TUSCARORA ENVIRONMENT

Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force
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Tuscarora Community Supported Agriculture
Tuscarora CSA was established by the TEP office to promote sustainable agriculture. With a large membership, we can provide our Nation with a good source of fresh vegetables.
As a CSA shareholder you share the risks and rewards of farming. We strive to provide an appealing and ample supply of vegetables each week so if the crop is plentiful, you'll receive an ample share, conversely if the "pickins" are slim, then your share will be too.
 
What is a CSA? Community Supported Agriculture is a connection between a nearby farmer and the people who eat the food the farmer produces. Each shareholder pays a subscripting fee to buy a share of the harvest; the fee goes toward the operating costs of the farm; and in return, the farm supplies a weekly box of produce.
 

2010 TCSA Registration Form

 

Download Application

 

Registration will be taken until May 15th, with full payment due by June 1st.

 

2010 TCSA registration form here  [pdf].

 [This download is in a .pdf format. Adobe Acrobat is needed to view this file.]

 

 

The TCSA is open to Tuscarora Nation residents and their families. If you live outside the Tuscarora Nation please contact Patti Fischer at the TEP office about possible arrangements to participate in the TCSA.  

 

TCSA Weather

 

 

Tuscarora Nation
Updated Friday, July 30, 2010 3:53 AM
Clear
Clear		59°FHigh: 78°F
Low: 62°F
Wind: 0 mph
Humidity: 88%
MSN WeatherData provided by iMap

 

Photo Gallery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garden

 

Anticipated Vegetables for 2010:

 

  • Tomatoes
  • Onions
  • Jalapenos
  • Green Beans
  • Yellow Squash
  • Potatoes
  • Butternut Squash
  • Bear Beans
  • Beets
  • Radish
  • Carrots
  • Eggplant
  • Green Peppers
  • Broccoli
  • Zucchini
  • Wax Beans
  • Acorn Squash
  • Bread Beans
  • Winter Squash
  • Indian Corn
  • Peas
  • Cabbage

 

Possibly: cut flowers, herbs

 

Newsletter

 

  

April/May 2008

[pdf file] 

 

To view the newsletters you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

 

Mission

 

Goals

  • Provide fresh vegetables for members.
  • Newsletter with recipes and timely information.
  • Have working bees for canning, lying, and preserving produce when available.
  • Improve community health - physical and spiritual.

 

 

 

Benefits

  • Supports local farmers.
  • Keeps food dollars in local communities.
  • Makes nutritious foods available to community members.
  • Consumers have a personal connection with food and land.
  • Creates an atmosphere for learning.
  • Strengthens community spirit.
 
 
 
Future Endeavors
  • Increase membership.
  • Roadside stand or Farmer's Market.
  • Seed Saving.
  • Develop trade/commerce with other Indian Nations.
  • Establish Greenhouses.
  • Help with Cayuga Share Farm.

 

 

 

 

Quote

In late spring, we plant corn, beans and squash. They're not just plants - we call them the Three Sisters. We plant them together, three kinds of seeds in one hole. They want to be together with each other, just as we Indians want to be together with each other. So long as the Three Sisters are with us we know we will never starve. The Creator sends them to us each year. We celebrate them now. We thank Him for the gift He gives us today and every day.

- Chief Louis Farmer, Onondaga

 
The Tuscarora CSA
In 2004 the TEP and HETF included in the annual workplan a charge to create a food security initiative for Tuscarora. As an answer in 2005, our office established a short-lived farmers market at the Picnic Grove for our community to benefit from local and Nation farmers. Unfortunately the customer support was not high enough to continue the venture. Then in 2006 after the TEP hiring of Patti Fischer, a Tuscarora CSA was introduced to the community. The creation of the TCSA came to fruition in the summer of 2007 thanks to the TEP and some dedicated customers and project supporters.
 
Defining CSA
A CSA is a partnership between farmer(s) and CSA customers, where members of a community pay a fee at the beginning of the growing season in exchange for a share of the farm's harvest. By making this commitment ahead of time, TCSA shareholders join the farmer in assuming the costs, risks, and rewards of growing that season's crops. There are no guarentees when it comes to Mother Nature.
 
 
1st Year Vegetables
The 2007 inaugural year was supported by 5.5 share holders or 7 families. Nya:we to these families, especially because of the tribulations and successes the TSCA endured as we tried to find an identity.
 
With the help of Gary Farmer and Bubs Fischer, the Tuscarora CSA planted, watered, weeded, harvested, and distributed this year's produce. The TEP staff also helped with planting the initial crop of seeds and plants. The following were harvested from the TCSA Farm the first year:
 
  • Tomatoes
  • Zucchini
  • Yellow Squash
  • 1 Musk Melon
  • Bell Peppers
  • Onions
  • Potatoes
  • Acorn Squash
  • Butternut Squash
  • Cabbage
  • Hubbard Squash
  • Bread Beans
  • Bear Beans
  • Cherokee Beans
  • Indian Corn
  • Eggplant
 
Unfortunately our cucumbers died of thirst. Lesson learned - more water! Also musk melons crave a good source of water too. Overall, our garden produced a good yield for an unusually dry summer. One casual observer noted since this was the first time this field had been planted in nearly 30 years, the turned over sod may have been the contributing factor in keeping the water near the plants instead of going down into the ground.
 
Many Nya:wes
We want to thank Mary Woodbury and family for providing a piece of their land to our project. Our success would not be possible, and we thank them for their support.