What Is CSA?

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) simply said is a partnership between farmers and the people who buy the farmers' produce. The idea behind CSA is to provide you, the consumer, with excellent high quality in- season vegetables, while allowing us, the farm family, to make a living based on farming the land.

How Does It Work?

Farm members buy a share of our harvest in advance of the growing season. This allows us to purchase seeds and other supplies when needed, first thing in the Spring. It also relieves us of the need to market our produce at a time of the year when our energy is best spent growing vegetables, tending to our fields, weeding and planting succession crops.

From about mid-June through mid-October (18 weeks), we will offer a variety of naturally grown fresh vegetables each week. The quantity and variety will depend largely on the time of year as well as our often unpredictable Montana weather! It's likely that each season will vary slightly depending on the above mentioned factors. Some crops will do exceptionally well while others may produce less than expected. As partners with us in agriculture, we will all share the benefits of bumper crops as well as the risks of crop failures.

What Is a Share?

Each week you will receive a box of as much variety and quantity as conditions allow. The earliest harvests are limited to leafy greens, lettuces, spinach, arugula and some herbs. As the season goes on, each week will bring in more variety and abundance. At this point we anticipate harvesting twice weekly and having 2 pick up points. (These places & pick up times are yet to be determined, but we will let each of you know before the season starts.)

Share box July 11, 2006
(Rainbow chard, arugula, lettuce mix, mizuna, snap peas, cauliflower, broccoli, shelling peas, and cilantro)

What is "Naturally Grown"?

We are not a certified organic farm, and USDA rules prohibit us from using the term "organic" to describe our produce. Rest assured, we do use the same principals as an organic farm does, but are not ready to commit to the paperwork and yearly expense of using a government owned word. We never use chemical fertilizers, harmful pesticides nor herbicides, so there are no residues on your food (except a little dirt that may need to be rinsed off before eating!) We are committed to using composts & green manures to amend our soils, as well as supplementing with minerals found in seaweed products and worm castings. 
We are discovering that the important thing is building relationships with you, the shareholder, so that you get to know us and our philosophy behind the growing practices we hold to, rather than just filling out forms and sending a check to the USDA in order to use a term that describes how we grow our produce in the first place. To borrow terminology from Eliot Coleman (one of the pioneers of the organic movement)... we think our produce is "Authentically Grown" and "Beyond Organic".

How Much Will I Get?

A regular share is generally sufficient for 1-2 people on a vegetarian diet or a small family (2 adults/1 child) on a mixed diet. Larger families may consider buying 2 shares/season, for which we offer a discounted price. We also offer discounted pricing for seniors (60+) on limited budgets.

What to Expect

                                    Early    Mid    Late

• Arugula               X                    X
• Beans                             X         X
• Beets                  X         X         X
• Broccoli              X        
• Carrots                          X         X
• Cabbage                        X          X
• Cucumbers                     X         X
• Eggplant                                    X
• Garlic                                        X
• Greens                X         X         X
• Herbs                            X          X
• Kale                               X         X
• Kohlrabi                         X         X
• Lettuce Heads     X         X         X
• Lettuce Mix         X         X         X
• Leeks                                         X
• Melons                                       X
• Onions                           X          X
• Peas                    X                      
• Peppers                                      X
• Potatoes                         X          X
• Pumpkins                                    X
• Radishes             X                     X
• Scallions                                    X
• Spinach               X                    X
• Sweet Corn                    X
• Swiss Chard        X         X         X
• Tomatoes                                   X
• Winter Squash                           X
• Zucchini                         X         X
• Summer Squash               X         X

What an early season sample box may look like: 
(This is only an example, and boxes may not follow these specific guidelines.)

1/2 # Lettuce Mix
1/2# Rainbow Chard 
1 Bunch Cilantro
1 Bunch Beets
3/4# Shelling Peas
1# Sugar Snap Peas
1  Head Broccoli
1 Head Cauliflower
1 Bunch Arugula
 4 oz. Mizuna
1 bunch Scallions

What a mid season sample box may look like: 
(This is only an example, and boxes may not follow these specific guidelines.)

1/2 # Lettuce Mix
1 Bunch Beets or Carrots
1/2# Rainbow Chard or 1# Green Beans 
2-3 Summer Squash
2 Ears Sweet Corn
1# Tomatoes
1-2 Cucumbers
Sweet & Hot Peppers 
1 Bunch Scallions
Basil, Parsley, or Chives
1 Cantaloupe or Watermelon

What a late season sample box may look like: 
(This is only an example, and boxes may not follow these specific guidelines.)

1 Bunch Carrots 
1 Bunch Beets
1 Bunch Kale or 1/2# Rainbow Chard 
1 Winter  Squash
1.5# Potatoes
1# Tomatoes
1 Bunch Leeks
1 bag mixed Eggplant
1 Head Cabbage

Spring Greens Shares May Include:

• Arugula
• Lettuce Mix
• Spinach
• Broccoli Raab
• Mustard Greens
• Mizuna
• Radishes