Black Swamp Local Food & Farm Co-op

02/23/2017

02/23/2017

On February 24th, we are joining with CSA farmers from across the country to celebrate CSA Day. This is an important time of year for us to get new members signed up because we are in the process of making the investments that will result in a successful harvest many months from now.

According to Small Farm Central, this is the most popular day of the year to sign up for a CSA share and now is when we need your support!

The CSA model is an important model to support our farm. Laura, who runs First Root Farm in Concord, Mass. put it eloquently: "The CSA model was what allowed me to start my own farm business at age 23. Without the sale of CSA shares, I would not have been able to buy seeds, potting soil, fertilizer, or anything else. Six years later, my business is still going strong. Access to capital in the off-season; the meaningful connections between farmers and CSA members; the sense of ownership and pride members feel about their CSA farms--all these things add up to healthy farms, businesses, and communities. The CSA model is good for everybody,"

So thank you for your support on this and throughout the year. It is so important for us and we are thankful to you!

03/04/2015

You can't replace nature.

03/02/2015

The 2015 growing season is rapidly approaching. Despite the fact that it is winter and nothing appears to be happening beneath the snow, a great deal is going on. Rest is a vital part of rejuvenation for humans as well as for the natural world. Soon the warmth of solar energy and longer days will awake everything in Mother Nature. While the winter dormancy has been going on the local farmers in your area have been busy with new marketing adventures. This year several Black Swamp Co-op farmers are joining forces to provide you with a new marketing adventure. Black Creek Farm in Ney, Ohio, Kinsman farm in Archbold, Ohio and Maple Lane Farm in Farmer, Ohio have joined forces to establish a CSA or Community Supported Agriculture share program for customers. Other opportunities are also available if this the CSA program is not for you. Local farmers markets are springing up all over and Black Swamp Co-op members support these markets and you can find them at the Archbold Farmer's Market. Black Swamp Co-op also offers an online ordering service where you can purchase many different agricultural products besides fresh veggies. These will be delivered at designated areas for you to pick up as well.

Hats off to our local producers. Think spring. For more information about our ongoing adventure in local food production see our website at: www.blackswamplocalfood.org. Have a blessed day.

02/28/2015

Tomorrow is March 1 and snow is predicted. So is March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb?? As growers and producers of nutrient dense foods our lives revolve around what the weather is and how it will affect the day to day operations of our business. A major part of a farmer's life is about taking risks. So why do we do what we do? Because we want to supply the local food system for our friends and neighbors with the quality products they need to feed their families. We also do this in a sustainable manner because we know that key to having a healthy food system is having the Earth's life systems of water, air, soil, and biosphere also be healthy. To continue life on Earth as we know it into the future we need as growers to take the responsibility to keep these systems healthy.

This year the growers and producers of Black Swamp Co-op are starting a new marketing adventure. We are offering CSA shares to families for 18 weeks during the growing season. Want to learn more about this? Contact us at: www.blackswamplocalfood.org to find out more information or email us at: [email protected]. Have a great day.

Locally grown food for NWOhio

02/22/2015

Now is the season to start thinking about spring, growing and where you might find healthy, nutritious, fresh produce for you and your family. The Black Swamp Local Food & Farm Co-op is offering CSA shares for those families living in the Williams, Defiance, and Fulton Counties. For 18 weeks from the first week of June through September you will be able to pick up a weekly bag of fresh produce according to the size bag you purchase. For more information please contact: [email protected] or visit our website at: www.blackswamplocalfood.org.

02/16/2015

The 2015 growing season is upon us. We have been posting about our new marketing adventure for this season. We have joined together this year to start a CSA market for area customers especially for those who live in Defiance, Fulton, and Williams county. Our season will run from the first week of June through September for about 18 weeks. Each week, as a CSA subscriber, you and your family will receive a weekly bag of produce. The size of the bag will be up to you. We offer three sizes for our customers this year:

Family Subscription $660/season
Couples Subscription $440/season
Single Subscription $220/season

Payment options include:
Full payment by March 1st
$160 (or $115, $45 respectively,) down by March 1st & payments of $100 (or $65, $35) April 1, May 1, June 1, July 1, August 1.

For a registration form or to have any other questions you may have please contact: [email protected]. Please see previous posts as well.

02/15/2015

Black Swamp Co-op growers have started a new marketing adventure in 2015. The last two posts started to explain this endeavor. This year we have joined together to start a CSA market for area customers who want nutrient dense food that comes from farms who grow these nutrient dense food using sustainable and organic agricultural practices. As a group we grow a large diversity of vegetables and often grow several varieties of the same vegetables throughout the growing season.

Our CSA marketing option for our customers will start the first week of June and continue through September, about 18 weeks in total. We focus on well-known vegetables, and also introduce a few unique ones. Recipes will be provided for uncommon produce. Volume and varieties vary with seasons but you may expect...

- Early Spring will be low volume: lettuce, spinach, radishes, spring onions, bok choi, peas, and herbs,

- Late Spring: peas, carrots, summer squash, string beans, lettuce, spinach, radishes Swiss chard, kale, herbs, strawberries

- Summer: sweet corn, string beans, kohlrabi, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, peppers, beets, potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, herbs, sweet cherries

-Late summer: tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, muskmelons, peppers, cabbage, broccoli, string beans, lettuce, sweet corn, onions, water melons, eggplant, chard, kale, herbs.

-Fall: winter squash, potatoes, onions, cabbage broccoli, carrots, lettuce, peppers, eggplant, chard, kale, spinach, beets, radishes, Brussels sprouts.

Your support ensures more than great food!

-Promotes local food agriculture and partners you with family farmers
-Keeps dollars in the regional economy
-Connects you to the seasons through food
-Deepens your respect for nature
-Promotes creative seasonal cooking
-Reduces food miles and energy consumed by overland shipping

Join us in this endeavor to help create a food system that will endear. For more information about his exciting adventure please contact: [email protected]. Pictures today are from Black Creek Organic Farm. Enjoy.

02/11/2015

Black Swamp Local Food & Farm Co-op is a collective of farm producers from NW Ohio who have partnered together to create a local food option for our region's families in the form of a CSA. "CSA" is an abbreviation for Community Supported Agriculture. Community members have an opportunity to purchase a subscription to receive a weekly box (the size of their choice) containing seasonal vegetables and occasionally small fruits provided through local agricultural efforts during an 18 week harvest window, June - September.

Our co-op members practice natural methods of vegetable farming (but are not all certified as organic.) Our foods are produced with NO chemical herbicides and NO chemical pesticides. We do not use genetically modified seeds.

There is an element of risk involved in purchasing produce in advance due to weather variables. However, the strength of our collective co-op minimizes this risk as the farms are located throughout NW Ohio and are not subject to one locality of weather elements. We look forward to serving customers on Thursdays as our pickup day at determined locations in Defiance, Fulton, and Williams County. For further details about this exciting adventure contact us at: [email protected] or call 419.202.6400. Pictures posted on February 7 on this page were of Maple Lane Farm in Farmer, Ohio one of the Co-op members participating in this growing adventure. Today the farm pictures are from Kinsman farm in Archbold, Ohio. Kinsman farm have wonderful bee hives that help pollinate their fields. Come and join this exciting local food option for you and your family.

02/10/2015

Maple Lane Farm

01/19/2015

Share if you agree! (via Healthy Holistic Living)

10/08/2014

Goats for sale!