Time TBD

To any member who is interested in the opportunity to become more involved at Turtle Creek Gardens, please join us at the farm (N5105 Pinnow Rd Delavan, WI) Saturday, April 20 from 1-4  to help establish your role in what you would like the Core Group to be. 

Janet  will facilitate a discussion. Pot Luck to follow.  TCG will provide the main dish.

For those of you who cannot make it but would like to work from afar, please let Janet know and we can send updates and keep you in the loop.

• Worker shares promise to provide 4 hours of work per week during the CSA’s 18-week season, beginning approximately the end of May and running through mid-October. In return, worker shares will receive produce each week. Produce will include seconds and overflow from our weekly harvests. The value of the vegetables that the worker shares receive is $575.00 and will be treated as taxable wages.  Worker shares must fill out a W-4.  The worker share option is only available to full season shares and not to Every-Other-Week shares.

• Worker shares that have scheduled time off must inform us at the beginning of the season.  Time off for sickness or emergency will only be accommodated if we are informed before the work day begins.  You will forfeit your produce for that week unless you make up the time later in the week.  We can only accommodate one or two absences during the season.

• Worker shares have the option of coming Tuesdays 8:00 a.m. to noon, Wednesdays 8:00 a.m. to noon, and Thursdays 8:00 a.m. to noon.  Vegetables need to be harvested despite weather conditions, so be prepared for any type of weather (e.g., rain, cold, or heat).  Please wear appropriate clothing for the elements (e.g., boots, raingear, hats, gloves (if you like), sun screen, etc.).

• Work will include some or all of the following:  harvesting, washing and packing, weeding, and planting.  The work can be physically difficult and people will need to stay focused.  You may talk as long as you keep moving.  There is a lot to get done in a very short period of time and so we require steady work and speed.  The work demands that you are in good physical shape and health.

• We try to accommodate our worker shares with their natural abilities and skills, so if you would like to request a particular job, please do not hesitate to ask.  Some jobs include: washing and packing, field work (e.g., harvesting, weeding, planting), newsletter writer/editor (appropriate skills required), and handy person (e.g., fixing, repairing, sharpening, etc.). 

• Worker shares are not permitted to bring any minors or other visitors with them on their work days. 

• Worker shares must take all the appropriate safety precautions when using tools and operating equipment at the CSA location.

• Worker shares, for their protection and safety, shall not be permitted to enter any buildings at the CSA location or go beyond the work fields without being accompanied by or authorized by someone on Turtle Creek Gardens’ management team.

• Turtle Creek Gardens reserves the right to terminate its relationship with a worker share at anytime and in such case, Turtle Creek Gardens shall have no further obligations or liabilities with respect to such worker share. 

We offer several special breakfast days each season for our worker shares.  Plan on coming early those days if you can.  We will give you ample notice of any upcoming Breakfast.

If you are interested in participating in our Worker Share Program, please email Janet for an application.

Download our brochure and subscription agreement: 2013 CSA Brochure.

***SAVE $20 on Full or EOW shares by signing up for both the Summer and Fall seasons together.

The Full Share                                                                             

♥ Designed for a family of four or a couple of heavy veggie eaters. You get an abundance of vegetables and fruits every week.  

♥ Quantity per week equals about one grocery bag or 3/4 bushel, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less.          

♥ Share length: 18 weeks                           

♥ Every week from the first week in June until early October.

♥ 2013 Cost: $575 (less than $32 per week for a grocery bag full of fresh, local, organic produce)  Installment pay plan is available--see brochure.

The Every-Other-Week Share (EOW)

♥ Designed for singles, couples, or light eaters. You get an abundance of fruits and vegetables every-other-week.

♥ Quantity equals about one grocery bag or 3/4 bushel, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less.  

♥ Share Length: 9 weeks

♥ EOWs are divided alphabetically into Groups A and B. Group A begins pick-up the same week as Full shares, alternating every week through the season. Group B begins pick-up the second week of the CSA season, alternating every week until last pick-up in October.

