The 2019 CSA is full. We are no longer accepting new clients.
What is a CSA?
Do you know where your fresh vegetables were grown? Do you know what growing practices were used? Is the freshness and safety of the vegetables you feed your family important to you? Then CSA is for you.
Working directly with you, without the intermediary of stores or wholesalers, gives us the opportunity to provide the freshest quality and the most competitive prices. This system is known as Subscription Farming, Community Supported Agriculture, or, most simply, a CSA. The benefits of participating in a CSA are great. Besides enjoying, fresh, great tasting, local food, you become directly connected to your source. You will be supporting a small farm and contributing to your local economy.
This Is How It Works:
With a preseason payment, you can purchase a "share" of our summer's harvest. You then receive a weekly container of our freshest, seasonal produce during the course of our sixteen week harvest season, from May 29 to September 11. If vegetables are still available we can continue full shares at a price of $13 per week.
A Shared Commitment:
When you sign up, you dedicate yourself to being our customer for the year, thus providing us a secure market -- a welcome measure of certainty in the fickle world of farming! We, in turn, dedicate ourselves to being your farmers, providing you with a varied, nutritious vegetable diet. As a CSA member, you receive the ‘First Pick’ as the CSA containers are filled before we go to the market. Our CSA members won’t have to be up at the crack of dawn for the best selection – it’s already in the container you pick up weekly.
Shared Risk; Shared Reward
We do our very best to bring you a beautiful and bountiful container each week, but since our boss, Nature, provides no guarantees -- we can't offer any either. One of the premises of a Community Supported Agriculture program is that the shareholder shares, through the veggies, the farmers' experience of nature's mischief (and blessings). 2014 was our first year to venture into a CSA, and we have learned a great deal and continue to grow and change to meet our members' needs.
What kind of Vegetables do you grow?
We typically have up to 15 varieties of peppers, 4-6 varieties of squash, 3-5 varieties of tomatoes, green beans, radishes, watermelon, cantaloupe, 2-3 varieties of cucumbers, okra, numerous herbs, and are trying a variety of greens. Each year we also try some new vegetables and this year we are going to try parsnips, beets, and strawberries among others. We are always looking for input from our members. One reminder - just because we plant it and take care of it, does not mean it will make it to harvest.
Delivery
For those in the close area - we will offer at home or job delivery of your shares for an additional one time charge of $10. Otherwise you will pick up in either Homestead at the farm or 13th street in Fairview.
Do you know where your fresh vegetables were grown? Do you know what growing practices were used? Is the freshness and safety of the vegetables you feed your family important to you? Then CSA is for you.
Working directly with you, without the intermediary of stores or wholesalers, gives us the opportunity to provide the freshest quality and the most competitive prices. This system is known as Subscription Farming, Community Supported Agriculture, or, most simply, a CSA. The benefits of participating in a CSA are great. Besides enjoying, fresh, great tasting, local food, you become directly connected to your source. You will be supporting a small farm and contributing to your local economy.
This Is How It Works:
With a preseason payment, you can purchase a "share" of our summer's harvest. You then receive a weekly container of our freshest, seasonal produce during the course of our sixteen week harvest season, from May 29 to September 11. If vegetables are still available we can continue full shares at a price of $13 per week.
A Shared Commitment:
When you sign up, you dedicate yourself to being our customer for the year, thus providing us a secure market -- a welcome measure of certainty in the fickle world of farming! We, in turn, dedicate ourselves to being your farmers, providing you with a varied, nutritious vegetable diet. As a CSA member, you receive the ‘First Pick’ as the CSA containers are filled before we go to the market. Our CSA members won’t have to be up at the crack of dawn for the best selection – it’s already in the container you pick up weekly.
Shared Risk; Shared Reward
We do our very best to bring you a beautiful and bountiful container each week, but since our boss, Nature, provides no guarantees -- we can't offer any either. One of the premises of a Community Supported Agriculture program is that the shareholder shares, through the veggies, the farmers' experience of nature's mischief (and blessings). 2014 was our first year to venture into a CSA, and we have learned a great deal and continue to grow and change to meet our members' needs.
What kind of Vegetables do you grow?
We typically have up to 15 varieties of peppers, 4-6 varieties of squash, 3-5 varieties of tomatoes, green beans, radishes, watermelon, cantaloupe, 2-3 varieties of cucumbers, okra, numerous herbs, and are trying a variety of greens. Each year we also try some new vegetables and this year we are going to try parsnips, beets, and strawberries among others. We are always looking for input from our members. One reminder - just because we plant it and take care of it, does not mean it will make it to harvest.
