Kathie Sullivan Kathie Sullivan

Flowers for Everyone: Tell Your Friends and Neighbors

An example of a first-week share from 2017

Again this year we are pleased to offer a pick-your-own flower share for non-CSA community members. (NOTE: If you are a member of the CSA and have signed up for your summer share, you will have flowers included in your weekly pick-ups.)

Many people grow what they need for vegetables at home or are members of other CSAs or simply shop farmers' markets for their produce. But fresh flowers are not always available or may not grow well at home. Some home gardeners are better at vegetables than flowers, or we may have too much shade for robust cutting gardens, or it's just nicer to have a wider variety of colorful stems to select from ICF!

We will offer a 10 week flower share which starts July 8. The flower fields are always accessible for picking 20 stems once weekly. Once you have signed up we'll contact you for a brief orientation to the fields and process.

Prepayment of $107 is required ($100 plus 7% sales tax) and may be mailed to ICF, 128 Intervale Rd, Burlington, VT  05401.

Sign up here for your blooms and please feel free to share with your friends, neighbors, and colleagues. You do not have to be a CSA member to sign up for flowers.

 

 

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Kathie Sullivan Kathie Sullivan

We're More than Just Farmers: Welding on the Farm

Sam Thomas inspecting worn spade

As many of the farmers in the US become more and more specialized the tendency, as in other industries, has been to outsource more and more repair jobs to contractors. Here at ICF we still do the majority of our own repairs in house and maintain the “Jack & Jill of All” mentality that American agriculture was built on. One of the trades that we are learning and gaining from is dabbling with farm welding and metal work. This year, Sam Thomas (returning crew member) designed an independent study for his UVM coursework and had the opportunity to tackle some of the odds and ends welding projects around the farm and hone some of his own welding skills.

Welding is a group of processes by which metal components can be repaired and manipulated by applying high heat to extremely localized areas. While blacksmiths of yore would heat entire components in their forges in order to pound them back together or back into shape, today farmers can use welding techniques to create a small pool of liquefied metal on the piece they are making or repairing. This ‘weld puddle,’ as it is called, ranges in size from the tip of a pen to the size of a dime. As a result, workers can quickly fill in cracks with additional steel, replace a damaged part by fusing on a new one, or even apply coating of a more durable alloy to a piece.

Worn (rounded) and repaired (rectangular) spades

This spring Sam did a number of repair and modification projects on the farm including fabricating special hooks for our irrigation pipes, replacing a jack stand on the IFEC disk harrow, and making the baskets on our cultivator narrower.

One project we are particularly excited about this year is hardfacing the spades off of our spader. The spader is finicky piece of Italian tillage equipment that takes a serious beating. As a result we have put a lot of thought into improving its durability and lowering its cost of maintenance. Hardfacing is a really useful method by which layers of new more durable steel are laid down across a surface that is prone to abrasive wear. This is key in the Intervale as our sandy soils wear metal away pretty quick. For this project Sam added strips of steel alloy that is high in chromium, manganese and carbon to the edges of our spades. These three elements, when added to steel, make it significantly more durable; the draw back is that pieces made with such alloys are really brittle and prone to cracking (just as a cast iron skillet is high in carbon and would crack easily when dropped.) However, when we use such an alloy as a coating we can take advantage of its durability without risking large cracks forming in the implement.

Repaired spade

The end result is rows of what look like stacks of dimes pushed over and arranged across the vulnerable surfaces of our spades. It may not be the slickest looking tool in the yard but we’re hoping it’ll make for a longer lasting spade.

One final note of intrigue and farm safety: If you’re around the farm and see welding signs posted on our shop doors, please be sure to knock before you poke your head in. The electrical arc that is most used to melt metal reaches temperatures of 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit:  the same temperature range found on the surface of our sun! As a result looking at a welding arc can be just as damaging to your eyes as staring at the sun.

