How do I sign up for the CSA?

Information on signing up for the CSA is available here.

When does the CSA season run?
The CSA runs from early June through October, for a 21 week harvest season.  Exact dates vary from year to year and will be mailed out to shareholders a few weeks before the first harvest.

How many people does your share feed?

That really depends on your eating and cooking habits.  Some things to think about:  How often do you cook at home?  Are you really into veggies, or are you a ‘beginner’?  Are you feeding small children or growing teenagers?  Generally, a share is the right amount for two vegetable loving adults that really enjoy cooking with fresh produce, or an ‘average’ family of two adults with two small children.

How much does a share cost?

For 2012, our CSA share price is $595.  Prices are subject to change, and you will recieve updated share prices when we send your invitation to join the CSA.  Please note that we only add new shareholders from our wait list (see the side bar of this web site), which is open in only in January. 

Can I share a share?

Sure, you can share a share.  However, the entire share must be picked up at once. This rule is strictly enforced!   We suggest you trade weeks with your partner.  Alternatively, you can pick up the entire share and split it off the farm.

How does your CSA work?

Fort Hill Farm CSA share are only available on the farm in New Milford.  Shreholders pick up their produce from our display, once per week, on Tuesday or Thursday from 2:30 to 6:30 PM, or Saturday mornings from 8 AM to 12:30PM, up to volume and other limits.  This allows you to custom mix your share.    Several crops are exclusively ‘pick your own’ (see below for PYO guidelines and hours).  Generally these crops (including beans, peas, strawberries, cut flowers, and herbs) will be available for picking as long as they are in the field.  That will take some elbow grease on your part, however most people find a few minutes picking to be a pleasurable experience. 

Can I change pick up days?

Yes, you can come on whichever day is convenient for you, one visit per week.

How does the Pick You Own (PYO) work and what are the hours?

Shareholders can harvest PYO crops ONCE per week.  Available crops and limits, and directions to the fields, are posted in the white barn.  PYO hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 2:30PM to 6:30PM and Saturdays from 8AM to12PM.

 

What does ‘seasonal eating’ mean?

The advent of cheap fossil fuels and intensive investment in transportation infrastructure has made out-of-season produce so commonplace that most consumers no longer even know when produce is in season locally.  You will learn these cycles of nature as a CSA shareholder.  Spring is a bonanza of greens for salads, sauté, and stir fry.  Summer starts with a profusion of summer squash and cukes, crescendos with sweet, ripe heirloom tomatoes and sweet corn, and ends with the harvest of the first winter squash.  Fall brings cool nights and warm days, and the best broccoli and spinach you ever ate, along with an abundance of beets and carrots to savor in winter soups.

What happens if your crops fail?

We grow a huge variety of crops, everything from arugula to zucchini.  So the chances of it being a bad year for everything are practically nil.  For example, bad strawberry years (cool and wet weather) bring on bumper crops of sweet snap peas.   We also grow several plantings of most crops.  But there is a risk that farmers take each year, and as a CSA shareholder you are taking on some of that risk.  Some weather events, like severe hail and wind in late spring, cause crop yield losses that are unrecoverable.  As a CSA shareholder, you are taking on the rewards AND the risks of farming.  Please consider that we do not refund shares due to weather damage or other Acts of Mother Nature before you commit to a share.