CSA Q & A

There are many factors that go into planning for another season of farming, let alone a first season of a new farm. The art work to the left is just some sketches that lead to the final "logo" seen on the top of the blog, on our facebook page, and egg labels.  While my main passion is sustainable agriculture, I also have a deep love for fine arts, and truly see little difference between the two! Both are a mix of science and attunement with the world we live in. 

 As with being in tune with the natural world, our hens have also found their balance of rest and production, and have tapered off on their laying over the last few weeks....They are picking back up, and eggs will be available soon.


Q & A
As we start getting CSA sign ups rolling in, there have also been a slew of questions that I hope to answer here. 

One of the most asked inquiries is: Is Grindstone Farm offering a CSA? 
 The answer is no, they are not. They will continue offering local and organic produce through the healthy box program, and wholesale markets, but will not be offering a CSA. Having been in operation for over 30 years, owner Dick DeGraff is ready for a much deserved downsizing, and that is how we came to a lease agreement to grow our own farm. We will be working cooperatively with one another as well as some of the other nearby farms Grindstone has done business with over the years to provide fresh organic foods to our communities, and supply the growing demand for locally grown food. 

Why doesn't CSACNY.org have any information about our farm? 
CSA CNY is a non profit group of volunteers and sometimes it takes time to get to things like that. We hope that this doesn't deter folks from signing up, but maybe encourages folks to volunteer their time. 

Can I still get special orders and Wholeshare orders with my CSA? 
Yes, we will be coordinating with both Grindstone Farm's store and Wholeshare to continue providing other items we don't grow to be delivered with your shares as you've been able to do in the past. 

Can I still get a pre packed share instead of building my own box?
 While we offer the build your own box option for our market pickups, it is not standard. Depending on pickup site the way you get your share may vary. We offered this option for folks who have dietary restrictions or have picky eaters in their household. We want people to eat the food they bought, and from our years with Grindstone have found that many people just feed their compost with unfamiliar foods. 

What pick up sites will be available?
 So far the only confirmed pick up sites are Oswego, Watertown and a Syracuse farmer's market, and on Farm pick up tentatively Sundays. While I love that people open their homes for the CSA,  the POD leaders on Fellows Ave in Syracuse and Walnut St in Fayetteville have been the only members that has confirmed that they will continue hosting a drop site. We invite folks to host if they have a covered space to distribute from, and we would like at LEAST 10 shares per each drop site. We would like to look into another market in the Syracuse area, as the lease for the Regional Market is fairly high compared to others and would like to try the Westcott Community Center one instead. We will be relying on input from our members to determine where the best pick up locations would be. 

Is your farm certified organic?
Yes. We are certified by extension through NOFA-NY. While our eggs are not certified, our free range hens are supplemented daily with organic food scraps and waste from the farm, keeping a steady supply of organic nutrients throughout the seasons, and maintaining a rich golden yolk color. 


What veggies can I expect in my shares?
We will be offering much of the same variety that Grindstone Farm has offered in the past, while selecting varieties that we know to do well in the soils and climate. From asparagus, strawberries, various greens, radishes, peas in spring; tomatoes, peppers, summer squashes, beans, eggplant, blueberries in summer; beets, carrots, winter squash, potatoes, onions and cold hardy greens in the fall, we aim to remain diversified in our selection to provide variety each week.  Also we will be working with some experienced orchardists  to improve our apple and pear quality. 

Why no spring or winter shares?
After having been part of Grindstone's extended seasons for numerous years; we realize that offering these share options is not only a lot of extra work, but also requires the high tunnels which we are not leasing from Grindstone. While we intend to put one of our own up in the spring, one is not really enough to offer shares from. Any early crops grown in our's or Grindstone's high tunnels will be a available on their online store, at farmer's markets, or from some of our local wholesale customers, such as Real Foods Co-op. As far as winter shares go, we are working on a winter harvest share that would include late fall harvests from ours and other local farms, and might include canned goods from our surplus,  meat, eggs, or cheese from other local farms as well. 

Why no cheese shares?
We are starting our first season, and want to keep things simple and offer our own goods. You will still be able to order Cranberry Ridge's wonderful raw goats milk cheese from Grindstone Farm's online store to be delivered with your CSA.