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Kathie Sullivan Kathie Sullivan

Meet the Summer Staff: Nieva Schemm

Nieva Schemm is beginning her first season at the Intervale Community Farm this 2018. She is currently enrolled at UVM as an English major and will graduate in 2020. She gained her first experience with farming in the summer of 2015 when she travelled to the California Bay Area to work with the nonprofit organization First Generation Farmers. Upon finishing her time there she went on to complete an internship with Sleeping Frog Farms in Cascabel, Arizona in the fall of 2015. After this she started working summers at Harlow Farm near her home in Southern Vermont. She has a deep love of farm work and is passionate about bringing people quality produce in a sustainable, environmentally conscious manner. Nieva is thrilled to become a part of Burlington’s organic farming community and to see what the season at ICF has in store for her.

Nieva will begin work at the end of May.

Nieva Schemm

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Kathie Sullivan Kathie Sullivan

Construction Continues on Our New Produce Pack Shed

Pouring concrete for the pack shed  foundation.

We're excited to see some construction action on our new building for washing and storing produce, located near the ICF greenhouse complex by our winter share distribution.

The packhouse building is a joint effort of the Intervale Center and ICF to house ICF and the Intervale Conservation Nursery, as well as providing other Intervale farms access to additional washing and storage space.

Want to do more than watch the progress through photos? You can help to build the pack shed through our 2018 Co-op Member Loan Program. Through the commitment and generosity of our co-op members we erected 4 greenhouses in 2013 to support our summer production as well as for growing greens in the winter. Summer tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers have all increased in abundance as well as winter baby lettuce and spinach as a result of our members' investment in their local food source.

To find out more about the 2018 loan program, check out the details here or contact Andy Jones directly (by email or call 658-2919 ext 4).

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Kathie Sullivan Kathie Sullivan

Summer Shares: Update

Some of you may have noticed we are now starting a wait list for our summer shares. This is great news for ICF but may be a disappointment to you.

We are fortunate that by May 1 we are usually sold out of our over 600 shares for the summer season. It's been a busy late winter-early spring as we sign up members. We announce early share sign-up in January and offer a small discount to members who pay in full in the first month. We don't advertise but rather rely on word-of-mouth for member referrals. This buzz is also good for ICF. 

Co-op members may ask to be automatically renewed and those members are signed up first in January. Even at this late date, we would do our very best to squeeze in every co-op member possible. 

All this said, we do reach a limit in terms of how many members we can support with produce for the summer. Waiting until May to sign up increases the possibility of being added to a waiting list. Sometimes we have people drop out after we get started in June and we can reach to our list. Sometimes folks on the waiting list can't join until the winter share season. 

Please do sign up to be on the waiting list at this point. We need to know how many people we're working with going forward.  If you've already signed up, thank you!  Thinking ahead, if you are a co-op member, make sure you are on automatic renewal. Not a co-op member? Join anytime here. 

We'll be announcing the first pick-up date very soon! Watch this space.

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Kathie Sullivan Kathie Sullivan

Preview of May: It's a Busy Time at the Farm

Despite some of you witnessing snow on April 30, today is May 1 and the sun is out. The farm vibe is one of excitement and anticipation. We have a lot of stuff going on in preparation for the start of our summer shares (likely very early June.)

For starters, our annual plant sale is this Saturday, May 5, from 9-12:00. It continues May 12, May 19 at the same time. In addition, the final two winter pick-ups will be opportunities to grab plants for your home gardens (May 10 and May 17.) We'll have flowers, herbs, and vegetables for selections.

We continue to make daily progress on the new packhouse project near the winter share parking area. Foundation concrete has been poured and wall/roof materials have been delivered. Our Co-Op Member Loan Campaign is over 50% funded and we are grateful to all of you. 

It's not too late to order your bread, egg, and cheese shares for the summer. You can sign up online here.

Our summer crew has started, the fields are warming up, tractors are running. We'll see you very soon!

