Antaya Acres Updates

We will be offering free-range turkeys to both our CSA customers and the general public this season!!

It is important that you pre-order your birds.  The last season we offered this program to the public we sold out in the early part of August.  Act quickly to ensure your holiday feast needs are met! Pre-order prices are good through July 1st or sooner if we run out of turkeys to sell.  The farm we are co-oping with to raise the birds is offering us a limited number at these prices.  After 1 July the price will be $4/lb so the savings is signifigant.

Pricing is as follows:

16-22lb free range turkey: member price $50 non-member $65

23-28+lbs: member price $65 non-member $75

Please call with any questions or contact us through the tab on your left.

Please make all checks payable to:  Stephanie Antaya  and mail to 9921 Chamberlain Rd. Silverwood, MI 48760

Hello CSA family!
Wanted to take a moment and let everyone know we will be adding 2 new drop sites to our delivery schedule this season in Lapeer and Imlay City to help better serve our partnership with Anytime Fitness. We will be delivering to Imlay City from 5-5:30pm on Thursday afternoon and in Lapeer from 6:15-6:45pm. Both drops will take place at the parking lot of the Anytime Fitness locations. If you need directions or have any questions please contact me.
Our delivery schedule looks like this so far:
Monday - Walmart parking lot Caro, MI from 4:30-5pm
Wednesday - Orchard Lk/12 mile in Farmington, MI 4:30pm-6pm
Thursday - Imlay City Anytime Fitness from 5-5:30pm then on to Lapeer Anytime Fitness from 6:15-6:45pm
Saturday - Kroger parking lot at Silverbell/Adams in Rochester from 9-11am then on to Oxford Big Boy on 24 from 3:30-4pm
We also offer home delivery throughout our service area. There is a $100 annual fee for this service to cover the gas expense unless we can get several customers in one area, in which case we can adjust or waive the fee. If you have any questions about the schedule please feel free to contact us via the contact form to your left or call 810-656-2036.
Also I am always willing to entertain adding drop locations, but it requires at least 6 families to make it worth adding a new location. If you have several people in your office or neighborhood who would like to participate just let me know.
Happy Springtime!
We are looking forward to getting to know everyone better this CSA season!
Stephanie Antaya
Antaya Acres Heritage Farm

We offer several different programs to help meet the needs of our CSA customers.  We are fast approaching garden season, but we do take new year round customers at anytime throughout the season.  If you wish to sign up for the year round programs we will simply start you in the garden and wrap your pork share around to the other side of it.  If you have any questions about how that would work or anything else you find here please don’t hesitate to ask. I will get back to you promptly!!

Our year round programs include a 20lb mixed bundle of pork delivered monthly.  We also have a senior program for pork/eggs that I didn’t break down here that is smaller with a 12lb monthly bundle.  If you need those details let me know.

Garden Goodies for this year

Senior Share $300 / $350 after March 1st

Half Share with Eggs $395 / $435 after March 1st

Half Share No Eggs $350/ $395 after March 1st

Full Share with Eggs $545/ $595 after March 1st

Full Share No Eggs $500/ $545 after March 1st

Annual CSA membership from now through next season:

A1) Winter pork CSA (from November 2012- April 2013) plus half share vegetable CSA (July - October) - discounted price for early sign up $900 (No eggs included in this option) after 1 March 2013 $1000

A2) Winter pork CSA (from November 2012-April 2013) plus full share vegetable CSA (July - October) - discounted annual price $1100 (no eggs) after 1 March 2013 $1150

Annual CSA membership including egg share

B1) Winter pork CSA with 4 dozen eggs per month (from November 2012-April 2013) plus half share vegetable CSA plus one dozen eggs delivered weekly from (July- October) - price w/early sign up $1025 after 1 March 2013 $1175

B2) Winter pork CSA with 4 dozen eggs per month (from November 2012-April 2013) plus full share vegetable CSA plus one dozen eggs delivered weekly from (July- October) - price w/ early sign up $1225 after 1 March 2013 $1375

Repeat customers and Anytime Fitness members can apply the early bird pricing beyond the end date.  There will be one more price increase as we approach delivery season..signing up early is advantageous.  We offer these price breaks early on because most of the expense of the garden is incurred prior to Memorial Day and it helps us to be able to better plan and execute the garden if the bulk of our sign ups occur early in the year.  Existing customers will receive a $25 farm credit for each new customer who they refer.  Those credits can be used towards the purchase of your own share or towards your turkey or any of our other products!