Delivery
For those in the close area - we will offer at home or job delivery of your shares for an additional one time charge of $10. Otherwise you will pick up in either Homestead at the farm or 13th street in Fairview.
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Why Is Community Supported Agriculture Important?
- CSA encourages direct communication and cooperation among farmers and consumers.
- CSA provides farmers and growers with a fair return on their labor.
- CSA keeps food dollars in the local community and contributes to the development and maintenance of regional food systems.
- With a "guaranteed market" for their produce, farmers can invest their time in doing the best job they can producing food rather than marketing their products.
- CSA supports the biodiversity of a given farm and the diversity of agriculture.
- CSA creates a sense of social responsibility and stewardship of local land.
- CSA puts "the farmers face on food" and increases understanding of how, where, and by whom our food is grown.
For our 2019 CSA Member agreement, please click the below link. Everyone gets the lowest price if you sign up by June 1. Print and sign and return to the address included to sign up for the CSA. Even if you decide to pay by credit card, we will still need your paperwork. We know you will enjoy fresh food for your family.
| Click here to upload file |
Cooking with Herbs
You've been receiving some tasty herbs in your CSA Share Bag for the past several weeks. If you're wondering what to do with your herbs, here's some suggestions and information that might help.
MINT
1. Add chopped mint leaves to egg dishes or to peas.
2. Mint enhances veggies such as carrots and potatoes, as well as black beans, meat and fish.
3. Try sprinkling fresh mint leaves in your salad. . . . a delightful, refreshing experience. Or, try this recipe from Mother Earth News for Cucumber Mint Salad.
4. Add fresh mint sprigs to iced tea, water or lemonade, or try this recipe forLime Mint Slush.
5. Add fresh mint to mixed fruit, as in this recipe for Minty Fruit Bowl.
6. Keep mint in the refrigerator, wrapped in paper towels and enclosed in a plastic, or in a vase of water on your kitchen counter.
BASIL
1. Basil stimulates the appetite and helps curb flatulence, perhaps the reason why it works so well with garlic.
2. Basil tea is said to help with nausea and stomach distress due to gas.
3. For the most intense flavor, basil should be added at the end of the cooking process. Prolonged heat will cause basil's volatile oils to dissipate.
4. When substituting fresh basil for dried, triple the amount.
5. Basil doesn't like to be refrigerated. It will last the longest placed in a vase of water on your kitchen counter.
6. You might want to try Summertime Bruschetta for an appetizer or salad accompaniment.
PARSLEY
1. Parsley is also good for digestion and to freshen your breath after eating garlic or spicy foods.
2. Try these recipes using fresh parsley: Garlic and Herb Pasta, Herbed Croutons
SAGE
1. Deep-fry the leaves and serve as an appetizer, or use as a garnish for poultry, meat dishes, or pasta. Try Fried Sage Leaves and Oven Fries with Crisp Sage Leaves.
2. Lay two sage leaves over a long slice of sweet potato and wrap with a slice or prosciutto or bacon. Roast for 20 minutes or so with some olive oil.
3. Roast butternut squash on a thick bed of sage.
4. Take half a chicken breast, place 2 or 3 sage leaves on top, wrap in bacon or prosciutto, pack in foil, bake at 350 degrees.
5. Freeze in ice cubes for summer drinks.
6. Sage tea is a great remedy for sore throat.
7. Make orange sage marinade: Blend together 1/4 cup unsweetened orange juice, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 cup Dijon mustard in a large bowl. Then, marinade up to 3 pounds of boneless chicken or pork pieces in the mix for 1 - 3 hours before grilling or broiling them.
8. Season baked chicken: Lightly coat a whole chicken or chicken pieces with oil or melted butter. Then, sprinkle on chopped fresh sage, rosemary and marjoram with salt and pepper to suit your taste before baking the chicken.
9. Sage Sausage Patties, and Apple Sage Chutney are recipes you'll want to try.
OREGANO
1. Store fresh oregano in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If you place a damp paper towel in the bag with the fresh oregano and leave some air in the bag, it may extend the life up to one week. You can also extend the life of fresh cut oregano by storing whole stems with leaves in a glass of water and a plastic bag loosely tented over the glass.
