2009 Survey

We always love receiving feedback about our program, and we would appreciate it if you could please fill out a quick online survey. Three surveys have been developed-one for Buffalo members, one for Rochester members, and one for our local members. These surveys can be accessed at the following sites:
Buffalo Members: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Z88SBZL
Rochester Members: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZK6RKDY
Local Members: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Z8QDXP8

Thank you for supporting our farm this year!

In the Bag: November 21

-Pie Pumpkins
-Honey Bear Acorn Squash
-Leeks
-Onions
-Broccoli
-Dinosaur or Regular Kale
-Small Bunched Beets With Greens
-Turnips

Thank you for a great season!!

In the Bag: November 14

OUR SEASON WILL BE ENDING ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21!!

-Honey Bear Acorn Squash
-Broccoli
-Turnips
-Onions
-Carrots
-Swiss Chard
-Pie Pumpkin

In the Bag: October 24

-Pie Pumpkins
-Honey Bear Acorn Squash
-Red Carmen Peppers
-Pointed Cabbage
-Leeks
-Beets
-Onions

Fall Festival October 11!

We hope that many of you will be able to make it to our Fall Festival on October 11 from 12-5. Please remember to email or call us if you are planning on attending. We are planning on eating around 1; please bring a dish to pass!
As always, we will have hay rides around the farm and many crafts and activities for kids. We are planning to make scarecrows again this year. If this is something that you would be interested in participating in, please bring old clothes (jeans, button down shirts) for your scarecrow. We will supply some clothes, but will not have enough for every scarecrow.

In the Bag: September 26

-Green Bell Peppers
-Red Bell Peppers
-Poblano Peppers
-Carmen Peppers
-Swiss Chard
-Leeks
-Onions
-Honey Bear Acorn Squash

In The Bag: September 19

- zucchini
- yellow squash
- cubanelle pepper
- carmen pepper
- green bell pepper
- red apple pepper
- dinosaur kale
- green cabbage
- broccoli
- onions
- kohlrabi

Porter Farm Happening-September 5, 2009

In last week’s newsletter, we informed you of our new and exciting venture into organic fruit. However, a small error was made in the newsletter that we wanted to clear up. This past spring we actually purchased twenty two acres of land (we originally told you nine), and nine of those will be dedicated to fruit.
For the past eleven years we have been renting and working this ground, and it has already been certified organic. Before purchasing this land, we were thinking about new and different things that we could do at our farm. When this land went up for sale, our idea for growing fruit fell into place and we jumped at the opportunity to purchase it. If we hadn’t, we would not have had the chance to buy it again--farmland does not stay for sale very long in Elba!
We are very excited to purchase our fruit plants and trees this coming spring. Once again, thank you to all of our members for supporting us; without you, this would not have been possible!

Save the Date!
We will be having our annual CSA Fall Festival on Sunday, October 11 from 12-5 here at the farm. As always, we ask that you please bring a dish to pass for our potluck lunch. Activities planned for this year include hayrides around the farm, scarecrow making, and pumpkin painting. Pumpkins and gourds will also be available for you to take home.
We hope that many of you will be able to make it to this fun event. We always look forward to meeting you and showing you where your food comes from! More information about this event will be in coming newsletters!
What’s in this week’s bag??
 Green Bell Peppers
 Purple Bell Peppers
 Poblano Peppers
 Zucchini
 Yellow Squash
 Pointed Cabbage*
 Onions
 Bunched Beets
 Kohlrabi
 Tomato Berries
 Broccoli OR Kale**
*This cabbage is something different that we tried this season for our CSA. According to our seed catalog, this cabbage has sweet, tender, thin leaves for salads, slaws, or cooked dishes. Please let us know what you think!

