9/14/09 Newsletter

Dear Friends of the Farm,

The countdown has begun for the Harvest Festival! It is a really fun day for you to get to know other members, eat great food, tour the farm, take a hayride to the pumpkin patch, watch the stick horse races, check out the apple press & taste fresh cider, shell your own popcorn, pick extra produce or just sit back and watch it all happen. No matter what you like to do, you can see it happen at the Farm this Sunday. We will start at 11 a.m. and start tearing down between 3 & 4 p.m. Guests will pay $10 per person ages 3 and up. Don't forget to bring apples for the apple press! The picnic is a potluck. Please bring a dish at least twice the amount you would serve your family. We provide the hot dogs and hamburgers; we need side dishes and desserts! When you arrive at the farm, please check in at the Check-in Station. They will give you a name tag. This helps us to know exactly how many folks came to experience the fun at the Harvest Festival!

This next week will be a busy one! Besides our daily activities, we will be sprucing up the farm for the festival. If you haven't RSVP your reservation for the Harvest Festival, this is the last week you can do so. Please call by the end of day on the 17th. Shopping will need to be done this weekend. The person, who first volunteered to do the shopping for me, unexpectedly had to cancel. Is there someone else out there that would be willing to do the shopping? You will need a Costco or Sam's Club membership because of the large amount of paper products we purchase for the event.

We will be having a workday for members on Sat. the 19th at 9 am. We still have a small field of winter squash to get into the barn and there will be other odd jobs to do around the farm for the festival. If you have even a couple of hours, we could sure use the help! Contact Lorna at 303-593-1754. You will get a confirmation email by Friday evening either saying the workday is still scheduled or it is cancelled. Thank you very much for helping us out like this!

Unfortunately, there will not be any extra tomatoes to pick. Everything we have is going to the membership! We do have peppers and we will have the chili roaster going! Be aware! There can be a long line for this service. The cost will be $5 per tray roasted (we will provide the trays, but you cannot take them home!). You do not have to have your chilis roasted here. You can take them home and roast them on your grill.

The chili roaster will be going all day. It is suggested that some of you attend the pot luck right away and some of you head out to the u-pick fields or go on a self tour of the farm. Either way, you will be standing in lines waiting for something! The popcorn sheller will also be going most of the day. We ask that each household only take one bag of popcorn. The apple press belongs to Paul Schwarzeweller and Linda Hellow. They have been members of the farm since 1996. It is such a privilege to have them set up and show us how an old fashioned apples press works. You can find them on the east side of the house from 12 to 2 or until we run out of apples!

Here are some dos and don’ts to follow with the u-pick crops. It is very important to bring your own boxes, bags or any other rigid containers. You cannot use ours, we need them for distribution! If you do not bring containers, you will not be allowed to pick produce and throw it into your trunk. Please be respectful of other members and of your farmers. There is a limit to what you can pick! Do not go into fields that are not designated as u-pick crops. You will find a list of crops at the Check-in Station along with directions to get there. Please do not drive off without directions. Everyone drives the same direction so we do not have cars nose to nose. (We don’t have two lane roads out here!)

Directions to the Farm
From Denver, the Western Slope or Pueblo:
I-25 North to I-76 East. As you continue east, don't panic, you will be driving for a while! Last town you will go through is Hudson. Very next exit is #34 or the Kersey Rd. Take this exit, turn left. Continue north for approximately 16 miles. Turn right at Co Rd 48. You are now on a dirt road. Travel 1 ½ miles. We are on the left or north side of road. Find house number on front of mailbox: 25525, our name is on the side of the box.
From Boulder, Longmont or Lyons:
I-25 North to highway 66. Take highway 66 east to highway 85. Highway 85 north through the towns of Platteville, then Gilcrest. At next grain elevator, Co Rd 44, turn right heading east. At Co Rd 49, turn left heading north. Travel 2 miles to Co Rd 48, turn right heading east. Another 1 ½ miles to the farm on left or north side of road. House number on the front of the mailbox: 25525, our name is on the side of the box.
From Loveland or Ft. Collins:
Take highway 34 east through the city of Greeley. Must take Fort Morgan exit to continue east on highway 34. Approximately 4 miles from this exit to Co Rd 49, turn right heading south. Travel 4 miles to Co Rd 48, turn left. 1 ½ miles to farm on the left or north side of road. House number is on the front of the mailbox: 25525, our name is on the side of the box.

There was a typo error on the Winter Sign-up form. It indicated that Distribution would start November 5th when in actuality we always deliver on Wednesdays, making the date November 4th. We need volunteers for the Central Denver Distribution points. We actually need two because this area is in high demand! I know the payment schedule for the Winter Share is Oct. 1st, Dec. 1st and Feb. 1st. Paying that Feb. payment may be difficult since renewals for current members are due for 2010 by Feb. 19th. You are welcome to make monthly payments in Oct. & Nov. of $135 making the Dec. payment $130 and paying your Winter Share in full. This way you have paid for everything you purchased in 2009; clearing the way to renew your Membership Fees in 2010!

Crops you will be getting this week are Yukon Gold potatoes, red onions, carrots, Chioggia beets, summer squash, green cabbage, lemon cucumbers, Daikon radish, bell peppers, Banana peppers, Pablano peppers, Jalapeño peppers, green beans and tomatoes.

We look forward to the Harvest Festival and welcoming all of you to your farm. Please take time to look around and get to know the place where your food is grown!

Thank you and we will see you there!

Jacquie, Jerry, Alaina and Kyle Monroe