Judi and I have a ‘strawberry supplier’ which sounds a) pretty sophisticated for two farm girls running a small CSA and b) a little suspicious – aren’t you supposed to be getting food we grew personally? Here’s the story:
Strawberries take two years to bear a full crop from the time they’re planted, so originally we didn’t have any chance of supplying them this season. But Judi has an elderly neighbor who grows chemical-free berries on his land, very close to her house. For years, he’s been putting out a self-serve table at the end of his driveway, and for years, someone’s been stealing from his money box.
So we thought it made perfect sense to tell him that Judi and I would buy his entire crop this year. Every single berry. It would be enough for the CSA, for our families, and some for market. We know they’re organic and safe. We know they’re fresh. The grower will get a check from us that he can take to the bank. We’re comfortable with this arrangement.
He’s picking every two or three days – the speed of the harvest depends on the weather. We hope that both the Thursday and Friday deliveries will have berries this week, but if not, we’ll cover one day now and one next week, and continue to do so as long as the berries hold out.
If you’d like additional berries – these would be available in between CSA deliveries, say on a Monday or Tuesday, email one of us and let us know. We’ll sell them to our Beans for $4 a quart, less than our price at market. But you’ll have to come to Katie’s or Judi’s to pick them up, we won’t be able to deliver them.
Now, make sure we’re clear: you’re getting berries for the duration of our grower’s season as part of the CSA. But from Friday to Thursday, additional berries are picked, and we can’t keep them for the following week. Those berries we’ll be selling, and you’ll have first dibs. We can’t guarantee how many we’ll have on any given day, so we’ll do this as a first-reply first-served: if you are the first person to email requesting berries for next Tuesday, you’ll get the first response telling you they’re available. We’ll do our best to meet the demand, but we’re limited by what’s available. You’ll be able to get them out of the garage fridge at Katie’s and just leave money in the coffee can in the fridge.
They are, by the way, awesome. I prepared six quarts for the freezer this morning and I had to discard one slightly mushy berry from that whole amount. And they’re really, really flavorful. Now you’re all hungry, aren’t you?