**We were hoping to have broccoli for everyone this week, but the rain washed away and stunted the growth of our first planting. Therefore instead of letting the ones that were ready go to waste, we harvested what we could. Not all of you will get broccoli. If you don’t, you will receive kale in your bags. Our second planting of broccoli looks excellent and will be ready in a couple of weeks!
Farm News
We have had a wonderful stretch of weather here at the farm over the past week. It was great not having to change our plans due to an unexpected rain storm!
This week, Mike spent a lot of time baling hay. He was very excited to be able to do this—he was unable to get to the fields in July and August because of the wet conditions. Our crew also spent more time this week harvesting onions and other crops.
Last week, two of our workers stopped working at our farm. Maria will be returning to her job packing apples and Adriana has started school again. Each summer, Maria and Adriana help us out for about three months before apple season begins. In years past we have had problems filling positions here at the farm, but we are fortunate to have found a couple more workers to take their spots!

Porter Farms T-Shirts
We are continuing to sell our CSA t-shirts. If you are interested in purchasing one, please mail us a check for $22 by September 26, and include your name, address, phone number, distribution group, and the size/quantity of shirts being ordered. We will mail them to you when they come in!
For those of you who ordered t-shirts in July and August, they will be in shortly and we will mail them to you!

Pineapple and Roasted Poblano Salsa
Ingredients:
-3 medium fresh poblano peppers
-1 medium pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4 –inch dice (about 4 cups)
-1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
-3 tbsp. fresh lime juice
- tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
-1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
-1/4 tsp. kosher salt
-1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat boiler.
2. On large rimmed baking sheet, broil peppers 2 inches from heat, turning occasionally with tongs, until blistered and blackened on all sides, 5 to 8 minutes. (Alternatively, char by holding with tongs over gas flame, turning until blistered on all sides.) Transfer to medium bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let steam 10 minutes.
3. Peel, core, and seed peppers, then cut into 1/4-inch dice. In large bowl, combine peppers and remaining ingredients and toss well. (Salsa can be made up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated until ready to serve.)
Source: www.epicurious.com

In the Bag: September 12

-Zucchini
-Yellow Squash
-Cubanelle Pepper
-Poblano Pepper
-Green Bell Peppers
-Apple Bell Peppers
-Swiss Chard
-Spinach
-Bunched Beets
-Onions

In The Bag; September 5

-Green Bell Peppers
-Purple Bell Peppers
-Poblano Peppers
-Pointed Cabbage-New this year!
-Zucchini
-Yellow Squash
-Onions
-Bunched Beets
-Kohlrabi
-Tomato Berries

In The Bag: August 29

-zucchini
-yellow squash
-green bell peppers
-purple bell peppers
-pablano peppers
-cubanelle peppers
-leeks
-green cabbage
-bok choy
-onions
-grape tomatoes

In The Bag: August 22

-Green Bell Peppers
-Purple Bell Peppers
-Zucchini
-Yellow Squash
-Cucumbers
-Tomato Berries
-Bok Choy
-Bunched Beets

Tomato Pictures

Here are a couple pictures of our tomatoes infected with blight:

In The Bag: August 8

-zucchini
-yellow squash
-green bell peppers
-cubanelle peppers
-cucumbers
-red onions
-assorted lettuce
-bunched beets

In The Bag: August 1

-Green Bell Peppers
-Orient Express Eggplant
-Cucumber
-Lemon Cucumber
-Pickling Cucumber
-Zucchini
-Yellow Squash
-Green Summer Crisp Lettuce
-Red Onions
-Leeks
-Bunched Beets

Porter Farms T-Shirts!

We will be accepting orders until Saturday, August 8 and will mail you your shirts when they come in. Men's, women's, and child sizes are available! If you would like to order one, please send $22 to: P.O. Box 416, Elba, NY 14058. Make sure to include your name, address, phone number, the quantity and sizes of shirts being ordered, and your distribution site!

In The Bag: July 25

-Zucchini
-Yellow Squash
-Green Beans
-Kohlrabi (Purple or White)
-Assorted Lettuce

Porter Farm Happenings July 18, 2009

As you’re driving down the driveway at the farm, take a look at our new sign! Thank you to Terry Zielinski from Terry’s Signs in Elba for coming up with a great design for us. Hopefully this will make it easier for new members coming to the farm for the first time to find us!

