Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA)
Photography on this page by Will Elwell

Barn under constructionWhat is a C.S.A.??

C.S.A. or Community Supported Agriculture is a mutual commitment between a farmer and consumer, where the consumer buys a 'share' in the farm pre-season. In return, the farmer supplies the shareholder with fresh produce grown by the farmer throughout the growing season (approximately 20 weeks).

There are many benefits to belonging to a C.S.A. Not only are you receiving food grown locally without the use of harmful herbicides, pesticides or chemicals, but fossil fuels are also conserved since your food isn't traveling thousands of miles to reach you. As you enjoy the bounties of summer, you can also place a face to who grew it and maybe even the location where it grew in the field. There is also an opportunity to build community through the association with others interested in a healthy, safe environment. The commitment between the farmer and shareholder ensures the survival of local agriculture today and for future generations.

Harvesting near the new barnBy becoming a shareholder, you are directly impacting and supporting life-sustaining agriculture practices.

To produce healthy food, you must have healthy soil, rich in nutrients and microbial life. The present agriculture business in our country is chemical-intensive and industrialized on a large scale, depleting the soil and robbing food of its nutrients. Sangha Farm uses age-old methods of crop rotation, composting, and cover cropping, along with biodynamic preparations to enrich our soil. The health of our soil is just as important to us as the health of our food and bodies.

We invite our C.S.A. members to visit the farm often. While we don't require members to work time, we certainly wouldn’t refuse the help.

We invite you to become a member of our C.S.A. and experience the benefits of eating locally grown produce "grown the way nature intended."

Please note: Our CSA farm shares are sold out for the 2008 season. Please join us next year!

Pricing and ordering information:

Our season begins Memorial Day weekend and runs through mid-October, depending on the weather.

We offer full and half shares. The cost for a full share is $427 for the season, designed to feed a family of 3 or more. The half share is $249 for the season, designed for 1-2 people.

JaydenYou will receive a canvas shopping bag with our farm logo on it to fill with your weekly shares. Shares tend to be lighter in the beginning of the season, becoming more abundant as the season progresses.

Along with fresh-picked produce and herbs, you will also receive a monthly e-newsletter recounting happenings on the farm, our favorite recipes, general agriculture news, gardening tips, and hints on food preservation...canning, freezing, drying.

We do offer limited work trade agreements. If you are interested in this, please email or call for more information.

While we do everything in our power to ensure the success of our crops, there are circumstances which are beyond our control that may cause a crop to fail. By becoming a C.S.A. member, you are assuming this risk along with us.

Payment options:

  • Plan A: pay in full (this helps with start-up costs...seeds, soil, etc.)
  • Plan B: payment due over a 3-month period, with the last payment being made in June.
  • Plan C: payment made in 2 installments: the first payment due with application, the remaining balance due in May.

Sheep grazingPickup options:

There are two options for pick-up in Ashfield.

The first is on Saturdays 8:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. at the Ashfield Farmers’ Market, which is located at the Town Common on Main St.

Or

On the farm Tuesdays from 5p.m. -7p.m.

Springfield, Mass. CSA

This year, we are pleased to be able to offer our CSA to the businesses in downtown Springfield. Springfield Business Improvment District is helping to organize delivery.

Pick-up options are Wednesdays during the Tower Square Farmers Market, 10am- 3 pm, or after work at 5 p.m. (location to be announced by Springfield Business Improvement District.)

Payment plans must be prearranged with the farmer, so call or email if you would like this option. Money needs to be received by May 15th. Pick-up begins at the first market June 4th and runs until the end of the market.

Harvest Plan

Crop May June July August September October
Beets   X X X X X
Broccoli     X   X X
Cabbage     X X X X
Cauliflower       X X X
Carrots   X X X X X
Cooking greens X X X X X X
Cucumbers     X X X  
Eggplant       X X  
Garlic     X X X X
Green beans     X X X X
Herbs X X X X X X
Leeks         X X
Lettuce X X X X X X
Melons       X X  
Onions       X X  
Peas     X      
Peppers     X X X  
Potatoes       X X X
Pumpkins         X X
Radishes X X X   X X
Salad greens X X X X X X
Spinach X X X X X X
Squash, summer   X X X X  
Squash, winter         X X
Tomatoes   X X X X X

This is a general list of crops we grow. With some of the crops, we grow a few varieties of each. For example, onions—we grow three varieties: walla-walla, which is an early sweet onion, a yellow storage, and a red storage, which tend to be slightly later than the walla-walla.

Tomatoes: New this year will be greenhouse tomatoes, which will hopefully mean that we will have tomatoes by June instead of having to wait until August. We grow Sungolds, which are candy-sweet cherry tomatoes, Brandywine, which is an heirloom slicing tomato, a paste tomato.

Be a Local Hero - Buy Locally Grown - CISA MemberPeppers: We're going to plant a few pepper plants in the greenhouse to see how they do. We grow a variety of peppers: bell, jalapeño, cayenne, and some type of roasting pepper.

Summer squash: Yellow and green zucchini and patty pan

Winter squash: Delicata, butternut, acorn, buttercup, spaghetti