Calamity Upon Calamity

To all of our members,

In the usual definition of “CSA”–shared risk and reward–everyone always hopes for an emphasis on the rewards of a bountiful harvest. The weather this year, unfortunately, has brought only new and diverse risks and calamities every week.

After the coldest, wettest spring we’ve ever experienced, with planting dates some four-six weeks behind average, we had finally managed to get everything planted and weeded and looked to be on track. Until this past weekend, that is. With rain pounding our farm on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, we tallied 7.2″ of rain. This is the most we’ve ever had in a three-day period, and much more than the 1″ per week that is beneficial. After 4″ fell into Sunday morning, about one quarter of our farm was completely submerged in water. We had so much rain that it overflowed our aisles and soaked over the beds of plants. We also had strong winds that brought down two old trees in our yard and hail that decimated the leaves of lettuce, zucchini, and squash in the field. This is shaping up to be easily twice as bad as any other growing season I’ve ever experienced, and an old-timer neighbor stopped by yesterday and said it was the worst he’s ever had in his 75 years.

Many of the crops that we had ready for our first delivery were either flooded out, decimated by hail, or both. Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide a box tomorrow, Tuesday the 25th. We have never missed a delivery before, and we do not take this lightly. We ask your understanding and patience as we manage the best we can with everything Mother Nature is throwing our way this year. We will still attempt to provide a box for Thursday sites (Waconia, Victoria, Chaska, and Chanhassen) this coming Thursday, June 27th. We hope to start Tuesday deliveries next Tuesday, July 2nd.

Please note that the first four-six weeks of delivery will be much lighter than we had hoped, due to the slow start and the storms this weekend. We are no longer hoping for the “perfect” box–just the best we can distribute. We understand the financial investment you have put in our CSA this year, and we are committed to providing the best we can. Though we’ve worked harder and longer this year than ever before, we simply don’t have the fruits of our labor to share with you.

Again, there will be no box tomorrow, Tuesday the 25th. We are aiming to provide delivery on Thursday the 27th and next Tuesday, the 2nd.

Thank you for your understanding,

Red and Nina