The
Lamb’s Quarter CSA Program. Our 2010 program will be 24 weeks of vegetables, delivered to
a drop-off point, or picked up at the farm, once each week. The season will run from the week of May 24th
through the week of October 24th. As with all things in farming, the weather doesn’t always
cooperate with our plans. Our shareholders need to understand the need for flexibility in delivering vegetables
week to week. The program is 24 weeks; the beginning and ending is sometimes negotiable depending on the
needs of the crops. (In 2009, we needed to postpone the start of the CSA program 2 weeks due to unusually
wet, cool weather).
We plan on increasing the variety of our
vegetables, while still offering the basics. Boxes will include 6 items or more, in generous quantity to
feed the “average” family of 2 adults and 2 children for the week, vegetable-wise. I know,
“average” is vague. Not all families eat alike; some eat more, some less. Vegetarian
households may need more, as well as those who eat little meat. Other families of the same size will be
overwhelmed.
A full listing of our planned vegetable offerings can be found at www.localharvest.org/farms/M21147.
One of the critical things to keep in mind for your enjoyment and our success
is the concept of averaging. Droughts come, wet weather brings disease, and pests are a big issue in an
organic production system. Farming is rarely predictable. Our best plans may not come
to fruition, and crops do fail. We practice what is known as succession planting in order to average out
the variances of the weather and the pests. It is our strong desire and commitment to our members to give
you a solid return on your investment. Averaging what you get in your boxes over the entire season means
that you will anticipate some weekly boxes being “light,” while others will be “heavy.”
We plan to continue to deliver to the Port Republic area and would like to deliver
to the southern Anne Arundel area. We would like to have neighborhood coordinators at both locations to
host a pickup sight. In that light, we would like to stress some necessary etiquette for picking up your
share boxes. Please pickup your boxes within the allotted time frame. If you have any
questions about your share box, please contact us, not the coordinator. If you cannot make it to
the pickup sight, please have someone pickup your box for you. We really don’t want you
to miss out on the great vegetables. We will also deliver to Alexandria, VA this year as well.
In addition to the neighborhood coordinators, we also offer opportunities for
members to volunteer at the farm, and in the process learn a little about farming. We had one member consistently
show up on Thursday evenings; another on off-days at work. Our farm is beautiful, and many hands make light
work. If you want to come and bring your children, you are responsible for them.
We maintain a website, www.thelambsquarter.com, where you can find recipes, helpful hints, and a variety of other odds and ends.
This year, we are offering a number of options for shareholders to take advantage of. The
first option is the traditional shareholder vegetable box, loaded with 24 weeks of high quality, organically
managed vegetables for a cost of $625.00. The second option is the high summer shareholder vegetable
box, loaded with 12 weeks of great produce from our farm for a cost of $400.00.
For years we have been trying to figure out how to incorporate our meats into the CSA model. This
year we will have a third CSA option, the pastured meat box. The “pastured meat
box” will operate like a debit system. You choose the amount you wish to pay, we add a 5% or 10%
bonus on top of that, and then you can select your meats throughout the season, deducting each pickup from your debit with
us. You can select from $100.00 or $250.00. Finally, our fourth option is the egg
share, 24 weeks at $90, or 12 weeks at $45. The egg share can be added to any of the first three
options; the pastured meat box can be added to the either of the vegetable shares, or be a separate share.
We plan to offer a total of 75 shares this year. Preference will be given to
returning shareholders until February 28.
We
have “shopped” our competition. We offer excellent service; high quality vegetables, eggs,
and meats; connection to a local farm family, instead of a big non-profit entity; and the availability to volunteer and learn
about farming. We are not subsidized by the government or a non-profit fundraising campaign. Our
price-per-week is below the average this season as many have either raised share prices, shortened their season, or both.
We grow what we give you; we may occasionally purchase vegetables from other farmers to make up for a shortfall, but
that is the rarity, not the rule. Some other CSA’s produce little of their own vegetables, relying
on auction houses to make up the rest. Though we are not certified, we organically manage our farm; we
simply have little use for any government entity.
If this is what
you are looking for in a CSA/farm subscription service, we invite you to join us for another successful season of vegetables
and beyond.
Your
Farmers,
James
and Patrice Bourne
The Lamb’s Quarter
thelambsquarter@comcast.net
