Vegetable CSA
Our vegetable Community Supported Agriculture is now in its 13th year, with roughly 130 members. We raise over 220 varieties of veggies on 4.5 acres using draft horses for almost all of our field work. As a veggie CSA member you'll receive the freshest produce and get to choose the makeup of your share from everything the farm is harvesting. You'll also have access to the pick-your-own garden where you can take home a beautiful bouquet of flowers each week or preserve a basket of the freshest tomatoes you picked yourself. By purchasing a CSA share you'll develop an intimate relationship with your food and the land and people who produce it.
Our Shares
2024 Summer CSA: We are currently accepting sign ups for the CSA. Sign up here!
The summer veggie CSA is the centerpiece of our offerings. For 21 weeks from June through October you'll experience the diversity of what can be grown in Vermont. The share will change with the seasons, starting out with crisp peas, baby carrots, and tender greens, move into crunchy cauliflower, new potatoes and summer tomatoes, and finish with brightly colored winter squashes, mild leeks and oak-grown shiitake mushrooms. No two weeks will be the same and you'll always have lots of choice to pick the veggies you want.
2024 Full Share prices are sliding scale, $900-$1100 Choose 8 "items" per week for 21 weeks + unlimited access to the PYO garden and a free horse-drawn hayride. June-October. Please refer to the sliding scale payment guide and choose a cost based on your economic ability.
2024 Half Share prices are sliding scale, $515-$620: Choose 4 "items" per week for 21 weeks + unlimited access to the PYO garden and a free horse-drawn hayride. June-October. Please refer to the sliding scale payment guide and choose a cost based on your economic ability.
We endeavor to make sure our food is accessible and affordable to all - we partner with NOFA-VT Farm Share program to be able to offer scholarships to our members. If you would like to apply for a scholarship, please visit their website. If you would like to donate to our scholarship fund, you can write a check to Wild Carrot Farm with "donation" in the memo line, or make a tax-deductible donation through nofavt.org/farmshare/donation (make sure to put Wild Carrot Farm in the note).
In 2020 we began partnering with Milkweed Farm in Westminster, Vermont, who we fully trust in their sustainable growing practices. We will likely partner with Milkweed again this growing season in order to offer shares to more families, as well as more variety throughout the season.
2024 Summer CSA: We are currently accepting sign ups for the CSA. Sign up here!
The summer veggie CSA is the centerpiece of our offerings. For 21 weeks from June through October you'll experience the diversity of what can be grown in Vermont. The share will change with the seasons, starting out with crisp peas, baby carrots, and tender greens, move into crunchy cauliflower, new potatoes and summer tomatoes, and finish with brightly colored winter squashes, mild leeks and oak-grown shiitake mushrooms. No two weeks will be the same and you'll always have lots of choice to pick the veggies you want.
2024 Full Share prices are sliding scale, $900-$1100 Choose 8 "items" per week for 21 weeks + unlimited access to the PYO garden and a free horse-drawn hayride. June-October. Please refer to the sliding scale payment guide and choose a cost based on your economic ability.
2024 Half Share prices are sliding scale, $515-$620: Choose 4 "items" per week for 21 weeks + unlimited access to the PYO garden and a free horse-drawn hayride. June-October. Please refer to the sliding scale payment guide and choose a cost based on your economic ability.
We endeavor to make sure our food is accessible and affordable to all - we partner with NOFA-VT Farm Share program to be able to offer scholarships to our members. If you would like to apply for a scholarship, please visit their website. If you would like to donate to our scholarship fund, you can write a check to Wild Carrot Farm with "donation" in the memo line, or make a tax-deductible donation through nofavt.org/farmshare/donation (make sure to put Wild Carrot Farm in the note).
In 2020 we began partnering with Milkweed Farm in Westminster, Vermont, who we fully trust in their sustainable growing practices. We will likely partner with Milkweed again this growing season in order to offer shares to more families, as well as more variety throughout the season.
Bread From The Earth CSB add-on:
Add on a bread share of naturally leavened, wood fired bread from Bread from the Earth. One or two loaf shares each week for 17 weeks over the course of our season. Get more information and sign up on their website at http://www.breadfromtheearth.com/csb.html
Add on a bread share of naturally leavened, wood fired bread from Bread from the Earth. One or two loaf shares each week for 17 weeks over the course of our season. Get more information and sign up on their website at http://www.breadfromtheearth.com/csb.html
Farmstand Shares:
Discounted gift cards now available! In lieu of the traditional extended season share we are offering discounted gift cards to be used on everything we sell in the store. We'll give you 5% off a gift card of any value over $250 paid with cash, check or EBT (EBT to be used on food only). There's no restrictions and no expiration date. Email or stop in to make arrangements.
Discounted gift cards now available! In lieu of the traditional extended season share we are offering discounted gift cards to be used on everything we sell in the store. We'll give you 5% off a gift card of any value over $250 paid with cash, check or EBT (EBT to be used on food only). There's no restrictions and no expiration date. Email or stop in to make arrangements.
The CSA FAQ:
How does the CSA work?
