Our CSA program is the heart of our farm. Read on to see how it all works. Please be in touch if you have any questions!
What is Community Supported Agriculture?
Where do members pick up their weekly shares?
WHAT IS COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE?
Simply put: Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a direct, personal relationship between you, the eaters, and us, the farmers. You pay up front for a season’s worth of fresh vegetables grown right here on our farm, and every week we provide you with an ample share of the harvest. The first two CSAs in the United States began in 1986. Now there are somewhere near 2000 of them!
There are many compelling reasons to join the Frog Bottom Farm CSA. Among them:
- Fresh, homegrown food just tastes better!
- This is by far the most cost-effective way to eat naturally grown, pesticide-free vegetables. Your fridge will be full every week, for less money than you’d spend for the same items at the farmers market or the organic section of the grocery store.
- In this age of industrial food scares, you can rest easy knowing your family is eating vegetables grown without pesticides.
- When you buy a share in our CSA, you help strengthen the economy here in central Virginia.
- Supporting a local farm is also a way of being a good steward of the earth’s resources. We do not use and will not ever use any chemicals that harm the water, plants, or animals around us.
- It’s easy! Pick up your food at the farm or at a convenient central location, and learn about what’s in your share and how to cook it by reading the farm blog.
- It’s fun! You’ll try foods that are new to you, and learn new ways to cook old favorites. You’ll learn so much about how food is grown, what grows when, and what a real working farm is like! Pick up your weekly share on-farm if you like, meet other like-minded folks at our monthly potlucks, or just come on by for a visit!
In a nutshell: as soon as possible, get in touch with us and arrange payment. We sell out before the growing season begins, so the earlier, the better. Starting the first week in June, you’ll receive fresh, in-season vegetables and herbs every week for 26 weeks, through Thanksgiving week. Pick up your share at the farm, or at a convenient drop site in Richmond, Lynchburg, or Appomattox. Learn about the vegetables, get recipes, and follow the farm season right here on our website, at the Farm News & Blog section.
We offer full shares and half shares. In a full share, we aim to provide enough vegetables every week to feed a family of four, or two vegetable enthusiasts. A half share is half as much food. Our approach is to grow honest, delicious food — to provide your family with lots of staple vegetables, with enough diversity to keep it interesting. You’ll find information about your share on the farm blog every week, along with recipe suggestions. The exact contents of the share depend mainly on the time of year: different vegetables grow at different times! Here’s an idea of what might be in your share throughout the CSA season, but remember that variables like temperature and rainfall can change things.
Early summer possibilities (June – early July): beets, carrots, chard, cucumbers, eggplant, fennel, fresh herbs, garlic scapes, lettuce, radishes, scallions, summer squash, sweet salad turnips, tomatoes
Late summer possibilities (late July – early September): cantaloupe, chard, cucumbers, eggplant, fresh herbs, garlic, onions, sweet and hot peppers, potatoes, shallots, summer squash, tomatoes, watermelon
Fall possibilities (late September – November): beets, bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celeriac (celery root), celery, collard greens, cucumbers, eggplant, fresh herbs, garlic, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard greens, onions, sweet and hot peppers, potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, summer squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips, turnip greens, watermelon, winter squash
A full share costs $650 (equivalent to $25/week) plus VA state sales tax. A half share costs $350 (equivalent to just over $13/week) plus VA state sales tax. Some folks split a full share with a friend or neighbor – you’re welcome to do that.
We accept payment via check, money order, credit card, or debit card.
Checks and money orders should be made payable to FROG BOTTOM FARM and mailed to us along with your completed registration form.
If you’d like to pay by credit or debit card, we will invoice you via email after we receive your registration form, so that you can make a secure payment using PayPal.
We do offer payment plans. You can learn more about that on the registration form.
WHERE DO MEMBERS PICK UP THEIR WEEKLY SHARES?
You can pick up your weekly share at the farm or at a central spot in your city. We’ll ask you to choose your site before the CSA season begins.
Our 2010 pick-up locations are:
- RICHMOND: NEAR WEST END – St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 6000 Grove Avenue. Saturday mornings 8am – noon.
- RICHMOND: CHURCH HILL – Central Montessori School, 323 North 20th Street. Wednesdays 4pm – 7pm.
- RICHMOND: GINTER PARK – Ginter Park Presbyterian Church, 3601 Seminary Ave. Wednesdays 4pm – 7pm.
- RICHMOND: MIDLOTHIAN – CSA member home, Sutters Mill Court. Wednesdays 4pm – 7pm. Exact directions will be emailed to you.
- LYNCHBURG: Old Rivermont Fire Station, 1210 Rivermont Ave. Wednesdays 4pm – 7pm.
- APPOMATTOX: Baine’s Books & Coffee, 205 Main Street. Wednesdays 4pm – 7pm.
- and AT THE FARM!
Children are very welcome at the farm! There’s plenty of room to run and play. And this year we’re building a family discovery garden! We hope it will be a fun and inviting spot to learn about how things grow. No dogs.
Click here for a printable registration form.
