Midsummer Farm CSA
Our CSA is now full for the 2013 season! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
If you're interested in hearing when we open for registration for the 2014 season, please sign up below to receive our newsletter.
2013 CSA Program Changes:
1) New Double Flower Share
Several people have asked for more flower bouquets, and we love growing and arranging flowers, so we're offering a double share. The single share is 5 weeks of bouquets and is $60, this new double share is 10 weeks of bouquets and costs $110.00)
2) Sweet Share
One of my main goals in running this CSA is to make people healthier, and sweets are not very healthy - but I do love baking and so many people are asking me to do a sweet share ... so I am going to try it this year, and I believe it will be good for the soul!
This share will be 17 weeks and will consist of farm-baked goodies made with our own eggs and mostly organic and fair-trade-where-appropriate ingredients. Emphasis will be on baked goods made with organic nuts as well as produce and herbs from our farm whenever possible. Although sugary in essence, these will be nutritious baked goods! I'm currently planning: Pistachio Squares, Brownies with Fair Trade Chocolate Nibs, Walnut Crescents, Zucchini Bread, Baklava, Cardamon Pecan Squares, Lavender Pound Cake, Lemon Balm Blueberry Muffins, Peanut Butter Cookies, Pecan Praline Tart, Meyer Lemon Tart, Pignoli Nut Cookies, Pumpkin Pie, etc. This share will cost $360.00.
3) Bonus Share for people who sign up for the Total Taste of the Farm Membership!
We're going to offer a bonus share basket the week of May 1st for the Total Taste shareholders. This will be like an appetizer to the start of the CSA season which will begin the first week of June. This special basket will include early spring greens, asparagus, artichokes, and other very early crops! Free with Total Taste of the Farm Share Registration.Registration Form can be downloaded here!
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What is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Program?
In the words of The Robyn Van En Center, CSA brings together community members, farmers, and agricultural land in a relationship of mutual support based on an annual commitment to one another - a commitment that ensures the survival of local farms today and for future generations.
If you are new to the concept of a CSA, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture where a household subscribes to a local farm for the growing season and picks up a weekly basket of fresh, organic produce at the farm. The basic idea of CSA farming is a cooperative relationship between the small farmer and his/her customers. With a preseason payment, you purchase a share of the season's harvest. You then receive a weekly basket of fresh produce during the course of the harvest season, from June to September. By subscribing to a CSA, you are providing a farmer with a very welcome measure of certainty, and in turn the farm is dedicated to providing you with varied, nutritious vegetables. The arrangement guarantees the farmer financial support and enables many small-to moderate-scale organic family farms to remain in business.
Ultimately, CSA creates agriculture-supported communities where members receive a wide variety of foods harvested at the peak of ripeness, flavor, and vitamin and mineral content.
Members of a CSA are called "shareholders" or "subscribers". The portion of the harvest each shareholder takes home is referred to as a "share."
The methods of operating a CSA vary considerably. Each CSA is designed specifically for its community and farmer, yet all CSAs strive for a truly sustainable operation, both economically and environmentally. Crops are planted in succession to provide a continuous weekly supply of mixed vegetables chosen for flavor and nutritional value, and to support biodiversity. The farmer frequently grows a large assortment of seasonal vegetables so shareholders can expect a wide variety. This greatly diminishes the risk of crop failure while enhancing soil fertility without the use of synthetic chemicals. Organic growing techniques such as crop rotation, companion planting, green manuring, and composting are often standard practice.
Each week the farmer harvests fresh, ripe crops that are divided equally among shareholders. Usually, shareholders receive their food within 24 hours of picking. A share is generally enough for a family of four or a couple on a vegetarian diet. The price of a share for a season varies widely depending on each farm's costs of operation, total months of distribution, variety of crops available, and soil productivity.
I see the #1 most important reason to join a CSA is to dedicate and commit yourself to receiving, and thus using and eating, a whole basket of super-fresh, seasonal, organic, local, vegetables, greens, and herbs each week!
