Red Earth Farm

~~Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania~~

We expect to open this CSA for new memberships for the 2010 season sometime in February. Week of February 8 we will get updated information about this CSA from the farm. Please check back occasionally for an announcement of when it will open. If you want to receive an early warning email message about the opening, please send a message to info @ farmtocity.org, Put REF in subject line.(updated bp 2-4-10)

Offering local produce grown with organic methods

Michael Ahlert, Farmer
More than a Decade of Experience Growing Organic Produce in Pennsylvania
and
Charis Lindrooth
Herbalist and Farmer's Wife, growing culinary and medicinal herbs and flowers.

Membership includes the following benefits:

• Food grown without the use of synthetic chemicals or fertilizers
• Option to select your weekly produce items online
• A wide variety of garden vegetables from early-June to early-November including many heirloom and specialty varieties
• Full Shares or Partial Shares
• Spring & Fall potluck meals at the farm
• September Harvest Dance at the Farm
• Optional Fruit Share - biweekly delivery
• Optional Egg Share - biweekly delivery
• Optional Herb Share - biweekly delivery
• Optional Yogurt Share - biweekly delivery
• Other locally produced food items through Buying Club option

Season:

Cost:

Delivery to locations in Philadelphia:

• Fairmount
• Queen Village
• Rittenhouse Square
• West Philly
• Mount Airy
• Chestnut Hill

Also deliveries to the following areas:

• Havertown
• Media
• Wynnewood
• Ardmore
• Kutztown
• Reading and Bryn Athyn

More About Red Earth Farm

Red Earth Farm is family owned and operated by Michael Ahlert and Charis Lindrooth. The 2008 growing season was full of abundance and several winter projects are underway to make the 2009 season even better.

Last year Red Earth Farm was awarded a Compost Infrastructure Grant from the State with which we purchased a used tractor and manure spreader. This equipment allows us to do larger scale composting. Introducing good quality compost to our fields season after season is an important part of our management of this farm. Better soil health provides better quality produce with higher nutritional value.

There are many other projects too numerous and mundane to mention but together they demonstrate our commitment to better serve our CSA community by improving the soil and the operation of the farm. We are dedicated to building our operation to better serve our CSA community.

We want to meet as many of our members as possible. We believe in the Community part of CSA and feel that making personal connections around this good food is as important as the food itself. We will hold Spring and Fall potlucks in order to give our members an opportunity to see the farm that produces their food and the faces of those who plant and harvest it. We take great reward from meeting those we are feeding and having the opportunity to put a face on the names.

CSA DETAILS

THE SEASON:

Our CSA season runs for 23 weeks from the 1st week of June through the second week of November.

SHARE SIZES:

We offer two share sizes. A Full Share is ten items every week for the 23-week season. A Partial Share is six items every week for the same duration. A Full Share is suggested to feed 3-4 people and a Partial Share to feed 2-3. The number of people that can be fed depends greatly however on the amount of produce a family is accustomed to eating. Refer to the table below for the quantity of each crop in a selection.

BOXES:

We pack our produce in waxed cardboard bushel boxes. These cost more than a dollar each so we ask that you return your box each week to your site host for reuse.

STARTUP:

Several weeks before the season begins we will contact you by e-mail with pickup instructions including the finalized pickup time and the exact location of your site. We can arrange other drop off points if they would each serve at least 12 members and are within a reasonable distance of an existing delivery route. Contact if you are interested in hosting a new delivery site in 2009.

OTHER LOCAL FARM PRODUCTS AVAILABLE THROUGH OUR CSA

In addition to our produce share, you can also select a fruit share, an egg share, and order other items - such as local cheese, honey, and extra produce through our Buying Club option. The fruit and egg share are a fixed quantity. The other items you can order what you need. All these items are produced on neighboring farms and are available to both Full Share and Partial Share members.

