Higher Grounds Coffee

We bulk order Higher Grounds coffee about every other month, plus I sell it in smaller quantities at Sweetwater Local Foods Market. I really like working with a truly Fair Trade organization. Here's a note from them today:

Higher Grounds is sending $4,200 to coffee farmers in the Mayan Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico!

Each year, Higher Grounds sends 15 cents per pound purchased to the coffee growers of the Maya Vinic coffee cooperative in Chiapas, Mexico. This is on top of the fair trade/organic green bean coffee price we pay the farmers. This year, we purchased 28,598 pounds of green beans from the cooperative to fresh roast as our Mexican Maya Vinic Medium Roast and use in many of our best-selling blends.

The total premium sent to Maya Vinic this year is $4,289.78, which will be used to support the co-op and the 500 farmers employed there. Higher Grounds was among the first coffee roasters to import Maya Vinic's fair trade and organic beans, and has been honored to partner with the people of Maya Vinic on a number of projects over the past seven years. We view this payment not as a donation but a reflection of the deep partnership between Higher Grounds and Maya Vinic to offer you the highest quality coffees grown by the most amazing fair trade and organic farmers in the world!

Fall in the Gardens

We got all the garlic planted yesterday - ~~ 1800 cloves. This is about a 100 more cloves of hardneck than last year, and a bit more green garlic.

The hoophouse is enclosed and things are growing in it. A lot of garden is cleaned up and cover crops planted. The new wash shed is almost done. Potatoes are all dug and sorted into seed and eating size.

The deer are wrecking the fall garden - eating the tops of cabbages. GRRR. They probably snack on them while on their way to the field corn for their main meal.

Bulk ground beef for sale in a few weeks

We will have lean ground beef for sale in quantity soon. The packages will be 1# and 2#, it will be USDA inspected, but not priced for individual package resale so put your orders in now! Minimum quantity will be 10# or there-abouts.

Whew!

I feel like I'm still in recovery and trying really hard to do other things than think about or work with vegetables. Of course, that hasn't happened, but I have let the blog slide for a couple of weeks!

Having a CSA is a huge responsibility. You trust us to grow food and we do our best with the enormity of that job. It presents different challenges all throughout the growing season, and from year to year. This year seemed especially hard for even experienced growers like us. If you've planted a garden of your own this year, please know this and don't lose heart - try again next year! We will :-).

The past 2 weeks have been busy with winter preparation. It would have been nice to have a warmer stretch into October. We've had to hustle to get the last of the tender crops in, the hoophouse rebuilt, ground cleaned up and readied for planting garlic and green manure crops. Long-season crops are being harvested, sorted, prepped for storage. We've finally dried and frozen and canned some food for ourselves, too. Bill has repaired a lot of fence and moved the cattle a few times, separating out the older bull and the steers.

Bill just got appointed to the MIFFs Board - Michigan Integrated Food and Farming Alliance.

FREEZE ~ more than just a frost

We were hit hard last night. Those of you who picked up veggies today saw how wilted and damaged the plants were. We picked all the beans, covered the pole beans but they still had damage, picked a bunch of basil, peppers, eggplants (mostly very small ones). Season's over for most things. It's kind of fitting since this was the last CSA pickup day.

We would like to invite you all to come to Sweetwater Market with an enticing $5 off vegetable purchases at our table. We are at the Hackley professional building south of The Lakes Mall on Harvey Street. Or take the Pontaluna Road exit off US 31 and go east to Harvey St. Then go north and follow the signs. We are outside if the weather is good, inside if it's windy, rainy or snowing. Hours are Saturdays 9-1 till the end of the year. We are also open January - May every other week. http://sweetwaterlocalfoodsmarket.org/

Thanks for being a part of our CSA! We are going to try to organize a members potluck in the very near future. Email or call if you are interested in participating.