Spring keeps trying to spring over here on the farm, but the duel between winter and spring is far from over. However, the fruit buds are just starting to swell, our cover crops are sprouting new leaves and the grass is turning green. We have our wind machines ready to go for frost protection and are just finishing up our pruning. So, maybe spring is around the corner?
Please come to our annual farm tour and open house – May 14 and 15. On Saturday, May 14, we have arranged for a tour of two local wineries and a family style dinner featuring local foods.
On Sunday, May 15, we have our farm tour. The farm and winery tours are free. There is a charge for the Saturday night dinner and the option of a box lunch on Sunday. For more information and details, email Jeni at jeni@elafamilyfarms.com and she will be happy to give you all the information about the tours, meals, and lodging options.
The farm tour will be right at the end of bloom time and we can walk around and inspect the new crop (we hope!) on the trees. We will talk about pruning, thinning, insect and disease control, fertility and harvest. Basically, I try to give you an overview of what it takes to get our fruit from bloom to your table! We will spend as much time as anyone wants talking about what and why we do things. It has always been a fun weekend and we love to have our customers come see where their fruit originates. This tour is open to anyone, so feel free to invite other people that might be interested in a weekend on the Western Slope.
For market news, the Boulder market will be opening the first of April and run every Saturday until the first weekend of November. Look for us there in our usual spot at the southwest corner of the market. We are planning on doing all the same markets as last year and I will keep you informed as we start to attend various markets.
We have posted our CSA share information on our website at www.elafamilyfarms.com A CSA share entitles the member to a weekly pickup of the best fruit from our farm for that week. We do our best to vary the selection and varieties each week, but that can depend on the season and what tastes good to me that week. We also do our best to give our CSA members first dibs on fruits with limited production or as fruits are just starting to pick. While there are many variations on what a CSA share contains, we stick with our mantra that everything in the share comes from our farm. Sometimes that means there is less diversity of fruits, but we’ve always grown what we sell and we plan to continue that tradition. Contact Jeni at jeni@elafamilyfarms.com to sign up or with questions. One caveat – I’ve always been nervous about posting our CSA shares before frost season is over. If, keep your finger crossed this doesn’t happen, we have a rough spring, we will adjust our shares and pricing accordingly.
On the farm we are just finishing our winter pruning and are turning our attention to frost protection and getting new cover crops planted. We don’t have any major new plantings going in this spring, so that takes some of the pressure off our crew. We are chopping all the prunings in place, training trees to our trellises, spreading their limbs and trying to get things ready for budbreak. This past winter was a rough one with at least eight subzero nights. We ran our wind machines for five of those nights to protect peach buds. Even though the buds were dormant, peaches are not very winter hardy. Once temperatures drop below -5, we start to be concerned about peach buds. We do see significant winter bud damage in some of our blocks. That gives me a bit more gray hair, but the good news is that I think we still have a full crop out there. We pruned lighter to try to adjust for some of the losses and we will hope that spring treats us benignly without any major frosts.
Finally, I am also trying to continue to post tidbits about what is happening on the farm on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pages/Hotchkiss-CO/Ela-Family-Farms/126422900712760?v=wall) . Winter is a slower time for posting, but I am going to post more frequent updates as the buds progress. We want to let you know what is happening on the farm! Join us as a friend.
Take care, enjoy the longer days and thank you for your support. We are looking forward to a new season!
Steve Ela
Ela Family Farms
30753 L Rd
Hotchkiss, CO 81419
970 872 3488
info@elafamilyfarms.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Hotchkiss-CO/Ela-Family-Farms/126422900712760?v=wall
We do not like nor encourage spam. We do not share our email lists with anyone else. If you would like to be removed from this newsletter, please email us at info@elafamilyfarms.com and we will immediately remove your name from our list.
CSA Shares
Ela 2011 CSA Fruit Share Pricing and Locations
CSA shares available from Ela Family Farms at our Front Range Farmer’s Market locations. Prices vary based on market closing date and market limitations. We only include fruit we grow on our farm in our shares.
Golden Farmer’s Market
Pick-up times, Saturdays 8-1
Early season share- $45 July16, July 30 & Aug. 6 (Buffalo Bill Days July 23-no market)
Late season share- $200, Aug.13- Oct. 1
Full season share- $245, July16- Oct. 1
Ft. Collins’ Old Towne Market
Pick-up times, Saturdays8-noon
Early season share-$55 July16-Aug. 6?Late season share- $215 Aug.13-Oct. 15
Full season share $270
Boulder Farmer’s Market
Pick-up times, Saturdays 8-2
Early share $55 July 16-Aug.6?Late season share- $215 Aug.13-Oct. 29
Full season share $270
Old South Pearl St. Farmer’s Market
Pick-up times, Sundays 9-1
Early season share-$55 July17-Aug. 7
Late season share- $225 Aug.14-Oct. 30
Full season share $280
City Park-Esplanade Farmer’s Market
Pick-up times, Sundays 9-1
Early season share-$55 July17-Aug. 7
Late season share- $225 August14-Oct. 30
Full season Share $280
Stapleton Farmer’s Market
Pick up times, Sundays 8:30-12:30
Early Season Share- $55 July17-Aug. 7
Late season share- $215 August14-Oct. 16
Full season share- $270
Front Range Farm Partners
We also collaborate with excellent Front Range and WesternSlope organic vegetable growers who offer our CSA fruit shares alongside their CSA veggie shares. If you want both a vegetable and fruit share, we suggest you work through one of them. Contact them to determine if their pick-up times and locations work for you! Their Ela Family Farms’ fruit share information will be available closer to fruit season. They will not have our early season fruit shares available.
Isabelle Farm- www.isabellefarm.com Boulder/Denver
DeLaney Community Farm- www.dug.org/delaney Aurora
Happy Heart Community Farm- www.happyheartfarmcsa.com Ft. Collins
Cresset Farm- www.cressetcommunityfarm.com Loveland/Denver/ Boulder/Wheatridge
Abbondonza Organic Seeds & Produce- www.eatabbo.org Boulder/Niwot/Longmont
Heart Eye Community Farm- 303 665-6309 Lafayette
Stonebridge Farm- www.stonebridgefarmcsa.com Lyons/Longmont
Farmyard CSA- www.farmyardcsa.org Denver/Lakewood
RAS Agriculture- rasagriculture@yahoo.com Boulder/Longmont
Western Slope Farm Partners
Buckhorn Gardens www.buckhorngardens.blogspot.com
Circle A Gardens 970-249-9725 Montrose www.circleagarden.com
Sustainable Settings www.sustainablesettings.org Carbondale