Please make checks payable to:

Stephanie Antaya

Payments can be mailed to:  Stephanie Antaya 9921 Chamberlain Rd. Silverwood Mi 48760

We are expanding our program this season to include more fresh farm fare. We are partnering with a handful of other farms/farmers from here in Michigan who offer products and services outside our scope. Darcy Monier and Anita Heeke are from here in the North Branch area and will be working on some canned and jarred goods as well as some goats milk soaps and lotions which you will be able to order and have delivered with your CSA baskets each week. We are also in talks with some local farms who produce fresh honey and maple syrup, which we will be offering our customers as well. As a farm, we do not make anything on these products. We just want to provide the broadest scope of local products to our consumers and boost farm purchase power at the same time. Eating natural, local and grassfed doesn’t start at Whole Foods: it begins and ends with the family farm, and if we aren’t careful we are going to end the family farm by supporting businesses that don’t support them. I will be posting a list of Michigan farms who we consider friends and who offer products outside of our specialties. I have frequently been asked to refer our members to such farms and hope that this will be a valuable resource for you to help broaden and enhance your local and grassfed lifestyle. Let me know what you think and please let me know if you have had a great experience with a Michigan farm not on the list. We wholeheartedly feel that as farms we should be networking and helping each other grow and prosper. I will put a flier in one of the first baskets with further details on the available items. Happy Harvests!
Stephanie Antaya
Antaya Acres Heritage Farm
www.antayaacres.com
810-656-2036

Anita Heeke
Pineberry Dairy Goats
Goats milk soaps and lotions, Herb Seasoning packets etc…
810-614-5141

Darcy Monier
Preserves, Salsas, Goats milk soaps etc.
734-780-6070

Peggy Zlatkin
Cherry Blossom Farm
Milford, Michigan
Grassfed Beef and Lamb
248-310-6562

I just wanted to take a few minutes to welcome those of you who are considering taking part in the 2013 CSA program. Below you will find general info on what you can expect in your baskets and I will walk you through how to get signed up. If there is anything else you need please don’t hesitate to email me or give me a call. I will be more than happy to help.

Last year we sold out on the eggs just for our CSA customers. I purchased more chickens this year, but I don’t expect to have Egg shares available to sell to the general public. The best way to get eggs from us is to sign up for the CSA program.

Please keep in mind if you are interested in grass fed meats that there is a discount for signing up for the annual shares that include pork bundles through the winter months. There is a seperate post that deals specifically with these programs and their pricing. Please let me know if you have any questions.

I will divide the plant list up into groups of the items that you will find in your baskets for early, mid, and late season. You won’t get all of the items in every basket, but it will give you and idea of the progression. Half a bushel is about the size of the black wire baskets you get at Krogers that go over your arm. A bushel is about the size of a square milk crate, or Family Dollar sells bushel sized laundry baskets in a variety of colors. Also, I am there when you pick up, so if there is something that you or your family won’t eat - just let me know. I will do my best to substitute it for something else that is available. I don’t want to waste anything, and there is always someone else who will take it By August, you are getting more than your half bushel because some things are just big like the cantaloupes, cabbages, watermelon and some of the squash. I had banana squash last year that I had to can, because they were too big to do much else with. It was like stacking logs in the back of the truck. They are an interesting variety: we had some that were 12 inches long and some that were 4 feet long growing right next to each other.

