This Week at the Farm: Saffron, Bulk Sales, FBEN
The fields are covered in a thin layer of snow and, with temperatures dipping into the single digits, it almost starting to feel like winter at the farm. Now that the days are shorter and the sun is scarce, working efficiently seems just as important as ever.
During the week, the crew works on projects: using dried flowers to make bouquets and wreaths, making evergreen wreaths, bagging vegetables (carrots, potatoes, parsnips, and onions) for the farmstand, cleaning the barn, etc. And in the farmhouse, managers and office staff are wrapping up for the season and moving on to planning for 2020.
Thankfully, it’s only mid-November and there are still five weekends left in the season!
Holiday Orders
If you’re planning your Thanksgiving meal closer to the holiday: the Special Order deadline has been extended! You can place an order up until 11:59 pm on Saturday, November 23. Choose from delicious sides, desserts and, new this year, signature CCF salad dressings.
Experimenting with Saffron
Do you remember that we grew an experimental saffron crop last year? Well, we planted it again this year and have been harvesting and drying it during the last few weeks. It was featured in the Valley News on Wednesday!
Note: the saffron will not be sold in the farmstand this year.
Programs for Adults
Two workshops are taking place at the farm next week: Making Fire Cider and Dried Wreath Making. Both are sold out, but don’t worry if you missed out—we’re adding more workshops and educational programming for adults in 2020!
What are you interested in? Let us know →
Farm-Based Education Network
Meredith just returned from the 7th annual Farm-Based Education Network (FBEN) Conference, held at the gorgeous Pearlstone Retreat Center & Farm, just outside of Baltimore, Maryland. Hundreds of people gathered, representing countless organizations and communities, to share their education programming successes, struggles, and, ultimately, their passion for promoting a place-based connection for communities to the land and food in their area.
Some of these organizations were school-based gardens, some focused on livestock, others work with adults with varying physical abilities, and still others are coastal organizations farming oysters and other seafood. But, throughout the workshops and keynotes, messages of environmental justice, nature connection, and land regeneration to mitigate climate change were heard loud and clear.
Cedar Circle Farm & Education Center is one of hundreds of organizations nationwide offering field trips, cooking programs, summer camps, adult and early childhood education programs during which we teach not only about where our food comes from, but how we can give back to the land, be contributing community members, and stay grounded in curiosity and wonder.
It’s cold outside but the farmstand is still overflowing with delicious produce, fresh greens, farm-made food products, and meats and cheeses from local producers. We have smoked salmon, wild Alaskan sockeye salmon filets, and specialty beef parts from Back Beyond Farm, too.
Stop by and visit us—we’re open Friday 12–6, Saturday 10–3, and Sunday 10–3. This is a great time to stock up on onions and winter squash! Get 30% off when you buy large bulk quantities (more than 20 pounds of onions or 30 pounds of winter squash), through November 17. And this week’s vegetable of the week is Brussels sprouts. They’re 10% off, also through Sunday.
See you at the farm! Oh, and don’t miss the cider doughnuts on Saturday and Sunday morning!
––From all of us
Upcoming
November 15: Fall hours; Farmstand open, 12–6 pm.
November 16-17: Fall hours; Farmstand open, 10–3.
November 18: Cooking for Middle Schoolers begins, 3:30–5:15 pm.
November 20: Fire Cider Workshop, 5:45-7:15 pm.
November 23: Dried Wreath Making Workshop, 10–12.
November 25-29: Special Hours for Thanksgiving Week.
