What is a "Farm Share" or "CSA"?Farm shares are often also referred to as Community Supported Agriculture, or "CSA," it is a mutually-beneficial arrangement between community members and a local farmer in which the farmer provides produce during the growing season in exchange for payment before the season begins. Each week of the growing season, the farmer harvests the mature crops and divides the produce into "shares," typically one for each of the farm’s CSA members.
For customers who want to pick up at the farm, Summer Wind Farms runs a “market style” CSA, in that each week’s harvest is laid out on display and members come to the farm on a predetermined day of the week and choose the produce they want within certain limits based on the farm's yield that week. We also have other pickup locations available. In these ‘off farm’ locations we pre-fill your box with a great selection of our produce that is being harvested that week. Sign up for our CSA newsletter.
As a certified organic grower, we are not permitted to use any GMO (genetically modified organism) seeds whatsoever. In addition, on the items we grow conventionally (non-organic) we never use GMO seeds.
How it worksFor members picking up at the farm, at the beginning of the season you will get a basket to hold your produce, approximately the size of a half bushel for a half share. Simply bring the bushel with you to the farm each week and select your produce from the items on display. Baskets can be filled only to the top rim. Occasionally when we have large items, we may not require that these be put in your basket.
For members picking up at an ‘off farm’ location, at the beginning of the season you will get a box of your first week’s produce. Simply bring the empty box with you to the pickup location each week. We will have the current week’s filled box there waiting for you and we’ll bring your empty box back to the farm to refill for the following week. For members that pick up at our Medford farm market you can exchange up to two items from your box each week for other items from our farm. Crops Planned for the 2024 season are:
Availability of produce will vary by season but a variety of at least 7-9 items will be available each week. Items marked with an asterisk (*) are generally grown conventionally using Integrated Pest Management techniques to minimize pesticide use. We may substitute other items grown conventionally in the event of a crop failure or weather related shortage of the item on our farm. We are growing more and more items organically each year. We may not grow EVERY item on the above list in any given year, but it is a good representation. You will get the more popular items more frequently, like corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers etc.
Also, CSA members are welcome to visit us at any of our Medford, NJ Farmers Market, 109 Rt 70, on Fridays and Saturdays where we always have other fruit and produce items including local and specialty artisan foods and receive a discount of 5% on any produce item they purchase.
Share SizesWe offer two share sizes for our vegetable shares that are dropped off at pick up locations.
2024 Regular Organic Vegetable Farm Share CSA For our regular share, we utilize a box known in the trade as a ‘half bruce.” Each share box or “half bruce” is approximately 10.5"W x 16"L x 11"H. On farm pickups use a wood half bushel. Our Regular share box is usually good for 3-4 people and two shares, is about right for larger families assuming everyone eats a normal share of vegetables. What size is right for you will depend on your family size and how much you plan to eat fresh vegetables during the season. About 75% of our members choose the single Regular Farm Share. 2024 “Mini” Organic Vegetable Farm Share CSA Summer Wind Farms truly loves working with the community, hence it’s one of the biggest reasons we offer a robust and bountiful Organic Vegetable Share CSA. We have gotten feedback though that our share can be too much for some people. Therefore, we have decided to add a “Mini” Organic Vegetable Share CSA to our program. Our “Mini” Organic Vegetable share will run for the same 18 weeks during the season and be comprised of an average of 5-6 items in smaller quantities. It will be suitable for 1-2 people. It is going to be perfect for seniors, single people or couples who only cook a few times a week or someone who has been interested in trying a Farm Share CSA. Please know that the box we use for our 'boxed shares' has been chosen to accommodate the times of the season when the type of produce we are harvesting is very bulky and we need the room in the box to hold your share without damaging the produce. Because of that, during times of the growing season when we have fewer bulky items the boxes will not be completely full. LocationsCSA members can choose a ‘market style’ pickup on the farm or have a pre-filled box dropped off at a pick-up location.
At Summer Wind FarmsMembers picking up their produce on the farm should go to:
Summer Wind Farms Packing Barn 1745 Piney Hollow Rd. Newfield, NJ Wednesdays from 3 PM - 6 PM. It is on the far eastern end of Franklin Township at the end of either Dutch Mill Rd. or Victoria Ave. if you are coming from Franklin Township. Piney Hollow Rd. runs between Rt. 40 and Rt. 322 and we are located roughly halfway between the two highways. You can find us on GPS, Google Maps, and MapQuest etc. These services may use our family’s nursery name for that address, Ferrucci Nurseries. At Other locationsSummer Wind Farm Market at the Dutch Wagon Amish Market
109 Rt. 70 East, Medford, NJ. Fridays from 9AM-6PM (Please note Fall Share pick-ups are Friday Only) Saturdays from 9AM-1PM Halo Wellness Center 968 Route 73 South Marlton, NJ Fridays from 1-6 PM We also offer a Jersey Summer Fruit CSAIn addition to our Organic Vegetable CSA we also offer a Jersey Summer Fruit CSA. Our summer fruit shares begin in early July 1st end the same time as our Vegetable CSA shares. you can enjoy the best of Jersey Fresh Fruit all summer long. Click below for details.
