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 to late-June through early-October (16 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 weather conditions. 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.
We
think that the CSA concept is not for the faint of heart, or those
who don't appreciate trying new things. There will be times when
members receive vegetables they are unfamiliar with, but we do
include weekly newsletters in each bag with recipes...especially
for the more unusual items. Also, if you're the type of family who
only likes corn, cucumbers, and tomatoes, joining a csa
program may not be the ideal thing to do... OR it may just be a
"healthy"
stretch if you're willing to give it a try!
What Is a
Share?
Each week
you will receive a bag 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. We do
not personalize shares, and all members get the same things in
their bags each week.
Canvas share bags.
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".
"Despite
the existence of a national certification program, deceptive
practices will increase, and suspicions will soon realize (and I
for one certainly encourage them to do so) that the best way to be
assured of food quality is, in the words of the old quotation, 'to
know the first name of the grower'." --Eliot Coleman
How
Much Will I Get?
A
FULL SHARE is generally sufficient for 2 people on a vegetarian
diet or a small family (2 adults/2 children) on a mixed diet.
Larger families who eat lots of fresh veggies may consider buying
2 shares/season, for which we offer a discounted price.
A
HALF SHARE generally feeds 2 adults on a mixed diet.
What
to Expect
Early Mid
Late
