Rock the Harvest 2017

For the fourth year in a row we held our annual “Rock the Harvest” party at the farm. We set up our favorite band–The Greenneck Daredevils out in the field, got two kegs of beer, a few flats of Union Wine Co. canned wine, roasted a pig (not one of ours but one of our neighbors) and had a rocking good time!

This party is one big thank you to our amazing CSA members, farmers market patrons and restaurant owners who support our farm. We would not be able to make a living off of farming if it weren’t for our local community and hot damn….we’ve got one hell of an extended farm family. We are so grateful.

When Taylor and I first set out to start Tumbleweed Farm we knew that we wanted to grow food for folks who live in our area. We loved the idea of running a CSA program (where members sign up in the winter, write a check for the whole season and hope for the best!) and hadn’t really given much thought into what kind of relationships we’d end up cultivating with our members. We seriously thought all we’d be doing was boxing up food and sending it home with families and that’d be that. Boy were we wrong! As it turns out, the best part about running a CSA is the fact that folks who started off as strangers have become dear friends. We look forward to CSA delivery day every week because it’s a chance to sit down (which to be honest, we love any excuse to sit down for a moment) and connect with these awesome families. And it’s not just our CSA members that keep us going. Our loyal farmers market patrons and restaurant owners who show up week after week to purchase from us directly or put us on their menus really gets us going. This tiny corner of the world that we live in is one special place. And every summer when we hold our Rock the Harvest party we are reminded of why we do what we do. And when the going gets tough, I’m going to look at these photos to help motivate us to push through whatever obstacles the farm throws our way. Look at all of these beautiful faces. We are so damn lucky.

If you’ve ever wondered what being a part of a CSA is all about I can tell you first hand it’s not just about the food. It’s about those special connections you’ll create with the folks in your community. A wonderful CSA member told us (after we broke the news that we weren’t going to have a fall crop of broccoli or cauliflower) that if she really wanted broccoli or cauliflower she’d purchase it at the grocery store. She went on to say that that’s not why folks join the CSA (or at least not why she did). People join it to support the farm through thick and thin. Taylor and I put so much pressure on ourselves to have a “perfect” season. But we’ll never have a perfect season. And I’ll be the first to tell you that next year we’ll probably have an abundance of broccoli and cauliflower but a crop devastation with something else. That’s just the way it goes. But sometimes it’s nice to get that reminder from our members. They totally get it.

Thank you everyone who supports Tumbleweed or their own small farmers wherever they may be. I think I can speak for a lot of other farmers out there when I say we couldn’t do it without your support. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

A big shout out to my dear friend Kate Schwager  for photographing the event and Union Wine Co. for donating all the canned wine for the occasion. Talk about community! We love those guys.

Cheers from Tumbleweed Farm.