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How the Midsummer Farm CSA Program Works
We are accepting registrations now for the CSA ; all you need to do is download the registration form, fill it out, choose the options that work best for you and your household, enclose your check, and send to Midsummer Farm at 156 East Ridge Road, Warwick, NY 10990.
Registration form can be downloaded here.
Then starting in June, we will harvest and pack a bushel basket of produce for you each week. Pick up is at the farm - just stop by and get a big basket of delicious vegetables, along with recipes and ideas for using and storing. We also send out a weekly newsletter with more recipes and information on the week's harvest. We have two pick up times - Wednesdays between 6:30 and 7 pm and Fridays between 10 and 10:30 am.
We also will fruit in our our traditional vegetable share. It won't be fruit that we grow ourselves - we only grow berries, figs, and melons as far as fruit goes. But the fruit portion will be certified organic and local whenever possible. Many people have requested fruit, and we know of some great sources for fresh and delicious organic fruit. Plus, fruit does really sweeten up the basket! We grow all the vegetables in the share baskets ourselves - we are certified organic and certified animal welfare approved.___________________________________________________________________________________________
Traditional Vegetable Share:
17 weeks, $695.00: Wednesday, June 5th - Sept. 25th or Friday June 7th - Sept. 27th
Add-ons:
- Herb Share - (17 weeks) $65.00
- Flower Share - (middle 5 weeks) $60.00
- Double Flower Share - (middle 10 weeks) $110.00
- Summer Egg Share - (first 8 weeks) $60.00
- Mushroom (Certified-organic) Share - (17 weeks) $78.00
- Sweet Share - (17 weeks) $360.00
- You and your family's health. The number one missing ingredient to a healthy disease-free lifestyle is a variety vegetables! If you have a big basket of fresh veggies on hand, you will use them! And we are here to fully support you in using them!
- Living more sustainably - by joining a CSA, you are personally and directly addressing the flaws of our global food system. By paying attention to what you eat, you participate in a more environmentally and socially sustainable way of life.
- Living more ethically - you are supporting a circular farm with animals, plants, and the soil itself being treated with respect and care.
- Supporting Local Business and strengthening your community.
- Supporting Organic Farmers. It is more than just supporting the particular farm you have a membership with - it is about showing policy makers that people want local, real, organic food, and it is about showing the local farming community that you appreciate their efforts.
- Creative cooking - to be the ultimate 'foodie' you must cook! In your basket will come a huge variety of flavors, scents, textures, and all of these can be cooked up and presented in thousands of different ways!
- Saving fossil fuels - Typical grocery store produce travels 1,500 miles to get to your table!
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We also have a Special Share, we call the "Total Taste of the Farm" share.
It includes the Traditional Vegetable Share, along with the Herb, single Flower, Summer Egg, and Mushroom Share for $932.00. You also get other farm products we produce in small quantities such as honey comb, smoked and dried peppers, duck eggs, and more! You will also get a bonus share basket the week of May 1st with super-early spring crops like greens, asparagus, and artichokes!
Registration Form can be downloaded here!
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Notes on the different share options:
~Herb Share - (17 weeks) $65.00
Add bundles of seasonal fresh herbs to your CSA share each week! We started out as an herb farm and we love and obsess over fresh herbs. As a Holistic Health Coach, I highly, highly recommend adding an herb share onto your vegetable share: it is a fabulous deal, and you'll get all sorts of unusual and totally usable herbs to make into great summer meals or freeze or dry for the winter months. Herbs are just so full of nutrients and healing, and to have access to such fresh and wonderful bunches of herbs is just so ideal for boosting your health and your recipes!
Each week, we will highlight a specific culinary herb as well as a medicianl / tea herb. We include recipes and support in using the huge bunches of herbs. You will be cooking as never before - it will be a summer of vital health and energy!
