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CSA Details

Below are the specifics for our CSA. If you want to zip straight to a topic, just click on one of the headings below

Only Organic
Heirloom Varieties
How Big Is Share?
What Vegetables Can I Expect To Receive?
Weekly Newsletter
Why Participate In Our CSA?
Where Do I Pick Up My Share?
How Much Does It Cost?
How Can I Find Out More?

Only Organic: A few years ago, the Federal Government stepped in to regulate who can use the term "organic" and how it is defined. Quite honestly, many of us are trying to figure out the implications of the standards that have been established. As a member of our CSA, you can be assured that almost all of the produce we grow is organic from the start. We start most of our vegetables from organic seed in our Hoop House, using organic mixes and compost as a medium to start the seeds in. Unfortunately, not all varieties of vegetables are available as organic seed, but we strive to find organic seed and once the plant is started in our hoop house, it is grown organically, using no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. Seed potatoes are acquired from organic sources. Growing organically can vary greatly from farm to farm. To learn what we mean by "organic" go to our page Organic Defined.

Heirloom Varieties: Many of the varieties that we grow are known as heirloom varieties. Heirloom varieties are not hybrids, and their seed can be saved from year to year to produce the same variety each time. Hybrid seeds are special crosses developed for certain traits and cannot reproduce themselves exactly. We grow heirloom vegetables for their excellent flavor. The hybrids have been developed to capitalize on certain traits such as resistance to certain diseases, fruit uniformity, or longer storage capabilities. Unfortunately, with this selection, some sacrifices in flavor are often made. Because we don't have to worry about many of the problems that hybrids address, we can use the better flavored heirlooms instead. We are not exaggerating when we say that you can really taste the difference. Many of our members will comment that they have not tasted a tomato like ours since they were kids in their Grandparent's garden.

How Big Is a Share? Potential members of our CSA always ask the important and obvious question, "How much will I get?". This is a very difficult question to answer for the quantity of produce distributed will vary as the season progresses. The initial boxes of the season typically contain less, since this is the start of the harvest and few things have reached picking size, but at the close of the season the boxes are filled to the brim. In August, September, and October the boxes are so full that we have difficulty getting them closed. Another consideration is that people consume vegetables in varying quantities depending on their own personal tastes and life style. Conservatively, a share will feed two non-vegetarians or one vegetarian for a week. Once the season is underway in July, members can expect the equivalent of one to one and a half paper grocery bags, or more, of produce. At season's height, it may be closer to 2 paper sacks. Distributions begin the first Friday in June or earlier, and continue until the end of October. That's at least 20 weeks of produce!

What Vegetables Can I Expect To Receive? For about $25 per week you will receive a box of delicious vegetables weekly. Except for crops such as garlic, onions, potatoes, and winter squashes, which we pick and store for distribution throughout the summer and fall, all of the vegetables are picked each week for placement in your box. Members can expect 7 to 10 different kinds of produce each week except at the very beginning of the season. The chart below shows most of the vegetables we grow with their expected dates of availability. Of course, the actual dates and amounts will vary with the weather. Each "X" denotes a possible week's distribution. Therefore, if the month of July has an "X" 4 times, you can assume that there is a strong possiblity that this particular vegetable will be in your box each week of July. Also, certain vegetables may include several varieties. This is the case with vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, the squashes, and onions.

Weekly Newsletter: Each week we include a newsletter for each share. The newsletter is the primary means by which we keep in touch with our members. Generally it will include important announcements and a listing of the vegetables included in that week's box, as well as what to expect in the next distribution. We also talk a bit about what has been happening at the farm and what is anticipated for the coming week. If a less commonly used vegetable is included or anticipated soon, the newsletter will contain general information about it, including cleaning, storing and cooking tips. We usually provide a weekly recipe. Many of these recipes focus on that week's produce and have been submitted by our members. You can view some of these recipes in the section of this website titled "recipes". To view some of our past newsletters, visit our newsletter webpage where we have PDFs of our past 3 years of newsletters.

Why Participate In Our CSA?
By joining our CSA, you can be confident of receiving the freshest, most nutritious, organic produce possible.

• You can be certain that your vegetables are grown without toxic chemical herbicides and pesticides.
• You will receive varieties of vegetables through the season that are chosen for their excellent flavor and nutrition, instead of for their ease of harvest and shipping.
• You will be supporting a local farm that is operated in harmony with the environment.
• You can conveniently do a week's worth of vegetable shopping simply by picking up your share in one convenient stop.

Where Do I Pick Up My Share? In 2009, we had 13 pick up sites in the Springfield / Miami Valley area. Obviously one of these is our farm in Springfield. The others are in Yellow Springs, 3 in Dayton, Clayton (north Dayton), Bellbrook, Kettering, Beavercreek, Centerville, Lebanon, West Chester, Miamisburg, and Tipp City. You can view maps to all of these pickup locations by visiting our Maps Page. Pickups will all occur on Fridays. Pickup times will vary from location to location and will be determined a bit later in the spring, but you can expect them to vary from late morning at some of our first drop offs to later in the afternoon at others. If we have enough interest to develop a new site, we may do so, and members are welcome to change their pickups, if this is convenient to them, at any time during the season, provided we have one week's notice, and the pickup change is permanent. We are unable accommodate customers who would like to change pickup locations frequently due to the risk for errors.

How Much Will It Cost? The cost of a share for 2010 will be $475.00. We require a deposit of $125 to hold your share with complete payment by June 1st. For an additional $25, you may purchase a share using the following payment plan: $125.00 at the time of application as a deposit, $125.00 by June 15th, a third payment of $125.00 by August 1st, and a final payment of $125.00 by September 15th ($500 total). We also accept Master Card and Visa credit cards, but we cannot use these for the payment program. Just visit our secure application page to sign up, but please remember to follow up your emailed application with a check or provide your credit card information to pay your deposit to guarantee your share (no credit cards for the payment plan)! Remember we require a deposit to hold your share for you, and we operate on a first come, first serve basis. The increased awareness of CSAs and the value of buying locally, is making CSA space limited.

Deadlines? Bluebird Hills Farm will continue to accept applications until all of the shares are sold for the season. Even with the poor economy in 2009, we were sold out by the start of the season. As the interest in locally grown, healthful food is increasing, we anticipate being sold out of shares long before the season begins this year, due to the size of our waiting list. We suggest waiting no longer than April 1st to sign up for a share. In the unlikely event that we happen to have shares available after the season begins, we will prorate the fee for any distributions you may have missed by signing up late.

How Can I Find Out More? We hope we have answered all of your questions here on this website, but if not, please feel free to contact us by phone, U.S. Postal Service, or e-mail. We would be very happy to answer any questions you might have, or even refer you to some of our members. Just click below for our contact information.

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