Fruit Share:

A fruit share is freshly picked fruit and cider delivered every other week through the CSA season for a total of 12 deliveries. Members will receive a quart of strawberries and cherries in June; 5 lbs of a combination of yellow or white peaches, plums and/or nectarines every other delivery in July and August; and 5 lbs combination of apples and pears in September, October, and November Fruit Shares. Members will also receive 2 half gallons of fresh pressed cider during the fall months. The fruit is freshly picked but is not certified organic.

Egg Share:

In an egg share you will get a dozen free-range brown eggs, every other week throughout the CSA season, 12 dozen in all. The eggs are from pastured chickens raised on Red Earth Farm.

Buying Club:

Members will also have the opportunity to join our buying club and order online. A minimum $25 deposit toward your first purchase is required to open your buying club account.
• Cheeses - Amish made Jack and Cheddar by Oak Shade Cheeses in Lancaster County.
• Pastured Meats - Poultry, beef and pork delivered frozen. All animals are raised on pasture in Lancaster County at Meadow Run Farm and are hormone and antibiotic-free. We will use coolers with ice or dry ice to keep the meat frozen during delivery.
• Local Honey, produced by Bogansky’s Honey Farm in Kutztown, PA.
• Botanicals - personal care products and teas - produced using only organic and/or wild crafted herbs.

Coolers will be provided to site hosts to store egg shares and Buying Club orders on pick-up days.

CSA Costs

• Full Share: $550.00 for ten items for 23 weeks
• Partial Share: $400.00 for six items for 23 weeks
• Fruit Share: $115.00 every other week (total of 12 weeks)
• Egg Share: $36.00 every other week (total of 12 weeks
• Herb Share: $60 every other week (total of 11 weeks)
• Yogurt Share: $90 two quarts every other week for 10 weeks, choose plain or variety

OUR CROPS

Red Earth Farm grows a wide variety of crops, shown in the table below. Items should be available periodically during the season but not throughout. Members can go to our farmtocity.org web page to select 10 items (Full Share) or 6 items (Partial Share) for each delivery from those ready for harvest.

Vegetables - All grown using organic methods and materials
Beans, green snap	Beans, yellow snap	Beans, purple snap
Beets	Broccoli	Cabbage, mini
Cabbage, green	Cabbage, red	Cabbage, Chinese
Carrots, orange	Carrots, yellow/red	Cauliflower, white
Cauliflower, orange	Celery	Cucumbers
Escarole	Eggplant, bel	Eggplant, Asian
Greens, Asian	Greens, bitter	Greens, spicy
Fennel	Kale, curly	Kale, Lacinato
Kale, Red Russian	Collards	Leeks, late
Lettuce, head	Lettuce, leaf	Lettuce, Mix
Okra	Onion, spring	Onions, sweet
Onions, red	Pac Choi	Onions, storage
Peas, snap	Peas, snow	Peas, shell
Pepper, bell	Pepper, frying	Pepper, hot
Potatoes	Potatoes, Sweet	Radicchio
Radish	Pumpkin	Rutabaga/Turnip
Garlic	Shallots	Spinach
Squash, summer	Squash, winter	Swiss Chard
Tomato, cherry	Tomato, slicer	Tomato, plum
Tomato, heirloom	Turnip, baby	Scallions
Herbs - All grown using organic methods and materials
Basil, specialty	Cilantro	Dill
Lemon Balm	Parsley	Rosemary
Summer Savory	Tarragon	Thyme

FARM VISITS/WORK SHARES

We are always happy to have people help on the farm. This could be one visit or a more regular scheduled commitment. Some members may also choose to work off their membership fee. A Partial Share requires a 4 hour/week work commitment. A Full Share requires 6 hours/week. We can arrange work shares for those who are interested. Most of our work takes place at the farm but we are always looking for people to help out as drop off site coordinators or at one of our stands at farmers' markets. There are many ways to help us bring this great food to people's tables and we encourage you to participate. Bring your kids, bring a lunch or share ours, and enjoy this wonderful place that we are lucky enough to call home. Contact Farm to City if you are interested in being a site coordinator or helping at farm markets.

QUESTIONS?

Contact Farm to City:



last updated: 4/7/09 9:30a mr