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Great Country Farms

Community Supported Agriculture, CSA, Produce Farm, U-Pick, Field Trips in Loudoun County, VA

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Our Pledge, Your Pledge

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Our Pledge to You~Updated  11/15/2020Farmhand driving the tractor at Great Country Farms

  1. Our Farmhands are trained in CDC guidelines for hand washing and sanitizing and and everyone who handles food — in the field, in the packing barn, or in the market.
  2. Masks are required inside our buildings for guests 5 years of age and older.  Our team will wear a face covering in customer facing positions.
  3. All Farmhands certify that they are  temperature and symptom free before each shift.
  4. Frequently touched surfaces are sanitized regularly during operation.
  5. We will support social distancing by offering walking or driving to pick your own locations and  wagon ride farm tours will require guests to wear masks.
  6. We will provide hand washing/sanitizing options before entering the field for our farmhands and PYO guests.
  7. We will provide new containers for pick-your-own to ensure a single use for safety.
  8. Social Distancing is required.  We ask groups to remain at least 6ft apart when picking and playing at the farm.
  9.  Our CSA Farm Shares will be packed in single-use liner bags, which will be sealed with tamper-evident tape. That way, members can be sure their food has been touched by only the picker and the packer.

Your Pledge to UsTwo young girls with lovely braids hold their pick your own box between them while awaiting the Great Country Farms tractor ride to the apple orchard.

  1. Social distancing and sanitation guidelines protect you, as well as our other patrons and employees, and you agree to take responsibility for social distancing your family from other groups while visiting.
  2.  If you are sick, have been exposed to COVID-19 in the past 14 days, or have symptoms of COVID-19 (including a fever, cough, or shortness of breath), you will stay at home and will not enter the Farm Market or PYO Fields.
  3. You will heed VA. Governor Northam’s Mask Mandate and wear a face covering inside our buildings unless you meet one of the Governor’s health exemptions.  This now includes all guests ages 5 and older.  Parents agree to help their children properly wear a mask.
  4. For weekend tickets,  you agree to arrive on time and complete your visit within your 3 hour ticket window so we can meet guest limitation requirements outlined by our Governor’s Orders on days that tickets are sold out.
  5. You agree to wash/sanitize your hands and assist your children in doing so prior to and after picking produce and frequently while visiting the play area.
  6. You agree to not sample any fruit in the field to comply with the guidelines from the Virginia Department of Agriculture.

 

 

 

CSA Delivery Days 2020

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Basket with onions, kale, strawberries, and a GCF refrigerator magnetCSA 2020 starts Tuesday, June 2. This year will differ from previous years in many ways. The first big difference is that your customized share will have a label with your name on it. If you pick up your share at a group site, you must find the box with your name.

If your group site is hosted in a private home, we recommend you provide a cooler with ice packs to receive your share. The cooler must be large enough to close properly with a bin measuring 19 by 13 by 10 inches inside, and it must be clearly labelled with your name.  The cooler should be delivered to your group site before 9:00 a.m. on your delivery day and retrieved within the guideline set by the host. Your host is not permitted to keep your share overnight; you must claim it on delivery day. If you know that you will be able to retrieve your share within 15 minutes of delivery notification, you might decide to manage without a cooler.  If you cannot pick up on your delivery day, please make a vacation request to put off your delivery that week.

These group sites will receive their shares on Wednesdays: Clifton Townes, Wellness Connection, Latimer Group (formerly McNerney), Great Harvest Vienna, Hutchings Group, Mirra Group, Sonak Family Chiropractic, Romaezi Group, Lansdowne Group, Leesburg Chiropractic, Swenson Group, Reston Group.

These group sites will receive their shares on Thursdays: Olio2go, Herzfeld Group, Montana Street Group, Caputo Group, Arlington/Lyon Village Group, Moomaw Group, Huntington Forest Group, McClure Group, Bishop Group, Hamaker Group, Fontana Group, Musci Group.

These group sites will receive their shares on Fridays: Great Harvest Herndon, Great Harvest Ashburn, Wine’ing Butcher, Broadlands Group.

