Adopt A Ewe Update

A fourth pick-up site for the Adopt A Ewe has been added in San Jose/Willow Glen.

In response to a number of inquiries about the Adopt A Ewe plan, I want to provide a little more information about the wool comforter and whole lamb options:

Handmade Natural Wool Comforter

The comforter is made with 3 lbs of natural wool batting with an organic cotton cover and hand-tied with organic wool yarn to prevent bunching. This is a "light" weight for mild winter climates like ours. The comforter is full/queen-sized and measures 86" x 86". It is shown on a queen-sized bed in the photo. Wool bedding is dust-mite resistant, good for wicking moisture away, and provides lightweight warmth. Regular sunning and airing is the best way to care for your comforter, as it is not washable. It is meant to be used with a washable duvet cover.

Whole Lamb

Lamb from Monkeyflower Ranch is naturally raised. No antibiotics, hormones or chemical wormers are used; garlic juice and rotational grazing are utilized for parasite control. The lambs are grazed on organic pasture. At slaughter time they are an average of 6-8 months old.

30-35 lbs of meat--here is the approximate breakdown:

• 4 shanks
• 16 rib chops
• 4# loin chops
• 10-12# boneless legs
• 2-3# stew meat
• 8# ground meat

Adopt A Ewe

Do you enjoy local, organic food that’s been lovingly produced by hand?

Do you wish you were more connected to where your food came from?

Ever thought about quitting your job, cashing in your savings and following your dream of starting a sheep cheese dairy? Want to live vicariously through someone who has?

If yes, Garden Variety Cheese would like you to:

ADOPT A EWE

For $500 you can cover the costs to feed and care for an organically raised dairy sheep during the off-season.

In return, you will receive $600 worth of farm products from January to June of 2010.

You will also be the proud sponsor of a lovely individual animal and you and your family will be invited to visit your ewe and the ranch at private events. And you will have the satisfaction of helping a young entrepreneur fulfill their dream of a life on the land while supporting local organic food production.

Garden Variety Cheese is a small farmstead cheese business, based on 40 acres in Northern Monterey County. We began commercial milking and cheese production in March 2009 and started selling three varieties of raw sheep cheeses at Santa Cruz farmers markets in June 2009. Our sheep produce lovely, rich sweet milk that makes fabulous cheese. To ensure the health and well-being of the animals and the high quality of the milk and cheese from Garden Variety Cheese, the 100 milking ewes here at Monkeyflower Ranch are fed on organically raised, irrigated pasture and organic brewer’s grain. Each ewe is named after a garden flower and treated with love and respect. Dairy sheep only produce milk for six months out of every year, and spend the dry season pregnant, fattening up for the milking season. By covering the costs to keep a ewe fed and cared for during this period when no milk is being produced, you can help to ensure the future production of more high-quality artisan cheeses. In return for your investment, you will receive delicious dividends when the ewes return to the milking parlor in the New Year.

The LAMB PACKAGE includes a whole lamb ($300 value)

The WOOL PACKAGE includes a handmade natural wool comforter ($300 value)

All packages will include semi-monthly cheese boxes plus email updates and pictures of your ewe and invitations to special events at the farm!

The ADOPT-A-EWE box pick-ups will be twice monthly at four locations:

• Royal Oaks (at the farm)
• Santa Cruz
• San Francisco
• Willow Glen/San Jose

Payment options:

• Single payment of $500 with order
• Two payment of $260 (1. with order, 2. Oct 15, 2009)
• Three payments of $175 (1. with order, 2. Oct 15, 2009, 3. Jan 1, 2009)

For more information, or to sign up, please contact rebeccajaneking@gmail.com