Organic Grains
This week our fall barley that was planted last September was harvested. We had a record crop this year—98 bushels to the acre! This is a really good yield for organic growers and even conventional growers.
Unfortunately, the grain market is flooded with organic grain and we have only been able to sell 100 of our 350 tons. If we cannot sell it, we will feed it to our livestock. If we do this, the grain will only have one third of the value that it would have had.
This has once again forced us to rethink what we do here at the farm. Like we have said in the past, our CSA will continue to be our main focus. We are working on some new projects and will update you in the coming weeks!

What’s in this week’s bag??
 Green Beans
 Zucchini
 Yellow Squash
 Purple Kohlrabi
 White Kohlrabi
 Romaine Lettuce
 Red Oak Leaf Lettuce or Red Fire Lettuce

Porter Farms T-Shirts!
We will be accepting orders until Saturday, August 8 and will mail you your shirts when they come in. Men’s, women’s, and child sizes are available! If you would like to order one, please send $22 to: P.O. Box 416, Elba, NY 14058. Make sure to include your name, address, phone number, the quantity and sizes of t-shirts being ordered, and your distribution site!

Farm News
While we were harvesting the green beans this week, we noticed that there was a large difference in their sizes. As the plants and blossoms were growing, the fruit did not set evenly because of the extreme weather that we have been having. Our later planting of beans also look like they are uneven in size. We tried to put a good mix of small and large beans in every box as we were packing them to make it as even as possible.
We decided not to wash the green beans in your bag this week so that they would not get moldy. Please take note that they are muddy due to the wet fields, so wash them well when you get home!
This week we transplanted broccoli, kale, collards, swiss chard, and spinach. Our crew also continued staking the tomatoes and weeding out the cabbage field.

*If you have a great recipe that you would like to share, please email it to us! *
Stuffed Baked Summer Squash
Ingredients:
-4 small summer squashes
-2 tbsp. butter
-2 tbsp. chopped onions
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. paprika
-dash of nutmeg or cloves
-1 beaten egg
-1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
-1/2 cup grated cheese


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut summer squashes down the middle, either crosswise or horizontally. Scoop out the pulp, leaving a ½-inch shell.
2. Sauté in butter and chopped onions. Add the squash pulp and salt, paprika, and nutmeg or cloves. Stir and cook these ingredients until hot. Remove from the heat.
3. Add egg, bread crumbs, and grated cheese. You may rub the squash shells with butter or drippings. Fill them with the stuffing.
4. Place in an ovenproof dish on a rack over 1/8 inch of water or stock. Sprinkle the tops with dry bread crumbs and dots of butter.
5. Bake the squashes until tender, about 20 to 25 minutes, depending on their size.

Source: Joy of Cooking Cookbook

George Eastman House Event

Mark Bittman, a New York Times columnist and cookbook author, will be talking about his views regarding healthy living and "lessmeatitarianism" at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 11 at the George Eastman House.
If you would like more information about his visit and the event, please check out the following Democrat and Chronicle article: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090707/ROCEARTH01/307070007/-1/ROCEARTH

In The Bag: July 11

-bunched yellow sweet onions
-bunched spinach
-assorted lettuce (red/green)
-zucchini


-tomatoes finally starting to get staked!

Flooding Pictures

-water in lettuce, beet, and spinach field
-water in tomatoes
-zucchini under water

In The Bag: July 4

Bunched Red Onions with Tops
Bunched Beets (Chiogga and/or Golden)
Romaine Lettuce
Green Summer Crisp Lettuce
Bunched Spinach

Pick-up as Usual on July 4th!

We will be running our CSA as usual on this coming Saturday, 7/4. If you will be out of town, feel free to have a friend, family member, etc. pick up your produce for you. We can also donate your bag to a food pantry in Buffalo or Rochester. If you would like to donate your produce, please let us know by Wednesday, 7/1. Enjoy the holiday!

If you split a share with a friend, please only take one bag of produce from your pick-up site. You can split it between yourselves as you wish!

We hope everyone enjoyed the first week of produce!