2. Fresh oregano may be frozen. Wash and dry oregano sprigs. Strip whole leaves from the stems and place in a plastic bag loosely without crushing, but remove all air. Keep in a location where it will not get crushed. Freeze. No need to thaw before using.
3. To dry oregano, tie sprigs into a bunch and hang in a cool dark place with good ventilation. Once dried, seal tightly and store away from sunlight.
4. Oregano goes well in just about any tomato dish. It also complements meats and vegetables with dominant flavors such as chili, spaghetti sauce, pizza, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant and lamb.
5. 1 tablespoon fresh oregano = 1 teaspoon dried.
6. Try grouprecipes.com recipes for Cheesy Oregano Chicken Rolls andOrange-Oregano Dressing.
You've been receiving some tasty herbs in your CSA Share Bag for the past several weeks. If you're wondering what to do with your herbs, here's some suggestions and information that might help.
MINT
1. Add chopped mint leaves to egg dishes or to peas.
2. Mint enhances veggies such as carrots and potatoes, as well as black beans, meat and fish.
3. Try sprinkling fresh mint leaves in your salad. . . . a delightful, refreshing experience. Or, try this recipe from Mother Earth News for Cucumber Mint Salad.
4. Add fresh mint sprigs to iced tea, water or lemonade, or try this recipe forLime Mint Slush.
5. Add fresh mint to mixed fruit, as in this recipe for Minty Fruit Bowl.
6. Keep mint in the refrigerator, wrapped in paper towels and enclosed in a plastic, or in a vase of water on your kitchen counter.
BASIL
1. Basil stimulates the appetite and helps curb flatulence, perhaps the reason why it works so well with garlic.
2. Basil tea is said to help with nausea and stomach distress due to gas.
3. For the most intense flavor, basil should be added at the end of the cooking process. Prolonged heat will cause basil's volatile oils to dissipate.
4. When substituting fresh basil for dried, triple the amount.
5. Basil doesn't like to be refrigerated. It will last the longest placed in a vase of water on your kitchen counter.
6. You might want to try Summertime Bruschetta for an appetizer or salad accompaniment.
PARSLEY
1. Parsley is also good for digestion and to freshen your breath after eating garlic or spicy foods.
2. Try these recipes using fresh parsley: Garlic and Herb Pasta, Herbed Croutons
SAGE
1. Deep-fry the leaves and serve as an appetizer, or use as a garnish for poultry, meat dishes, or pasta. Try Fried Sage Leaves and Oven Fries with Crisp Sage Leaves.
2. Lay two sage leaves over a long slice of sweet potato and wrap with a slice or prosciutto or bacon. Roast for 20 minutes or so with some olive oil.
3. Roast butternut squash on a thick bed of sage.
4. Take half a chicken breast, place 2 or 3 sage leaves on top, wrap in bacon or prosciutto, pack in foil, bake at 350 degrees.
5. Freeze in ice cubes for summer drinks.
6. Sage tea is a great remedy for sore throat.
7. Make orange sage marinade: Blend together 1/4 cup unsweetened orange juice, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 cup Dijon mustard in a large bowl. Then, marinade up to 3 pounds of boneless chicken or pork pieces in the mix for 1 - 3 hours before grilling or broiling them.
8. Season baked chicken: Lightly coat a whole chicken or chicken pieces with oil or melted butter. Then, sprinkle on chopped fresh sage, rosemary and marjoram with salt and pepper to suit your taste before baking the chicken.
9. Sage Sausage Patties, and Apple Sage Chutney are recipes you'll want to try.
OREGANO
1. Store fresh oregano in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If you place a damp paper towel in the bag with the fresh oregano and leave some air in the bag, it may extend the life up to one week. You can also extend the life of fresh cut oregano by storing whole stems with leaves in a glass of water and a plastic bag loosely tented over the glass.
2. Fresh oregano may be frozen. Wash and dry oregano sprigs. Strip whole leaves from the stems and place in a plastic bag loosely without crushing, but remove all air. Keep in a location where it will not get crushed. Freeze. No need to thaw before using.
3. To dry oregano, tie sprigs into a bunch and hang in a cool dark place with good ventilation. Once dried, seal tightly and store away from sunlight.
4. Oregano goes well in just about any tomato dish. It also complements meats and vegetables with dominant flavors such as chili, spaghetti sauce, pizza, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant and lamb.
5. 1 tablespoon fresh oregano = 1 teaspoon dried.
6. Try grouprecipes.com recipes for Cheesy Oregano Chicken Rolls andOrange-Oregano Dressing.