♥ 2013 Cost: $335 (less than $38 every 2 weeks for a grocery bag full of fresh, local, organic produce) Installment pay plan is available.              

2013 Pick-up Sites and Times

**All shares are available at any of the following sites. However, shares picked up at  the farm in Delavan  will recieve a delivery discount - $25 for Summer Full Shares and $15 for Every-Other-Week Shares.

Pick-up on Tuesdays, 4:00-6:30pm

Enjoy Farmer's Market-Style Pick-ups at Turtle Creek Gardens:

(Farmer's Market-Style means you choose your items from an array of sizes and shapes and box them yourself)

♥ Delavan,  N5105 Pinnow Road

Pick-up on Tuesdays, 4:00-6:30pm

Pick up your pre-boxed share at one the following locations: (Pre-boxed shares contain items carefully chosen by us and delivered to your pick-up site)

♥ Dousman, WI: W334 S4411 Connemara Drive

♥ East Troy, WI: Zinniker Farm, N7399 Bowers Rd

♥ Oconomowoc, WI: 826 N. Griffith Road

Pick-up on Thursdays, 4:00-6:30pm

♥ Burlington, WI: 34221 White Oak Dr.

♥ Salem, WI: 23230 82nd Street

♥ Union Grove, WI: Shepherd's College, 1805 15th Street

♥ Wauwatosa, WI: 1609 N. 69th Street

Possible Northern Illinois pick-ups for 2013 are dependent on sufficient subscribers to make deliveries cost-effective. Pick-ups will take place on Wednesdays. See brochure for details. 2012 sites included:

♥ Palatine, IL: 726 E. Linclon Street

♥ Libertyville, IL:  144 Coolidge Road

♥ Mundelein/Wauconda, IL: 26573 N. Pond Shore Drive

1. Please read our Subscription Agreement. If you agree and would like to join our CSA, please follow the steps below.

2. Print out the subscription form page of the PDF and sign the agreement. Fill in the requested information. (we promise not to use your information for purposes other than Turtle Creek Gardens business). If you plan to share your produce with someone else on a regular basis, please include their name, address, and email, so that we can include them on our newsletter mailing list. Our newsletter includes a list of produce for that week, recipes, news of the farm, nutritional and storage information, upcoming events, and so on.

All newsletters will be sent via email as a PDF attachment. (The previous 5-6 weeks' newsletters are archived on our website.)

IMPORTANT: to ensure that we have your correct email address, use the form at the right side of the screen to enter your email address directly into our web-mail system. INew subscribers will receive a confirmation email to verify that you have been added to the mailing list.

3. Choose your share type: Full or Every-Other-Week (EOW)

4. Calculate your total payment and choose a payment option: pay in full or make a $100 deposit for the Payment Plan, with the balance due in 2 postdated checks, as outlined in the brochure.

5. Are you interested in becoming a workershare to pay for your weekly box of produce? Click on workershare to learn about the expected duties, working conditions, and responsibilities.

6. Indicate your choice of pick-up site.(Map links to sites appear on the Summer CSA page)

7. Make checks payable to Turtle Creek Gardens

8. Mail your subscription form and check or money order to:

Turtle Creek Gardens

N5105 Pinnow Road,

Delavan, Wisconsin 53115

Thanks!

Due to limited archival space, we can only provide access to the last 5 or 6 newsletters.  The oldest newsletters will be removed as new ones are created. Please click on the link of the newsletter you desire.

Fall CSA:

Fall CSA Newsletter: Week 6, November 8, 2012

Fall CSA Newsletter: Week 5, November 1, 2012

Fall CSA Newsletter: Week 4, October 25, 2012

Fall CSA Newsletter: Week 3, October 18, 2012

Fall CSA Newsletter: Week 2, October 11, 2012

Fall CSA Newsletter: Week 1, October 4, 2012

The Fall Share consists mainly of root-type vegetables that store fairly well into the middle winter months such as beets, carrots, turnips, potatoes, rutabagas, parsnips, garlic, onions, etc. We also include crops that are still producing into the cooler months, such as leeks, cabbage, kale and other greens. Sign up using our 2013 brochure.