In The Bag: June 27

Red Oak Leaf Lettuce
Boston Lettuce
Romaine Lettuce
Swiss Chard (red or yellow)
Bunched Sweet Green Onions

More variety is on the way! Hoping we don't get any damaging hail in the storm that's coming through...
Looking forward to seeing Buffalo and local members on Saturday!

Starting Date: June 27!

Our CSA will begin Saturday, June 27. Postcards with group and coordinator information are being sent out tomorrow. We're so excited for the season to begin!

It is not too late to sign up for a share! If you are interested in joining, please call the farm at 585-757-6823 or email us at porterfarmscsa@gmail.com. We will continue to accept new members throughout the season at a pro-rated price.

Updates

The Feel-Rite (Group H) drop-off site in Buffalo has gotten too big!! Unfortunately, we will not be able to accept new members at this site--we've overgrown our capacity at this store! However, we have been able to start three new groups in the Buffalo area-- Akron (Group O, located on Crittenden Rd), Clarence Center (Group N, located on Long St), and Depew/Cheektowaga (Group M, located at Como Park). If anyone would like to switch to one of these groups, please call the farm or email us to let us know.

The Auburn Ave (Group A) drop-off site has also just about reached capacity. Fortunately, a member has volunteered her home as a drop-off site just around the corner on Lexington Ave (Group L). We're working to split the Auburn Ave group up a little, and are still accepting new members to either location.

Sorry to keep everyone waiting to hear about the start date of our program, but we're really struggling to get things growing here on the farm! Everything was planted according to schedule, but the cool night temperatures are not encouraging the veggies to grow at all! Post cards and emails will be sent soon, we promise!

Postcards, Farm News, etc.

We still do not know when we will start our 2009 season. Postcards have NOT been mailed yet. These postcards, which will tell you the starting date and give you the contact information for your site coordinator, will be mailed once we know when we will start.

Today we transplanted cucumbers and watermelon. Cantaloupe and zucchini were transplanted last week. We're hoping the heat that is expected in WNY over the next few days will speed up the growth of our crops!! The cool weather at night has really slowed them down.

CSA 2009 Starting Date

We do not yet know when we will start our program this summer. It has been extremely dry at the farm, and we have finally received some rain! Hopefully this will help our crops grow a little faster!

We will be mailing out postcards shortly! These postcards will tell you the starting date and also the contact information of your group coordinators.

Thank you to everyone who responded about splitting up Group H. We are working towards establishing these new groups. If you are in Group H and did not receive an email, it is because we do not have your email address. Please email us and let us know! Thanks!

Farm Pictures!

Planting cabbage, May 24, 2009.

Splitting Up Group H (Feel Rite)

This morning I sent out an email to all of our Group H members to inform them that we are trying to split up the group. As of right now, we have over 80 members for this group and it continues to grow. We are looking into starting new groups in: Clarence Center, Akron, and Depew/Lancaster/Cheektowaga. Please let us know if you are interested in switching to one of these groups!

Webster Group!

We are excited to announce that we will be adding a Webster drop off point this year! If you are already signed up for another group and would like to switch to Webster, please let us know! The location will be: Imperial Dr., Webster

In other news: We are busy planting in our greenhouse. This past week we transplanted onions, lettuce, swiss chard, and beets.

We will be mailing our members a postcard within the next few weeks that will tell you the official starting date of our program!

Farm News-Spring 2009

We have been very busy around the farm the past few weeks. Mike and the workers have been preparing our fields for planting and transplanting. This week we were able to plant green beans and sugar snap peas, and are almost ready to begin transplanting onions and lettuce into the fields. One of our two greenhouses needs to be repaired, and after this happens, we will be able to start seeding tomatoes.

We are still accepting members for our 2009 CSA season! New groups have officially been started in Greece and Hamburg, and hopefully we will be able to start a group in Webster. If you have already signed up and would like to switch into one of these groups, please let us know!

Once we know the official start date of our season, we will mail all members a postcard that will tell you the starting date and also the contact information of your site coordinator.

Southtowns Group!

The location of the Southtowns group will be:
4646 McKinley Pkwy. in Hamburg.

Please let us know if you are interested in joining this group!

Greece and Southtowns group!

