The following is an email asking some good questions about the CSA and my answer.

Hello,

I wanted to find out more about your CSA. How much of it (if any) is organic?

How exactly do you sign up?

On average, per week, how much veggies, etc. do you actually get? (like quart size bag, etc)

Thank you!

My name is John Curtis. I am both the peasant labor and the principal proprietor of Barefoot Gardens.

You ask some very good questions that I realize need to be addressed directly on the web site. The first one I’ll address is the organic issue.

Organic: I have only used organic practices in my gardening. I have never used chemical fertilizers or chemical pesticides. I do not use gmo seed or even seeds (as far as I’m aware) that are owned (and this is getting harder) by companies that develop gmos. I should note too that I grow nearly all of my own plants and use my own homemade, compost-based organic potting mixes. When I do have to buy plants or other supplies I tend to support local businesses whenever I can. At this time, these businesses tend to offer only conventionally grown plants.

I am organic in my practices because I believe that organic is the right way and the best way to grow things, period.

Why not certified organic? I determined some years ago that the official organic label did not make sense for our operation. It was an expense that I couldn’t justify and it was a hassle that I didn’t need. For example: I work with over 300 varieties of plants each season. If I were certified, I would need to document that I had made a search for organic seed sources for every one of those varieties. I have plenty to do without adding that layer of bureaucracy.

Signing Up – I realize that the sign up form that I set up is outdated and I need to work on that. However, someone can sign up by stating their intention to do so and sending in a check.

I should note here that our operation grows principally by word of mouth. This is by design. I want to make sure that it is a good fit for the member and for us. Since I spend time with my members every week for half of the year, I like to be selective. One time I did refund someone their money for the season because I could see that this person was not going to be someone that I would want to deal with all season. A few times I have not offered renewals for similar reasons.

Vegetable amounts - This is a tricky question to answer. The short answer is that it depends entirely on the time of year. During the first week of May, depending on what the weather conditions were in April, there may only be baby greens to cut. At the end of September, when we have both cool season and warm season crops available you have a huge selection of things to harvest.

If you are accustomed to the model most CSAs follow it may be hard to understand our operation. Instead of getting a share of what is harvested each week you are sharing our gardens. It is true that certain crops are limited at certain times, e.g. at the beginning of tomato season, each share may only get one or two tomatoes in a given week. A month later though, I make sneak a box of tomatoes into the back seat of your car hoping that they will find a good home! Overall, my goal as your gardener is to grow about 25% more than you and the other members will need during each given week.

One of the reasons that our operation has evolved into a pick-your-own operation over the years is that we realized that different people want different things. There are families in the CSA that eat salad with their meals twice a day throughout the greens season. When they leave our place each week, they leave with bags stuffed with greens that they’ve cut. I love that! They are taking advantage of the bounty of in-season vegetables that we have available. Other people, of course, just want enough greens to have two or three salads during the week. Some people love the many varieties of hot peppers that we grow. However, 90% of the members of our CSA never use them. Are you a fan of fresh basil? Some people get a handful of fresh basil each week – others harvest enough basil to make and freeze pesto for the entire year. For most things, there is a real abundance at one time or another.

So, I can’t answer your question about average amounts directly because it depends so much on you. You aren’t buying an amount of something when you join our CSA. Instead, you are entering a partnership with me, your gardener, to best provide you with the vegetables, herbs, flowers and berries that you need to satisfy your needs and tastes during the growing season.

I hope this answers your questions. Feel free to contact me if you have any others.

John