I always like to check out the other vendors at the farmers markets. I like to see what they have and what they like to specialize in. Some focus on variety, but most seem to have one or two items they do really well at and they focus on that. Eventually we may grow more specifically for the Farmers Markets we do the pick ups at, but for now, the CSA and our farm stands keep us pretty busy. This year we added 5 more acres to our veggie production and I suspect we will have more extra produce to offer folks who are shopping at the farmers markets.
Tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash and zucchini, green beans, lettuce, eggplant, beets, kale, peaches, carrots, sweet corn, early potatoes, broccoli, blueberries, cauliflower, cabbage, various herbs, swiss chard, bell peppers, sweet peppers and hot peppers, cantaloupe, watermelon, onions, etc. Each week you will receive a Bushel of produce. The full share will consist of a large variety of vegetables, melons and herbs.
Our goal is 20 weeks and for the last 4 years this has not been a problem. We look to start around the third week in May. Some of the Fruits include: Strawberries, blueberries, cherries, plums, peaches, apricots, apples, watermelons and cantaloupe. Along with locally grown fruits, we will also have farm fresh eggs, jams and maple syrup you can purchase from us at the weekly pick ups.
Ready to become a member of our CSA? Here is how to sign up and become a member :. Feel free to call me if you have questions or just to introduce yourself. I go through the list of new membership sign ups each week or two and call each member. Then in early May I call everyone again and let you know when it looks like pick-ups will start.
Talk soon! Note: If you would rather pay online, I use PayPal. My PayPal email is joecrawfordonline gmail. Thank you for the opportunity to grow your families food this year! Subscribe to Farm Fresh Produce by Email. This site rocks the Classic Responsive Skin for Thesis. How Big is Your Garden? What is a CSA? How much produce do we receive in our CSA share?
What if we have to miss a week or two? How and when do we pay for our share? Here are some of the fruits and vegetables we grow each year and include in your weekly shares: these are somewhat in order of harvest sequence Asparagus, strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb, sugar snap peas, lettuce, spinach, kale, leeks, green beans, yellow summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, pickling pickles, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, bell peppers, misc.
Here are some of the most popular fruits you will find in your weekly share depending on which ones are in season at the time: Strawberries, blueberries, cherries, peaches, apricots, plumbs, apples, raspberries… What Our CSA Members Are Saying We put out an Anonymous survey at the end of the season to get member feed back and hopefully suggestions to further improve the CSA experience. Here are some of the things that members liked enough to mention: Fresh Eggs, Fresh Fruits were excellent this year, and we love your candy onions.
Fresh veggies, length of season, very friendly farmer and family. As always we appreciate your feedback. I am available by phone for any questions you have about the program as well.
My Cell is: We deliver the produce each week to the location you choose when you become a member. We are a growing farm with a goal of feeding families each year. We plant just about any vegetable that will grow here in Michigan along with just about any culinary herb. By the way you can suggest vegetables you would like to see us grow as well, but do it early if you want them this year.
Here are some of the Veggies We Grow: Tomatoes, cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, bell peppers, sweet banana peppers, hot peppers, green beans, zucchini squash, egg plant, summer squash, butternut squash, acorn squash, sweet dumpling squash, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, radishes, salad greens, arugula, garlic, onions, green onions, pumpkins, kohlrabi, cabbage, carrots, beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, asparagus, tomatillo, and more.
Oh… What about Fruit? We start with strawberries in June and end with apples in the fall. Here are some of the Michigan fruits we offer to CSA members: Strawberries, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, peaches, pears, plums, cantaloupe, watermelon, apples, and more. The quanity of produce you recieve will depend on three factors which are; the time of year, the share you purchased, the success harvest. We are also offering a premium share this year our goal for the premium share is closer to a bushel of fresh produce and we go heavy on fruits in the premium share.
You could see a couple quarts of strawberries, a quart of blueberries, and some fresh Michigan cherries all in one weeks basket. If a fruit is in season, it will be in you premium share in a quantity for people. It looked something like this:. We use green manure, or cover crops, to reproduce that first year nutrient pool the garden experienced. We try to get our vegetable crops out in time to start winter wheat or something like that.
We also work to improve out soil health with compost and other soil amendments that the soil samples call for. We stick to strictly organic compost and naturally derived minerals and nutrients. Soft rock phosphate, chicken manure, sea kelp, fish emulsion, and other naturally occurring nutrients replace what our plants take out of the soil. We have rather light sandy ground and we improve our organic matter and soil biology each year little by little.
Vegetable plants and the fruits they produce need certain nutrients at certain times and we do our best to make sure they get it. Soil and leave sample tests are quite advanced these days and we work with a consultant who can return test results in three days. Over time we have developed a group of naturally sourced foliar feeds that get the nutrients the plants need immediately, with the long term goal of improving the soil to the point that the natural biology produces what they need.
Constant improvement is the key to growing the most nutritious produce we can grow. It really is as simple as putting more back than you take out. Sustainable farming practices are the best way to grow great tasting nutritious produce in the most economical way possible. Many of the practices are simple and hundreds of years old, most of the technology I use is just insurance, it lets me head of problems that could hurt our crops before they do.
I continue to talk with other CSA farmers who have been at it a lot longer than I have. We have a farm goal of members and we will be approaching that soon. A commercial kitchen would be an awesome addition to our farm and starting a winter canned food share for CSA members would work great with that.
Adding beef, pork and poultry to our CSA offerings is another idea that could work well with our farm plan. One of the best resources for improving the CSA has been our members. If you have any comments please share them.
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