Happy Solstice! 2023 CSA Memberships Open!
Solstice Sun and the quiet season
We welcome herbs that bring in some brightness at the dark time of the year. Here's a photo of some Calendula which certainly reminds us of the sunny summer days to come. It's lovely to add to tea or soup or other edibles and is a premier skin healing plant. It helps move the lymph which can get sluggish in the winter. Thank you Calendula!
St. John's Wort is another herb that helps us anchor the light within us. It's helpful for Seasonal Affective Disorder and nerve pain like shingles. The red oil is great as part of massage oils. As a flower essence it helps with protection during sleep/dreams. Thank you St. John's Wort!
Winter is our planning time. Ordering seeds, planning new products, organizing, all the behind the scenes kind of tasks that make the CSA possible. We are fortunate to be able to move in concert with the flow of the seasons.
2023 CSA Memberships Open
Get your monthly dose of Vermont healing June-October.
$350 for a share, the same as last year.
Shipped Shares are back for those who are not local! The shipping and handling charges will be billed each month.
To sign up go here
What's new for 2023?
During pick up we will be having pot lucks! Sharing food is such a fun way to get to know each other better. Our collective is about growing community as well as spreading herbal healing. Please join us!
Shipped Shares are back so people living further away won't miss out. We will substitute other products for any fresh items local members receive. Shipping and handling charges will be invoiced each month. Tell your friends, family and colleagues.
In 2022 we began having "Add-ons" that members could pre-order to pick up with their shares. This went very well so we will be continuing and adding more producers. Let us know if you have any suggestions.
A Farewell
Founding Farmer, Erin Clements of Full Moon Blooms, will be shifting focus in 2023 and will not be part of the Four Farmers Herbalist Collective and CSA. We are thankful for her participation in 2021-2022. Full Moon Blooms has a flower CSA you can join.
Apothecary News
THE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED APOTHECARY! A 2022 share makes a great gift!
Winter Solstice and Holiday Greetings! December 2021
Winter is the time for going inward and incubating ideas for birth in the spring. Allow yourselves to sleep more and take it easy. Let dreams and ideas arise and nourish what calls to you. You may want to take the time to treat yourself to a deeper dive inward with the help of flower essences (contact Mama Wu for a consultation!) or nourish your physical self with some luscious body care products from Lotus Moon.
The plants are sleeping and we farmers have time to attend to other tasks and planning and to enjoy some free time. Ordering seeds and supplies, repairing equipment, taking care of greenhouses and chickens are some of the winter time things we do.
We have decided to offer the Herbal CSA again in 2022. There are some changes for the coming season. The CSA will run from June-Oct. giving us time in the busy spring to get the plants going well and make fresh products. We will also be offering add-ons from other local farmers and makers. This should keep things interesting!
Apothecary News
Still time to sign up for THE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED APOTHECARY!
Spring Greetings! April 2021
We have been busy in the greenhouses planting and planning for the CSA. It feels good to get the season started and see all our green babies thriving. In your first share (pick up May 14th, 2-6 pm) there will be something from each farmer: herb and flower starts from Full Moon Blooms, Afta Suppah Digestive Tea & herb seeds from Anjali Farm; All natural insect repellent, BUGoff, from Lotus Moon, and a spring tonic from Mama Wu’s. Extra herb and veggie starts and other products will be available in the farmstand on pick up day as well.
We are in a mountain village, so Spring comes a little later for us. There are still patches of snow around, and we are eagerly scouting our land for signs of sprouting plants. Foraging for wild greens before they are growing in the garden can be a fun way to get outdoors and be nourished as well. These greens are high in vitamins and minerals and can either be strong or mild tasting. They help awaken our bodies after the winter hibernation!
Dandelion flowers and greens, young plantain leaves, violets or johnny-jump-up leaves and flowers, nettles, young daylily leaves, and the invasive garlic mustard and Japanese knotweed will soon be available. The young pine and spruce tips make a refreshing tea as does birch twigs. Please make a positive plant ID before gathering! Many herbal and foraging books will have tips for picking and cooking. You may well get some products made from these wildlings in a future share!