~Flower Share - (middle 5 weeks) $60.00
5 Weeks of fresh, artistically-arranged cut flowers in midsummer added to your weekly veggie CSA share! There is nothing that brightens or freshens up a home more than a bouquet of colorful fresh cut flowers. This share will provide a bouquet of professionally-conditioned and super fresh flowers during the height of midsummer to help you celebrate the brightness and color of the season! Our flowers are certified organic. Flower share can be picked up on regular CSA share days at the farm.
~Double Flower Share - (middle 10 weeks) $110.00
10 Weeks of fresh, artistically-arranged cut flowers in midsummer added to your weekly veggie CSA share! There is nothing that brightens or freshens up a home more than a bouquet of colorful fresh cut flowers. This share will provide a bouquet of professionally-conditioned and super fresh flowers during the height of midsummer to help you celebrate the brightness and color of the season! Our flowers are certified organic. Flower share can be picked up on regular CSA share days at the farm.
~Egg Shares - Winter and Summer
Egg season doesn't really correspond with Vegetable season very well. So we're offering a Winter Egg Share of 12 weeks of eggs starting in February and going until mid-May, and then a Summer Egg Share that is an add-on to the first 8 weeks of the Summer Vegetable Share. Pick up for the Winter Egg Share can be any time of day on Wednesdays and you can pick up 2 dozen every other week for convenience. For the Summer Egg Share, your dozen eggs will be in your vegetable basket each week for the first 8 weeks of the summer shares season. Winter Egg Share of 12 dozen eggs costs $90.00 | Summer Egg Share of 8 dozen eggs costs $60.00.
~Mushroom Share - (17 weeks) $78.00
Certified organic mushrooms with your basket each week - Shitake, Maitake, Portabella, Crimini, White Button, and more!
~Sweet Share - (17 weeks) $360.00
One of my main goals in running this CSA is to make people healthier, and sweets are not very healthy - but I do love baking and so many people are asking me to do a sweet share ... so I am going to try it this year, and I believe it will be good for the soul!
This share will be 17 weeks and will consist of farm-baked goodies made with our own eggs and mostly organic and fair-trade-where-appropriate ingredients. Emphasis will be on baked goods made with organic nuts as well as produce and herbs from our farm whenever possible. Although sugary in essence, these will be nutritious baked goods! I'm currently planning: Pistachio Squares, Brownies with Fair Trade Chocolate Nibs, Walnut Crescents, Zucchini Bread, Baklava, Cardamon Pecan Squares, Lavender Pound Cake, Lemon Balm Blueberry Muffins, Peanut Butter Cookies, Pecan Praline Tart, Meyer Lemon Tart, Pignoli Nut Cookies, Pumpkin Pie, etc.
~"Heart of the Season" Share
This is basically a half share - it is 8 weeks in the middle of the growing season. It works two ways:
~If you do a lot of canning/preserving or have a big family, you can add this extra 8 weeks of produce to your Traditional Vegetable Share for $325.00.
~Or if you just want to do a half share, you can join as a Heart of the Season shareholder for $458.00
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What to expect at Pick Up:
We aim to have the baskets all ready to go when you arrive. We don't have a lot of refrigerator space so we usually are harvesting for the shares the same day you pick up. We will try to have some extra fruit or other organic products available for sale that same day as well. Although you can just drop in fast and grab the basket and go, it is also a chance to talk with the other CSA members, discuss recipes and cooking tips, tour the gardens and greenhouse, visit with the chickens, and enjoy the company of like-minded people.
We want to encourage our CSA members to spend more time in the garden - as the season progresses, we'll have some pick your own options - that are especially nice for children - we'll have pick your own cherry tomatoes, green beans, and raspberries.
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We have an artistic and gourmet vision for our CSA shares.
We are a small farm - our cultivated garden area is under 2 acres. We do all of our growing, maintenance, harvesting, and packaging ourselves. This allows us to grow varieties of vegetables and greens that just cannot be grown on a large scale, where produce needs to survive mechanical harvesting and mass storage. You won't ever see most of the stuff we grow in any supermarket and only very rarely at the farmers' markets. Our lettuces are soft and frilly and our tomatoes and squash are tender-skinned and perfectly ripe. Many of our veggies go straight from the field into your basket - never seeing the inside of a fridge.
