What is Community Supported Agriculture
CONSUMERS form a partnership with the farmer for their mutual benefit. Consumers become shareholders by buying a "share" of the harvest. For approximately 20 weeks, shareholders come to the farm each week to pick up a full brown-paper-size bag of freshly picked, naturally grown vegetables, herbs, and flowers, estimated to feed two adults and one or two children.
The FARMER receives upfront funds for supplies, has a secure contracted market, and can therefore concentrate on vegetable farming, providing shareholders with abundant, high-quality crops.
COMMUNITIES benefit by having land kept in sustainable agriculture, by strengthening the local economy, and by learning about organic gardening practices.
When you join a CSA you buy a "share" of the harvest. During the growing season you come to the farm each week and collect vegetables harvested only minutes before. We are talking FRESH! We use no synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. NATURALLY GROWN with full flavor! We are talking the HEALTHIEST produce you can buy (at a price lower than supermarket Organic)!
A share feeds a family of four or a couple on a vegetarian diet. Vegetables are chosen for flavor, nutritional value, and to support biodiversity. The mix and amount depend on the season and growing conditions.
When you join a CSA you strengthen the local economy by keeping your food dollars close to home. You only pay for the farmer's salary, seeds, and equipment. You do not pay a middleman to package, advertise, transport, and add preservatives to your food.
Each sharer provides 12 hours of farm labor. Most sharers enjoy coming out for a few hours between April and October to plant or weed or harvest. You meet wonderful people and learn exactly how your food is grown.
A CSA is a partnership in which the farmer and consumer share the risk of agriculture and the bounty of a good harvest. We reduce the risk of crop failure by planting over 40 vegetables and using all natural, sustainable growing methods that increase soil fertility and keep plants healthy.
CSAs are good for the consumer,
good for the environment, and
good for the community!
Benefits of being a CSA shareholder:
- fresh picked, naturally grown produce each week throughout the growing season
- first hand knowledge of how your food is grown
- direct connection to the land which is your source of food
- an opportunity to strengthen the local economy by preserving local farms and supporting local farmers
- direct, personal relationships with the farmer who grows your food
- reduction in solid waste, since your produce is picked field-direct, and free from unnecessary packaging
- an opportunity to build community through association with others interested in healthy food and a safe environment
How does it work?
Sharers select what they like from the display of vegetables harvested that day, with some limitations. Pick-your-own herbs, flowers, and certain vegetables (peas, cherry tomatoes,etc.) & berries will be available in-season. Crops are planted in succession to provide a continuous supply of the highest quality. The variety and amount depend on the season and the good will of the weather. We ask sharers to only take as much food as they will use. The surplus will be donated to various food distribution centers.
| It's About More Than Vegetables
By becoming a sharer you are directly impacting/supporting life-sustaining agricultural practices. To produce healthy, naturally grown food, you must have healthy soil, rich in nutrients, humus, and microbial life. The present agri-businesses of our country is chemical intensive and industrialized on a large scale, depleting the soil and robbing food of its nutrients. At Stearns Farm we use age-old methods of crop rotation, composting, and cover-cropping to enrich and enliven the soil, preserving a farm that will sustain itself for generations.
Bountiful Seasonal Harvests
GREENS: Lettuce, mesclun mix, peas*, kale, Boc Choy, spinach, Swiss chard, and savory cabbage
SUMMER VEGETABLES:
Slicing, plum, cherry*, and heirloom tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplants, broccoli, summer squash, zucchini, celery, tomatillos*, beans* and cucumbers
ROOTS: Carrots, beets, turnips, potatoes, scallions, radishes, Diakon radish, onions, garlic
FALL/WINTER VEGETABLES:
Pumpkins, winter squash, parsnips, cabbage, leeks, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, rutabaga
FRUIT: Raspberries*, blackberries*,
red and yellow watermelon, cantaloupes
HERBS*: A variety of culinary and tea herbs including cilantro, dill, basil, parsley, and bulb fennel
FLOWERS*: Pick your own bouquet weekly when the flowers are in bloom!
*= Pick your own
Eating with the SeasonsCrop
beans
beets
broccoli/cauliflower
Brussels sprouts
blackberries*
cabbage
carrots
celery
chard
Chinese cabbage
collards
corn
cucumbers
eggplant
garlic
flowers*
herbs*
kale
leeks
lettuce/greens
onions
parsnips
peas*
peppers
potatoes
radishes
raspberries*
rutabagas & turnips
scallions
spinach
summer squash
tomatoes & tomatillos
tomatoes, cherry*
watermelon
winter squash/pumpkins
zucchini
*Pick your own
in designated areas. |
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