This weekend, we saw firsthand what “Community” means in regards to Community Supported Agriculture. As part of our CSA membership, besides receiving heaping boxes of fresh, naturally grown produce each week, CSA members have the opportunity to take part in regularly scheduled CSA workdays. Basic CSA membership include a commitment to three, 4-hour work shifts chosen from scores of available time slots throughout the growing season. Besides this, we occasionally make calls for emergency help from any members or friends available to help. This weekend we had just such an emergency CSA workday.
The weeds, though small, were threatening to overtake some of our earliest crops of spinach, arugula, kale, cabbage, broccoli, sugar snap peas, lettuce, Chinese Cabbage, garlic, radishes, and kohlrabi. With all the frenzy of spring planting ahead of us, including greenhouse plantings of the first bell peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers and continuing preparations for bulk plantings of the much beloved summer crops, we were afraid that we would not do justice to the impending weed problem. So, we called for the help of any and all available for an emergency “Save that Spinach CSA Workday”!
Working alongside many of you was a humbling experience. We appreciated so many CSA members taking time out of their weekend in some of the most beautiful weather of the year to come out there and pull/hoe/burn weeds with us! We were reminded that Where the Redfearn Grows Natural Farms is not just a family farm in Independence, MO, it is a community farm where friends from Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Kansas City, Independence and Liberty can meet up in Independence, MO and work toward a common goal: “Together we’ll change the way you eat”
We hope that you all enjoyed your time with us and with each other as much as we enjoyed the camaraderie as we cultivated the soil on a beautiful spring day. Hopefully everyone slept well that night and didn’t wake up too sore the next day!
These horse pastures turned intensively planted organic vegetable fields have a lot of weed seeds left in the soil and we are determined to root them out little by little! When you don’t use Roundup, weeds are a lot bigger problem than they could be, but we remain committed to natural methods for growing the healthiest food for our family and yours.
If you haven’t yet signed up for the CSA, we still have a few shares left. If you’ve been considering making the change to all-natural, local produce through our CSA, we encourage you to make the leap before our slots are full. We’re confident you will not regret the decision to join the community at Where the Redfearn Grows Natural Farms.