The first week of our 2012 Fall Share included: yakina savoy, spinach, beauty heart radish, potatoes, sweet peppers, parsley, lettuce, leeks, garlic, carrots, and beets.

2013 Cost and Delivery Schedule

♥ 2013 Fall share: $125 Save $20 by signing up for Summer and Fall shares together. See brochure.

♥ There will be three deliveries: The week of Oct. 14, the week of Oct. 28, and the week of Nov. 11

2013 Pick-up Sites and Times

**All shares are available at any of the following sites. 

 Pick-up on Tuesdays, 4:00-6:30pm

♥ Delavan,  N5105 Pinnow Road

♥ Dousman, WI: W334 S4411 Connemara Drive

♥ East Troy, WI: Zinniker Farm, N7399 Bowers Rd

♥ Oconomowoc, WI: 826 N. Griffith Road

Pick-up onThursdays, 4:00-6:30pm

♥ Burlington, WI: 34221 White Oak Dr.

♥ Salem WI: 23230 82nd. St. 

♥ Union Grove, WI: Shepherd's College, 1805 15th Street

♥ Wauwatosa, WI: 1609 N. 69th Street

Illinois deliveries TBD for 2013. See brochure.

2012 sites included:

♥ Palatine, IL: 726 E. Linclon Street

♥ Libertyville, IL:  144 Coolidge Road

♥ Mundelein/Wauconda, IL: 26573 N. Pond Shore Drive

As a member of Turtle Creek Gardens CSA, you will receive a diverse range of vegetables and fruits that are organic and biodynamic, high-quality, and nutrient-dense. We personally grow the majority of the food items you receive each week, using growing practices, such as composting, cover-cropping, intensive weeding, and rotation, that care for the health of the soil. Beautiful soil produces healthy plants that can better withstand harsh climatic conditions and destructive pests without harmful additives. We never use synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, or GMO seed, and we work hard to create habitat for beneficial insects that pollinate crop plants and prey on harmful insects. Our priority is providing you with the best food you can buy, while acting as thoughtful care-takers of the land.

Besides access to the healthiest and freshest food, Turtle Creek Gardens CSA also provides its members with weekly newsletters containing news of the farm, recipes, nutritional information, storage tips, and photos. We offer free cooking, preservation, and nutritional workshops throughout the year, and organize potlucks and family farm events. 

(to access the original article on the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association website, click on http://www.biodynamics.com/node/111)

In the early 1920's a group of practicing farmers, concerned with the decline of the soil, sought the advice of Dr. Rudolf Steiner, founder of anthroposophy, who had spent all his life researching and investigating the forces that regulate life and growth. From a series of lectures and conversations held at Koberwitz, Germany, in June 1924, there emerged the fundamental principles of biodynamic farming and gardening, a unified approach to agriculture that relates the ecology of the earth-organism to that of the entire cosmos. This approach has been under development in many parts of the world ever since. Dr. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, who worked with Dr. Steiner during the formative period, brought biodynamic concepts to the United States in the 1930s. It was during this period that the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association was founded in 1938.

If the results of the Biodynamic approach may be found in the quality of produce, the health of land and livestock, and the freedom from environmental problems increasingly generated by many modern farming methods, what of the approach itself? What distinguishes it from other agricultural attitudes and techniques?

Essentially, biodynamic farming and gardening looks upon the soil and the farm as living organisms. It regards maintenance and furtherance of soil life as a basic necessity if the soil is to be preserved for generations, and it regards the farm as being true to its essential nature if it can be conceived of as a kind of individual entity in itself — a self-contained individuality. It begins with the ideal concept of the necessary self-containedness of the farm and works with furthering the life of the soil as a primary means by which a farm can become a kind of individuality that progresses and evolves.