Are there discounts available?
While we offer a 10% if you sign up and payment is received by Jan 31st, and a $45 savings for on farm pickups, there are no other discounts being offered this season. However we are willing to work out payment arrangements with families upon request. 

I hope that this helps answer some questions folks have about our CSA, and please don't hesitate to contact us with any other questions not covered here. Any suggestions pertaining to interest or ideas about a possible  coffee share, or fall harvest share are welcome as well. Also pickup site suggestions are welcome!

We wish all our friends and family a very healthy and happy new year!

We met with the CSA CNY (www.csacny.org) planning board Wednesday this week. As they have; since 1998 contracted with Grindstone Farm to grow for their CSA, we met with them to discuss some of the changes we'd like to make from the existing CSA offerings, and the couple of folks  from the planning group felt they were necessary changes, and were very supportive of moving forward supporting our CSA. Which is very exciting for us, as CSA CNY is a  not for profit group of volunteers who are active in advertising and education for the benefit of organic agriculture, and other sustainable activities to build a brighter future. 

While over the past few years, active involvement in the planning group has dwindled, there is still a core group of committed individuals who are motivated to table events, and put together advertising materials.  It is my hope that we will see the involvement grow from it's present standing and bring the "community" back to the CSA model. So we are working together to come up with brochures to distribute at the upcoming (Dec 6&7)Plowshares Craft Fair, an annual event organized by the Syracuse Peace Council. (www.peacecouncil.net) 

Since the group is volunteer based, we will be directing folks to our website for info and contacting to ensure an optimum level of customer service, and free the limited volunteer group up to work on other endeavors. We do encourage you to take part in planning meetings if you can, or  volunteer in other ways in your communities, to raise awareness of sustainable agricultural practices, participation in community gardens, etc. If you cannot attend meetings, but would like to volunteer at the farm, distribute flyers,  or just become active within your local community, and would like more tools or info, please contact me at [email protected]  and I will do my best to help you. If you are interested in us giving a talk about CSA's, organic agriculture, or the local food movement, I would be happy to arrange such an event at your work, event, school, etc.   Remember, CSA is a COMMUNITY effort!

Upon sign up there will be a member agreement form, as well  as an option to go in and set preferences. This is so we can determine what folks really want to see in their shares based on what we grow, and help us in our field planning. Although we cannot  guarantee that you will always get exactly what you want, we hope, by starting our first season  CSA small; to personalize  your share as much as possible. This in a way allows you to actively participate in the field plan, and your input will be utilized to determine what we will grow. Because we intend to be a CSA exclusive farm, your input is very important to us.  While we want to provide you with foods you know your family likes, we also will encourage you to try new foods, by sharing recipes here on the Farm News Blog. I will do my best to add in descriptions of crops, but there are so many references  for nutritional information, photos, recipes,  and more, including Grindstonefarm.com; all over the web, I most likely will offer links to those sites and allow you to explore and learn more on your own, and  free up time for us to farm. You will also have the opportunity to schedule vacations, make a payment plan, and enter preferred pickup days. As of now we have no confirmed pickup sites except on farm. We would like to have at least 10 shares to justify a pickup, and if you are interested in hosting a pick up site, please contact us. You will also have the opportunity to continue placing special orders from grindstone to be delivered with your share, as well as wholeshare orders. We will coordinate with Grindstone to make this work, as many present share members have expressed that they appreciate being able to have these options. 

We are excited moving forward to have the support and encouragement from many of CSA CNY's shareholders over the past years, and thank those of you who have been supportive of Grindstone Farm in the past. It is our hope you will give us a springboard for our first season, while continuing to support Grindstone's growing efforts.  

There is a 10% discount for paying in full by Jan 31, as well as a 5% discount for choosing on farm pickups. By choosing on farm pickups, you will have the chance to see where your food comes from, participate in u pick offerings, and save money.  If you have any questions about our farm or our CSA, please contact us!

Also, please check out the links in this entry to see the many great things that CSA-CNY, Syracuse Peace Council, and Grindstone Farm have to offer. All three are incredible organisations and we look forward to continuing growing with them.