Hi everyone!
2024 Vegetable Subscription program information is available! Because there is so much to share, the entire newsletter this week will be information about that (and a few other farm updates) to prepare you for Enrollment Opening Day, which is on Sunday, October 15th at 7 a.m. There will be a 2-Day Sale for our early bird enrollment period, which concludes on Monday, October 16th at 11:59 p.m. You will receive a hard copy of the information below in your share this week.
We are offering a discount if you pay by cash or check during our 2-Day Sale.
Prices for 2024 will be:
To receive the discount, follow these steps:
Sign up for your subscription in our online store at www.laurelglenfarm.com/subscriptions by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, October 16, 2023.
At checkout, click on “Offline Payment” instead of putting your credit card information in.
Print your order confirmation and submit it along with cash or check payment (using the table above) to us in our store during open hours. You can pay a 50% deposit or in full. Payment is required within 7 days of enrollment. If not received in 7 days, we will send you a credit card invoice for the credit card price. Remaining payments are due upon the first 2024 pickup.
We will provide you with a written receipt to document your payment.
Sorry, but we cannot refund credit card payments to accept a cash payment afterward, as this defeats the purpose of avoiding credit card fees on our end. Venmo also charges business fees and is not accepted.
Sign up during our early bird “2-Day Sale” to receive additional bonuses:
An invitation to our Bonus Box Harvesting event… Come to the farm to harvest an additional allotment of veggies on Saturday, September 14, 2024. Rain date TBD.
Half price on all of our 2024 Vegetable Stuff-a-Bag promotions… We usually hold 3 throughout the season. Dates are TBD.
This offer expires at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, October 16, 2023. These early bird bonuses are non-transferrable and cannot be replaced with cash or store credit. You will be emailed prior to all events.
What's Staying the Same for 2024?
The length of the programs (Extended Season is 32 weeks, Main Season is 20 weeks, Peak Season is 13 weeks)
Customization options: small shares, large shares, and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday pickup options for Main and Extended Season; one size for Peak Season
The number of memberships available: 80 spots for Extended Season, 190 for Main Season (only 12 biweekly spots on each pickup day), 35 for Peak Season
Everything else about the program: the weekly newsletter, challenges, contests, giveaways, the Facebook group, the swap-one-item-in-your-share table, and invitations to various farm happenings!
What's Changing for 2024?
Peak Season pickup is moving from Mondays to Thursdays. We needed more time to tie up loose ends from the weekend and start harvesting for the week, and this will help to restructure the flow of farm operations. We will continue to hold shares for 24 hours afterward (but we close at 4:00 on Fridays during the summer.) Newsletters will be sent on Wednesdays for Peak Season members.
More opportunities to select items of your choice! We trialed this in 2023 and heard you loud and clear: you loved choosing items! We'll continue to offer Pick-a-Pint, grab a green, herb choices, etc. but there will be a more frequent free choice option so members can select something they like to round out their share. Because of this, we'll be limiting the swap table to one item a week to regulate swap inventory for all members. (If you choose to forego your share for 2024 in favor of purchasing your own items in the store, no hard feelings at all! We want you to be happy with all of the veggies you're eating.)
Why Should I Enroll Early?
Besides the benefit of receiving Early Bird perks, we recommend enrolling early to claim your spot.
Last year, we sold out of Extended Season shares by the end of the Early Registration Period! Biweekly Main Season shares sold out within hours!
Many of our 35 Peak Season Program members who enrolled in our program have also expressed interest in claiming Main Season and Extended Season spots.
It seems so silly, but we highly recommend setting an alarm on Enrollment Day!
2. The number one reason to us: your farmer appreciates it more than you know! Knowing that you’ll all be back for another year will give us extreme peace of mind over the winter months and will allow us to start crop planning efficiently. We only require a 50% deposit at the time of enrollment (Select offline payment at checkout and then submit a check for 50% of the total of your share.) You can pay your balance next year upon your first pickup.
How Will Enrollment Day Work?
Enrollment Day has been incredibly busy in years past! We can not answer questions and help with troubleshooting on Enrollment Day, except if our own technology goes down. We strongly suggest you familiarize yourself with program details and walk through the process of enrolling beforehand - we are happy to answer questions and help ahead of Enrollment Day! (P.S. Don't forget about the cash or check discount and be sure to read the details above to see how to pay! Sorry, but we can not refund credit card payments to accept a cash payment afterward, as this defeats the purpose of avoiding credit card fees on our end.)
We are so sorry, but we absolutely can not make any exceptions for members who miss out on a spot, no matter what. We strongly recommend setting yourself an alarm so that you don't miss the sign up window and 2-day sale.