Farm Pick-up~ please pick up on your scheduled pick up day

If you’re picking up your share at the farm, you must do so on the day you chose when you bought your share as we will be printing customized packing lists weekly based on your preferences. We’ll give you a customized packing list when you arrive. If you don’t remember your day, you can log into your account and check your member profile.  Most pick-up members have chosen to come into the market to pack their own box, and you are welcome to do that, following the COVID-19 guidelines noted below.   We  are also happy to pre-pack your custom box for you and bring it to your car for curbside pick up.  If you’d like to have us to pack your box, the service charge is $51 for the whole season.  If you do prefer curbside pick up, please email CSA@greatcountryfarms.com so we can add that service to your account and ensure a smooth pick up experience next week.

Home Delivery

If you purchased a home delivery share, your deliveries will arrive every Wednesday, beginning June 3.  If you will not be home to receive your delivery, we recommend you provide a cooler with ice packs to receive your share. The cooler must be large enough to close properly with a bin measuring 19 by 13 by 10 inches inside with the ice packs, and it must be clearly labelled with permission for our delivery driver to place your harvest box inside the cooler.  If you have special delivery direction for our drivers, please email CSA@GreatCountryFarms.com so we can add those notes to guide our driver at your home.

COVID-19 Precautions

We will be following the guidelines from the Virginia Departments of Health for Phase 1 Reopening and Agriculture for Pick your Own Farms and Individual Markets   

Our Pledge to YouFarmhand driving the tractor at Great Country Farms

  1. Our Farmhands are trained in CDC guidelines for hand washing and sanitizing and and everyone who handles food — in the field, in the packing barn, or in the market — will wear gloves  when working with food.
  2. When social distancing is not an option and in our buildings, our team will wear a face covering.
  3. All Farmhands are symptom and temperature checked before each shift.
  4. Frequently touched surfaces are sanitized hourly during operation.
  5. We will support social distancing by offering pick-your-own by appointment. These appointments will be available online in the evening, with CSA and Fan Members given first opportunity to schedule appointments.
  6. We will provide hand washing/sanitizing options before entering the field for our farmhands and PYO guests.
  7. Will will provide new containers for pick-your-own to ensure a single use for safety.
  8. Social Distancing will be strictly enforced.  We will separate pick your own groups in the field by assigning a PYO area for your reservation time.
  9.  Our CSA Farm Shares will be packed in single-use liner bags, which will be sealed with tamper-evident tape. That way, members can be sure their food has been touched by only the picker and the packer.

Your Pledge to UsTwo young girls with lovely braids hold their pick your own box between them while awaiting the Great Country Farms tractor ride to the apple orchard.

  1. Social distancing and sanitation guidelines protect you, as well as our other patrons and employees, and you agree to take responsibility for social distancing your family from other groups while visiting.
  2.  If you are sick, have been exposed to COVID-19 in the past 14 days, or have symptoms of COVID-19 (including a fever, cough, or shortness of breath), you will stay at home and will not enter the Farm Market or PYO Fields.
  3. You will heed VA. Governor Northam’s Mask Mandate and wear a face covering inside our buildings.
  4. Pick your own will be by appointment and you agree to arrive on time and complete your picking within your reservation time.
  5. You will wash/sanitize your hands and assist your children in doing so prior to and after picking/packing produce.
  6. You agree to not sample any fruit in the field to comply with the guidelines from the Virginia Department of Agriculture.

 

 

 

9 Tips For Strawberry Picking in Light of COVID-19

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Ripe strawberries on plasticulture mulch ready for you-pick.May is strawberry time, and a lot of farmers have been getting ready for pickers since last August, when the plants went into the ground. Back then, none of us imagined we’d be facing lock-downs and quarantines during strawberry season. A late frost is one thing; COVID-19 is something else.

But the berries haven’t been paying attention to COVID-19. They’re going about their business, which is ripening up and getting ready to be picked. So farmers are getting ready to go about our business, too.

Most strawberry farms will be offering pick-your-own strawberries, but the experience will be different this year, as mandated by the CDC and state Departments of Health and Agriculture. Specific guidelines have been set to keep pickers and farmers as safe as possible. The berries won’t wait, but neither will the virus, so farmers will be asking for your support to help bring one in while keeping the other at bay.

