Farm Fresh Vegetable Community Supported Agriculture
Our Growing Practices There's a lot more to growing great food than meeting the Organic Standards and not spraying chemical fungicides, herbicides or using synthetic fertilizers. While its important that we don't do any of those practices, we also do a lot more to care for the health of our soil and plants. By making probiotic solutions and microbiologically rich compost we continue to feed our soil food web which in turn takes care of our plants. In 2020 we started working towards becoming a minimal till farm and using hand tools for all of our cultivation work.
What is a CSA?
A produce club, also known as Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an alternative, local based economic model for food distribution that promotes sustainable agriculture as well as the livelihood of local farmers.
This is a program where you subscribe by paying for a share of the farms produce at the beginning of the season. This creates a mutually beneficial relationship between the farmer and the consumer.
It provides working capitol for us to purchase needed materials at the beginning of the growing season and, in return, we dedicate ourselves to growing your produce and providing you with fresh, nutritious, and bountiful vegetables. How Does Our CSA Work?
Through our online Local Harvest storefront your payment into our CSA will be a credit that can be treated like a piggy bank. Local Harvest calls it a “Cash Account.” Every week you will choose what you want in your share for your fully customizable share or you can choose a traditional share (farmer packed box of 7-10 items) and use your cash account to pay for them.
Our CSA members get the first pick of everything that our farm produces, from eggs to produce to value added items like jams, jellies and pickles. Whatever we don't sell through this channel will then go to our local farmers market.
Our season will run for eighteen weeks, from the beginning of June to the middle of October (with the week of July 4th skipped) and we have pickup locations Wednesday afternoons in Dolores and on Thursday afternoons on the farm. In addition to vegetables you will have the option to add on items like flower bouquets, jams, jellies, pickles, and eggs.
Can I put my box on hold?
It is easy to manage your account online. If you are going out of town and would like to skip a delivery, you can do so by simply clicking on the calendar day once you are logged into your online account, and select the day you will be away to put your share on hold.
Where do I pick up my food?
Shareholders will pick up their food on Wednesdays in Dolores from 4-6pm or at the farm in Cahone on Friday afternoons anytime between 4:30pm to 6pm.
What produce can I expect?
Here's what we are hoping to grow during this upcoming season:
Beginning of the Season: Butterhead Lettuce Kale Beets Radishes Cabbage Rhubarb Sweet Salad Turnips Bok Choy Rainbow Chard Fresh Herbs Microgreens Zucchini
Later in the Season: The vegetables listed above plus: Cherry Tomatoes Heirloom Tomatoes Garlic Eggplant Broccoli Onions Cucumbers Collard Greens Sweet and Hot Peppers Carrots Parsnips Winter Squash Potatoes
We pride our selves on growing the main staple crops that most people enjoy eating on a regular basis. Since we are a two person farm that grows all of our crops using hand tools (no tractors in our fields), there are some crops that we choose not to grow, lots of cut greens like spinach and arugula. From time to time we may put these into the rotation, however the above list are our main crops.
Thanks for checking out our CSA and let us know if you have any questions!
Contact Michele at (970) 403-2895 or songhavenfarm@gmail.com