March 12, 2007
CSA 2007!!!
Here is a reprint of our CSA flyer. For a printable registration form, click here. To see what folks in the CSA got in their baskets each week last season, click here.
Comments from past CSAers
We hoped you’d be able to equal last year’s wonderful baskets, but this year was even more fantastic.- Susan and Ted Houle, Danville
Being a part of the CSA felt great. It was nice to be part of a community.- Jean O’Neil, Kirby
Always tasty, the Old Shaw CSA basket is definitely a highlight every week!- Aaron and Eileen, Littleton
Talk about how to stay well!- Carolyn Wheeler, St. Johnsbury
The safety of our food is in much better hands when kept nearby at a scale that is familiar to us.- Sharon McDonnell, Peacham
We have been completely spoiled by such tasty vegetables.- Lisa Whitney, St. Johnsbury
Who We Are
We are the Griffins - Peter, Maryellen, Waverly, and Henry. We live in Peacham, and this is our fifth year growing vegetables on this land and our third year of CSA.
In addition to the CSA, we do two farmers’ markets a week - Danville and Waitsfield - and we sell from a farmstand at our farm. We grow about five acres of organic vegetables, and we have two greenhouses and two hothouses.
Rich History
Our farm’s good history starts with the glaciers that left us dark, deep soil without many rocks. The glaciers also gently sloped the land southward for good sun and drainage.
Our farm is named after the Shaw family who farmed this land for more than 75 years. The Shaws raised cows and chickens and built most of the house and barn. The Seiden family, who owned it next, conserved the farm by donating an easement to the Vermont Land Trust. We are happy beneficiaries of this farm’s great history, and we strive to continue the good stewardship!
Wicked fresh
Our vegetables taste great because they’re wicked fresh. We grow everything organically (we’re certified), in healthy soil, with lots of love, and then we get it to you usually within a day of being picked. Supermarket produce can’t compete. It takes ten days or more for most supermarket vegetables to even get to the store. Fresh vegetables are more delicious, and they’re also more nutritious!
We sell everything locally – we don’t worry about shipping – so we grow for taste. We grow French melons and leave them on the vine till they’re perfectly ripe and dripping with flavor. We grow tender, perfectly balanced mesclun. We grow sun gold cherry tomatoes so juicy and bright that you’ll be sorely tempted to eat them all in the car on the way home!
Our baskets
In our CSA, we pack a basket for you every week. We include tomatoes and salad fixins in almost every basket. We write a flyer each week with cooking tips and usually a recipe based on the weeks’ vegetables. We grow some unusual vegetables for variety, but we mostly give you vegetables everyone knows and loves.
Last year's baskets included (in rough order of the season) mesclun, cucumbers, beets, salad turnips, kale, cooking greens, arugula, spinach, radishes, sun gold cherry tomatoes, garlic scapes, broccoli, zucchini, red tomatoes, strawberries, new potatoes, colored peppers, lettuce, carrots, dandelion greens, green beans, yukon gold potatoes, cabbage, eggplant, cauliflower, summer squash, sweet onion, yellow beans, melons, heirloom tomatoes, corn, basil, hot pepper, leeks, garlic, brussel sprouts, winter squash.
People often ask how much is in the basket. The regular size share comes in a half bushel basket and its usually full. We figure the basket by price, aiming to average $22.50 worth of vegetables each week. You only pay $19.50 per week – it’s a great deal!
Community Supported Agriculture
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. The name CSA comes from the idea of linking local residents with nearby farmers in order to get fresher local vegetables to consumers at lower prices. CSAs also help sustain local farms by getting revenue to farmers early in the season.
Fall Add On
This year we are also offering a five week fall CSA add on. These are smaller baskets (worth about $15 each) that start when the regular season CSA ends and go through the Friday before Thanksgiving, with the last basket being a double-sized one.
The fall add-on is $75. Pickup is Fridays at the farm only. The signup deadline for the fall add on is July 1. (We start growing the fall vegetables sooner than you might think!) Please call with questions or for more information.
Farm Share Program
NOFA-VT (the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont) has a Farm Share Program to make CSAs available for folks who can’t afford them. A Farm Share member pays ½ the cost of the CSA, NOFA-VT pays ¼, and the CSA Farm raises ¼ from donations from members. More information about Farm Share here. If you can, please include a $10 or more donation when you sign up (please make check out to NOFA-VT).
Join with a friend !
A lot of CSAers join with a friend, neighbor, or relative. Sometimes each friend gets their own basket, and the two take turns picking up baskets for each other. Sometimes friends split a basket. It can be fun to get together for a veggie filled meal on pick up days and then split up the rest of the basket. We are happy to provide extra flyers and bags to folks sharing baskets.
Price
The price is $350 for the 18 week season. It breaks down to $19.50 per week for $22.50 worth of vegetables. You save at least 15%.
We also offer a large basket for $495. The large basket gets a 20% discount, $27.50 each week for a basket worth $33.
The season runs from the week of June 13 through the week of October 10.
The deadline to sign up is June 1.
Pickup options
Wednesdays Danville Farmer’s Market 9am-1pm
Fridays At the farm in South Peacham, 4-7pm
Saturdays Waitsfield Farmer’s Market, 9am- 1pm
To order
Call Maryellen at 592-3349
Email Maryellen@oldshawfarm.com
Mail your check to Old Shaw Farm, Box 181, Peacham 05862
Click here for order form
