Holcomb Farm CSA Details

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How It Works

  • Please park in the designated parking area. There is some parking next to the barn for those who are unable to walk in from the parking area.
  • Upon arriving at the barn, please sign in.
  • The produce will be displayed market style. If possible, bring your own reusable bags (we will have some if you forget).
  • Pick-Your-Own Crops: Most weeks, there will be something in the Pick-Your-Own area ready for harvesting. Watch for signage in the CSA barn indicating what is available, where it is, and how to pick it.
  • The farm store: We sell select items from other local farms, including beef, chicken, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, bread, sweet corn, apples, peaches, honey, and maple syrup.
  • There will always be a staff member on duty during distribution to answer questions.

Pick-Your-Own Crops

Most weeks of the summer season, we will have something for CSA shareholders to harvest in easily accessible fields. The PYO crops include strawberries, basil, cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, hot peppers, green beans, edamame soybeans, snap peas, a wide range of herbs, flowers, and raspberries. We have signage inside the barn in the announcing what’s ready to pick and where it is.

What's in a share?

Your weekly share will usually consist of a bountiful bag of 6-10 crops. Most weeks, you may select the items you prefer from the crops available. As an example, for a week in July, a share may include beets, lettuce, summer squash, cucumbers, cabbage, broccoli, scallions and new potatoes, with green beans, hot peppers, basil, nasturtiums, and cutting flowers in the Pick-Your-Own fields. Later in the season, early fall crops might include arugula, carrots, squash, watermelon, brussel sprouts, and pumpkins.

What We Grow

We grow multiple varieties of all of the following:  lettuce, summer squash and zucchini, cucumbers, watermelon, carrots, beets, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, peas, beans, okra, kale, chard, basil, dill, parsley, cilantro, potatoes, onions, winter squash,  fennel, brussel sprouts, leeks, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, rutabaga, kohlrabi, arugula, parsnips, radishes, and sweet potatoes and more.

Growing Methods

Our methods are chemical free.  Each year, we sign the Northeast Organic Farming Association’s Farmer’s Pledge (ctnofa.org) verifying that we do not use synthetic chemicals in our farming, and that we employ management methods that protect and build soil health, provide a good environment for our workers, and have little impact on the surrounding ecology. We are dedicated to providing outstanding nutrition through our farming. Read more about our growing methods here.

Farm Store

We stock a Farm Store with products from other local farms, including apples, peaches, grass-fed beef, honey, maple syrup, goat cheese, and more. The Farm Store is open to all members of the community, not just CSA shareholders. Farm Store hours are the same as pick-up hours. The Farm Store accepts cash, checks, debit and credit card payments.

What’s the risk?

Technically, members share the risks and rewards of the growing season. In reality, we’ve gotten pretty good at ensuring plenty of good produce for all members. In the last few years we’ve been through both extremely wet years and extremely dry years, and we still had abundant harvests and plentiful variety. Of course, major weather related catastrophes could cause a setback. Each year, certain crops do better than others, but we hedge our bets in many ways: with multiple plantings, 200 plus varieties, dozens of crops, seven different fields with soils that behave differently in different conditions, greenhouse crops, good irrigation, and more lessons learned every year about how to manage crops for abundant, healthy yields.

The spirit of Community Supported Agriculture is that consumers and farmers work together to contribute to a resilient and healthy local food system. The understanding is that CSA shareholders provide consistent support to the farm, and the farmers do our best to provide a plentiful, consistent, and varied supply of farm-fresh produce. Please recognize that farming incurs much of its cost early in the season for seeds and plants and fertilizer and labor and fuel and equipment. Farming skill is involved to produce a bountiful weekly harvest, but so is rain, sun and a dose of luck. CSA shareholders can expect that some weeks will be leaner than others (particularly early in the season). Although cancellation of a weekly distribution is possible, it is rare that there would be a confluence of factors that would prevent a steady flow of produce each week.

What if I miss a week?

If you are out of town one week, or know that you will not be able to pick up your share, you are welcome to have a friend or neighbor pick up your share and enjoy the produce themselves!  Any excess produce not picked up is donated to various food banks and food distribution systems. We cannot provide a credit for missed produce throughout the season.

Refund Policy

In the CSA model, members are active farm partners, sharing the risks and rewards of the harvest. Once you join our CSA, you are committing to the entire season. The CSA partnership sustains our farm, our shareholders, and the community at large. Therefore, we cannot offer refunds.

Do I have to work on the farm?

No, we do not require shareholders to work on the farm. Smetimes we do invite CSA members to come help out with a big harvest or other task on the farm.  This doesn’t happen often, but it’s great to get many hands together, working and having fun in the fields while accomplishing a culminating yearly task (like of the haying scene in Anna Karenina, but less physically intense!)

Workshares

A few workshares are available each season.  A workshare requires a 60 hour commitment over the course of the season, in exchange for a CSA share. Work will include helping with greenhouse seeding, transplanting, weeding, and harvesting. You must be available for 7am – 12pm shifts during the week. We are very selective about who we choose for workshares since we depend on them the way we depend on our regular paid staff. For more information, please Contact us.

Holcomb Farm Pick-Up Days

Summer CSA

Tuesdays - Saturdays, 10 am - 6 pm

Come once a week, anytime during those hours. You do not need to come at the same time each week. Many members enjoy pick-up day as a highlight of their week! Children are welcome and seem to especially enjoy the Pick-Your-Own experience, which is included in your share .

CSA pick up is at 111 Simsbury Rd, the big red barn at the north end of the property.  (The other Holcomb Farm buildings are located at 113 Simsbury Rd, where Day Street South intersects with Simsbury Road.)

Winter CSA

Monthly on-farm pick-ups throughout the winter, with dates scheduled the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas so you can serve delicious, local produce at your holiday celebrations.

 

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