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From the Fields: April Update

First transplanting

 

  • We were able to get into the field and do the first tractor work at the beginning of April.  We did primary tillage and prep in the potato field, seeded some early cover crop, and killed some weeds and smoothed beds with the field cultivator. Later in the month we did more preparation for planting, more cover crop seeding, discing, and plastic mulch laying for upcoming onion planting.

  • We have been busy in the Propagation Greenhouse, seeding, watering and potting up everything that we are expecting to plant in the next couple of months.  We also set up one of the hoop houses as a coldframe to harden plants off this month. We keep the sides down, but cracked to let the plants acclimate to the outdoor temperatures.  

  • In April we start flipping our Greenhouses from winter to summer production.  We did a big last round of harvest in two of our large greenhouses, then took out the hoops and row cover that we used to protect the spinach, baby lettuce, and bok choy from the cold temperatures.  We filled soil in low spots in the houses, and added compost, peat, and fertilizer to the beds. The two eastern houses will have tomatoes this season, which we will planting in the next couple of weeks.   Next up we will till the beds, put drip irrigation in, and cover the beds with black plastic and the pathways with landscape fabric. We have also started prepping the smaller houses across the street for tomatoes and peppers, basically the same routine: clean-up, amend, till, and irrigate.  

  • We are also working on installing a rail system in the Harnois so that we can have a cart to push around the houses for tomato harvest.  During the season we spend a lot of time harvesting tomatoes and are looking for ways to improve the ergonomics and efficiency.

  • Two highlights of April: the first plants and seeds are in the ground; and most of the crew is back at the farm!

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The Fields are Open: Transplanting!

This week marked an exciting first of the season - the first round of transplants going into the field. On Monday and Tuesday we planted kale, collards, cabbage, broccoli, and head lettuce. Almost all crops we grow fall into two categories: direct seeded or transplanted. There are many reasons we choose to transplant some crops - transplanting allows us to raise crops into their adolescence in a more controlled environment, the greenhouse, giving them a head start in the field. Additionally, it allows us to start growing very long season crops (like onions) well before the fields are ready so we are able to plant them the moment the beds are prepared. 

Although transplanting can be done by hand, we use a specialized tractor implement called a water wheel transplanter to make the process faster and more efficient. The water wheel takes three crew members to operate. One person drives the tractor pulling the water wheel down the beds going slowly and a straight as possible. At the back of the implement, large metal wheels press divots into the ground and fill them with water. Two planters ride behind these wheels and hurriedly plop plants into the divots. 

When all goes according to plan, a team of three can put a huge number of plants in the ground in a short day. In a single day this week, we planted over half a mile worth of brassicas!

Want to stay updated on transplanting this spring?  Keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram pages for updates from the field.

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Kathie Sullivan Kathie Sullivan

Our New Building Project

Heavy equipment in place.

Last week we broke ground on a shared pack house and storage facility that will support year round washing and product storage for ICF as well as a production increase at the Intervale Conservation Nursery. 

The wash-packhouse project is a joint effort between the Intervale Center and ICF and will benefit other Intervale farms as well with washing and storage areas. 

The hole has been excavated, and insulation was placed in preparation for cement pouring this week. Construction will be completed so we can use the new building for the winter 2018 season!

Want to do more than watch the progress through photos? You can help to raise the barn through our 2018 Co-op Member Loan Program. Through the commitment and generosity of our co-op members we erected 4 hoop houses in 2013 to support our summer production as well as for growing greens in the winter. Baby lettuce and spinach in the cold, winter months is a result of our members' investment in their local food source.

To find out more about the 2018 loan program, check out the details here or contact Andy Jones directly (by email or call 658-2919 ext 4).

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Kathie Sullivan Kathie Sullivan

Supplemental Products Available for Summer Shares

As many of you know, we offer supplemental products at our weekly pick-ups: Gerard's bread, Jericho Settlers' Farm eggs, and Doe's Leap goat cheese.

While we have a few of each item available for on-site purchase, to ensure you get to enjoy these products we recommend pre-ordering shares of each. We will, of course, sign you up at a pick-up at any time. 

