How to Join

Important Questions to Ask Yourself Before Joining

Do we cook several meals at home during the week?

Are we enthusiastic about occasionally trying something unusual from the garden?

Will we be available to pick up our share during our CSA commitment? (This can also be picked up by a friend or neighbor when needed.)

Are we willing to take the risks with the farmer that sometime come when working with Mother Nature (lower production, smaller share quantities, due to insects or weather conditions)?

Risks Involved

Risk is a factor in any business but in farming, financial risk seems greater than in most businesses because one is totally subservient to the whims of mother nature. When one joins a CSA it is a declaration of the importance of knowing the origin of one's food while accepting some of that risk. By paying up front, the CSA subscriber shares with the farmer the risk that a certain percentage of the crops planned in advance might be failures. This is advantageous to the farmer because he is assured of a certain income even if he doesn't have 100% crop success. The CSA arrangement is advantageous to the subscribers because they are assured of a steady, weekly supply of clean produce, accepted with the knowledge that the produce is grown free of chemicals, that they can visit the farm where the produce was grown and that their money is staying in the local economy.

Our Guarantee

To our members we guarantee you will receive fresh, organically, certifiable produce grown using methods insuring the highest nutritional value possible.

Cost

Share cost for the 2010 harvest season is $375.00.

The amounts listed below are typical quantities of each individual vegetable when it is a part of the total share. The share amounts are for optimal harvest conditions. Usually, you will receive 5-8 different vegetables in your share each week. Some vegetables repeat for more weeks than others do. Compare your family's food needs to our share amounts to help you decide if one or more shares are right for you.

Growing and harvest share expectations for 2010

Spring Summer Fall

Boc Choi

1 hd.

Turnips

depending on variety 3-4ea

Sweet corn

8ears

Napa Cabbage

1 hd.

Cabbage, green & red 1ea.

Summer Squash

1-2ea.

Green onions

6-8/bnch

Carrots

1lb.

Swiss Chard

1/2lb.

Beet greens

6-8oz.

Beets

3ea.

Cucumbers

1-2ea.

Wild greens

1/2lb ea. variety Potatoes

2lbs.

Potatoes

2 lbs

Lettuce mix1/2lb to 1hd.

Swiss chard

1/2lb.

Tomatoes

4-10lbs.

Radish

6-7/bnch

Green Beans

1lb.

Sweet Peppers

1ea.

Swiss chard

1/2lb.

Onions

-2ea.

Hot Peppers

handful

Cabbage, green 1 hd.

Summer Squash

1-2ea.

Celery *

1 bunch

Broccoli

1/2-3/4 lb.

Celery cuttings *

depends on crop

Green Beans

1lb.

Kohlrabi

2 ea.

or Celeric

1ea.

Eggplant

1ea.

Garlic Scapes

5ea.

Fennel, bulb *

1 ea.

Winter Squash

1ea.

Romaine Lett.

1 hd.

Tomatoes

4lbs.

Brussels Sprouts * 1stalk

Cucumber

1-2ea.

Lettuce

1hd

Sweet Corn

8 ears

Beets

3ea.

Garlic

8 bulbs

Greens

1/2lb.

Lettuce

1-2 hds.

Radish

6-7

Turnips

3-4

Pumpkin

1 ea.

Popcorn

1lb.

A U-pick garden will also be included in you share. Spring there will be sugar snap peas, nasturtiums.

Summer herbs, flowers, husk cherry tomatillos, okra. Fall herbs, flowers, sunflowers for birds or roasting for yourself.

The first CSA pick up is tentively scheduled to begin in June, on Wednesday the 4th or Thursday the 5th, and run through the final week in September. Pick up hours are between 3:30 and 7pm either day.

Make sure you read the above Risks involved, ask questions and understand it before you sign up to join our CSA.

Extras

As a member of the CSA, you will also be able to purchase brown eggs on the day of pickup, pre-order our free range chicken, raised in the gardens on organic bugs and clover.

The shareholder is entitled to approximately 18 weeks of produce grown on the farm.

Pickup location will be at Gravel Knolls Farm, Wednesdays or Thursdays between the hours of 3:30 and 7:00pm.

We welcome any member wishing to volunteer a day or two's farm's labor. Just check with us about schedule.

Questions?

For questions or to send payment, please contact us:

Linda & Jim Rosselot

6538 Dimmick Road

West Chester, OH 45069

(513)779-1190, 513 652-7653

e-mail Linda