We are pleased to launch the SOL farm this spring 2012! We have created this blog site to journal our learning & discovery around local food growing on the farm and to connect with others. Follow along as we build our CSA, in to what we hope will be a thriving, living landscape of abundance. We can hardly wait for the growing season to begin!
Garden Gabbers has provided online space for us to post our FORMS and resources. So for more information and F.A.Q.s about our farm, and to download a shareholders registration for visit: http://www.gardengabbers.com/SOLFarms.htm
Some thoughts on what community shared agriculture is all about:
What is Community Shared Agriculture (CSA)?
It’s about community.
A CSA provides opportunities to meet in
a different way and address important community issues. Members are often interested in more than just vegetables; they like to work with growers who
share their environmental and social concerns. Families with children are welcome. CSAs
are about strengthening a sense of community.
It’s about health.
Healthy soil means healthy food. When no herbicides,
pesticides, or artificial fertilizers are used, ground water pollution and
toxic residues on food are avoided. A CSA allows consumers the opportunity to choose
how their food is grown. Eating freshly harvested, chemical free food is
the basis of a healthy diet.
It’s about ecology.
The soil is the basis of all human life and the quality of
its care and health affect not only the people who eat the food today, but also
those who will depend on the soil in the future. Although only a small population is engaged in farming, the proper tending of the earth is
the concern and responsibility of every individual. It is in the consumer's
interest to support farmers so that they can grow the highest quality,
most nutritious food while preserving the environment and
soil health.
It’s about learning.
CSA program help to re-educate us all in how to shift our diets to
include more fresh produce when it is in season and how to store or preserve
for winter months. It provides volunteer opportunities for all ages who wish to foster or learn various farming skills.
It’s about seasons.
Seasonal celebrations are natural when you are working closer
to nature. CSAs encourage social gatherings including: Planting Parties, Potato Digging Potlucks,
and Fall Harvest Festivals. Changing your diet to eat with the seasons is
something that happens naturally when a larger portion of your food begins to
come from a garden. The CSA provides recipes and encourages preserving for the winter months. Rediscover the arts of drying, canning, or freezing foods.
