Farm Share, CSA, Veggie Box

Often known as a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) or Farm Share or Veggie Box, it's a program where a customer subscribes into receiving a "share" of the harvest. When produce is ready, it's harvested, prepared and divided-up, then picked up by the customer. Subscribing into the program before the season begins lets the farmer know how much to grow and for whom. Planning is important! A share is an investment in the local food supply.

*The 2023 Farm Share details have now been released and can be found below.

**As of April 20 there are four spaces left to sign up for a share for the growing season.

For 2023, six different packages will be available

1. 16-weeks of produce ($640)
2. 18-weeks of produce ($720)
3. 20-weeks of produce ($810)
4. 8-weeks (every other week) of produce ($320)
5. 9-weeks (every other week) of produce ($360)
6. 10-weeks (every other week) of produce ($405)

Subscription payments are possible in one, two, three or four instalments.

*Cheques, cash or e-transfer

Produce grown for the shares includes: asian greens/cabbages, beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic (and scapes), kale, lettuce, onions, peas, potatoes, radishes, rutabaga, rhubarb, salad mix, spinach, summer squash, sweet peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and winter squash.

Cut herbs and cut flowers are added when they are season.

New for 2023 will be cauliflower and kohlrabi.

The produce is harvested close to the date or on the date of the pick-up. It's then prepared and set up in containers at the pick-up site. A whiteboard sign lists which items and their amount for each share. Once harvested, the farmer knows how much to divide the produce up evenly. Customers then fill their boxes with the amount of produce allowed to them. Early arriving clients get first choice of the produce.

Unwanted items can be traded for another in the swap box.

Contact us for an agreement form.

No, we don't deliver. Pick-ups are on farm for a reason, to see how produce is grown and to understand where food comes from. Farming is not easy and it is one of the most mis-understood professions in North America. Most Canadians have never met a real, live farmer or been to a working farm. This is a chance to learn, be informed and come face to face with the beginning of the food system. We all eat, but what do we know about our food that's true?

Knowing what will be in a share isn't always easy. Sometimes plans of planting get pushed back because of cold/wet spring. Sometimes insects eat enough of the plants to leave them unable to bare healthy fruit. Sometimes disease comes to the farm and ruins a species of plant. Sometimes seeds don't germinate or germinate very poorly. Sometimes there is a bumper crop. Sometimes a plant produces fruit early. We try to estimate what will be ready for each week's pick-up day. Below are some examples.

It's early in the season, so most plants are still growing.

• Garlic scapes
• Kale
• Peas
• Salad mix
• Zucchini

Some plants have seen their peak and are slowing down. Second or third plantings of some plants are happening.

• Beans
• Beets
• Carrots
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Kale
• Salad mix
• Squash (spaghetti)
• Swiss chard
• Tomatoes (large)

Are you interested in a share but I'm not sure it's for you? Would you be interested in trying out a share for a week, maybe two? During the peak of harvest the gardens will be yielding lots, enough to make a few more share boxes. We can't accommodate everyone, but can for a few (depending on weather, pests and such). Contact us in the Spring.