CSA 2017 at Clark's Farm Farming in Howard County since 1797.
Clark's Farm is hosting a summer vegetables CSA. This will be our fifth year and we hope you are as excited as we are to get this growing season started!
Whoa, wait, what is a CSA?
CSA - Community Supported Agriculture - is a farm model were consumers buy into the harvest season that is ahead. The consumer buys a "share" of the farm season and then receives a variety of produce each week. The consumer commits in late winter or early spring, which allows the farm start up money to plan the season, buy seeds, etc.
For the CSA we will only be putting items in the weekly share that we grow. Our garden is chemical free: no synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides are ever used. That means there might be pest damage on the produce, but it does not change the flavor! We promote biodiversity and healthy soils to produce healthy vegetables. Some of the vegetables we will grow for the 2017 season are lettuces, spinach, kale, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cantaloupe, radishes, onions, a variety of herbs, and cut flowers.
Please understand that your share will be pre-packed with whatever combination of vegetables, herbs, and flowers that are available in any given week. We will not be offering a trade table and you may not exchange any vegetables in your share for anything we have for sale at the stand when you come for your pickup. But since the pickup will be at our produce stand you will have a chance to supplement your weekly basket with produce that we buy from other farms and meats we produce on our farm as well. Other produce that may be available will be sweet corn, watermelon, berries and peaches. You will also be able to purchase extra of anything in your CSA weekly basket.
CSAs are not for everyone. You might be interested in a CSA if you like to cook, experiment with different or unusual produce, and want to truly experience eating seasonally. A CSA might not be for you if you go away a lot during the summer, if you don't cook at home very often, don't like exploring new recipes, or if you are not comfortable with the vagaries in production yield created by weather and pest-related issues.
So for 2017 Clark's Farm provides you with two options for getting produce from us. For a majority of you, stopping at the produce stand on a regular basis will still be the best option. However, joining our CSA season may be an attractive choice for some of you.
How to sign up for Clark's Farm's CSA?
The sign up is on a first come, first serve basis. Please email produce@clarks.farm to reserve a share. Please indicate your preference of pick-up day and share size. Once I have confirmed your reservation and payment is complete, shares are not refundable. You may however transfer the share to a friend or family member.
This year we will be offering three pick-up days. However, once you sign up for a day you must come on that pick-up day each week, you may not switch.
During the share season, if you are ever unable to pick up your share, please make arrangements for someone else to pick up your share on your chosen pick-up day. We take a lot of pride in harvesting your vegetables as close to pick up time as possible. This produce is perishable and we cannot take responsibility for storing it properly overnight.
If you have to miss a pick up and do not have anyone to pick it up for you, one time during the season you may give us 24 hours notice and then you may stop by the stand and pick up produce equal to the value of your share anytime during that week. Please understand that we must have 24 hours notice and you may only use this offer once per season. This offer does not work if you miss a pick up without notification beforehand. Also understand we do buy in extra produce to sell at our stand, so when you pick some of this produce from the stand, it may not have been grown by Clark's Farm and therefore is not chemical free. You may not use this offer on our meats, eggs, or jams.
We are excited about our CSA this year and invite you to join us in this journey!