Early basket - cucumbers, radishes, carrots, zucchini, scallop squash, greens (we are aiming for a lettuce or green in every basket this season), tomatoes (maybe not in the first basket, but probably the second, definately the third), green beans - Dill

Mid season basket - cucumbers, radishes, carrots, zucchini, scallops, greens/lettuces, tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn (I delivered corn 7 times last year throughout the season), melons, broccoli, dragon tongue beans, onions, winter squash, egg plant - cilantro, basil, oregano

Late season - tomatoes, still more corn, winter squash, pumpkins, greens, melons, peppers, cabbage, turnips, rutabagas, beets, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, herbs, potatoes, sweet potatoes, egg plant, onions

To sign up for the 2013 CSA Program simply print out the CSA commitment agreement, which can be found linked on our Garden Goodies page, or typed out on the blog for your convenience, sign it and send it in with your check or MO for the amount of the program you wish to participate in. Some folks had trouble getting the page to open last year, so I just typed it up on the blog to make it easier.

We are really excited about the program this season. Winter can be so isolating it will be nice to see everyone again and to get to know our new members.
Have a blessed and wonderful day!
Steph

Please make checks payable to:

Stephanie Antaya

9921 Chamberlain Rd

Silverwood MI 48760

As many of you know, this is our first year as a CSA.  I have been selling produce down in Rochester for the last couple of years out of a 3 acre garden we had always kept here on the 10 acres where we live.  CSA is just a little larger scale then what I was doing before.  I have had family members and friends ask why Community Supported Agriculture makes sense for their family.  So I thought I would take a little time and address that here this morning. 

The United States isn’t the same kind of country it was when our grandparents were growing up.  In the 1930’s when my grandparents were young, each family supplied much of what they consumed.  My Great-grandma Myer had 9 children of her own, and she raised 2 young indian girls as well.  They grew a large garden.  When berries were in season, everyone picked berries.  My grandmother used to take me out berry picking when I was a girl.  I was astounded how fast that woman could fill up a berry bucket.  When I asked her how she could pick that fast, she responded “When I was just a girl, my father used to take us 9 kids out to pick berries.  He would tell us when we got there how many we would be picking, and we would stay until we met his quota.  Everyone picked.  When the older children had what they needed - they helped the younger children.  When we were done, my father would pick my mother a bouquet of daisies, and we would all head home.”  They had a milk cow too.  And my grandmother tells me now, that her father raised the meanest pigs in all of God’s creation, which they butchered to help feed their bustling family.  Living off what you grow, taking what you work for, and nothing more -  that is who we used to be as a nation.  We have lost some of our collective identity.  We stopped working as hard for what we needed, because we no longer had to. 

We need to again - its that simple.  Michigan has one of the worst state economies in the country right now.  We have many more people moving out then moving in, and the welfare rolls are growing.   People feel lost.  We are hurting, and now more than ever, we should be supporting each other.  The people who worked for Ford and GM, who no longer have a job due to downsizing and relocations, would tell you that if you live in Michigan and you are driving a foreign made car, you are choosing to take money out of the pocket of your neighbor.  That is money your neighbor won’t spend at your local business.  Taxes he won’t contribute to the local school system that both of your children attend.  Taxes that could make a broken system better.  We are all a web of choices and consequences in our lives, our families, our state, and our country.  Our choices positively or negatively affect one another.  Taking from the teaching of Randy Carlson - we all need to live intentionally.  Evaluating each decision carefully and making the very best one.  

