The first delivery/pick-up of the 2009 season is upon us.  After a long winter of snow, cold, rain and well, just plain winter I guess, it's finally here.  Emily, Lizzie and I would like to say hello and welcome to all of our new and returning members.  This promises to be a wonderful season full of new and exciting things at the farm.
This first post serves as a means to introduce our new members to the blog and to take care of some housekeeping items to begin the season.  Our blog provides us a communication tool where we can explain what is in the share each week.  Hopefully you will be able to check it on Friday evenings or as soon as possible to figure out what is in the bag, especially when we get into some of the more exotic items.  We also hope to provide recipe, preparation ideas and storage information throughout the season.  If anyone has suggestions, please feel free to share them with me and we'll post them accordingly.
A new page is now up on the blog which provides interactive maps and directions to each pick-up location.  If anyone has trouble with this or has questions about pick-up, please do not hesitate to contact me via email or phone.
If at any point in the summer you are unable to pick-up your share on a given week, please let me know well in advance if possible.  This is extremely important for several reasons which I won't get into now.
If you are picking up in Bangor, please remember to introduce yourself to the Dandro family who are graciously allowing us to have a drop spot at their home.  You may also wish to thank them for a very important service.  Their generosity has made it possible for local food to be available in a way it would not otherwise be.
Pick-up times are as follows on each Friday throughout the summer:
Newport - After 2pm
Bangor - After 2:30pm and before 8pm
Winterport - After 3pm
After several years of doing this I have pushed our pick-up times back to those listed above.  Our returning members may notice these times are later than in the past.  This is due to time constraints I've put on myself in the past which are not conducive to success in the delivery system.  Last year, for instance, I had to push the times back twice as the season provided more and more bounty approaching autumn.  I hope not to have to do that this year.
Finally, I just want to provide a bit of a primer about what goes into the food you'll be eating this summer.  On Friday morning I will wake up around 4:00am and head down to the farm.  I will harvest the produce that will appear in your share.  It must be done very early because of something known as 'field-heat'.  Essentially, it's too hot for produce after about 9:30.  The reason being that I will have severed the vegetables from their water source.  During this early part of the season I will be able to accomplish the picking, bagging, organizing, fill the coolers and load the cars and still have time to work on other things around the gardens.  Shortly, within a few weeks, I will be harvesting and doing those things listed above right up until 2 pm.  Near the end of July and increasingly until the end of the season, I will be harvesting nearly everyday of the week and have little time to do anything else, like plant, weed, construct, mulch, water, etc.  This gives you a rough idea of what I will be doing every Friday from now until November.
Other than that, I want to once again welcome everyone and say thank you for participating in a local food chain.  You are making a huge difference in the world.  If you don't believe that, just imagine how different the world would be if everyone in the U.S. either grew their own food or knew their farmer and ate food grown less than 50 miles from their home.  It would be an amazing place.  Your decision to participate with Parker Produce this summer is helping us move down the path toward that world.  Thank you.