Detailed 2024 Vegetable Subscription Program information is at www.laurelglenfarm.com/subscriptions
Email Victoria at laurelglenfarm@gmail.com prior to Opening Day with questions
Bulk box season is now complete! We have finished harvesting plum tomatoes for the year. We thank you so much for allowing us to trial a first come first served system with bulk boxes this year and we loved it so much more. We think it was a smoother process to have you come in when you were ready instead of trying to email and coordinate a date - and our inventory kept up with this, too. We plan to do it next year this way, too!
Slicing tomatoes will no longer be in shares, but we continue to harvest them through the first frost.
We are all set with box donations for now! This is just one of the mountains we received after our request and we appreciate your generosity. We'll let you know if we end up needing more, but we will hold off on accepting more for now. Thanks again!
Finally, you're invited to our 2023 Jack-o-Lantern Carving Contest! On Saturday, October 28th from 10-11 a.m., join us in the barn to show off your carved pumpkin! Bring a pumpkin that you've carved prior to the event (our insurance won't allow us to carve on the premises). We'll display them with tea lights and everyone will vote on their favorite. Coffee and cider will be served. If you'd like to bring a coffee cake-like dessert to share, please do! Please park on Farm House Lane and walk up the hill to the farm. The winner who receives the most votes will go home with a trophy (thank you to members Kate & Bill for making this hilarious prize!) Pro-tip, if you want to save the pumpkin for Halloween night, coat the cut edges with vaseline!
We'll end the newsletter with the only decent photos we took this week. We received over two months' worth of rain at the end of the week and we're having the hardest time making sure that items are ripening in time. We're hoping the forecast for the coming week is as good as they say right now.
FYI: I posted a poll in the Facebook group about whether or not you'd like to see eggplant and/or beans in your share this week. Unfortunately last week's planting of beans was wiped out by a fungus called rust after the heavy rains this weekend, and we're waiting for a new planting to come in. We wanted to give you the choice of either eggplant or beans with your share, so we are hoping to make that happen next week. The bean plants at Booth Hill (the final planting of beans for the season) is flowering now.
Biweekly members, your final pickup will be week 19 of the program: October 17th - 21st.
Weekly members, your final pickup is on week 20: October 24th - 28th.
In Your Share (Listed approximately from shortest shelf life to longest)
Large:
1 bunch of cutting celery
1 lb. of sweet bell peppers
1 head of lettuce or romaine (you choose!)
1 head of escarole
1 head of bok choy
1 kohlrabi
1 stalk of Brussels sprouts
Small:
1 bunch of cutting celery
1 head of lettuce or romaine (you choose!)
1 head of escarole
1 kohlrabi
1 stalk of Brussels sprouts
1 bunch of rosemary
Caring For Your Share (All of this information, plus long-term storage info, can also be found in our Vegetable Library of Resources).
Trim the bottoms of the cutting celery and place in a jar of water in the fridge, like a bouquet. Put a plastic bag over the leaves to protect them.
Store escarole, lettuce, and romaine in a plastic bag in the fridge, shaking out any excess water before storing. Swish in cold water when ready to use and spin in a salad spinner to dry.
Keep Brussels sprouts on the stalk in the fridge. Wash when ready to use, which may be in more than a week. They'll keep longer on the stalk, but if you need to take them off of the stalk for space reasons, snap them off and store them in a plastic bag in the fridge. Wash when ready to use.
Store peppers in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your fridge. Set the crisper drawer to low humidity to allow some of the ethylene gas that results from decomposition to escape. Ethylene gas will cause the peppers to rot sooner.
Store bok choy in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your fridge. Wash and pat dry when ready to use (within the week).
Remove the greens from the kohlrabi bulbs and store in separate plastic bags in the fridge. Use the greens within a week; the bulbs can last a couple of weeks if stored properly.
The LGF Cooking Club (Recipes to try in addition to those in the Library of Resources!)
Large Share Additional Items
Please note that Victoria does not work on Thursdays this season. Emails received on Wednesday night through Thursday will be answered on Fridays.
How to Change Your Pickup Day
If you need to skip your share for the week, or change your pickup day, you must provide us with 48 hours notice since we pack shares the day before pickup. Once your share has been harvested and packed, we can not cancel your pickup.
For Tuesday pickups being changed, we need to know by Sunday. Wednesday pickups, we need to know by Monday. Saturday pickups, we need to know by Thursday. You have the option to choose another of those pickup days: Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday. Or, you can skip a pickup and double the following week.
If you miss your pickup, we will hold your share for 24 hours after your pickup day (Monday for Saturday members), and then it will be donated to a local food pantry. With more members than ever before, we don't have the cooler space to hold onto shares longer than this. This is a great option if you accidentally miss your pickup - just come the next day.
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