All gardeners and farmers love when all their hard work finally begins to pay off. It can take several years to get a young farm up and running, and to see produce come in consistently.
2011 was a great year at Southern Eden, and we have an excess of produce as we move into Winter, much more than expected. So... in 2012 we will be offering our first CSA shares.
What is CSA? CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Each year, farmers may offer a certain number of "shares" of their anticipated produce for the coming growing season. People can purchase a share of the produce for a fee, typically payable before the growing season begins. Shares may become available throughout the year, or additional shares may be offered in a bountiful year. Farmers often tailor their CSA and fee structure to suit their specific farming operation and their community.
Prepayment of shares early in the season helps the farmers by giving them much needed funding to purchase seed, fertilizer, farm equipment, etc., and insures they have a dedicated consumer base. Share owners benefit by receiving weekly bundles, baskets, bags or boxes of the very freshest and healthiest produce available, right off of the farm. Some CSA's also offer meat, milk, cheese, bread, eggs, or other healthy products.
History: CSA's used to be a group of individuals who partnered and purchased land with the intention of farming it, or hiring a manager to farm it for them, then splitting the produce and the profits between the share holders. As a group, they shared the risks and the benefits of bringing crops to harvest and marketing the excess.
Shared Risk: Today, CSA's are a little different. Usually a CSA is offered by a farmer who already holds a property, and the CSA is used as a venue for the farmer to market his/her produce to the local community. Yet one aspect of a CSA still remains, and that is the concept of "shared risk."
Shared risk means that all share owners and the farmer agree that growing produce is not a guaranteed process. Many factors can negatively impact a farmer's ability to bring in a crop. Weather issues, be that drought, flood, heat, cold, hail, wind, heavy rains, intermittent rain, and of course pest predation and disease can all affect production levels. This can range from minor damage and delay in fruiting to total crop devastation.
A good CSA owner will ask share owners to acknowledge this potential risk in a contract, and have ideas for the share owners on how such damage will be mitigated. This could be an extension of the number of weeks a share owner receives a bundle, additional produce in a more bountiful part of the season, or even a partial credit toward the next growing season.
Depending on the type and level of damage, farmers may not be able to compensate their share owners, and everyone may need to agree to simply try again the following season. Nature is fickle, and there are no guarantees in farming. The odds are constantly stacked against the farmer, and it takes a lot of skill and knowledge to avoid all of the pitfalls.
However, the benefits usually outweigh the risks, and the ability to share beautiful healthy farm grown produce with the community is an extremely rewarding process.
Our CSA: Since this is our first year offering shares, we are limiting the number available to 25 full shares or up to 50 half shares. Individuals can purchase more than one share. We have outlined several opportunities below, including supplemental products:
Full Share: 24 weeks @ $25/week = $600 for full prepayment. Shares run April/May – November.
· 8 Week Mini Shares @ $30/wk = $240
Half Share: 24 weeks @ $15/week = $360 for full prepayment. Shares run April/May – November.
· 8 week Mini 1/2 shares @ $16.25/wk = $130
Bread and Eggs can be added to shares
Bread and Eggs can be added to shares
· Bread: $6.00 per loaf ($5.00 for 2 or more loaves per week)
· Eggs: $4.00 dozen (as available, Fall 2012)
Available bread varieties for farm pickup are whole wheat and multigrain, which includes sunflower seed, poppy, millet and sesame seed.
Other varieties will be available for pickup at the Friday PCFB Farmers Market in Dallas, at 2515 Marietta Hwy. This is the intersection of hwy.92/Hwy.120 across from Stars and Strikes. The market runs from April through November.
What to expect in a weekly bag/box: Early in the year share owners can expect lots of greens, such as salads, collards, kale, chard, green onions, peas, root crops and early, peas, etc. Summer will bring squash, tomatoes, peas, beans, fruits like grapes and berries, melons and figs,herbs, okra, greens and Summer lettuces, collard, kale and similar greens. Fall will bring late grapes, turnips, beets, onions, rutabaga, and more delicious greens, collards, kale, winter squash and pumpkins, winter melons, and sweet potatoes. (My favorite growing season!) We will also provide recipes and prep suggestions for the produce being provided.
Other varieties will be available for pickup at the Friday PCFB Farmers Market in Dallas, at 2515 Marietta Hwy. This is the intersection of hwy.92/Hwy.120 across from Stars and Strikes. The market runs from April through November.
What to expect in a weekly bag/box: Early in the year share owners can expect lots of greens, such as salads, collards, kale, chard, green onions, peas, root crops and early, peas, etc. Summer will bring squash, tomatoes, peas, beans, fruits like grapes and berries, melons and figs,herbs, okra, greens and Summer lettuces, collard, kale and similar greens. Fall will bring late grapes, turnips, beets, onions, rutabaga, and more delicious greens, collards, kale, winter squash and pumpkins, winter melons, and sweet potatoes. (My favorite growing season!) We will also provide recipes and prep suggestions for the produce being provided.
Be flexible: Share holders sometimes have a misconception about what can be grown on local farms. We are so used to having 24/7 access to foods in grocery stores that on occasion customers get irritated when they don't get the same variety off of the farm. What they fail to realize is that very little if any produce sold in grocery stores is locally grown. Grocery store produce comes from great distances in most cases, including from foreign countries.
Eating local foods is vital to the local economy, supports local agriculture, encourages healthy eating and gets people back into the habit of eating high quality unprocessed food, and strengthens the local community. But this means that consumers have to learn what foods can be grown locally, and how to change their menus with the changing of the season.
Additionally, not all farms grow all vegetables well. Soils, terrain, and micro-climates determine what produce can be successfully grown in a particular location. One farmer may be a spectacular tomato genius, while another can't be beat when it comes to Fall root crops.
To insure a successful harvest throughout the season, farmers need to diversify and grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Customers need to be open to trying new things, although many farmers will allow limited exchanges for those too timid to try eggplant or kohlrabi, or other traditional yet overlooked forgotten garden beauties.
The Process: Our produce will be sent home in a bushel box or brown bag, and will typically include 8-15 items in a full share. Most produce will be harvested the same day of pickup, and refrigerated as necessary until pickup. Shares may include dried, frozen or preserved items, especially during light harvest weeks.
Pickups: Shares can be picked up at the farm on Monday's from 1:30pm - 5:00pm,
or
at the PCFB Farmers Market, Friday's from 3:00pm - 7:00pm. The market is located at 2515 Marietta Hwy., Dallas, GA 30157. This is the lot across from Stars and Strikes at the intersection of Hwy.92/Hwy.120.
All CSA share pickups must be scheduled in advance. If you cannot pick up a share in any given week, you need to notify the farm. Failure to notify the farm or forgetting to pick up a scheduled share may mean forfeiture of that week's share. The farm manager will be in communication each week to confirm pickup location, dates and times.
Ordering: We are now offering 25 full or up to 50 half or mini shares. Shares this year are extremely limited, so don't delay in requesting information. We will maintain a waiting list, and as shares become available they will be assigned on a first come first served basis.
Please contact Shannon Davidson at tufty68@gmail.com to get more information.
In addition to what I have written here, a great explanation of CSA's is available at http://www.localharvest.org/csa.
In addition to what I have written here, a great explanation of CSA's is available at http://www.localharvest.org/csa.
