Whether you’ve just joined Sweetland’s CSA or you’ve been a member for years, a refresher on the process can really help! Read on for answers to our most asked questions.
We are incredibly proud of our growing practices and are always thrilled to talk about our methods and decisions. The short story is, we do not use synthetic pesticides or herbicides to produce our veggies, and we use eco-certified low-spray IPM techniques in our orchard. But we don’t stop there. We are committed to assessing each practice and product that we use to grow your food, and using our backgrounds in environmental studies, chemistry, environmental engineering, and small-scale farming to choose the most sustainable option. For example, we choose to avoid certain organic-approved products and practices like copper fungicides or naturally-derived neurotoxins that many organic growers do regularly employ, because we have deemed them unsafe to our crew or the environment. Similarly, we have decided that certain “conventional” practices are truly the more sustainable option because they reduce carbon fossil emissions, spray intervals, or inputs in our landfills compared to their OMRI approved alternatives. Between Norah’s on-the-ground training and observations and her environmental science background, our goal is to make educated decisions about the products we use and the practices we follow that result in healthy food for our shareholders, a healthy work environment for our crew, and fertile soil for our plants and animals to grow on.
All of this is to say that we are trying to be careful thinkers about what “sustainable” means and how to best practice it, rather than just doing what someone else tells us is okay. We have decided to forgo the OMRI certification process (and all of the paperwork that goes with it) primarily because our direct contact with the CSA shareholders is what holds us accountable for our growing practices, not an outside certifying party. We want our shareholders to ask us about our practices and see them in action every time they visit the farm.
You know what you like, and we’re growing it! Our choice-based CSA model puts the veggies you love in your basket. We’ll be growing and harvesting a wide variety of crops each week to offer you a broad selection to choose from, with a trend towards more choices and more items as the season progresses. Here’s how it works:
We also offer boxed choice-based CSA delivery to multiple convenient sites throughout the Upper Valley.
Whether you pick up your CSA share at the farm or at a delivery site, you’ll be getting the freshest selection of seasonal crops, tailored to your preferences. Get excited to cook!
Members choose one regular pickup day and location for the season.
Members who use LocalLine to customize their share weekly can switch locations by choosing a different day/location that works with their schedule. Delivery members are welcome to change to any location; on-farm members are welcome to change their on-farm pickup day.
Farmer’s Choice members use the Farmer’s Choice Pickup Change Form to communicate day/location changes.
Our Barter Table is a great way to tailor your share to fit your family’s appetite by taking extras of surplus crops or donating items in the share that you don’t think you’ll eat. All Barter Table leftovers are donated to Willing Hands at the end of each pickup, so you know that your trade-ins are going to good use.
If you are unable to pick up your share at your regular time/location, here are some options to consider:
On farm pickups: Stop by our after-hours fridge (located outside on the north side of the farm stand) within 48 hours of your missed pickup to grab a box.
Delivery sites: Our partners at Willing Hands will collect forgotten boxes at each delivery site after the scheduled pickup time to donate to area food pantries.
All CSA members are encouraged to harvest flowers, herbs, and specialty crops in our members-only Pick-Your-Own gardens once per week. You can visit and pick any one day of the week (not only on your pickup day) during the open season (typically mid-June until frost). Please base your harvest quantity on what is available, knowing that we have many members who harvest in these gardens (if there’s lots pick hard, if not leave some for others). We have scissors available, but feel free to bring your own. There is a sink outside the farm store if you’d like to fill a vase.
All CSA members receive a discount in our farm store for the duration of your share! Enter your membership number (the phone number you provided when you signed up for the CSA) in the POS when checking out to receive your discount on ALL store purchases. Ask a farm crew member if you need help.
Winter CSA shares can be picked up from our self serve fridge (located outside on the north side of the farm stand) at the farm each week. The shares are available in the fridge from Friday at 12:00 pm through Sunday at 8:00 pm.