Welcome to 2020! We hope your holiday celebrations were wonderful.

It is now approaching January and how lucky we feel to still be able to offer a wonderful range of healthy foods to help you to eat well in the new year. We continue to offer local produce, sustainably grown meats, Alaska wild salmon and fish, cheese, eggs, and artisan foods.

We are now resuming our regular Saturday delivery / pickup schedule. Please place your order before noon on Wednesday for the January 4 service which you can pickup at the Garden, or have delivered in Lewes and Rehoboth Beach.

Heads up for ordering — there will be no mushrooms available from Davidson’s until January 11. Jen’s pies are available for January 4, but not for January 11. The rest of us should be here!

The new year is a time of planning and anticipation for farmers. We are no exception at Hattie’s Garden, and want to let you in on what you can expect over the coming months.

Plant and Produce CSA

This year we will launch an expanded CSA program. Not only can you pay it forward for 10% off our healthy transplants for your garden, but you may obtain a 10% discount on Hattie’s Garden produce and flower purchases for the 2020 season beginning with the first Historic Lewes Farmers Market (HLFM) in early May. Look for the launch of the CSA in late January.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, CSA stands for community-supported agriculture and is a concept that has caught hold throughout the sustainable agriculture community. Our customers help us stay in business by supplying us with financial support at a time when funds are low and expenses are high. We can then more easily acquire the needed inputs for the season. We had wonderful participation last year in our CSA from many of you and want to thank you for making what we do possible.

Our CSA works a bit differently than many. This is not a weekly box of produce, but rather you buy credit from Hattie’s Garden at a 10% discount and use that credit whenever and however you wish. Your credit will never expire and the program is completely à la carte. There is no commitment to any particular product that we grow. You select what you want from our array of healthy transplants, flower bouquets and fresh produce anytime during the 2020 season.

Gardening Classes

Every year we like to hold gardening classes for our customers growing or planning to grow vegetables in their home gardens. I teach “organic” methods and principles and am convinced anyone can grow some of their own food, in any space, including containers.

The classes are open to those with some experience in gardening as well as to those with no experience at all.

The goal is to get students producing and eating organically grown vegetables from their own garden spaces by the beginning of the growing season this year and throughout the summer and into the fall.

Students sign up for a three-hour class that meets twice over a two-week span. Homework is assigned.

In addition to basic organic gardening principles and introductory soil science, we engage in hands-on learning here at the Garden. You will come away from the class with specific actions and plans for your own garden. Class size is kept small at 6 to 8 participants. There will be as many sessions as we need to accommodate participants. The classes will begin in February this year. Stay tuned.

Remember the deadline for ordering is Wednesday at noon. Unfortunately, we won’t normally be able to take late requests, as we must place vendor orders quickly. You will receive an updated reminder on Tuesday, but please order early to be sure you get everything you would like. Supplies are sometimes limited.

Yours in the garden throughout the winter,