Here are nine tips for making the most of your day in the field based on the guidelines in the state of Virginia.

  1. Do your Research~ Some berry farms may not be offering pick your own strawberries this year, so the first step is to Find a local berry farm with pick-your-own available and ask about their picking plan. How many people will be picking  at one time in a given space? Will gloves be required? Face-coverings? Will sanitation sites be available? Will staff be present in the field?  Then compare their answers to your comfort level.
    Lots of Ripe Strawberries just picked.

    Pick you Own Strawberries.

2. Make an Appointment

This year it won’t be possible to wait for a beautiful day and set out to pick your own strawberries on the spur of the moment. Most Virginia farms that offer picking will be doing so by reservation, to control the number of people in the field at any given time and thus ensure safe social distance.  Look for farms to offer an online booking system, with the understanding that appointments will depend on weather and crop conditions.  Spots are likely to be released a day in advance so you may have to check back frequently for the opportunity to pick in 2020.   Please be sure to only book appointments if you are well and healthy and cancel immediately if you develop signs of illness.  

3. Pre-Pay

To ensure that your hands are the only ones that touch your berries, most farms won’t be weighing your berries and may not be taking cash payment for additional berries or items on site. Look for a set amount of strawberries to be included with your appointment time.   Not sure how many strawberries you will actually be getting with your appointment?  A quart of strawberries is about 1.5 pounds.  Some farms may allow you to pre-pay for additional containers when you make your reservation.   To maximize cleanliness,  customers will likely be asked to use only new containers in the fields this season so leave your trusty PYO basket at home this season. 

4. Respect Your Section — and Your Time SlotStrawberry pickers spaced out in the fields for social distancing is the norm for 2020.

Wandering the field to find the perfect strawberries is not an option this season.   To support social distancing and minimal hands touching strawberries, rows may be numbered, and each reservation will be assigned a specific section of a row. Farmhands will be in the field to ensure that customers respect those assignments.   At the end of the reserved time slot, customers will be asked to exit the field so focus on filling your containers first and then taking some time for photos with your harvest.

5. Picking Etiquette: No Eating in the FieldStraw mulch lines the rows of strawberries while a young boy is strawberry picking at Great Country Farms in Northern Virginia.

Tempting as it may be to pop a berry into your mouth now and then, farmer ask you not to do that, for two reasons:

a) those strawberries constitute a farmer’s livelihood. The field is the farmer’s market place and if you eat berries instead of filling your basket, you are making an already challenging season even harder by taking more than you have paid for and perhaps depriving the next guest of their full container of strawberries. 

b) You will likely be asked to sanitize your hands prior to picking strawberries this season.  Your mouth is ground zero for COVID-19, so if you eat in the field, your hand becomes a virus delivery vehicle, leaving potentially infectious residue on the plants you touch.

6. Children & Pets

Boy with a bucket of pick-your-own strawberries.

Kids are proud to pick bright red strawberries.

Strawberry picking  is great fun for young and old alike, and after weeks in quarantine, it’s important for everyone to soak up some sun and reconnect with the soil’s microbiome.  Please be sure your kids understand the different rules for picking this year. Remind them that their help is important because your time in the field is limited. And teach them that strawberries won’t get any riper once you pick them, so they should pick only berries that are already bright red.  Kids are also low to the ground so encourage them to move the leaves around and pick all the ripe berries in your assigned area — not just on top, but also on the bottom.

Best leave your dog at home this year.   Because you won’t have time to take your pup for a break outside the field, they certainly can’t “go” in the field and your focus will need to be on Strawberry picking, most farms will not allow pets. Even experienced farm pets won’t be welcome in the fields this year.

7. Put ‘em Up!

Strawberries don’t last very long, but you can savor their sunshine for months to come if you work them properly. Bring a cooler to transport your berries home after picking.  Refrigerate them, unwashed in a plastic bag or container.  Within 48 hours, you should either eat them, freeze them, or turn them into jam. 

To freeze strawberries, wash them, pat them dry with paper towels, lay them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper (they shouldn’t be touching each other) and then put the cookie sheet in the freezer. Once the individual berries are frozen, store them in a Ziplock bag.

