What’s new at Shepherd’s Valley? Plenty you should know about!
Spring is right around the corner! We are ready for warmer weather! Because of the late cold snap and precipitation (much needed) the soil will take longer to warm up, so we are moving the spring shares back one week. This means the spring shares will be 6 weeks in length rather than the usual 7 weeks. Depending on your location, Spring CSA shares are expected to begin April 13th, 14th, or 15th.
Food shortages are expected in the supermarket this year. With the price of fuel up significantly, transportation of goods will be more costly as well. If there was ever a time to be connected to a local food producer, that time is now.
Baby lambs have arrived on the farm and we have a fine crop of beautiful, white lambs frolicking in the sunshine around the barn. They are growing fast! The nightly lamb races provide us with plenty of entertainment!
February and March are the season for fruit tree pruning and we have been super busy doing that as the weather allows. We’ve made several major improvements around the farm over the winter which should help us increase our efficiency. Several new workers will be helping us this year which will allow us to expand our offerings and extend our season. They are almost as excited as we are to get into the gardens!
We have been planting seeds in trays indoors under grow lights as well as some early crops in the field.. Potato planting time has been pushed back due to the weather, but we hope to be in the garden, putting those spuds in the ground soon.
Baby chicks will be arriving at the farm from the hatchery toward the end of the month. This includes both broiler chicks and pullets (young layers). Our laying hens are now in the spring flush, churning out thousands of large, beautiful eggs like gangbusters for our many customers. We’ve had a significant jump in demand for our eggs in the past year, and expect the demand to continue to rise.
We have added several new food items to the list of veggies this year and expect to provide more diversity and variety in our offerings including more varieties of heirloom tomatoes, hot peppers, and sweet peppers.
The Spring CSA share season begins in late April, and with the pandemic and widespread food shortages, lots of people are thinking about local food! Last year we had more people sign up for CSA shares than any year previous, and we SOLD OUT of spring shares early. If you are interested in CSA shares, and want to secure farm fresh food for your family, we suggest you sign up early so as not to miss out because we have limited numbers of shares available each season.
We work with a group of dedicated local organic growers who utilize several hoophouses to help provide a large portion of the weekly food for our many shareholders throughout the year.
Things are super busy on the farm during the spring with the baby animals and early seed planting! We love what we do on our farm! Life is good at Shepherd’s Valley!
If you are interested in getting on-board for the 2022 CSA season, then now is the time to get signed up, while there are still openings available! If you are interested in a farm tour, volunteering on the farm, or obtaining a working share, now is also the best time to contact us!
