Welcome to the Farm!
We hope your experience this year on the farm is fulfilling and uplifting. On that note, we have some farm guidelines that should help to make it so, both for you and for us and for the extended farm community. Please take the time to read the full set of guidelines, even if you have been a member for years, as things are always changing and evolving.
The best way to reach us is via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We will almost always reply within 24 hours, Monday through Friday. We are less accessible by phone and we may take up to a week to respond to phone messages.
We will communicate with CSA Members primarily by email. When you sign up, you will be added to our distribution list and will receive our newsletter. We do not share our email lists. Please read the newsletter from the farm every week as it contains important information such as necessary changes to your distribution schedule, crop reports, farm store updates, or notices of on-farm events. Please let us know if you are not receiving the newsletter.
Farm Safety
We are delighted for you to explore and enjoy the farm during pickup times, but we need for your time on the farm to be SAFE. Though the farm may seem the picture of tranquility, there are many real hazards in all areas of the farm. We do our best to create a safe environment and we invite your suggestions on how we can improve the farm for everyone’s safety, but you must take responsibility for your own and your children’s well being. Please make sure your children are supervised at all times.
Driving - Please use extreme caution while driving your vehicle in and out of the farm. Small children come and go constantly so please look twice before you step on the pedal!
Parking - Our parking lot can get quite full at times. If you cannot find a spot, try the miso parking lot – just be sure to park such that delivery vehicles can come & go. Please do not park at the top of the driveway where everyone enters and exits the farm.
Horses - You will often see our workhorses out working in the fields. Although they are generally gentle and quiet, they can be hazardous. Please ask first before feeding them and beware that when flies harass them they may stomp their big feet suddenly. They may also be uncomfortable about unfamiliar sights or sounds coming their way - flapping plastic
bags, running and yelling children, etc. When you see them working, you must keep out of the way of the horses and any implements they may be pulling, as the farmer cannot always see past their large rumps to what’s just ahead.
Please do not leave anything, especially glass bottles, in the roadways around the fields and down by the river, where the horses might step on them. Please use caution and always watch your children around the horses. You are welcome to visit the horses working in the field or to go up to the barnyard to visit them in the barn, but please do not go into their stalls.
Farm Implements – They may seem fun to climb on, but many have very sharp parts and some have delicate adjustments. Please do not let children play on the implements.
Dogs – Well-behaved dogs are welcome on the farm, but must be on a leash. We expect your dog will take as much care to not step on seedlings or the fabric row cover as you would in the field. Please be sure to clean up after your dog, and take extra care to make sure your dog does not relieve him or herself in or near the crop fields or the you-pick herb gardens near the CSA barn. Dogs who are disruptive or unable to follow these guidelines will be asked to remain at home.
Swimming – The river is a very popular swimming spot and we are thrilled for you to enjoy it during CSA pickup times. Please be sure not to leave belongings at the beach as they will get washed away with high waters. Naturally we trust that you will keep an especially close eye on young children and beginning swimmers. There are plenty of deep spots and diving hazards so please use your good safety sense!
Weather - please be aware that lightning storms are a real hazard. If you are out in the fields, please come up right away if you hear thunder or see lightning.
The bridge – Young children must be accompanied by an adult. Please, no running, climbing, or bouncing!
CSA Pickup
The Harvest – Usually starts out smaller and with less variety at the beginning of the season and grows heartier as the weeks go by. For this reason we may limit quantities of some items early on. This insures that everyone gets a fair share of the harvest.
You can also look forward to “out-of-the-bag” produce when a crop is overabundant or very bulky. This will mean you can take selected items outside of your tote bag limit, and it usually applies at the least to the melons, edamame (fresh soybeans), and the larger winter squashes.
Pickup Days - You may come either Tuesday or Friday in any given week, from 3:00-6:30 pm.
Missing a Pickup - If you are going to be away, you are welcome to invite a friend or neighbor to take your share that week. Just have them check in with us when they get to the farm. If your share is not picked up, you will simply forfeit the share for that week.
You-picking - You are encouraged to head out to the fields and to pick from the you-pick crops while you’re at the farm for your share. These crops include peas, beans, berries, and flowers. Look for the orange ribbon at the head of each you-pick row. You’re welcome to come pick the you-pick crops at non-CSA times as well, so long as you only come once a week and observe the limits (just check the chalkboard when you come). You-pick crops do not need to fit in your CSA tote bag with your other vegetables. Some you-pick crops may be covered with netting to protect them from birds or deer. We remove the netting during Tuesday and Friday CSA distribution times, but the crops may be covered at other times. If you come to pick outside of CSA distribution times, please be sure to fully re-cover the crops with netting when you are done.
Plastic bags - We’ll provide them for when you forget, but we’d prefer that you re-use bags and bring them from home. We try to avoid contributing to the production of more plastic bags in the world, so please, BRING THOSE BAGS! We also have cloth produce bags for sale in the farm store.
Newsletters will come out weekly to give you an update on the farm, let you know what veggies are coming up, and to inform you of farm events & other useful info. We do not share our email list; we only use your email to keep you informed. Please let us know if you have not been receiving our newsletters, often they initially get sorted into promotions or updates folders, but we can help you get them into your inboxes!
Bathroom – We rent a portapotty for the CSA season, which you will find down the farm road toward the river, just a little past where you would get on the foot bridge to cross over the river to the fields.
Elwell residence & South River Miso - Please be respectful of Christian and Gaella Elwell’s residence (on the other side of the little stream up near the CSA barn) as well as of the workings at the miso shop. The frog ponds in particular are a tempting draw for the children, but they have extremely slippery bottoms and would be tricky to exit should someone fall in, so please keep your children on our side of the stream.
Volunteering - We are thrilled to have volunteer help, so keep your eye out for opportunities, or just call or email if you’d like to pitch in! Volunteering is a great way to get more involved in the farm and become more connected to the land that your food comes from. Please email or call ahead to coordinate.
Thank you again for your support! We wish that you be wholly nourished by all that this land and CSA has to offer.