CSA Info - What's in a Share?

5 Months of Sample Shares Available Here

How is a Share Designed?
A share is very adaptable to different sized families. It is different every season due to the farmers interests, shareholder feedback, weather and other conditions. A share is designed to provide a wide variety of different vegetables intended for one family's weekly consumption. Sometimes you will find small quantities (one bunch, one to two pounds, etc.) of as many as 10 different vegetables or herbs during a peak season week and occasional large doses of tomatoes for making a fresh sauce or cukes for some refrigerator pickles, etc. A share is not intended to provide enough produce to do any major canning or freezing, but seasoned CSA members tend to tuck some away for winter consumption.
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What is the Cycle of the Season?
The first weeks of the share in June are a celebration of the beginning of summer, just a teaser of what is to come. Lettuces, radishes, salad turnips, scallions, and other quick growing crops fill the shares. Gradually we add on one vegetable after another: chard, peas, beets, beans, zucchini. until all of a sudden it is the middle of August, the tomatoes are exploding, and it seems like there is a little of most vegetables that can be grown in Maine available to our shareholders. (there are some things we don't grow, and you can read what they are and our reasons here ) Then in September or October the frost arrives. We use row covers to prolong some of the salad greens and other items, but the basil, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant die back and we are left with fall broccoli, kale and other hardy greens and the storage crops such as carrots, potatoes, onions, and winter squash that kept our ancestors alive during cold Maine winters. As a shareholder you will become very in tune with the cycles and bounty of the land.
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What Types of Vegetables Should I Expect Each Week?

Here is a general breakdown of the different groups of vegetables that we work to provide to our shareholders

Cooking Greens: Each week we will provide at least one bunch of cooking greens, from the old cancer stopping favorites of kale and collards, to the beautiful and crisp mustard and chard, to the tasty and exotic komatsuna and tat soi. We welcome back spinach this fall to the farm to as well. Expect an abundance of greens in the beginning of the season, as they love the cool weather and will be the first in the ground. As the season progresses we will provide a choice amongst the greens for shareholders to decide what goes best with their meals for the week. The season will also conclude with fresh greens, perhaps with a bit of a different taste as the nights get colder and the frost sweetens them up.

Salad Fixings: This season each week there will either be one head of lettuce or a family size amount of mixed salad greens. Lettuce will be cut fresh that morning and will last for a week in the fridge. In our lettuce and salad mix selection we focused on variety, taste and beauty.

Herbs: Throughout the season there will be at least one bunch of fresh herbs at every pick up, including 3 varieties of basil, 2 varieties of parsley, cilantro and dill. Fresh herbs are a treat in any dish. Also, you will appreciate that frozen pesto in the back of your freezer next February.

Roots: The sandy soils at Wolf Pine Farm welcome and support the root crops. The season starts out with crunchy radishes and salad turnips that are best raw, and moves into the classics - carrots and beets. We will provide these standbys as much as possible throughout the season. The season closes with storage crops of turnips, rutabagas, parsnips and turnips, perfect roasted together or made into a hearty soup.

Onions: You will receive at least one representative from the onion family almost every week. Kicking the season of with flavorful garlic scapes and later enjoying bunching onions and fresh onions, which are excellent in salads, salsas or stir fry's. The fall brings leeks, garlic and storage onions. Every one start putting a hex on the onion maggot now!

Brassicas: In addition to greens, you can look forward to Chinese and headed cabbage and kohlrabi early in the season and in the fall, once again cabbage, but also gorgeous broccoli and Brussels sprouts.

Peak Season Favorites: Once the season starts rolling and the temperatures rise and the days get long, the veggies really start to feel it and it's all we can do to keep up with them. In early to mid July the cucumbers, ranging from slicers to picklers to funky lemons, start to fill your weekly bounty, as well as a variety of summer squash and zucchini. Tender new potatoes will follow, perfect by themselves or with fresh herbs in salad. After that, colorful heirloom tomatoes, beautiful varieties of eggplants and juicy sweet peppers that will hopefully last into the early fall. Also, on our plates will be cantaloupes and watermelons perfect for enjoying after a dip in our river.

Winter Squash and Pie Pumpkins: As the days get shorter and autumn approaches, the season closes with winter squash, varieties for both ready eating and storage, along with little sweet pie pumpkins. Save them for Thanksgiving or join our Winter CSA and extend your access to local food even longer. Don't forget about spicing and roasting the seeds!

Others: Not to be forgotten are the funky favorites fennel, celeriac, daikon and a few tomatillos to add to your weekly bounty from time to time.

Not In a Share this Year: Although we would like to, we can't grow it all here at Wolf Pine Farm. Celery, corn and cauliflower will not be joining us this season, nor will storage or sweet potatoes. This season the greens will be grown to size, rather than provided as a braising mix.

Coming Next Year: In 2008 we will be putting in our first planting of strawberries and raspberries, they won't produce this season, but look for them in 2009!
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