You can sign up for your add-ons here. Prepayment is requested for these products.

You can download a paper form here or find one at winter pick-up.

 

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Grafting Tomatoes

Our tomato rootstocks and scions were ready to graft right on schedule, so on a cloudy morning last week, we completed the grafting process, topping all the plants and mating the scion tops with the rootstock bases. We then moved them into the healing chamber where they will stay for the next 7-10 days.  For the first 48 hours they were in complete darkness and with high humidity.  After that crucial period, we slowly start to increase light and reduce the humidity to eventually acclimate the healed plants to normal greenhouse conditions.  This year, we built a shaded area over the healing chamber to help moderate the temperature spike that can result from direct sunlight.  In the beginning of May, we will transplant these grafted plants to our high tunnels where they will bear fruit until October!  

Grafting tomatoes

The grafting chamber....hot, humid, dark.

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Kathie Sullivan Kathie Sullivan

News from the Greenhouse: April

April 7 greenhouse

The propagation greenhouse has been open since the beginning of March so all of the onions have all germinated and are growing nicely.  Today, we trimmed the tops and by next week we will move them to one of the hoop houses which serves as our early spring cold frame.  By the end of April, they will be in the ground!  

 

We are also busy seeding our early successions of lettuce, herbs, broccoli, cabbage, baby lettuce and kale. The hoop house peppers and tomatoes have all been seeded and potted up.  They will stay in the greenhouse until May when the weather is warm enough to plant them in the hoop houses.  We have been potting up lots of flower varieties for the PYO cut flower garden and plant sale.  Look for some old favorites including Snap Dragons and Rudbeckia plus some new varieties this summer!

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Kathie Sullivan Kathie Sullivan

Summer Shares are Going Fast!

2017-06-22 small share.jpg

If you plan to sign up for a summer share, don't delay any longer!

As of April 9 we are 87% full and we are often completely filled by May 1.

You can sign up online here

A $50 deposit secures your spot and then you balance should be paid in thirds: 1/3 in each month May, June, July. 

We are likely to start the 21 week season in early June. Watch your email, our Facebook page, and our web site for the announcement.

Do you want to add bread, eggs, and cheese orders to your summer share? The order form will be active very soon!

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Kathie Sullivan Kathie Sullivan

Preparing Fields for Planting

Spring is coming – really!

Early spring soil preparation at ICF

It may be discouraging to look outside at the blustery snow, but down on the farm, spring is advancing.  ICF is your living proof – inside the greenhouse and out! Last week we were out on our tractors in the fields, getting an early start on our spring tillage, and we expect to begin seeding and transplanting outside by early next week.  The first field work of the outdoor season is an exciting time for any farmer, and it usually begins with tillage.

Tillage is the general term used by many farmers for the mechanical activity of preparing the soil.  This is a broad term that includes all manner of activities including plowing, harrowing, discing, rototilling, spading, cultivating, and many more.  It is often subdivided into primary-, secondary-, and finish-tillage, depending on where the particular action fits into the soil preparation sequence.  Most crops require multiple tillage operations prior to planting.  This varies with the nature of the soil surface prior to primary tillage (bare soil or covered with vegetation; if so, what kind and how much?), as well as with the intended final result (a nubbly surface acceptable for larger transplants, or a smooth-as-silk planting bed for tiny carrot or arugula seeds?), and the amount of time available prior to planting (rushing to plant ASAP, or have some weeks before the field is needed?)  In general, less is more, because repeated tillage damages soil structure and health.  In order to minimize soil damage, our aim at ICF is always to do as little as we can, while achieving the result we need.  We also employ many other practices to build soil and offset some of the damage wrought by tillage.

Chisel plowing soil-improving cover crops in preparation for the 2018 potato crop.

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April Showers Bring May Flowers

If you've been browsing seed catalogs and looking at pictures of flowers, dreaming of your own colorful gardens this spring and summer, you'll want to come to our Annual Plant Sale.

