Thanks for a great season!

Red cabbage always seems like a jewel in the end-of-fall fields ...

Red cabbage always seems like a jewel in the end-of-fall fields …

Endings. Here we are, at the end of another season. Our 11th! How did that happen? Where has the time gone?

I have to admit that Casey and I get excited about the end of each season. We always feel ready for a period of less structured time and a chance to refresh ourselves before the next wonderful growing season begins. We count down the final weeks, both as a way to joyfully anticipate our upcoming break but also as a way to celebrate the many weeks we’ve already fed everyone that year as we count down like this: “44 down; 1 to go!”

Breaks feel like an important part of a rhythm. For most people, the most common rhythm in life is the academic calendar, and I know that the many students and teachers in our community can relate to the joy at both ends of that cycle — the fun anticipation of each new year, followed by the pride of work-well-done at the end.

I recalled this afternoon the end-of-school-year ritual at the school I attended for middle school. It was a very old school (founded in 1907!) and had had time to develop traditions around transitions. Every school year ended with an all-school assembly, which always — ALWAYS! — closed with the singing of the school song. Nothing quite rings “vacation is here” to me quite like a rousing rendition of “Coeur de Jésus”! I think that before the end of next year’s CSA season, I need to come up with a farm song that we can sing as we close up shop for the last time.

Until then, life goes on! Because endings are never the end! Just today, in perfect timing really, we received the first of next year’s seed catalogs in the mail. I had to laugh, because this particular seed company always strives to be the first to arrive, and they deliver on their promise, giving us good reading for over the Thanksgiving break each year. Rusty is looking through it now eagerly, because seed catalogs are truly among some of the most exciting browsing materials. Already we can see our 2017 season forming in our heads and hearts, even as we joyfully look toward a break for our bodies over the winter.

So, friends, as we close the season, I want to remind you of all the important things coming up for our farm and community:

  • This week is the final CSA pick-up! Are you all paid up for the season? More importantly, have you signed up for 2017 yet? Find details and sign up now HERE! You can also sign up in person at pick-up tomorrow. It’s easy peasy. Please let me know if you have any questions about next year’s program dates, pricing or other details. We are excited to have you join us again (for our 12th season!).
  • Please your submit your Holiday Harvest orders to us by the end of this coming Sunday, November 20th (the list and order form are conveniently located in this newsletter below!).
  • Tuesday, November 22, 3-5 pm — Come to the storefront to pick-up your Holiday Harvest orders (more details below!)
  • Saturday, December 3, 3 & 7 pm — The McMinnville Women’s Choir’s winter concert: “Lighting Freedom’s Fire.” The concert will be in the Great Room at the McMinnville Co-op Ministries at 544 NE 2nd St, McMinnville. Tickets are $8 purchased in advance for adults ($10 at the door) and free for children/students under 18. You may purchase tickets now at Oregon Stationers. I sing with the choir along with many other members of our farm’s extended community! Join us!
  • Tuesday, December 20, 3-5 pm — Our Christmas-season Holiday Harvest. I will email everyone the week in advance with all the information. Place orders by Sunday evening again.
  • New Year’s — We will mail you all your 2017 season information and begin accepting payments.
  • Thursday, February 16 — Our 2017 CSA season begins!

And, now, rather than a song, we end this season with a very simple, very heartfelt, very true phrase: Thank you. Thank you for making our 11th season a reality, and thank you for helping us look forward to another delicious year.

Enjoy this week’s vegetables!

Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla

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Holiday Harvest information (this week’s CSA list is at the very bottom of this post!)

Here’s how our Holiday Harvests work. You look at our list (see below) and decide what you’d like to order. Maybe you just want some extra veggies for your holiday meal; or maybe you want to stock your pantry — either works for us! Once you have your list, send your order to us by Sunday evening using the handy form supplied below! How easy is that? On Tuesday, November 22, we’ll harvest for you and bring your order to our downtown McMinnville storefront (off of the 2nd Street parking lot between Evans and Davis St.). You can pick up your produce any time between 3 and 5 pm that day. We accept cash or check payments.

We will also meat in the freezer available for purchase at the time of pick-up, including beef, lamb, and possibly leftover stewing hens.

Any other questions? You can email us farm (at) oakhillorganics (dot) com.

Now, make your list! …

  • Apples, Goldrush — Yellow skin, great for eating and cooking — $3/lb
  • Apples, Liberty — Red skin, good for eating — $3/lb
  • Pears — $3/lb
  • Seasonal salad mix — Mix of fall greens — $4/bag (0.5 lb bags)
  • Kale — $3/bunch
  • Collards — $3/bunch
  • Chard — $3/bunch
  • Cabbage — $2.50/lb (order by the each)
  • Brussels sprouts — loose — $6/lb
  • Pie pumpkins — $1.50/lb (order by the each)
  • Butternut squash — $1.50/lb (order by the each)
  • Marina di Chioggia squash — $1/lb (order by the each)
  • Delicata winter squash — $1.50/lb (order by the each)
  • Spaghetti Squash — $1.50/lb (order by the each)
  • Carrots — $3/lb
  • Beets — $1.50/lb
  • Celery root — $4/lb (order by the each)
  • Red potatoes — $2.50/lb
  • Yellow potatoes — $2.50/lb
  • Garlic — $8/lb

[contact-form-7 id=”4150″ title=”Holiday Harvest Thanksgiving 2016″]

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Meet this week’s vegetables: (This is the list of what’s available for our CSA share — the Holiday Harvest list is above!)

  • Apples
  • Pears
  • Seasonal salad mix
  • Summer fruits — The very very very last of this year’s peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini!
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Savoy cabbage
  • Kale
  • Chard
  • Winter squash — Available this week: Spaghetti squash, Butternut squash, and Pie pumpkins
  • Carrots
  • Beets
  • Potatoes

And this week’s extra goodies from the farm:

  • Stewing hens — We have a limited number of stewing hens available for purchase this week. These hens were fed exclusively organic chicken feed (plus lots of grass and veggie scraps!). $4/lb
  • Ground beef — The last beef from our farm for the foreseeable future! $10/lb
  • Lamb — Also the last lamb from our farm for the foreseeable future! Chops are $14/lb; roasts/shanks are $12/lb; ground lamb is $10/lb; organs and bones are $6/lb.
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