Everyone reading this can choose to go down to your local grocery and pick up your vegetables there, and yes you will be supporting your local store, but please don’t be mistaken into thinking that you are supporting your local farmers by making that choice.  Even the Whole Foods in Rochester, who claims to be a provider of local meats and produce, purchase and import their ‘free range’ chickens from Chicago, where they are grown in a dome.  I promise you, there are plenty of Michigan farmers raising genuinely free range birds here to meet their needs.  Choosing to support CSA is the best way to get the freshest produce at a price better then you will get at your local groceries.  And anything in your share is guaranteed grown in Michigan.  Next time you are in Krogers, pick up one of their black hand baskets - the wire ones, fill it with as much organic produce as it will hold and take it to the checkout.  One of those wire baskets holds less than half a bushel of produce, which is the amount we provide as a half share from our farm every week.  I promise you it will cost you more than $20, and the varieties available there are nowhere near as diverse as what we offer from the farm.  That basket of produce from Krogers will benefit farmers in Mexico, Chile, and Brazil.  There might be some Michigan produce in there, but probably not much, and definately less than half.  That isn’t good enough.  In supporting your CSAs, you are supporting your neighbors, and your state and local economies.  As Michiganders, we need to be very conscious of how much of what we make is staying here.  Please consider supporting your local farms through their CSA programs.  Your family and theirs will benefit greatly.

Steph

Prayer for the day: Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for our friends, our family, and our farm.  Help us serve and represent You well in all that we do today.  Help our work be fruitful, and our faith be strong.  Keep us focused and diligent.  Help us to set goals and accomplish them, and to meet our obligations.  Please provide for our needs as only you can.  Help baby Livy feel better and help Lucas’ stuffy nose to clear up.  Thank you for hearing and answering our prayers.

Amen

I know that some folks have had a hard time opening the docfile for the CSA Commitment Agreement on the Garden Goodies page.  I had emailed the webtechs and asked them to fix it, but they haven’t gotten to it yet.  I decided this would be a quick fix in the meantime, so that everyone could access the agreement.  We would love to have you and your family take part in our CSA this year! Here is our CSA Commitment Agreement, all CSAs have them. Ours is pretty basic. If you have any questions, just let me know. I will be happy to explain anything.  To the door delivery for the season is $75 - if you live in Farmington or Birmingham there is a $100 delivery charge.  I hope that helps.  Have a blessed day!

Steph

CSA Commitment Agreement

By signing this agreement I (we) understand that I (we) am (are) making a commitment to the Antaya Acres Heritage Farm CSA program.

I understand that I am purchasing one season’s share in the harvest of produce by Antaya Acres and that my vegetable share does not include the livestock or the products produced by this farm (although discounts on such items will be offered to subscribers). I am not purchasing any ownership rights to Antaya Acres Heritage Farm its property or equipment.

I realize that although this farm is protected by signifigant garden experience as well as all natural farming practices, that there is no guarantee in farming. Amounts of vegetables and varieties of produce available will vary throughout the season, and according to the weather.

I agree to share in both the rewards and the risks of the growing season along with the other shareholders and growers.

I understand that the season for fresh produce will run from the beginning of July through Oct for at least 16 weeks, but its exact beginning and ending will depend primarily on the weather.

I agree to contact Antaya Acres Heritage Farm and let them know if I will be unable to pick up my weekly share, and to make other arrangments to pick up if the weekly distribution is missed. I will not hold Antaya Acres responsible for my not receiving my parcel if I do not make the pick up at the designated time and location.

I understand that once the season has begun, I may not be able to get any refund of money if I change my mind.

___________________________________________ _____________

Shareholder’s Signature  and Date

Also please be sure to include your address, phone number, and email address. Please note on your agreement if you are signing up for a full share / half share, or senior share, egg share, and if you need delivery.

Please send CSA Agreement and check to:

Stephanie Antaya

9921 Chamberlain Rd

Silverwood, MI 48760

Please make all checks payable to Stephanie Antaya

2011 Plant list
Tomatoes:

Hybrids: Sunstar, SVR 1400

Beefsteaks and X-LG tomatoes: Henderson’s Crimson Cushion, Rose, Kentucky Beefsteak, Giant White, Huge Lemon Oxheart, Purple Calabash, Gypsy, Big White Pink Stripes (stuffer)

Cherries and grapes: Black Pepper, Snow Fairy, Sungold Select, Italian Ice, Snowberry, Pearly Pink, Thai Pink Egg, Gajo de Melon, Black Cherry, Hssiao His Hung Shih

