Looking out at last night's beautiful golden harvest moon through the bare branches of the trees got me thinking deeply about the things our family is grateful for here at Freedom Rains Farm.

   A pumpkin pie cooking in the oven made from pumpkins we grew. ( I fondly recall the day we started the pumpkin and winter squash seeds with help from our friend Colleen and her 4 year daughter, Quinn.  Planting them out in the field, weeding, watching them grow and ripen, and harvesting.) Our pumpkin pie wouldn't be complete without fresh ginger from Main Street Farms and maple syrup From Red School House Rd Maple. A turkey soaking in brine from Grindstone Farm ( we raised as fuzzy little polts for them)  apples from our friends at Lake Bluff Honeybee farm baked into a pie. Our CNY community is blessed to live among such bounty and hard work.

  We are grateful for the community of farms that surround us making such holiday feasts available. We are thankful for organizations, such as The Eastern Farm Worker's Association and Food Bank of CNY who's efforts in conjunction with local farms feed hundreds of local families throughout the year and for the holidays. And endless gratitude is owed to those who see and support  the importance of a diverse sustainable foodshed. Without the demand the supply would not be there!

   Doing morning chores before going the rounds to share good food with our families, the green house fogs my glasses (and camera lens) at a balmy 70 degrees while the ground is frozen in the shade just outside; we have been blessed by a mild fall to continue harvesting from with more great green for our table and yours!
  
  As we celebrate the harvest and family, remember those who lovingly raised the food on your table. Those who worked long hours in rain and scorching heat, bitter cold and mud knee deep. Those who got pricked by the brambles and kissed by the sun, those who will do it again all over again for the love of the Harvest. 

From our family to yours- a very Happy Thanksgiving!

  

     It seems we haven't posted a farm news here in over 20 weeks! It's been quite and adventurous CSA season, and most of these adventures were shared on our facebook page and via our emails to members; and admittedly slacked on updating our blog. 

  It's fall on the farm, and though most of leaves have fallen, the temps have stayed kind, blessing us with many more field crops to harvest through November. It's also given us a chance to catch up on some much needed maintenance around  the farm. We got a new wall on the West side of the barn, and a new roof on the farm house, and a new greenhouse erected and planted. All our garlic in the ground, and cover crops sprouting.  Now that our second year of CSA is over, many people ask, "How does it feel to be done?" The answer is we're never done, our schedule just changes. We go right from the end of the CSA to planning for next season!

  One of the biggest changes here at Freedom Rains Farm has been the downsizing of our laying hen flock. We are doing this for many reasons, so let me explain.  One is that we need to get to more work on the barn, which we can't do with the hens being housed in the barn. Another is feeding and caring for the birds through the bitter winter takes more time and money. Without unfrozen pasture,  the hens tend to eat more grain in the winter months, yet lay less eggs, increasing our cost. Also after some serious cost analysis, we found we were actually losing money on our eggs, and though a non gmo feed became available literally right up the road  from us, we could not justify the increased cost of production when most of our eggs were presold.  We do plan on starting with a new flock of chicks in the spring, and in the meantime sourcing our eggs from the many local growers through Grindstone Farm  for the 2016 CSA season. While not the ideal setup for a farm based CSA, it will free us up to concentrate our inputs on our vegetable production, support our other local farms raising hens humanely on pasture, and keep our members rolling in eggs!

   The 2015 season was a wild one; with snow still on the ground until the end of April, flooded fields (which spelled some lost crops) in June, to extremely dry weather for the rest of the summer (and irrigation pump in need of repair) to this beautiful Indian Summer of a fall;  and deer damage to crops all through the season, it was quite the challenging season to say the least. But bountiful altogether. We had some of the most beautiful carrots we've ever grown, the most productive pepper harvest ever, peas and beans too loaded to pick them all, garlic heads the size of my fist, and totes of storage crops tucked away for the cold winter markets... That is the beauty of being a CSA farmer- we can plant so many crops for our members, that if one (or two) fail, we have another to take it's place.

  We have our high tunnel and greenhouse full of cold hardy greens, and crops to overwinter for spring, and continue going to the CNY Regional Market every Saturday with our fresh greens and storage crops, like potatoes, carrots, turnips, garlic, winter squash, radishes etc.  The fall has been so abundant, we extended the CSA season by one month with a November Fall Share, and again are offering Thanksgiving boxes for your holiday celebrations and storage in the pantry. Thanksgiving boxes can be ordered from our farm store. They are available for pickup at limited sites; Regional Market, Nov 21st; and Mexico and on Farm Pickups Nov 24th. 
They are $50 per box and include traditional  veggies for your Thanksgiving spread, such as brussel sprouts, potatoes, turnips, apples, herbs, garlic,  winter squash and more. So give thanks to you your farmers and treat your family right with a local spread this Thanksgiving. You also still have time to order your pastured GMO-free turkeys from Grindstone Farm which we can deliver with your Thanksgiving box upon request.


  We are teaming up with Cornell next season to offer subsidized shares to low income residents of Jefferson County for the 2016 season. This is a project that has been in the works for a few years (they got approved for their grant this summer)  and is intended to research the impact of fresh seasonal foods on low income families, reducing obesity, and other health problems connected with limited finances and access to fresh food. We are excited to be part of this study; which is a nation wide study taking place in 4 other states. We firmly believe (and have been told by many customers)  that  our food can change lives, so this opportunity, which will include workshops on prep and cooking of seasonal foods is a wonderful compliment to our work  with no more commitment on our end other than doing what we love- growing and distributing fresh organic food to our neighbors!

   We want to thank all our members for their support through the 2015 season,  we would not be here without you! Your investment and commitment to our farm has been invaluable over the past two years, and we look forward to growing for you for many more. 2016 Season shares are open for sign up. Sign up by an 23rd and get 10% off your produce share. Egg Shares will be added shortly and members notified when they are.