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Community Supported
Agriculture
Despite a difficult growing season, our first
CSA last year was successful and have made some
adjustments to make it even more
successful this year. Some changes include
expanding our variety of crops
and adding a pick-your-own option which gives
members the opportunity to
pick their own selected crops when available
including sugar snap peas, green
beans and cherry tomatoes. This gives members
the opportunity to be more
involved in the process of growing and
harvesting their food. Members are
more than welcome to help with planting, weeding
and harvesting. More
hands make lighter work and, most importantly,
getting to know your farmer
means you get to know your food!
CSA brochure and
application
FAQs
Is all produce to be picked up at your farm
stand on Route 133?
Do we ever have to "pick" our own from your
crops?
All produce is to be picked up at our farm on
Dodge Road, about 1/8 of a mile from the stand
on Route 133 at the old corn
stands. Our old corn stands are across the
street from the white farm house.
Beginning in 2010, we have added the option to
pick your own cherry tomatoes,
sugar snap peas and green beans. You can either
participate in this or pay an
extra fixed price to have it picked for you.
This will ensure that members receive
as much of those crops as possible since we lack
the adequate workforce to keep up
with the yields of those labor intensive crops.
All other crops are harvested
for you.
If I show up for my share at 6:00 in the
evening, will all of the "good" stuff be gone?
Might there only be slightly
battered/bruised produce available? What if
people like basil better than
hot peppers, for instance, so the basil is wiped
out early but there are
tons of hot peppers left? Will we all get "our
share" of all the options
if we want them?
We plan the shares so that there is enough of
the allotted produce for everyone. Also, the
philosophy of participating in a share
of the harvest as opposed to purchasing the
produce from a farm stand is that
you have a “share” of the entire harvest and
each share is divided evenly. The
goal is to utilize the entire harvest wasting as
little as possible. If you are
someone who will sift through the vegetables and
require perfect produce, a CSA may not be
for you.
How will the harvest be divided weekly? There
are some vegetables in the harvest which my
family will not eat (or I
should say, I won't cook), would I get more of
something else that we would
eat?
To determine your share, we do our best by
either weighing the produce or counting what we
have to see what we have total
and divide that among the shares we need to
provide for. When you become a CSA
shareholder, you commit to taking what the
harvest provides, regardless of
your preference. You don't have to take
something if you don't want it, however
members are constantly trading recipes and
trying new things when enjoying the
produce our harvest provides. The only way you
would be able to trade
something with us is if we had a surplus of
something you would rather have.
I'm trying to decide between a full share and
a half share.
What constitutes each?
That is a very good question but difficult to
answer! It depends on the size of your family,
how many veggies you eat, can
and freeze, how well each crop will do with this
year's weather and how
successfully we can keep the pests away. Here
are a couple examples of shares from last
year. Keep in mind that each year is different
and the veggies come at different
points in the season. This year we plan to add
new crops which will help to
diversify the shares.
Fourth Week: Full - 2 doz. corn, 2 heads
lettuce, 5 lbs. squash, 1 lb. cukes, 1 lb.
beans, 1 cauliflower and broccoli
Half - 1 doz. corn, 1 head lettuce, 2 1/2 lb.
squash, 1/2 lb. cukes, 1/2 lb. beans, 1
cauliflower or broccoli
Tenth Week: Full- 5 lbs. squash, 3 lbs. cukes, 2
lbs. beans, 8 eggplant, 10 lbs. tomatoes, 2
pints cherry tomatoes, 1
cabbage, 2 cantaloupe, 4 lbs. potatoes
Half- 2 lbs. squash, 1 1/2 lbs. cukes, 1 lb.
beans, 4 eggplant, 5 lbs. tomatoes, 1 pint
cherry tomatoes, 1 cabbage, 1 cantaloupe,
2 lbs. potatoes
Will we be given some kind of "card" that you
punch weekly?
Our first year proved that members are honest.
You won't have a punch card. You know what day
you are signed up for and you
come on that day. We never encountered a problem
with this system last
year. If you need to come on a different day for
any reason, just shoot an
email or phone call to Kristen. You are always
welcome to send a friend to pick up your
share. If you are running late and can’t make it
by the end of pickups, let
Kristen know and she will leave your share at
the stand for you to pick up. |
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