News & Blog
Dear CSA Shareholders,
We are so excited that our first distributions will be this coming week! Today, the 27 and Thursday the 29 (a few weeks ahead of normal time) from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. we will be seeing all of you to pick up your first CSA share.
Directions to the York St. Location: Please head to Denver Botanic Gardens at York St. The CSA distribution is located at the top of the parking structure (in between York and Josephine St.) on the far south-west end. You can park anywhere in that area. Look for tables arranged in the parking area.
Directions to the Chatfield Location: Please head into Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield and park in the top dirt over-flow parking area. Do not park in the lower main lot, as this is reserved for handi-cap and event parking. Head towards the Hildebrand Ranch area and follow the CSA distribution signs to the CSA washstand building on your left at the end of the ranch area.
*Please look for an email coming out next week with a calendar of events for this season.
Produce List for May 26 - 30
Spinach
Braising Mix or Arugula (baby salad greens)
Chives
Tarragon
Featured Recipe: French Tarragon Salad Dressing Adapted from Jamie Oliver's Jam Jar dressing series
Jam jar dressings are a fun way to store leftover dressings and are easy to mix and serve.
French dressing: Peel and finely chop ¼ of a clove of garlic • Put the garlic, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon minced tarragon, 2 tablespoons of white or red wine vinegar and 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a jam jar with a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper ( you can add a dollop of honey to sweeten) • Put the lid on the jar and shake well - store the rest in the fridge.
Egg Shares: The egg share starts June 5th for Chatfield and June 10 for York St. All shares run for 20 consecutive weeks. Please bring an empty carton for your eggs to drop off with us. If you would like more than a couple duck eggs, please contact us.
Meat Shares: Meat shares will begin June 10 for York St. and June 12 for Chatfield. A sales rep. from Locavore Delivery will be on-hand to answer questions about the program at distributions.
Goat's Cheese: Two varieties of chevre goat's cheese will be for sale each week starting June 3rd from Pine Mountain Homestead for $5/4 oz. Please bring cash/check for this product. Herd-shares for milk are still for sale. Pick up info at distributions.
Gourmet Mushrooms: Fresh, organic mushrooms will be for sale at both distributions for $6 a bag. Please pay in cash/check. Sales will open for mushrooms on the 10th of June as well.
Food Safety Note
Please note that although we have washed our produce once after harvesting it in the field, shareholders should wash the produce at home again before eating. Our farm produce should be treated the same way as grocery store produce: always wash before eating! The best way to wash produce is by running it under cool water. Cleaning products are not necessary.
Dear Shareholders,
We will start our CSA distributions next week at both our downtown and Chatfield locations. Tuesday, May 27, at York St. and Thursday, May 29, at Chatfield.
What that means to you:
- Please arrive between 4-7 p.m. only
- Bring your own bags: we suggest Ziplocs for greens, left over plastic produce boxes for smaller stuff and 1-2 large reusable shopping bags.
- You will need to sign in with the name on your account.
- Eggs are not ready until the first or second week of June.
- You will have an opportunity to find out more about (or pay for) our meat shares with Locavore Delivery.
- If you have questions please contact
- Stay tuned for our first weekly CSA newsletter this Friday!
Thanks Everyone - see you next week!
Dear CSA Shareholders,
The CSA is thrilled to partner with Pine Mountain Homestead to offer our members raw goat's milk herd-shares, goats cheese and goats milk fudge at our weekly distribution! Pine Mountain is owned and operated by past Chatfield CSA grower, Michelle Cotton. We are happy to support her new endeavor.
Pine Mountain Homestead's small herd of Alpine and Oberhasli goats are pasture-raised in the serene mountain town of Pine, CO. The goats are fed solely on organic, non-GMO grain and hay.
For details on signing up for the herd-share, please contact Michelle Cotton at [email protected] or 206.465.0703 (cell). Goats cheese and fudge will be offered to members on a first-come-first-served basis each week. You can sign up for cheese in advance. The milk will be reserved for the herd-share members only.
Read more about Pine Mountain Homestead on the Local Harvest Website Local Harvest - Pine Mountain Homestead, and more about the innumerable health benefits of consuming raw goats milk on the Weston A. Price Foundation's Read about raw milk
Dear CSA Shareholders,
We are pleased to announce a new partnership with Locavore Delivery for our first-ever meat share. Please read through the information and visit Locavore's website at the bottom of this email. All sales and payments go through Locavore, but we are happy to answer questions. If you are interested in purchasing a share please email to reserve your share for either York St. or Chatfield distribution.
2014 CSA Meat Share provided by Locavore Delivery
Biweekly, 20-week program
Tuesday pickups begin June 10 Thursday pickups begin June 12
Locavore Delivery partners with small Colorado ranches and family farms by providing logistics, sales and marketing support to get products from
their farm to your table.
