August 30th, 2023
What’s in your share?
Heirloom and Slicing Tomatoes
Sweet Italian Frying Peppers
Sweet Bell Peppers
Cilantro
Salad Mix
Italian or Japanese Eggplant
Red Onions
Hardneck Garlic
Last week we had a CSA member ask us “what it takes to get everything picked, cleaned, sorted into totes and ready for pick-up in various locations?” Fulfilling the CSA takes two full days of every week, and it’s such a part of our weekly rhythm that we take for granted that it’s quite the undertaking. Here is a rundown of how we get 100 CSA shares out of the field and to your dropsites.
Every Tuesday at around 7 am, Sam, Ali, and I have a meeting to solidify our harvest list for the day. We have 4-5 workshares come at 8 am and we like to have clear tasks for everyone so that the day goes smoothly. Managing and teaching helpers is one of the most challenging parts of this job, because there is so much to do in such a short amount of time. As a skilled worker, it’s tempting to rush through a tutorial so you can get back to work, but rushing always results in a poor outcome.
We have 4 hours to harvest 6-8 items for 100 CSA members and I’m amazed that we manage to do it every week. The workshares definitely work hard; and hard work it is. Sam is a stickler about keeping weight records of every crop so we know much much we’re yielding from each planting. We also are aware of how much much time we spend on each crop to help determine the price. (If you’ve ever cleaned scallions, you’ll realize why we charge $3/bunch.) Once we have a weight, we divide the total weight by 100 to determine each members’ “share” of the harvest. The portions differ week by week, as you have probably noticed. During the height of the summer, each share is heavier on fruiting vegetables because it’s the only time of year that they are available. After the harvest, the workshares go home and the three of us wash, bag, inventory, and organize each crop, storing them overnight in the walk-in cooler. This takes the rest of the work day and we plan for every Tuesday to be dedicated strictly to harvesting and washing and only sending out our nicest vegetables.
Then on Wednesday, I wake up and write the newsletter. I’m usually a morning runner, but now take Wednesdays off to channel my morning energy into an attempt at some concise writing. Fodder ideas are always welcome - this newsletter is flowing easily because we had a suggested topic! Then at 8, we head out to the packshed, where all the clean crops are waiting for us in the cooler. Sam usually sets up the assembly line while I put together special orders and keep track of vacation weeks. Our neighbor, Lora, comes every single Wednesday to help us pack shares. We pack shares one dropsite at a time. Lora is the first in the assembly line; wiping out every single tote and reading the name off so I can note if that member is taking the week off, getting a double share to make up for their vacation week, or has a special order. Then the clean tote comes to me, where I have special orders and anything that needs to be weighed or inspected for ripeness or quality (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants). Then I pass the tote to Sam, where he has the other items, which are either pre-portioned (bunched roots, bunched herbs, or bagged items) or single items (head lettuce, celery, cabbage, etc). Then all of the totes go back into the cooler until Sam leaves for delivery.
Sending the totes through the assembly line makes sure that every tote gets every item and reduces mistakes. We have forgotten items, but it happens so rarely that we think this is an extremely efficient system. It usually takes 2-3 hours to pack shares. Sam usually leaves around noon to make sure all the totes are at the dropsites by 4. The delivery takes a solid 4 hours and we’re not very interested in it taking longer than that, which is why we haven’t expanded delivery to the west of I-94/43. While Sam is out, I take a photo of the share for the newsletter, finish up the newsletter, send out the email, and get a random hour or so of field work done before setting out the Oak Creek shares, opening the gate, and making sure the electric chicken fencing is turned off. A successful night means no texts, calls, or emails from members or dropsite hosts reporting an issue, and we can proudly say that issues are few and far between.
If you’d like to know anything else about behind-the-scenes, let us know! It was cool to have a newsletter topic suggestion for inspiration - sometimes its hard to come up with a new topic each week!
Whipped ricotta with tomatoes, nectarines, and basil.