Vegetable CSA FAQs

How much food do members get each week?

Members will fill a canvas Barrett's Mill Farm bag with the vegetables of their choice each week. In addition to the bag, members will also have the option to pick a set amount of crops in our PYO fields most weeks. Occasionally larger items like watermelons are offered as extra outside the bag. A CSA bag plus pick-your-own crops is generally enough for a family of 4 that consumes a moderate amount of vegetables, or for 2 people that eat a lot of vegetables. The weekly value of produce available to each share is consistently $55-$75. Check out our CSA Photo Tour to get a visual of the vegetable amounts!

Do you have different sized CSA memberships?

We offer one size CSA, but there are other options for supporting the farm and enjoying Barrett's Mill Farm vegetables! Our farm store is open during all CSA hours, so folks who would like to supplement their CSA will usually have the option to purchase extra. CSA members can pay for extra produce with cash or credit card, or can purchase Barrett's Bucks to spend in the store. Barrett's Bucks memberships are also a great choice for folks who either can't commit to picking up vegetables every week or find that a CSA is too many vegetables. For more information about our Barrett's Bucks farm stand credit program, click here.

Can I share my CSA membership?

The size and selection of vegetables each week is designed with one household in mind. We do have the Flex CSA (20 pick-ups over the course of 24 weeks) as an option if you are worried about picking up vegetables every week. If you would still prefer to share with another household, you may arrange to share your CSA membership with another person or family, but we do not coordinate that for members. If you are sharing, we recommend getting either an Extended or Main Season membership (not the Flex membership) for your own ease of keeping track of pick-ups. We also recommend purchasing some Barrett’s Bucks as well in order to ensure that you can get some of your favorite crops if those items are limited or if it is available during a week that the other household is picking up vegetables.

We ask that if you are splitting your membership, that you either alternate pick-up weeks or have one person pick up the CSA and split up vegetables afterwards. Any limits in the CSA distribution and the pick-your-own fields still apply to shared memberships, so it is up to you to work out how you would like to divide up those crops. Please communicate and coordinate directly with the person or household with whom you are sharing, as we are unable to keep a separate tally of which household has picked up.

What vegetables are included in the Main Season CSA?

We grow the following vegetable, fruit and flower crops for the CSA (pick-your-own crops are highlighted in italics): arugula, string beans, beets, bok choy (baby and full size), broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, slicing and pickling cucumbers, eggplant, fennel, garlic, garlic scapes, herbs (basil, cilantro, dill, oregano, parsley, sage, thyme), husk cherries, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, head lettuce, cut lettuce mix, mustard greens, fresh onions, storage onions, shell peas, sugar snap peas, hot peppers, sweet peppers, potatoes, pie pumpkins, radishes, rutabaga, scallions, spinach, strawberries, summer squash, sunflowers, sweet potatoes, winter squash, Swiss chard, cherry tomatoes, heirloom and slicing tomatoes, salad turnips, storage turnips, watermelon and zucchini.

Please check out our blog to get an idea of the variety of crops available each week. For instance, to see what types of crops might be available in late August, click here. To see what types of crops might be available in early June, click here. If you are unsure what to do with some of these crops, we offer new recipes every week on our blog as well!

There are a few items that are available in the store, but not in the CSA distribution area, for example early season asparagus or items we buy in from other local producers, like sweet corn or mushrooms.

What if I don't have time for pick-your-own crops or am otherwise unable to pick?

Whenever possible, we recommend filling your CSA bag and doing your PYO on the same day, but we will also have the PYO fields open Thursdays and Fridays 11am - 6pm as an alternative.

If you are unable to pick at all during a particular week, pick-your-own crops are usually available for purchase in the farm store as well. You may also bring along friends or family to pick for you. We do not have the capacity to pick the PYO crops for members, so if you anticipate being unable to pick on a regular basis, we recommend making a plan with a friend or family member to do your picking for you, purchasing some Barrett’s Bucks with your CSA membership in order to get your favorite PYO crops in the store, or getting a stand-alone Barrett’s Bucks membership instead of a CSA membership.

Am I assigned a pick-up day?

You may pick up your vegetables during any of our CSA distribution hours! Pick-up days are Wednesdays 11am - 6:30pm or Saturdays 9am - 3pm. Choose whichever of those hours works best for you in a given week! You don't need to tell us in advance when you are coming.

What happens if I miss a pick-up week?

The best option if you can’t make a CSA pick-up during a particular week is to have a friend pick up for you! Our Shopkeeper will be happy to guide them through the CSA pick-up process. Our field plans (and therefore the amounts of vegetables available for harvest each week), are determined over the winter, so we cannot provide extra vegetables for you during a different week. Don’t worry, though - your vegetables will go to a good cause! We donate extra vegetables on a weekly basis to Boston Area Gleaners.

Are you organic?

Yes! We received our organic certification in April 2017. Unless otherwise labeled, everything in our store and CSA is organic and grown by ourselves. By popular demand, we do buy in a few Concord-grown items for the store (sweet corn and jack-o-lanterns) that are not certified organic because we lack the field space, time and equipment to grow them ourselves.

Do you offer flexible payment plans or any form of financial assistance?

Yes! If you would like to propose a different payment schedule, please contact us and we would be happy to try to come up with an alternative plan. We also are excited to be participating in the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP), which allows SNAP households to purchase a CSA share using SNAP benefits. SNAP benefits spent on the CSA are matched, up to $80 each month. We have also discounted the cost of the CSA for SNAP households. For more info, email Lise (lise@barrettsmillfarm.com).

We are also offering a sliding scale for our Main Season CSA. We would like our CSA to be accessible, so if you are not eligible for SNAP, but the Standard price of the CSA is a significant financial burden for you, please select the Reduced Price membership.

Extended and Flex CSA FAQs

How do the Extended and Flex options differ from the Main Season CSA?

The Extended and Flex CSA run for 4 weeks longer than the Main Season CSA. The Extended Season CSA allows members 24 pick-ups (once a week for 24 weeks), whereas the Flex CSA allow members 20 pick-ups over the course of 24 weeks (still a max of one pick-up per week). The Flex option works well for people who go away for several weeks in the summer but would still like to enjoy late fall veggies.

How does the CSA size in the last 4 weeks compare to the Main Season CSA?

The overall volume of vegetables is similar to the Main Season CSA. Members use the same sized canvas bag for picking up their vegetables..There are no pick-your-own crops available in the late fall.

What crops are available in the last 4 weeks of the CSA?

Some of the types of vegetables that may be available include carrots, beets, potatoes, winter squash, leeks, onions, garlic, Brussels sprouts, turnips, radishes, kale, cabbage, spinach, sweet potatoes, popcorn, lettuce and salanova lettuce mix.