We also provide plenty of recipes and ideas for using your veggies as sometimes the unusual varieties may be a bit overwhelming if you're not used to them. We are dedicated to making sure that each of our shareholders can make good use of each week's harvest basket. We don't want anyone to feel over-burdened with veggies! And we understand busy schedules - our recipes and tips are designed for cooks with limited time but advanced taste-buds!
As a Holistic Health Coach, I really recommend becoming a member of a CSA - one of the key ways to achieve better health is to eat more vegetables and greens. By joining a CSA, you are automatically receiving a big basket of fresh vegetables every week and you have to use them! For some it may be a healthy challenge - but it is one well worth the effort! And we're here with all sorts of ideas and recipes for helping you make the best use of all the great veggies!
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Here's a list of the types of crops you'll see in your basket during the four months of our CSA program:
In June: You'll see: two different sorrels, lovage, lamb quarters, a huge variety of different frilly, soft heads of lettuce, baby greens mixes, garlic scapes, three different kales, rainbow chards, red and white dandelion greens, our fabulous collection of heirloom chicories, radicchio, frisee endive, escarole, edible flowers, flat and curly parsley, french breakfast radishes, round cherry radishes, watermelon radishes, long white sweet turnips, round tokyo turnips, collards, 4 different types of chives, green onions, scallions (both white and crimson), welsh onions, raspberries, strawberries, various colors of beets, fresh peas, rainbow carrots, nettles, spinach, and more!
In July: You'll see: broccoli, early and savoy cabbages, basils, cilantro, summer squash (zucchini of various colors and flavors, pattypans, trombicino squash, cucumbers of all sorts (we are planning 18 different varieties of cucumbers), peppers (sweet and hot varieties - we are planning over 40 different types of peppers), blueberries, currants, mulberries, gooseberries, a variety of different frilly, soft heads of lettuce, baby greens mixes, some kale, lots of rainbow chard, the bigger heirloom chicories like punterellas, radicchio heads, frisee endive, escarole, hot-weather edible flowers, flat and curly parsley, collards, continual green onions, scallions - both white and crimson, welsh onions, summer onions, various colors of beets, stringbeans (green, yellow, purple, flat podded), and more!
In August: You'll see: tomatoes (a huge variety of colors of cherry, plum, slicing, and giant tomatoes - we're currently planting seeds for over 40 different varieties), various colors and sizes of eggplants, cauliflower, tomatillos, leeks, broccoli, basils, cilantro, summer squash (zucchini of various colors and flavors, pattypans, trombicino squash, cucumbers of all sorts (we are planning 18 different varieties of cucumbers), peppers (sweet and hot varieties - we are planning over 40 different types of peppers), some lettuce, some kale, rainbow chard, the bigger heirloom chicories like punterellas, radicchio heads, frisee endive, escarole, hot-weather edible flowers, flat and curly parsley, collards, continual green onions, scallions - both white and crimson, welsh onions, summer onions, and more!
In September: You'll see: fennel, burdock roots, other cool roots, winter squash, turnips, various colors of beets, brussel sprouts, tomatoes (a huge variety of colors of cherry, plum, slicing, and giant tomatoes - we're currently planting seeds for over 40 different varieties), various colors and sizes of eggplants, tomatillos, leeks, broccoli, basils, cilantro, peppers (sweet and hot varieties - we are planning over 40 different types of peppers), baby spinach and lettuce mixes, kale, rainbow chard, the bigger heirloom chicories like punterellas, frisee endive, escarole, flat and curly parsley, collards, scallions, welsh onions, storage onions, storage cabbage, and more!
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7 Reasons to Join a CSA:
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Registration Form can be downloaded here!
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Questions?
Please do not hesitate to email or call us!
CSA@midsummerfarm.com | 845-986-9699
If you're interested in hearing when we open for registration for the 2014 season, please sign up below to receive our newsletter.