Each week, our shareholders come to the farm to pick up their produce. We harvest everything the farm is producing and lay it out in the farm stand in "items". An item could be a bunch of beets, a head of lettuce, one watermelon, 2 pounds of potatoes, or a pint of cherry tomatoes. There are usually 15-25 different types of vegetables on any given week, and you get to choose a set number from everything that's there. Full shares usually take 8 or 10 items for the week, half shares 4 or 5. There are often herbs, hot peppers or vegetables that we have in abundance as extras, on top of your regular items. In addition, most members take a walk to the pick-your-own garden where they can make a bouquet of flowers (we plant about 70 varieties) or pick tomatoes, green beans, husk cherries, or peas, and say hello to the animals. Our farm has miles of walking trails through the fields and forest and you're welcome to use them as you like.
What's in a CSA Share?
By purchasing a share of our small New England farm you'll enjoy the full diversity of what we grow. The food will change with the seasons, and you'll always have a choice in what you take. Here's a small example of some of what you'll likely see throughout the year: In the spring we'll have snap peas, broccoli, strawberries, arugula, cabbage, fennel, bok choy, beets and swiss chard. In the summer we'll have tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, carrots, eggplants, melons, sweet corn, and potatoes. In the fall we'll have winter squash, onions, rutabagas, parsnips, kale, sweet potatoes and more!
Are you organic?
We are not certified organic, however we adhere to strict organic standards in everything that we do. In fact, while most organic farms use significant amounts of pesticidal and herbicidal sprays, we never spray our crops. Ever! Instead we plant a wide diversity of crops, rotate them aggressively, and focus on building healthy soils so that our plants can outpace their pests. We also farm with draft power and sell all of our produce straight from the farm, minimizing the carbon footprint of our food. Because every one of our members has free access to our farm there's no need for a third-party certifier. Our members can certify the health of their food themselves! If you have questions about specific practices, feel free to ask.
What sets your CSA apart from all the rest?
*Our farm is big enough to grow a huge variety of produce and small enough to allow us to know each and every one of our customers. When you come to the farm you'll likely see one of us, have time to chat about the season, or ask a question about what to do with a new vegetable.
*A visit to the farm means playing fetch with Obie (our gregarious border collie), petting the horses or goats in their pasture, feeding the turkeys your carrot greens, and picking an enormous bouquet of flowers for your sweetie. Oh, and of course picking out some delicious food!
*We use draft power! There are few things as beautiful as a team of horses plowing down a healthy cover crop to prepare for a new spring planting. It happens everyday at Wild Carrot and it means there's no dirty byproducts to our food.
*Ask one of our members. We've got lots of happy members who would love to tell you about the CSA. Just contact us to ask for a reference!
I've heard that CSAs can be too much food. What do I do if that's true for me?
Unlike some CSAs our (summer share) customers always get to choose what type of veggies to take. That doesn't mean we have tomatoes in June or melons in October, but it does mean there is a larger degree of variety and that you can choose to take more of one thing and less of another. If you feel like the week's share is too much for you to eat that week you're welcome to take more of one item and freeze or can it. Having a CSA share is a commitment to eating lots of fresh, seasonal produce throughout the year, but we rarely hear that a lot of food goes to waste.
How do I know I'm getting a good value?
This is one of the most important questions we ask ourselves every week of the season. A CSA share is a big investment and we are committed to making sure you get your money's worth. Conscientiously grown local food is not inexpensive, but by letting us focus on growing food rather than selling it, we can offer the best food possible at a more affordable price. Overall, we think that you'll find the food you purchase through our CSA to be significantly cheaper than purchasing your produce at farmers market, the farm stand, or a coop. We also do significant fundraising to offer scholarships to low-income members and accept foodstamps and payment plans.
What's so great about the Community Supported Agriculture model?
We choose to sell our food through the CSA because it fits our goals and our farm. We love the connections it builds with customers, the way it challenges people to try new things, and to engage in the true realities of our working farm. And the CSA is about lots and lots of food, but also a lot more. It's a way to connect with your neighbors around local agriculture, establish fun and healthy eating routines and build time for outdoor farm adventures into your year.
I have a vacation planned this summer. Will I lose my food while I'm gone?
By their nature, vegetables mature at their own pace and are perishable. As a result, we cannot offer replacements for missed pickups. We do, however, offer two pickups each week with the option to pick up your food at either one (without giving us notice). If you are going away for the week you can always let a friend pick up your food for you, or let us know so we can donate it to the shelter. For folks whose schedules just won't let them make it to regular pickups we offer a Gardeners Share that allows you to come pick up veggies at your leisure throughout the season whenever works for you and still receive a discount.
I'm concerned about food safety. What do you do to ensure our food is safe?
As people whose food comes mostly from our own farm and who feed many of our friends, we are also especially concerned with the safety of what we produce. We follow an individually designed food safety management plan which minimizes risks in all aspects of our farm operation. From isolating harvesting from packing equipment, testing wash and irrigation water, thoroughly washing produce, and training staff in best practices, we are always working to minimize risk. Because our farm is small and all our produce is sold right here, we don't risk the "where did my food come from" questions associated with so many food illnesses. Perhaps most importantly, our decision to keep any pesticides, naturally or chemically-derived, out of our fields means you know that our food is free from any poisons, natural or otherwise.