A biweekly meat share with Locavore Delivery supports
Small-scale agriculture in Colorado
Sustainable farming practices
Humane treatment of animals
Healthy nutrition for your family
Each biweekly share will include
Grass-Finished Beef
Sangres Best All Natural Beef - Westcliffe, CO
(burgers, kebab meat, steaks, ground beef and more)
Heritage Breed Berkshire Pork
Cone Ranch - Julesburg, CO
(ground pork, pork chops, Italian sausage and more)
Other products will vary
and may include:
Uncured, Nitrate-Free Bacon
Wild Game Sausages
100% Grass-Fed Bison
Wild-Caught Fish
Two share levels available:
Regular Share
$60/biweekly x 20 weeks = $600 share
Sample share:
1 lb. uncured, nitrate-free habanero bacon
1 lb. grass-finished kebab meat
2 lb. grass-finished ground beef
¾ lb. bone-in heritage breed Berkshire pork chops
1 lb. grass-finished, dry-aged sirloin steak
Double Share
$120/biweekly x 20 weeks = $1200 share
Sample share:
2 lb. uncured, nitrate-free habanero bacon
2 lb. grass-finished kebab meat
4 lb. grass-finished ground beef
1.5 lb. bone-in heritage breed Berkshire pork chops
2 lb. grass-finished, dry-aged sirloin steak
FAQ and payment Info for CSA meat share
Printable Info on Meat Share
Hey Everyone!
The Chatfield CSA added a meat share this year. Please click on the link below to see the details!
Read about our Meat Share
2014 Ela Family Farms’ Organic Fruit CSA Share
Enjoying Colorado fruit in-season is one of life’s simple pleasures. Ela Family Farms looks forward to sharing our fruit harvest with you through the Denver Botanic Garden CSA share.
Our fruit share offers 80 lbs of organic fruit over 12 weeks and suits a family of 2-4. We let our fruit ripen on the tree a little longer, striving to bring you the best tasting fruit you will enjoy all season! As you know, Mother Nature is ultimately in charge.
If we have a crop loss or shortage, we will substitute the full retail value of the fruit with our organic artisan fruit products or another fruit. We guarantee our fruit and that CSA members receive the full retail value of their share.
To learn more about our 100-year fruit growing history and the fruits we grow visit www.elafamilyfarms.com or send inquiries to
Predicted Fruit Schedule Week of:
Aug. 12&14- Peaches
Aug. 19&21- Peaches
Aug. 26&28- Peaches
Sept. 2&4- Two bags of fruit: peaches and apples or pears
Sept. 9&11- Two bags of fruit: apples and plums, pears or peaches
Sept. 16&18- Two bags of fruit: apples and pears or plums
Sept. 23&25- Two bags of fruit: apples and pears, plums or peaches
Sept 30&Oct 2-Two bags of fruit: apples and pears
Oct. 7&9- Apples and cider
Oct. 14&16- Apples and cider
Oct. 21&23- Apples and cider
Oct. 28&30- 20 lb. box of storage apples. When kept cold, these apples will be delicious for weeks.
To purchase a fruit share, please visit our the chatfieldcsa.org homepage and update your account.
Modern Gingham Jam Share - Support a local Denver mom and fellow CSA shareholder!
The 2014 jam share will include at least six 8 oz jars of jams made from locally harvested fruit and vegetables made into unique flavorful jams. Modern Gingham Preserves is a Denver-based preserve company that uses locally grown (and often locally foraged including Chatfield) fruits, vegetables and herbs to make unique, fruit forward, softly set jams. Flavors of the jams will be dependent on what the local harvest season produces. Flavors may include Palisade peach jam, local raspberry and mint jam, hot pepper jam, or flavors yet to be developed based on what the season brings us here in Colorado. These shares will contain several unique jams only available to CSA members. Distribution will take place in October.
You can purchase a share from the link below!
Dear Shareholders,
Welcome to the 2014 Chatfield CSA season! I would like to welcome all returning and new shareholders to our community. As I look around, the farm is on the verge of blooming and bursting forth. I can't help but dream of fresh greens, baby bok choi on the grill and heaps of fresh herbs in my salad dressings. I am also looking foward to seeing you all each week to celebrate local food and chat about recipes at distribution. - Josie Hart
If you still have an accounting question or want to change something within your account, please contact as soon as possible.
Important CSA Event Dates:
- CSA Volunteer Orientation: May 3, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.. It is not too late to become a volunteer. We have weekly volunteer opportunities every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, from 7 - 10 a.m.
- Our growing season has been blessed (we hope) with an early spring and there are already a few making progress. If we don't get snow in May, we will have our first Supporting Share distribution on May 13 at York St. and May 15 at Chatfield. At this point these dates are tentative and depend on the mid-spring weather.
- For all shareholders the tentative date for the first full distribution is May 27 at York St. location and May 29 at Chatfield. Both locations will be open for share pick up from 4 - 7p.m., weekly. Fruit and egg shares will not start until later in the season. Details and prices of the meat share and jam share will be confirmed soon.
- This year, we will be selling local mushrooms and cheese at both distributions but we are not offering a full share for an entire season.
- We will be sending out egg and fruit share information to all shareholders becuase we still have both of these shares for sale if you want to buy one online.
- Please join us for our annual Open House event on June 7, 1-3 p.m. for food, tours, a chance to meet the CSA team and an overview of our new outreach partners and programs. There will be barrel rides for the kids and other fun things so bring the whole family!
A Note from the Field:
by Phil Cordelli, Head Grower
The first flush of asparagus has already appeared, but was zapped by the cold nights last week. We’ll have a couple bigger flushes coming, with the timing dependent on the weather. We’ve overwintered some crops such as carrots and spinach and surprisingly cilantro! We’re seeding cover crops now, getting fields plowed and equipment prepped and the first planting of beets just sprouted. Carrots have been seeded and we are working on additional asparagus plantings this week. Things are looking good!
The weekly newsletter will start in May, filled with useful information on our CSA program, notes from the field, recipes and other highlights. Hope to see you all for our Open House Event down at the farm!
