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.

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.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the mix and match share?

The mix and match share allows you to pick the produce you like from our display, once per week, on Tuesday or Thursday from 2:30 to 6:30 PM, or Saturday mornings from 8 AM to noon, up to volume and other limits.  This allows you to custom mix your share.    With this option, several crops will be 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, so you can get them more often than with the boxed share.  That will take some elbow grease on your part, however most people find a few minutes picking to be a pleasurable experience.  Because you, the shareholder, are decreasing our picking, packing, and transportation costs we can offer the mix and match share at a lower price.  The only disadvantage to this system is that it takes more time to pick up your share.

If I do the mix and match, can I change pick up days?

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

What are the advantages of the boxed share?

The biggest advantage is that you can get a boxed share close to your home from one of our drop sites (see brochure or web site index for site list).  Because it is already boxed up, picking up your share is fast.  We pack a great mix of produce into the box.  You may get some veggies that are new and unfamiliar to you-however many people really like that!

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

All shareholders, weather they pick up at the farm or at a dropsite, 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.

If I get a boxed share, can I come to the farm for Pick Your Own crops?

Yes!  During the season we will let you know in the newsletter what crops are currently being harvested.  PYO hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 2:30PM to 6:30PM and Saturdays from 8AM to12PM.  We know that many of you have busy schedules and live a distance from the farm, so as we have done for the past two seasons, we will pick and pack limited amounts of these crops in your boxed share for you.  These additional harvest, packing, and transportation costs account for the difference in price between the two share options.

Can I switch back and forth from the box share to mix and match or vise versa?

Generally, no.  However, ONCE per season, and with two days notice, mix and match shareholders can get a box, and box shareholders can mix and match.  If you find you’d like to change to a different system for the season we can arrange that as well.  What will not be possible (and will generally drive the farmer nuts!) is frequent switching back and forth between box and mix and match options.

 

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 you ever ate, along with an abundance of beets and carrots to savor in winter soups.

Where are your CSA drop sites?

We have drop sites in the following towns: Brookfield, Candlewood Isle, Darien, Fairfield (Center), Fairfield (East), New Canaan, New Fairfield, New Milford, Sandy Hook, Southbury, West Redding (Georgetown), Westport, and Woodbury. Click here for general drop site location information.   Specific address information will be sent when you sign up for a share.

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.