Each year we grow certified organic plants for our CSA shares (both vegetables and flowers) and we grow enough for you to purchase for your home gardens. Many ICF members grow a few flowers or herbs at home just because it's fun to walk outside their kitchen door and pick something for dinner. Some of us have dreams of larger garden plots but recognize that time and space work against us. I first became a member of ICF when I was living in a home with minuscule space for gardening. That said, I've always had a few pots of something on my porch even with a CSA share.

We'll have tomatoes, herbs, and lots of flowers, for sure. Additional items may be available after we've calculated the farm planting needs.

We hold the plant sale at the last two winter pick-up dates (May 10 and 17) as well as the first three Saturdays in May (May 5, 12, 19) from 9:00 a.m. to Noon.  

There will be further notices but you can mark your calendars now and make your plans!

 

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Think Ahead to Summer: Shares are Still Available

Ignore the snowstorms! It's nearly spring. You can make it!

Take your mind off shoveling and think about the summer produce we are starting to grow for you. The greenhouse is open, seeds are being started, and summer shares are selling fast.

Don't miss out on the bounty and be sure to sign up for your summer share now. Tell your friends and family, co-workers and neighbors as well. It's easy to use our web form here

Then sit back and daydream about tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and more.

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Kathie Sullivan Kathie Sullivan

Let Us Pick For You: Pre-Picked Pick-Your-Own (PPPYO) Share Option

list of veggies available for pickup.JPG

When we calculate our share value each season, we include an estimate of the value of "pick-your-own" crops...those crops we list each week on our chalk board and which members are free to gather from the fields. 

Typically these crops are either the items only a few members might desire: tomatillos, hot peppers, certain herbs. Or they are crops which require a higher degree of staff labor. But they are also the crops many members enjoy picking because childhood memories flood back or the crops small children can learn to pick and start their farming/food system education.

We do recognize that our membership is diverse and we serve members who might experience permanent or temporary physical impairments, suffer from a lack of time, have small kids to wrangle....all of which may prevent members from fully enjoying the PYO experience and share value.

In 2017 we offered a limited number of pre-picked pick-your-own (PPPYO) shares for a small upcharge and we are pleased to offer the program again for the 2018 summer season. For the additional charge, ICF Staff will harvest a selection of PYO items just prior to the start of pick-up. The items will be available to you at the desk when you sign in! We do need to know you'd like to take advantage of this program prior to the start of the season so we can schedule staff appropriately. 

To sign up for the PPPYO option, check the appropriate box on the electronic sign-up form. If you have already signed up but wish to add this option, contact Kathie

 

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The Greenhouse is Open

2017 onion seedlings.jpg

Staff started seeding onions on March 5. The biofuel furnace was fired up on March 6. The propagation house is open for business!

Onions are the first seeds out of the packages. Jill and Aly have seeded around 225 flats of onions or over 100,000 seeds of red, yellow, sweet, and pearl mini onions in total!  Some of these onions become our storage, winter onions we have been enjoying in the winter share. 

We'll keep you updated with plant progress, news on transplanting to fields, and new work methods for early harvesting in this space. Watch for photos of plant growth which should make you excited for the start of the summer share.

 

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Many Hands Make Big Impact: On Farm Gleaning Systems and Healthy Food Access

This year at the NOFA Winter Conference, Aly Martelle partnered with Andrea Solazzo from the Vermont FoodBank to connect with farm workers, farm managers, students, and those interested in food systems to detail how gleaning works at the FoodBank and at ICF.  The goal of the workshop was to highlight the benefits of gleaning, detail best practices that make gleaning easy for farms, to reach people who could implement gleaning on farms they work on, and to increase networking and volunteering.  

ICF has developed a great gleaning system.  Our system is possible because of our dedicated staff, good overall communication, and the consistency and availability of organizations that support gleaning in Chittenden County.  We have organizations that come to the farm twice a week after our harvest days.  Tuesday mornings we have an all staff planning meeting for the week which is a good time to check in about excess crops in the field or seconds that got sorted out at the wash area and need to be donated. With that information, we get in touch with our gleaning partners and find a home for any extra produce.

