Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Vegetable Subscription

There are many different types of CSA’s but they typically all work in a similar way: Community members pre-pay for their food in the early part of the year in exchange for a weekly box of produce during the growing season.  This method gives farmers a source of income when they need it most, to buy seeds and supplies for the growing season.  Members enjoy the benefits of having fresh, delicious vegetables delivered to them every week for several months.  CSA members enjoy a direct connection to the farmer who produces their food and they can feel confident in the methods that went into growing it.  Both farmer and member are contributing to a sustainable food system that emphasizes fresh, in-season produce and supports a local economy.

Our Subscription: The Appalachia Star Farm CSA is a vegetable subscription that begins in mid-May and continues 22 weeks until mid-October.  Each week members receive a selection of seasonal produce as it becomes available.  Although members’ eating habits and produce needs vary greatly, we plan for our subscription to provide sufficient vegetables for two people.  Of course, farming is an unpredictable occupation and as a member you become a stakeholder in the successes and failures of the farm.  Poor yields in a certain crop will mean smaller amounts in your boxes, however, we grow a wide variety of crops to ensure that even if one crop has poor yields, we still have plenty of other vegetables to go around.

In addition to our regular vegetable share, we have additional shares available in conjunction with other area farms.  We offer dairy products from Mountain View Farm in Fairfield, VA, mushrooms from Sharondale Farm in Keswick, and pasture-raised chickens from Davis Creek Farm in Nelson County.  We also offer a limited number of egg shares and an herb share from our farm.  When you become a member of Appalachia Star Farm, we will let you know about prices and availability of our partner farm shares.

CSA Delivery and Price Information

2010 Season: Our 2010 CSA is FULL.  Please contact us if you would like to be on the waiting list for 2011. We also have a farm credit option for folks who cannot get a share this year.  You can purchase farm credit to use at any of our market stands or on the farm.  For every $100 you purchase, you will recieve $115 in credit.  You can then shop at the market and get whatever you wish and we will draw down your total from your balance.  Farm Credit can be purchased anytime up until May 1st.  Email us for more information if you are interested.

DELIVERY: We deliver boxes to Charlottesville on Mondays and Thursdays to Random Row Bookstore on Main Street.  Boxes are available for pick-up from 3:30pm until 5:30pm.

PRICE: There is $30.00 fee to join Appalachia Star Farm CSA which covers delivery and administration.  Our basic vegetable share is $330.00 if you commit to working 4 hours either on the farm or at market.  (That is 4 hours per share, so if two people from one family work 2 hours each their requirement is filled.)    Non-working shares are $370.00. Sales tax will also be applied.  Please inquire about pricing for our partner farm shares.

Space is reserved on a 1st come, 1st serve basis.  Please call or email for availability before signing up. Please see the front page for our contact information.  You may pay in full or a $100 deposit is required to reserve your membership.  Balances need to be paid in full before the first of May, but we prefer to have monthly payments over the course of the spring.

Members also receive our weekly e-newsletter for information about what is in the box, farm events, farm news, etc.  Specific information about the vegetables we grow plus recipes are located in the “Vegetables” section of our website.  In addition, we will host 2 farm events plus volunteer days during the season for members to come out to the farm for potluck and fun!  One of these events is our annual Tomato Tasting, where we sample and rate up to 20 varieties of heirloom, hybrid, and cherry tomatoes!

What We Grow

Here is a sampling of the vegetables we grow and approximately how much of each item you will receive.  Spring and early summer boxes will have things like greens, lettuce, scallions, cabbage, broccoli, and asparagus.  Summer boxes include items like garlic, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, okra, squash, and cucumbers.  In the fall, there will be peppers, beans, greens, turnips, winter squash, and many summer vegetables (depending on frost conditions).

What you will get a lot of:	What you will get some of:	What you will get occasionally:
Arugula, Basil, Cherry Tomatoes, Cooking Greens (Chard, Collards, Kale, Mustard), Cucumbers, Eggplant, Garlic, Lettuce, Okra, Onions, Parsley, Peppers, Potatoes, Summer Squash, Tomatoes	Beans, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Fennel, Herbs (Chives, Lavender, Lovage, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme), Radish, Scallions, Winter Squash	Asparagus, Carrots, Jalapeños, Kholrabi, Spinach, Sorrel, Strawberries, Turnips, Watermelon