Pears: Yellow Pear, Red Fig, and Black Pear

Paste/ Roma varieties: San Marzano, Cream Sausage, Orange Icicle, Roman Candle, Striped Roman Candle, Purple Plum, Japanese Plum

Heirloom Misc: Furry Yellow Hog, Pink Accordian, Ananas Noir, Striped Cavern, Tsar’s Royal Gift, German Red Strawberry, Bison

Large Cherry (2-3 ounces): Violet Jasper, Orange and Green Zebra, Turkish Monastery, Tigerella, White Zebra,

Peppers:

Sweet: Red, Orange, Purple, Yellow, and Green Bell Peppers

Italian Grilling: Red Marconi, Yellow Marconi, and Green

Hot: Scotch Bonnet, Gigante Jalapeno, Fish peppers, Chinese 5 color, Pablano, Romanian Hot

Greens:
Collards, Spinach, Red and green mustard, and Swiss Chard

Lettuces:
Parris Island Cos, Red Romaine, Lollo Rosso, May Queen, Rossa Di Treviso Precoce Radicchio, Castelfranco Radicchio, Rubin, Tango, Grumolo Rossa di Verona, Grumolo Biondo Golden Chicory, Batavian Escarole, De Louviers, Mascara Lettuce, Big Boston Lettuce, and Brun D’Hiver lettuce. The goal for this season is to have a different green or lettuce in the baskets for all 16 weeks, thanks to the new Lettuce box garden my husband made for us this season.

Beans:
Dragon Tongue Bean, Green and Red Noodle Beans, Grenoble Green Beans

Radishes:
Pink Beauty, Purple Plum, Sicily Giant, German Giant, and White Hailstone,
Round Black Spanish Radish (giant), and China Rose (giant)

Carrots:
assorted Colors of heirloom carrots including: purple, red, white, orange, yellow, and light green

Rutabagas: Wilhelmsburg and Laurentian

Turnip: Golden Globe and White purple Tops

Beets: Bull’s Blood, Chioggia (striped), Golden beets, and salad leaf beet for salad greens

Summer Squash: Table Dainty (green and yellow striped 6oz.) similar to a tiny zucchini, Romanesco Zucchini (deeply ribbed -star shaped slices), Camoflage Zucchini, Butterstick Zucchini (yellow), Odessa, Ronde de Nice (lg round stuffer), Scallops (white, yellow, and green)

Winter Squash: Stripetti, Buttercup, Butternut, Australian Queensland Blue, Australian Butter, Banana, Red Kuri, Table Queen Acorn, Marina Di Chiogga, L’Estrella, and Melonette Jaspee Vendee

Brussel Sprouts, 3 colors of Cauliflower, Broccoli, and green and purple cabbage

Pumpkins: Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkins and Jumping Jack (large carving pumpkin)

Cucumbers: Delikatasse (8″green and white), Juane Dickfleischige (8″ long yellow), Sikkim (up to 4lb. Asian Cucumber), Lemon Cucumber, Parisian Pickling Cucumbers

Watermelons: Orangeglo, Sugar Baby, White Sugar Lump, Black Diamond Yellow Flesh, and Ali Babba

Cantaloupes: Banana Melon, Honey Rock

Honey Dew types: Golden Honeymoon, and Lazzatti (banana shaped honeydew)

Small melons: Tigger, Hero of Lockinge, Early Silver Line, Missouri Gold, Green Machine, and Sakata’s Sweet

European Melons: Petit Gris de Rennes and Chartenais

Potatoes: red, yellow, blue and purple

Sweet Potatoes: Evangeline (the sweetest variety)

Onions: Candy and Red Defender

Leeks

Herbs: Sage, Thyme, Marjoram, Rosemary, Chives, Dill, Oregano, Cilantro, and 4 different Basil

6 types of eggplant: Ukrainian, Turkish Orang, Chinese Long Purple, Japanese White Egg, Rosa di Bianco, and Applegreen Eggplants