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Welcome to the first Fresh Picks Newsletter and to the start of the 2006 growing season! We are launching Irv & Shelly’s Fresh PicksSM and this newsletter to connect Chicago to our local farmers and build a healthy way to bring fresh local food to our tables. The farmers we have met with and whose amazing food we have tasted are excited to turn more acres to organic practices knowing we will help them get their ripe flavorful harvest to your door within hours of leaving the farm. Irv & Shelly |
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Just as birds are starting to chirp each morning and crocuses are sending up their first shoots here in Chicago, the early signs of spring are starting to show on local farms. But do you ever wonder what our farmers have been doing over the winter months? Well, they have been quite busy planning out the season of crop rotations, ordering seed, and maintaining equipment for another year of healthy harvests! While the cold weather keeps farmers inside more than they would like, off-season planning is critical to the success of a sustainable farm. Establishing a balanced diversity and rotation of crops is important for pollination, pest management and healthy soil. Some of their inside time is spent in greenhouses, starting seedlings that will be later transplanted to the outside fields. Warm-weather crops such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplant are often started in the greenhouses, allowing for earlier harvesting and sometimes multiple crops per season. Some crops are fully grown in the greenhouse and harvested throughout the winter, such as baby lettuce, spinach and other greens. Then there is the inside and outside time needed for constructing and maintaining buildings and machinery. Barns may need remodeling, new greenhouses may need to be built and tractors need a tune-up. So if you think farmers get to rest in the winter, think again! They work hard toward the exciting time of planting and then harvesting great food for us.
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| About Fresh Picks Irv & Shelly’s Fresh Picks provides year-round home delivery of local and organic produce, meat, dairy and eggs. You can choose specific items one order at a time, or opt for a Fresh Picks Box that is automatically delivered to your door weekly or bi-weekly. We personally commit to bring you the best foods from the local sustainable farms we know and trust. Find out more at www.freshpicks.com |
| Irv & Shelly’s Fresh Picks Local Organic Delivery www.freshpicks.com |
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