The maintenance of soil life is vital also in order to protect the soil from erosion and to create, improve, and augment the humus content. The result will be a fine, crumbly structure containing the necessary organic colloids. This leads to the production of high-quality crops, which in turn means better feed for livestock and better food for human beings.

Soil improvement is obtained by proper humus management — e.g., by the application of sufficient organic manure and compost in the best possible state of fermentation; by proper crop rotation; by proper working of the soil; by protective measures such as wind protection; cover crops, green manure, and diversified crops rather than monocultures; and by mixed cropping so that plants can aid and support each other.

Farm manure and compost are the most valuable fertilizers. They contain organic matter on which the soil bacteria and earthworms can feed and then revitalize the soil. They contain colloids, which absorb moisture and mineral solutions in the ground, form a crumbly structure, and eliminate the danger of erosion. The careful storage of manure in heaps covered with earth, as taught by the biodynamic method, avoids nitrogen loss to a great degree.

Raw organic matter has not yet reached the state of neutral colloidal humus. Complicated fermentation processes must first take place in the manure heap. The biodynamic method produces the right fermentation. Certain biodynamic preparations are inserted into the heaps in order to speed and direct fermentation and preserve the original manure values. The same principles apply to compost materials. Everything that is apt to decompose can be used. These materials are piled up in alternate layers, and the finished pile is treated with biodynamic preparations.

The biodynamic compost preparations play a significant role in this unified approach to agriculture. They are made of certain medicinal herbs that have undergone a long process of fermentation in order to enrich them in growth-stimulating substances. They react like yeast in dough — i.e. they speed and direct fermentation toward the desired neutral colloidal humus. The preparations themselves are, for practical reasons, numbered 500-508. Numbers 502-507 are applied to the manure and compost piles in very small quantities. They have no manuring effect, their sole purpose being to direct the fermentation of any kind of organic matter toward humus.

Two of the preparations, 500 and 501, are used as field sprays. They are diluted in water, stirred for one hour, and sprayed directly on the soil or plants respectively. Preparation 500 stimulates humus formation in the ground and the growth of roots. It is applied to the land mainly in the fall and the spring, before clearing or after plowing and sowing. Preparation 501 is applied in June or later to the green leaves.

Proper crop rotation is also necessary in order to preserve the fertility of the soil. The general rule is that soil-exhausting crops such as corn and potatoes in the fields, and cabbage, cauliflower, etc., in the garden, should alternate with soil-restoring crops such as members of the leguminous family (peas, beans, clover, etc.). Furthermore, deep-rooting crops should alternate with shallow-rooting ones, and crops that require manure should alternate with those that can do without.

Proper working of the soil consists mainly in knowing the right time and the right depth for plowing, harrowing, discing, etc. Skill and experience are needed. Only thoughtful experience, combined with such investigations as the taking of soil profiles, can produce maximum efficiency in soil treatment.

Biodynamic agriculture is a way of living, working and relating to nature and the vocations of agriculture based on good common-sense practices, a consciousness of the uniqueness of each landscape, and the inner development of each and every practitioner.

Common-sense practices include striving to be self-sufficient in energy, fertilizers, plants, and animals; structuring our activities based on working with nature's rhythms; using diversity in plant, fertilizers, and animals as building blocks of a healthy operation; being professional in our approach to reliability, cleanliness, order, focus on observation, and attention to detail; and being prompt and up-to-date in doing one's job.

The concern with the uniqueness of a particular landscape includes developing an understanding of the geology, soils, climate, plant, and animal life; human ecology; and economy of one's bioregion.

Rudolf Steiner presents a notion of science that says we can know things that go beyond what we can weigh, measure, and calculate. Science is the practice of observing phenomena and relating them in a way that correctly represents the phenomena's reality. Agricultural judgments about health, what to do where, and when to do what, best succeed when we begin to rely on a certain wisdom gained through observation and experience and when we perceive consciously and concretely the phenomena that induce life itself.

Biodynamic farming and gardening combines common-sense agriculture, an understanding of ecology, and the specific environment of a given place with a new spiritual scientific approach to the concepts, principles, and practices of agriculture.