News and blog
Pennsylvania (Tuesday deliveries):
1st delivery= June 11
last delivery= Oct 22
Washington, DC (Wednesday deliveries):
1st delivery= June 12
last delivery= Oct 23
Maryland & Virginia (Thursday deliveries):
1st delivery= June 13
last delivery= Oct 24
See you soon!
We've been busy seeding in the greenhouse...
Laying plastic mulch for our seedlings...
Taking the high tunnel down at the old farm to move to our new farm...
Planting onions, and much much more!
Ah, sitting back on a nice comfy chair while the tractor pulls you slowly through a picturesque field, all the while planting onions... not as easy as it sounds! Our team has gone up and down, up and down, and up and down many rows, for many hours a day, meticulously planting a single onion (or other transplant) in each pre-made (and watered) hole, and pushing it in the dirt and making sure dirt is snuggled in all around it. Just as back breaking as bending over and planting in your garden! Much more planting to come. Lots of love and labor going into your food, and we couldn't be more excited to get it to your kitchen!
Earth Spring Farm is proud to announce that we have officially (finally!) closed on our new farm!
Farmer Mike bought Earth Spring's initial 8.8-acre farm (which we still own and are using) four years ago, and along with leasing land in addition to this farm, has quickly built up a strong CSA and market farm. Mike's plan was to slowly transition to a larger farm with a house on it (see photo above) so we can continue to expand our CSA Membership, and so he and his family can enjoy living on the farm... the dream has come true!
Mike closed on the farm on the afternoon of March 22nd, and started chisel plowing (1st step to getting the fields ready) on the 23rd. Mike, Julie (Farm Manager), and Fernando (our Brazilian friend back for his 3rd year at ESF) have been busy getting the farm ready, moving equipment, etc. The address is 366 Stought R., Carlisle PA 17015 (about 12 miles from our old farm)... check it out on Google Maps!
Thanks to everyone for their support, especially our members who invested in our farm to help make the farm purchase happen. We promise to deliver the freshest, most delicious produce we can in a couple short months!
Check out the new farm in this VIDEO...
"Hi Everyone - this is a choppy clip from Saturday 3/23/13. We just closed on our new farm here in Carlisle PA on Friday 3/22 and got to work right away! I will post another (and easier to hear video of a tour of the new farm. - Farmer Mike"
A huge thank you to the eight people who submitted an entry for our Logo Contest. It was very difficult to choose.... We have many talented friends of the farm!
We ended up choosing two of the artists, feeling that they can both be used for different things from the newsletter to the website to t-shirts to signs for marketing to letterheads....and so on. Our final choices were the artwork of Athena Hsieh (above, left) and Jonathan Toonkel (above, right). They will each receive a free CSA box for the 2013 season. Thanks for your hard work!
Party on the farm!
Farm tours, live bluegrass music, and much more....
stay tuned for more details!
Saturday, May 18th
1:00pm - ???
BYOB and a dish to share. Non-alcoholic drinks and some food will be provided. Also, bring a chair.
RSVP to earthspringcsa@gmail.com.
Wanna get down and dirty with Earth Spring Farm??
Earth Spring will be offering Work Share opportunities to a small group of 20 people in 2013. Work Shares at Earth Spring Farm are a great way to learn about organic produce farming in a hands-on setting!
Work may include seeding in the greenhouse, transplanting in the field, harvesting, washing and packing produce, selling at farm stands, and much more! Work Shares will run May through November each year. There is a minimum 6 hour weekly commitment although many give 8-10 hours. In exchange for your hours of work each member will receive a small size box of produce, and a fruit share.
For more information CLICK HERE. If you are interested, please call Farmer Mike at 717-805-7778!
We already have some great submissions, but the door is still wide open for a few more days!
We have a challenge for you... we have completed our 3rd year of our CSA, and as we move forward, we...well... want a memorable logo to go with our name! We are looking to our community of supporters to have the chance to be a part of it. We are leaving it wide open as far as creativity, but have turned to some friends for help with some technical guidelines.... Our preferred file types are high resolution vector files (eps, pdf, tif, jpg, png) sized at 300 dpi (dots per inch).
Talent doesn't go without reward... the chosen logo creator will receive a LARGE CSA box for the entire 2013 season (that's a value of $500-600!). Get your pencils and start sketching! Send your submission to us at earthspringcsa@gmail.com. The deadline for submission is FEBRUARY 1, 2013.
Questions? Give us a shout.
General information about the farm:
Earth Spring Farm grows non-certified organic vegetables for over 300 CSA members in the south-central Pennsylvania and Washington, DC area. Our CSA members receive 20 weeks’ worth of spring, summer and fall crops. Alongside our CSA we participate in 3 weekly markets in Washington DC (Mount Pleasant), Carlisle and Camp Hill. Our interns will be a part of every facet of our CSA program, that includes seeding, harvesting, cleaning, packing boxes, and delivering. We will also have interns assisting at our farmers markets. The farm uses several tractors and implements, including transplanters, seeding drills, and sprayers (organic only) as well as the variety of tillage and cultivation equipment. We produce a variety of mushrooms for market, our own transplants in our spring greenhouse season and through the year, and use high tunnels for season extension. We partner with local orchards to offer a seasonal fruit share in our CSA, and local pastured meat and dairy producers for a-la-carte purchase of these products via the CSA delivery. We also have a workshare program with local CSA members, where folks trade 6 hours per week of work on the farm or at market for their produce share. There is a strong sense of community with these folks and their contribution to the productivity and spirit of the farm is invaluable. This is a wonderful hands-on learning opportunity!
Internship Starts: April 1, 2013
Internship Ends: Mid-November 2013
Number of Interns: 4
Application Deadline: January 2013
Minimum Length of Stay: Full Season is ideal, but we have had good experiences with, for example, college students working full-time in the summer.
Meals: Unlimited supply of seconds is available from the farm. Eggs, fruit and cheese are also provided on a weekly basis. Lunches can be brought or cooked as a group at the farm.
Work/Experience required: No previous experience is necessary, but a flexible attitude, sense of humor, good work ethic and an interest in constantly refining work technique. You must be physically capable to labor for over 10 hours a day in all types of weather conditions. Interns work 5 days a week and twice a month Saturday farmers market. Farm work is often repetitive, if meditative, and applicants need to have some confidence that they can keep up a reasonable pace until the job is done.
Educational Opportunities: Training and work experience include organic production practices for vegetables - as well as seedling propagation, the inter-workings of marketing, Work Share relations and periodic local farm tours.
Stipend: $600-800 per month
Housing Included: 3 bedroom apartment includes full kitchen, bath, laundry, and living space. All utilities are provided. Located in the historical downtown area of Carlisle, within walking distance to countless restaurants, cafes, bars, libraries and college facilities. 10 minute drive from the farm and several public parks, hiking trails (Appalachian Trail) and swimming lakes.
Reminder to CSA Members... because of the unexpected hail damage to crops we have to take a 2 week pause in CSA deliveries...this means a pause in your CSA share as well as fruit, eggs, cheese, & meat.
New for 2012!! Earth Spring Farm will be offering monthly classes/workshops for CSA Members, Work Share Members, and the general public!!
We invite you to come spend a couple of hours on the farm each month learning about new topics and techniques. The tentative schedule can be found on our Education on the Farm page. Classes will include things like seeding and planting, ideas for cooking with produce from ESF, and pickling and canning.
Cost is $10 per person per class; Work Share Members are FREE. Classes will be held rain or shine. Pre-registration is encouraged, but not required. To register please send an email to earthspringcsa@gmail.com. If you have questions, please contact us! Hope to see you on the farm soon!