We’d like to remind you to sign up for the May classes, especially the “Growing and Making Your Own Plant Medicine” series by Helena. She is passionate about health care independence and community herbalism and teaching is one way this is manifested. She loves sharing her knowledge and experience.
May-October, 2nd Saturdays, 9 am-1 pm: "Growing and Making Your Own Plant Medicine" with Helena Wu of Mama Wu's Good Medicine. We will meet once a month to tend the garden, wildcraft and make remedies. $450 covers seeds, plants, medicine making supplies. Children under 14 can attend with their parents for free. For more information or to register, contact her at mamawu@mamawusgoodmedicine.com, 802-824-9950 and check out the website www.mamawusgoodmedicine.com
May 15- "Greenhouse Growing" - choosing a site, choosing a type, materials and construction with Emmett Dunbar of Anjali Farm. $30. Register on the website www.anjalifarm.com.
Lini and Helena are also teaching a class on “Spring Tonics” through the S. Londonderry Free Library on Zoom. Saturday, April 17, 11 am -12 noon. This class is free, with donations to the library encouraged. Register with the library. 802-824-3371 or email: southlondonderryfreelibrary@yahoo.com
CSA members are invited to the Spring Blessing of the Farm on Sunday, May 2 at 11 am. Come add your good energy to the farm!
Apothecary News
WELCOME TO THE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED APOTHECARY!
February 1, 2021
We are excited to embark upon this collaboration that will introduce our community to the magic of medicines from the Earth. All of us love working with the plants and co-creating remedies with Nature. We hope our CSA member-partners will be inspired to experience a deeper connection with the green world, develop more health and vitality and want to learn more about healing with plants.
Springtime is time to get things moving after the less active winter season. Our bodies are craving fresh greens, feeling a need to cleanse and rejuvenate. Dandelion and other wild greens (nettles, violet, garlic mustard, Japanese knotweed, etc.) are wonderful, nourishing plants that provide minerals and vitamins that help our bodies function better. They may have affinity for certain systems like the digestive system or they may improve immune function. They may have a bitter taste which stimulates the liver. The liver has many functions like detoxing, manufacturing hormones, processing food constituents and pharmaceutical drugs, monitoring glucose levels, etc. Love your liver by nourishing it!
You can incorporate these wild greens in salads, soups, stir frys, pesto, meat or bean loaves or burgers or dry or freeze to use later.
(Please make sure of your plant identification before picking and ingesting any wild harvested plants!)
The Four Farmers Herbalist Collective will be offering a variety of classes this growing season. Come learn and grow with us! Please click on the link for each farmer to register for a class. CSA member-partners receive discounts on classes! (see benefits listed under each type of share).
May-Oct. 2nd Saturdays, 9 am-1 pm "Growing and Making Your Own Plant Medicine" with Helena Wu of Mama Wu's Good Medicine. We will meet once a month to tend the garden, wildcraft and make remedies. $450 covers seeds, plants, medicine making supplies
May 15- "Greenhouse Growing" with Emmett Dunbar of Anjali Farm- choosing a site, choosing type, construction. $30
June 12- "Harvesting and Arranging Flowers" with Erin Clements of Full Moon Blooms. Harvest flowers from the hoop house and learn about arranging them in an artful design. You will take home your work of art. $50 includes vase. Maximum 6 people.
July 10, 1-2 pm- "Ayurveda For Summer" with Lini Mazumdar of Lotus Moon Vermont. How does the summer affect each individual "dosha", and what can we do to help us stay in balance this season. $20 includes snacks and recipes.
Aug. 14- "How to Grow Flowers for Next Season" with Erin Clements (Full Moon Blooms). Sow seeds to plant in your garden late fall for spring and summer blooms the following season. $75 includes seed starting supplies. Maximum 6 people.
Sept. 11- "Greenhouse Growing" with Emmett Dunbar (Anjali Farm)- Biodynamic greenhouse growing. $30
Oct. 8, 1-2:30 pm- "Ayurveda for Seasonal Transition" with Lini Mazumdar (Lotus Moon Vermont) How best to prepare ourselves for a healthy transition from Fall into Winter. $20 includes snacks and recipes.
Lini's Recipe featured in Edible Vermont Magazine
