your $1 is vitally important and it is directly through this program that we raise the majority of ACI's food donation funds than any other fundraising program, and yet it is the absolute easiest for all of our members to participate!
Everyone can afford to Bring-A-Buck and if we ALL bring $1, the impact can be enormous - to the tune of feeding 1 family for an entire season for every single week we all participate!!!! WOW!!
🔦 The Farm Crew Spotlight🔦
WOW! It's hard to believe that Shane has been with us for two and a half years! Well, perhaps it's not so hard considering how much we absolutely love you Shane - and that goes for our whole family, our team and our community - who doesn't love Shane - "The Train"?
Shane came to us out of the Forest Ecology industry, first as a CSA member, then as a volunteer, then as a field-worker and finally as a manager and now, he's starting his own farm on the side (Turtle Badger Farm - such a cool name)!
It's been such a blast watching you grow and flourish while doing what you love! You love food and the planet and you love our community. It's clear in the way you operate on a day to day basis that you have a passion for doing good in your world and for making an impact. You try to live your life to the fullest without regrets and your dedication to not only this farm, but to our family and your character is something marvelous and wonderful to witness - something to celebrate!
The CSA program, and our farm, wouldn't be anywhere close to where we are today if it wasn't for your professionalism and hard-work in making the program what it is today. It is no easy task to manage the harvest, the washing/processing, the packing and finally the delivery of two to three thousand bunches of food every single week to hundreds of people across four different locations plus door-to-door delivery! Yet, you do it all and you do it all really, really well! Your shoes are big Shane, and you fill them well - May you be with us for a long time 😃!
In Their Own Words...
How long have you worked for Ahavah Farm?
Almost 2 and a half years!
What is your job title and what do you do on the farm?
I am the CSA manager...ah...I just sit around and watch everyone else work!
What do you like most about your job?
I know everyone else has said this, but seriously, it's the people. The people we work with and the people we serve. - Oh wait, it's not the people it's the strawberry lemonade popsicles (inside joke!)
Can you share one thing you have learned by working for Ahavah Farm?
Too many, that's hard! Like, a lot. I don't know man...these are tough questions! LOL. I feel like I have gotten better at staying cool, calm and collected under pressure. We hustle a lot!
Do you have a favorite hobby?
Too many to list. It changes...but I would say, right now it's hiking, gardeing, backbacking, reading, snacks, starting a farm and building a tinyhome...oh, and cooking. Meditation too! Yikes...that's just a few! Oh, wait...snowboarding! And music!!! Don't forget music! lol
Do you have a favorite quote?
"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and the beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise." - Aldo Leopold
What is a fun-fact that only a few people know about you?
When I was a kid, I was a superstar on the pogo-stick. I could go up and down stairs and whenever my family would go on walks, I stuck to the stick!
What are three words that describe you?
Extraordinarily handsome, intelligent and humble! lol
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Hopefully either owning and running my own farm, or back in forest ecology (my degree).
Anything else you would like to share with us?
Honestly, I know that everyone has said this, but honestly it's the people I work with and the people we serve.
NURSERY NEWS
Pre-orders are over, but did you know that you can still buy our beautiful seedlings every week at the CSA locations?
That's right - everything from tomato plants to lettuce and kale (and more) seedlings will be available - best part?
ALL CSA MEMBERS STILL RECEIVE 15% off!
Microgreen CSA Share!
Love our microgreens!? Than this selection is for you! Receive 3 types of microgreens every week of the year and save 17% every single week!
✔SIGN UP ANYTIME AND START YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AT ANY TIME OF YEAR!✔
Our microgreens are fresh and will last - unlike anything you can find in the store. 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, they are THAT good!
What's in a Share?
In your share you will receive a combination of 3 microgreens every week with the option to purchase add-ons and extras when available. Every week we will be growing a mixture of microgreens and you will receive 3 selections of the following: Sunflower Shoots, Pea Shoots, Radish, Kale, Kohlrabi, Basil, Cilantro, Lettuce, Brocolli and more.
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.
Go to https://www.ahavahfarm.com/microgreen-csa to learn more and to sign up!
COMPOST
Be a part of our ZERO-WASTE mission here at Ahavah Farm and bring us your compost! PLEASE REMEMBER - NO PLASTIC BAGS. 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 mission to become Waste Free!
CSA PICKUP LOCATIONS AND TIMES
NOTATE TIMES: Times are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to check Facebook and this blog on ahavahfarm.com for updated information and changes.
THURSDAYS:
COS North / Monument @ Beasts and Brews (7 Spectrum Loop, Ste. 140)
12pm to 1pm (Drive Thru / Market Style)
Denver @ JCC (350 S. Dahlia St.):
3pm to 4pm (Drive thru / Market Style)
FRIDAYS:
Colorado Springs @ Ranch Foods Direct (4635 Town Center Dr.):
1pm to 2:00pm (Drive Thru / Market Style)
2:00pm to 6pm (Inside store - 🚨TRADITIONAL SHARE MEMBERS ONLY!!)
Peyton @ Ahavah Farm (7545 Log Rd.):
10am to 11am (Drive Thru / Market Style)
BAGS! We need your bags!!
Thank you everyone for recycling your LARGE bags with us (thank you, but we do not need the small ones, only the large ones)! 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!
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
Radishes - Only the best tasting and incredibly beautiful radishes ever! Roasting. Hands down is the best way to eat these! I literally cannot get enough of these roasted radishes 😋
Rouge DiHiver Red Lettuce - An amazing heirloom romaine that is just stunning in color!
Head Lettuce - Red and green heads.
Scallions - Big and absolutely tender! AMAZING scallions this week!
Cilantro - What a way to bring summer to your winter dish! Fresh aromatic cilantro is such a delight in the middle of winter!
Baby Salad Turnips- One of the most desired of all the things we grow are turnips. Now, for you newbies, I know you are thinking that sounds crazy...but until you try these amazing, mouth-watering turnips, you won't believe it!!!
Mustard - Red mustard. A little milder than the green southern giant, and stunning in appearance! Have you ever made a frittata? Ever made one with mustard greens😋😋? Learn about 10 recipes and how to use them here.
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!
Swiss Chard - Stunning swiss chard greens this week! WOW! Our favorite way to eat them is saute'ed with salt, pepper and garlic. We like to include onions and mushrooms and whatever else we can find. Others enjoy them as lettuce wraps. They are versatile, here take a look: CLICK HERE FOR RECIPES
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
