What is in a share?

The Essentials

• Two share sizes:
  
  • Large: family of four, or two enthusiastic veggie eaters (BEST VALUE)
    
  • Small: couple or smaller household (~half the size)
    
• Cost:
  
  • Large: $625
    
  • Small: $450
    
  • Lower cost options are available, including SNAP/HIP benefits (contact us for details)
    
• Three pick-up options:
  
  • Wednesdays 4-7pm at the farm (recommended - market style, PYO, etc.)
    
  • Saturdays 9am-1pm at the North Adams Farmers Market (box)
    
  • Saturdays 9am-1pm at the Pittsfield Farmers Market (box)
    
• Timeline:
  
  • Sign up ASAP and pay a $50 deposit to hold your share
    
  • Pay the balance by June 1st
    
  • Receive email updates about how the season is going
    
  • First pickup: mid-June (specific week TBD)
    
  • Last pickup: late October (20 weeks)
    

At on-farm pick-ups, we harvest, wash, and display all of the vegetables and provide a list of maximum quantities each member may take. You are not required to take any items, and we provide a sharing basket for members to donate unwanted items or pick up extras. Some days we will offer pick-your-own crops like peas, beans, or cherry tomatoes. Other times we will offer "seconds" or extras for canning, freezing, etc.

On Saturday farmers market pick-ups, we bring a pre-packed box of fresh produce for you to grab and take home. (We harvest some of the pick-your-own crops to include in the Saturday boxes.)

We offer two share sizes: a large share offers the best value and is enough to satisfy vegetable needs for a family of four or two hearty vegetable eaters. A small share (roughly half as much food as a large share) is more appropriate for a couple or smaller household. The contents of the share vary as the season goes on. Early on, expect lots of leafy greens like lettuce and swiss chard as well as fast growing root crops like beets, radishes, and salad turnips. Midseason, you'll see summer favorites like cucumbers, tomatoes, summer squash, green beans, and melons. In the fall, the share features root vegetables, winter squash, potatoes, leeks, and other cold hardy crops. We try to offer some staple items like lettuce, kale/chard, and some type of garlic or onion every week.

How Does a CSA Share Work?

What happens on pick-up day?

Also sometimes called a "farm share", CSA is a way for families to purchase quality, fresh produce at a lower cost while connecting with and supporting the farmers who grow their food. It is an agreement between the farmers and their members to share in both the risk and the bounty of small-scale vegetable growing. Click here to sign up!

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

We grow a variety of vegetables for our CSA shareholderes and for sale at area farmers markets. We use organic (not certified) practices to manage fertility, pests, and weeds and to promote healthy plant growth. Some of these practices include:

• Building fertility with our own compost, organic soil amendments, and practices like cover cropping and organic mulch
  
• Purchasing organic seeds when available
  
• Using products like floating row cover, kaolin clay, and hand removal to manage pests
  
• Minimizing weed growth by mulching, flame weeding, and both hand and mechanical cultivation
  
• Integrating different farm operations to improve outcomes, i.e. allowing chickens to graze finished garden beds and composting inedible plant matter
  
• Avoiding chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or other substances that can potentially cause harm to human, farm, or wild communities.
  

Members sign up for a CSA share in the winter or spring, placing a $50 deposit to hold their share and paying the balance by June 1. This up front investment helps the farmers with planning and cash flow at a time of year when expenses (seeds, potting soil, greenhouse propane, soil amendments, field supplies, new equipment, etc.) are high. In return, shareholders receive a weekly "share" of vegetables selected by the farmers based on what it is ripe and abundant through the harvest season. The value of each week's produce usually well exceeds its equivalent cost at farmers market or grocery stores, and there are often extras available through pick-your-own or offerings of "seconds."

Square Roots Farm