We are very happy to announce that we have enough interest to start a Greece group and a Southtowns group in Buffalo.

The location of the Greece group will be: 1540 Ridgeway Ave.

We are unsure as to the exact location of the Southtowns group at this point.

If you have already signed up and would like to switch your group to either Greece or the Southtowns, please call or email us!

Early Bird Discount!

Just a reminder--there is a $20 "Early Bird" discount for memberships received by April 15th.
Buffalo/Local: $290 (instead of $310)
Rochester: $320 (instead of $340)

Local and Sustainable Agriculture in Western NY-What Dieticians Should Know

This Tuesday, March 10, we will be on a panel at the Go Green! program put on by the Western NY Dietetic Association at the Cornell Cooperative Extension on Lake Ave. in Lockport. The event runs from 1p.m. to 6p.m., with dinner following at 6:30. The featured speaker will be Marianne Smith-Edge, who is on the USDA National Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board. Other speakers include Lisa Tucker, the publisher and editor for Edible Buffalo, and Kara Behlke, who is the Director of Nutrition Education at the NYS Beef Industry Council. A panel of farmers will also be there.
The cost to register for the event is: $30 for WNYDA members, $40 for non-members, and $25 for students. The registration price covers dinner and full program.
If you would like to attend the event, please call Glenda Reardon at (716) 438-4030.

Distribution Sites 2009

Here is a list of all of the distribution sites in the Buffalo and Rochester area. Please note, we are trying to start new groups-one in the Southtowns of Buffalo, one in Greece, and one in Webster. In order to start these groups, we must have 10 new members show interest in joining the group. Please let us know if you are interested!

**Please remember--When signing up for our CSA, please write on your check which distribution site you would like to join!**

Buffalo
Group A: Auburn Ave. (city of Buffalo)
Group B: Woodbridge Ave. (city of Buffalo)
Group C: Deerhurst Park Blvd. (Kenmore)
Group D: Grasmere Rd. (Lockport)
Group E: St. Joseph's University Church (city of Buffalo)
Group F: Meadowstream Ct. (Amherst)
Group H: Feel Rite on Transit Rd.
Group I: Whitehaven Rd. (Grand Island)

Local
Group PU: Pick-up at farm

Rochester
RB: Centennial Ave. (Brockport)
RC: Heather Ln. (Scottsville)
RF: Wheelock Rd. (Penfield)
RG: Resevoir Rd. (Geneseo)
RH: Citation Dr. (Henrietta)
RJ: Pershing Dr. (city of Rochester)
RI: Peart Ave. (Rochester/Irondequoit)
RP: Falling Brook Rd. (Fairport)
RR: Field St. (city of Rochester)
RS: East Brook Rd. (Pittsford)
RU: Menlo Place (city of Rochester)
RZ: Laconia Pkwy (Rochester/Brighton)

Yearly Letter

Our yearly letter will be mailed out by the end of the week. If you would like to receive this letter, please email us your mailing address! Our email address is: csa@porterfarms.org

Porter Family Update

-On Tuesday, January 20th, Emily and Scott became the new proud parents of Natalie Rose. She weighed 7 lbs .3 oz and was 19 3/4 in. long. Look for Natalie this summer when you are out picking up your vegetables!

Farm News January 2009

Tomatoes in the field, July 2008.

Hello! We would like to thank all of our members for a great 2008 season! We have started this blog in order to get information to our members and prospective members in a more timely manner. The web site can be a hassle to update every week, so please check back here for the most up to date information.
Changes for 2009:
We are looking to make three new distribution sites. Two in Rochester (Greece and Webster), and one in Buffalo (Southtowns). In order to do this, we must have at least ten members join each group. If you or anyone you know would be interested in joining one of these groups, please call or email us! Our phone number is (585) 757-6823.


We are also available to give presentations at schools, faith communities, earth day events, etc. so please let us know if you would like us to speak to your group! We also have brochures and overview sheets available to send out.

We will be sending out our yearly letter to last year's members in mid-February. If you were not a member last year, but would like to receive this letter (which has information about signing up), please send us an email with your name and address. Our email address is: csa@porterfarms.org