Here’s a simple recipe for strawberry jam from Southern Living, along with a list of all the supplies you’ll need. 

Looking for a new spark for your cocktail or Popsicle?  Check out this idea for strawberry nectar!

8. Not ready to get out and Pick your Own Strawberries?Pick your own strawberries displayed on the straw lined rows in a bright red Great Country Farms bucket and green quart till.

If you’re not able  to secure an appointment or just not ready to get out and pick this season, be sure to pre-order your strawberries online.  Many farms have fewer workers this year, and getting berries picked for retail sale may be a challenge.  Ordering online helps farmers know how much to pick and thus avoid waste. Farms and Farmer’s Markets are offering curbside pick-up and drive-through services to support guests in these extraordinary circumstances.  

9. Be Patient ~ Buying Local Sustains Farms and Our Community

These are unprecedented times, and these procedures are new to both farmers and customers alike. There will likely be some confusion along the way.  Farmers are doing their best to create a safe, positive picking experience, and we thank you for your support and  patience as we navigate this strawberry season together.

For more details on strawberry picking in northern Virginia, please review these guidelines published by the Virginia department of Agriculture. 

Happy picking!

No-Till Saves Time

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In the last post, we talked about switching to no-till in order to preserve the soil’s micro-biome, which is crucial for bringing crops to their full nutritional capacity. This post focuses on another reason not to till: weeds.

If you’ve ever grown a garden yourself, you’ve probably found that when you come out with your seeds in the spring, your garden plot is covered with debris, including plants you didn’t put there. The easiest way to get rid of that mess is to rent a Roto-tiller, which turns the surface of the soil under and brings a lower layer to the top. It looks great: loose and clean and ready for your spinach seeds. But three weeks later, your row of spinach is engulfed by thousands of invaders. Where did they come from? You planted spinach, not chickweed!

They came from that lower layer, which is full of dormant seeds that pop to life when you turn the soil and expose them to the warmth of the sun.

That same process takes place on a much larger scale when you till a 40-acre field with a tractor. Industrial farming solves the problem by spraying the field with Round-up, which kills everything but plants genetically engineered to tolerate it. Well, we don’t use Round-up, so we had to pull those weeds by hand, which takes a long time.

But when we stopped tilling the soil, we stopped bringing those seeds to the surface, so they stopped germinating.

There’s a trade-off: it’s hard to sow seeds directly onto un-tilled soil because of all that debris, including left-over weeds. So instead of turning under that debris, we cover it with compost. After a couple of years, most of the weed seeds are pretty well buried. And as long as we don’t turn over the soil, they stay that way.

Preserving the Soil’s Ecosystem

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In previous years, when we used to till our fields, all the rain we’ve had in the last 48 hours would have meant there was no way I’d be heading out to pick spinach this afternoon. Too much mud. But now that we’re into our second year on no-till planting, all that rain does what it’s supposed to do: it disappears into the structure of the soil. That means I can work in the fields immediately after a thunderstorm, which is a great advantage,

It also means the soil’s inner ecosystem has a chance to fully develop.

Most of us are accustomed to thinking of soil as part of our ecosystem, and it certainly is that, but soil has its own ecosystem as well. Bacteria, fungi, and viruses form a complex micro-ecology which largely determines the health of plants and the nutritional density of crops. A teaspoon of good soil contains at least a million such tiny creatures, possibly many more. Those micro-organisms interact with the roots of plants in ways we’re just beginning to understand, but it’s clear that certain bacteria perform specific functions for specific plants, without which the plants cannot thrive. Those functions include removing toxins from soil and converting nutrients into forms the plants can utilize.

It’s also clear that different bacteria have evolved to live at different depths, and when we displace them by tilling the soil, they die by the billions. Without their bacterial partners, our food crops are vulnerable to disease and pest pressure. And if they can’t get the nutrition they need from the soil, we can’t get the nutrition we need from them.

So that’s the second reason we’re now planting into undisturbed soil: to protect the vital ecosystem we can’t see.

Next week we’ll look at how no-till planting saves labor.

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