The growing season is upon us! After a long, hot summer spent moving (home and farm), networking with other local growers, and trying to figure out how to best serve the many folks here in Brevard looking for fresh, healthy, local food I am pleased to announce a few changes for the 2007/2008 season.

The biggest change this year is that we will not be running a CSA. There just wasn’t time with the move to make it happen. We may re-start the CSA in the future, but until that time, we hope that you will visit us at the farm stand (see below for the news of our new location) each week for fresh, great-tasting vegetables and other farm-fresh products and plants!

I am very pleased to announce that Four Hands Farm is joining together with Country Eight Farm and Naturewise at a single location in Cocoa. We will be opening our new, permanent farm stand/plant nursery in mid-November on Adamson Road . This is the home of Country Eight farmer Dave Butler. Dave grows a nice selection of vegetables and also does pastured turkeys, hogs, eggs, and has a small dairy goat herd. Kari Ruder of Naturewise runs a native plant nursery and specializes in heirloom vegetable plants. Of course, I’ll be growing and selling a wonderful variety of vegetables as well. We’ll be open three days a week and have some great things planned for this year including on-farm classes and events. Look for upcoming emails and information on our website at www.FourHandsFarm.com – we look forward to seeing you ‘out at the farm’ this season!

1. Goat Cheese Fundraiser going on now! Country Eight Farm is raising funds to expand their new dairy goat herd. We are offering free, locally-produced goat cheese with your donation to the farm. Choose from the following:
   Make a $5 donation and receive a free 4 oz. log of French-Style Chevre (soft) goat cheese. This is made from Country Eight Farm’s goat milk. The goats are raised on browse and grain and are milked twice a day. The milk is pasteurized and the cheese is made using vegetable rennet. It is a soft, mildly-flavored, creamy cheese similar in texture to cream cheese. Mixed with herbs or served with fruit it is just delicious!
   Make a $6 donation and receive two 4 oz. wheels of fresh goat-cheese mozzarella. Also made from Country Eight’s pasteurized goat milk, this is a firm mozzarella with a superb flavor. It is made from animal rennet so vegetarians may want to go with the chevre. Perfect served with tomato slices and garnished with a little olive oil and basil!
2. There is still time to reserve your Free Range Turkey for thanksgiving We have a few free-range turkeys left for this thanksgiving season. The turkeys are being sold as live birds, however we will dress the bird for you as a complimentary service if you would like. They are being sold for $2 a pound (dressed weight) and will be available around the first week in November. This means you will need a place to keep them frozen until you are ready to cook them. We expect the birds to weigh in around 22 pounds, but cannot guarantee the weight – they may be under or over 22 pounds. A $10 deposit is required to reserve your turkey. Please contact Farmer Morgan directly at 321-806-0979 or farmermorgan@fourhandsfarm.com if you would like to order one – there is a limited supply this season.
3. Fresh, local pork available this week! Country Eight Farm raises a few hogs each year and they are due back from the processor this week. We’ve got bacon, chops and sausage, all in 1 pound packs. If you’d like to place an order, please call Farmer Morgan at 321-806-0979 and we’ll let you know when you can pick up the meat. The meat is frozen and will last up to a year in the freezer. If you haven’t had fresh, humanely-raised pork you must try it!
4. Join Farmer Mandy’s Beachside Group - Farmer Mandy Sunshine is interested in growing fruits and veggies, for family and market, from her coastal home in Cocoa Beach . She is currently focused on learning and implementing biointensive practices that reduce off-site inputs, maximize production on little land, and tackle coast-specific growing issues (i.e., salt, drought, too much sand). Her passions most definitely include locally and ecologically responsible food production and enjoyment. Although many here believe that growing alongside the sea is nearly impossible, she remains dedicated to encouraging food production in her beachside community. Contact her at luzdelsun@yahoo.com.
5. Check out the new www.EarthFriendlyFood.com website – I have donated this site name to the Eco-Growers of East Central Florida and the site is being used to help promote local food. The ‘Grower Profiles’ tab contains a list of all the local growers right here in Brevard and includes their contact information, so please get to know them and try some of their wonderful products. And if you run into any growers not on the list, encourage them to contact us so we can add them to the site.

We hope to see you out at the farm!
-Farmer Morgan