2012 CSA Program
2012 CSA at Green Gardens
If you are ready to sign-up for the 2012 season, please CLICK HERE.
Green Gardens' 100-member CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program will run every week from June 6th to October 27th in 2011 for the regular season CSA (21 weeks) or NEW this year: an 8 week Summer CSA Share from July 25 to September 12 and a 26-week Extended Season share (five additional weeks until end of November). CSA members will receive a weekly box of vegetables and herbs from the farm. Here are the details...
What's in a Box?
8-12 seasonal vegetables (and sometimes herbs) each week (photos of spring, summer, and fall boxes below). Click here for additional photos of boxes. Weekly recipes are included.
Length of Season?
Extended Season Share: 26 weeks. June 6 - November 28 (Farm pick-up only last 5 weeks).
Regular Season Share: 21 weeks. June 6 - October 24
Summer Season Share: 8 weeks. July 25 - September 12 (Farm pick-up ONLY)
Pick-Up Days and Times
WED: (Click here to see a map of approximate BC pick-up locations)
- Farm - 3:15-8:00 PM
- Wabash - 4:00-7:00 PM
- Edgebrook - 4:00-7:00 PM
- Lynwood - 4:00-7:00 PM
- West Columbia - 4:00-6:30 PM
- Council Crest - 4:00-7:00 PM
FRI: Farm - 4:00-7:00 PM
SAT: Bank Street Farmers Market in Kzoo at the farm's stand (7:30-12:30 PM). Only the 21-week share is available in Kzoo.
Cost?
- Extended Season (26 weeks): $570
- Regular Season (21 weeks): $460
- Summer Season (8 weeks): $200
Free-Range Egg Add-On
- Ten dozen free-range eggs can be added on to your share for $40. These eggs are distributed every other week for 20 weeks, rich in beta-carotene and folic acid, and are raised on our farm fields. The hens are moved frequently to new pasture and are fed organic feed.
- Available to pick-up at farm and Bank Street Market in Kalamazoo ONLY
When to Pay?
Fifty percent of your membership total is due by March 1, 2012. Members will use the online sign-up process to pay via Paypal or pay by check.
We encourage all members to pay in full if they are financially capable. This allows the farm to be adequately capitalized in the spring when we spend most of our money on supplies, seeds, infrastructure, irrigation, equipment, fencing, etc.
Payment can be made via PayPal (credit card) or check. Members who use PayPal will pay slightly more ($10) to cover the transaction cost for the farm. Two payments are accepted with payment via Paypal or check, but 50% of payment is due by March 1, 2012. The other half must be paid by May 1, 2012. Please mail in both checks at the same time if you wish to pay in two payments (post-date each check for March 1 and May 1, 2012)
When to Sign-Up?
The sign-up process is all online in 2012. A link will be provided here once those on waiting list have had the opportunity to sign-up.
Current members will be given until January 15, 2012, to secure their 2012 CSA membership. After that, members on the 2012 waiting list will have a chance to sign-up.
Each weekly box is likely enough to feed...
1. A family of four light vegetable eaters for one week
2. A couple who are heavy vegetable eaters for one week
3. One vegetable-eating machine!
With farming, there are simply no guarantees when it comes to having crops. Numerous things can go wrong. Excess rain, early and late frosts, pests and diseases, and lack of time can all hamper crop production. Fortunately, most things go right most of the time. Sharing the risks and reaping the benefits of the harvest is an integral component of the CSA concept. CSA members will be updated with crop-growing information, farm gatherings, and recipes.
Is the Produce Organic?
The farm follows the standards as layed out in the National Organic Program for organic growers. However, the farm is not Certified Organic. Instead, we opted to be Certified Naturally Grown. We use composted dairy manure for fertilizer, organically-approved pesticides and fungicides only, cover cropping, crop rotations, and other techniques to reduce our footprint on the land and grow great produce. For more information on CNG and the farm's growing practices, click here.
Can I Share a Box?
Sharing a box in perfectly acceptable. It is fine for family/friends to either rotate weeks or share the box's contents, however, it is your responsibility to find someone to share with.
What If I Can't Pick Up My Box?
If you nor anyone you know can pick up a box for you at the drop site, there are several options. We can hold your box in the farm's cooler. You can also donate the box to a local non-profit/food bank in Battle Creek. Or, you can can tell us that you simply don't want us to prepare a box for you for a certain week. In that case, the produce would likely be sold at the Farmers' Market instead. No money is returned for boxes that are not used during the course of the season.
What is NEW! for 2012:
We are excited about trying some new and different things here at the farm every year; 2012 will be no different!
- Pinapple Tomatillos (probably the most divine thing we ate in 2011 at the Kzoo FM) They are incredibly sweet, even better that the Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes.
- Baby Ginger. Yes, it is possible to grow ginger in MI. We are purchasing tubers from Hawaii and planting in the high tunnel.
- Sweet Potatoes. We've struggled with these in years past, but want to give them another shot in the high tunnel
- Shallots. Not widely appreciated here in the United States, which is surprising because they are fantastic. Like a mild, sweet onion.
- Early eggplant and peppers (along with tomatoes). By end of June.
- Early cucumbers from high tunnel. By middle of June.
- Increased emphasis on making sure the boxes have crops that go well together in dishes.
- More herbs! Besides basil, cilantro, dill, and parsley, we are going to expand our herb offerings in 2012 and provide you tips for using them!
Less/no more of the following...
- Less Kale. We feel like we overdid it in 2011 for many members.
- No celeriac. Not a big hit with most members.
- No celery. Ditto.
- No spring broccoli. It struggles if we have a hot June.
- No melons. We cannot justify growing these disease-prone and space hogs on our small farm.
- Sunflowers. They are beautiful, but a non-essential and a pain for us to move around on farm and put into boxes.
- Radishes in spring boxes only (Weeks 1-3). This is when we have found members like them the most.
- We are planting W. Squash in 2012, but only Kabocha. It is our favorite and many members as well. We've lost our winter squash crop two years in a row and have decided to be conservative in our 2012 planting.
We really hope to have more carrots and beets in the boxes throughout the summer and fall. According to our surveys, they are universally liked and we like growing them!
Other CSA Tidbits:
• Watch a movie about CSA farms in Michigan from our favorite Michigan musical artists Seth Bernard and May Erlewine!