Gleaning is beneficial to ICF in many ways, but mostly because we are happy to donate food, we enjoy working with nonprofits that are helping to make healthy food more accessible to Vermonters in need, and it's great to get more people into the fields and enjoying the outdoors and the harvest. 

ICF's unique position as a mission driven organization is key to the success of our program.  The ICF board has identified increasing our food donations as an important priority, and this has clearly been supported by the wider ICF membership.  It is fulfilling and engaging to produce tasty and nutritious vegetables, but the real satisfaction comes from getting that food out into the community. 

We partner with several  organizations in the Burlington area who are doing the groundwork to make healthy food more accessible: the Vermont FoodBank, The Intervale Center, NOFA-VT, The Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, The Good Food Truck, the O.N.E. Community Dinner, The First United Methodist Church, and UVM Medical Students with the ‘Here to Help Clinic.'

There is always room for more volunteers at the farm on Tuesdays and Fridays.  Visit our Gleaning & Donations page for all the information, or contact the Vermont FoodBank or Intervale Center if you want to help make veggies more accessible in our community.

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Kathie Sullivan Kathie Sullivan

Cabbage…Any Way You Like It

I can’t help but think about cabbage as St. Patrick’s Day approaches. I make a traditional “boiled dinner” and invite family and friends for the special meal, complete with Irish brown soda bread, potatoes, carrots, and corned beef. (I know this dinner is an Americanized version and the meat is not the same as in Ireland, but we enjoy it and have fun.)

But cabbage isn’t just for March. ICF stores thousands of pounds of cabbage each year: napa, savoy, red, green and by maintaining proper temperature and humidity (and thoughtful trimming), we are able to enjoy cabbage throughout the fall, winter, and spring. Right until the new and early napa arrives!

Is it possible to get sick of cabbage? Sure, I suppose. But changing up the preparation of any of the types will keep cabbage fresh for you.  Often, out of laziness or expediency, I braise cabbage in a frying pan with either soy sauce or caraway seeds and vinegar. The seasonings depend on what I am planning for the rest of the meal. The softer cabbages (napa and savoy) are easy to incorporate into Asian noodle bowls or vegetable soups without long cooking times. Red or green cabbages hold up well in crockpots because they are heartier (favorites are chicken breasts and green cabbage or pork roast and red cabbage.)  Of course any of the varieties are great in cold salads: slaws, mixed with lettuces or spinach, chopped with other vegetables. I never met a cabbage that didn’t like mayonnaise or salad dressing, but be sure to try flavored vinegars, fancy salts, and olive oils from different countries for experiments.

When I was a kid I remember my grandmother’s cabbage soup; cabbage, onions, and carrots were put through one of those old hand grinders (way before food processors) and cooked with ground beef in a broth. It was a tasty soup and the memory has remained.  Some recipes for soup or casseroles using cabbage are even more basic; in The New England Yankee Cookbook from 1939, cabbage soup is essentially boiled cabbage in water and add some cream.

Colcannon is another good Irish dish for anytime, not just St. Patrick’s Day. The main ingredients are potatoes, scallions, sometimes leftover ham or bacon, and finely shredded cabbage. I’ve made this with green cabbage before but also napa. Savoy would work, as well, because it will get tender more easily.  Don’t be afraid of this dish…it’s essentially mashed potatoes with cabbage and other things tossed in. And if you are trying to hide vegetables in main dishes your problem is solved with colcannon.

Cabbage is full of fiber, rich in vitamins and minerals, and has virtually no fat. It’s a great accompaniment to meat, noodles, and as the basis for soup. It can be a main dish or a salad course. I haven’t used it in a dessert yet, but I might have to figure out something clever soon!  With 4 types of cabbage from the farm and infinite possibilities in cooking methods, it’s possible to have this brassica at every dinner and not repeat any preparation for at least a week.

Challenge yourselves and eat cabbage every day for a week! 

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