Finish out the season with a Fall Farm ShareTo keep the flow of Jersey fruit and vegetables coming right until Thanksgiving consider adding a Fall Farm Share. It's a combined fruit and vegetable CSA containing both organic items and those grown using integrated pest management techniques. It has lots of great fall items, including several that are limited or not available during the summer season.
|
Is a CSA right for our family?This is such an important topic it has it's own tab in the "2022 CSA shares" above. Please click and read it through. Email us at [email protected] with any questions.
What should I expect?The farm’s bounty varies by time of year. The early summer focuses more on greens, like lettuce, chards, kale, cabbage and other early season items like radishes and peas.
As we get into mid-summer, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers and squash take a bigger role along with Jersey sweet corn. Late summer and fall bring a return to the greens as well as great fall items like broccoli, sweet potatoes and collards. There will be a very wide variety of produce but keep in mind like all New Jersey farms not all our crops are in season all at once. For example, things like sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes are ready in mid-summer, so for the early part of the season you’ll need to supplement those items. We take our food seriously, so you can be sure that we will have not only the Jersey summer basics but many new and different items as well. Being a family of cooks, we’ll have some family recipes available as well, especially when we have new or unusual items. What if there are items in the box we don’t eat?Our members tell us that one of the things they enjoy most about our CSA is the opportunity to try new items or make common items in a different way. We provide a newsletter to our members with information about that week’s share and some recipe ideas too.
If you want more control over exactly what you get, then picking up at the farm is for you. We do a ‘market style’ pick up there, where (within some limits) you can get whatever items you like and leave others back. NOTE: At our Medford Farm Market location you exchange up to two items from your boxed share for other items from our farm that we have at the market (within some limits) so you can get just the items your family will love. Can I split my share with someone?Of course, all we ask is that only one person register as a member. and the people sharing coordinate who is picking up each week.
|
Is there a risk? As a CSA member, you have purchased a share in the harvest of the farm. Farming of course has many risks that are out of the farmer’s control. We utilize numerous growing practices to ensure our harvest is bountiful and free from insect, disease and weather damage. That said, there may be times when certain crops just don’t perform the way we planned and they won’t be available or there will smaller quantities of that item available. So, we can’t guarantee how the growing season will progress or the exact contents of your share from week to week. Be assured that we will work very hard to bring you lots of fresh, local, delicious food for your family’s table for the upcoming season.
At times we may supplement our organic production with items grown using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) if that item is in short supply on our farm. What if I can't pick up one week?If you are going to be away you can have someone else take your share that week, just let us know who will be picking it up. If you can’t use it at all that week let us know and we will donate it to a local food bank or church.
Can I change my pick up location after the season has started?Location changes are possible during the first 3 weeks of the season if you discover that a certain location works better for you. After the third week all locations are firm and cannot be changed. We are unable to accommodate any single week location changes.
Once I become a member can I cancel and get a refund for the part of the season I didn’t use?The purpose of a CSA is to have the CSA members partner with their local farmer. The advance payment is used to finance the startup costs of the crops the member will be receiving for the season. Those funds go immediately to buy seeds, fertilizers, greenhouse fuel, etc. For these reasons CSA memberships, once purchased, cannot be cancelled or refunded for any reason.
|
Sign up By: |
Organic Vegetable Share |
Organic Mini Veg. Share |
Jersey Summer Fruit Share |
Jersey Flower Share |
Fall Farm Share |
December 31 |
$475.00 |
$315.00 |
$315.00 |
$120.00 |
$215.00 |
January 31 |
$520.00 |
$345.00 |
$345.00 |
$130.00 |
$230.00 |
February 28 |
$520.00 |
$345.00 |
$345.00 |
$130.00 |
$230.00 |
March 31 |
$520.00 |
$345.00 |
$345.00 |
$130.00 |
$230.00 |
April 30 |
$570.00 |
$365.00 |
$365.00 |
$140.00 |
$250.00 |
May 31 |
$570.00 |
$365.00 |
$365.00 |
$140.00 |
$250.00 |