Produce CSA
Community Supported Agriculture
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How does CSA Work?
The CSA model creates a direct connection between farmers and eaters. Participants pay at the beginning of the season and then receive a weekly share of the harvest in the form of veggie baskets.
This model allows the farm to have cashflow to buy seeds and supplies. In return, the farm harvests “the cream of the crop” for members and delivers it each week. A CSA implies a direct contract between the producer and the consumer or called “community supported agriculture”.
The details
What's in a share
a weekly selection of 6-8 veggies depending on the size of the basket
When
For a duration of 30 weeks, from early April to mid-November. Including a two-week break the first two weeks of August.
Cost
To participate in our CSA box program, you agree to two half-days of work in the garden per season. If you cannot participate for whatever reason, we charge CHF 90 per half-day that you cannot work. More details below.
Pickup or delivery
Friday at the farm – make your own basket. You will have a sign explaining what is to be picked up for your choice of basket and you can do it yourself.
Work on the farm
Subscribers are asked to contribute 2 half-days of work per year, per subscription. This small contribution from vegetable eaters is greatly appreciated by both members and farmers. These moments of sharing are very useful and children are welcome to put their hands in the soil and help out. At least one of the two half-days must be completed before the end of July as a lot of the work takes place in the early summer months. Each half day of work not completed will be charged 90 SFr.
All help is welcome, even outside the recommended half days!
FAQ
Here are the frequently asked questions around the CSA program. If your question isn’t answered below, please reach out.
You will get 6-8 veggies in your bag weekly. Most of the veggies will come from our gardens. Any additional veggie not grown on our farm will be coming from a local BIO grower.
Spring: Mesclun, Salads, Turnips, Beets, Spinach, Fresh onions, Radishes, Carrots, Chard, Brocoli, Lamb’s lettuce, Pak Choi
Summer: Tomatoes, Eggplant, Beans, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Carrots, Chard, Peppers, Salads
Fall: Pumpkin, Radish, Onions, Sweet Potato, Spinach, Chard, Pak Choi, Kale, Salads, Brocoli, Turnips, Beets, Mesclun, Lamb’s lettuce
The quantity will evolve over the season following the natural rhythms of production. Less full in spring, abundant in the middle of the summer, the count will be there over the year. Moreover, as in a garden free of any chemical pesticide, some vegetables can have imperfections: forked carrots, snails in the salads, aphids in the beans, bent tomatoes… Nature accepted all shapes, forms and colors.
The “real” value of our baskets is a relatively complex notion to define, as it would mean first defining what is a fair price for a vegetable. We aim to earn a living with our farm to support our family and, in time, be able to grow the team and offer valuable places of work for others. To set our prices, we use the recommended prices for direct sales, as suggested on www.marchepaysan.ch. This site offers a range of recommended prices, with low and high values, which we use week after week to calculate basket values based on the composition of the week’s baskets.
At Le Petit Sécheron, we want to contribute, on our own scale, to the creation of a fairer and more sustainable food system for our community, considering transparency and communication between producers and consumers, short circuit distribution of food, sustainable agricultural practices, healthy eating habits and fair prices.
With this being said, we aren’t experts and this is a new undertaking for us. We feel that positive change can start here with us and hope you will also adopt a beginner’s mindset with us and be open to creating this wonderful offering to the community in our area.
Yes, except in one important sense: we are not BIO Suisse certified. In the future, we will consider obtaining this certification, but for the moment, the administrative formalities and costs are not justified. Our estate also includes vineyards and field crops and we are looking to do things in a smooth, step-by-step manner. We strictly follow organic practices on the farm: we don’t use pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, we don’t use GMOs, we plant habitats for pollinators, and we use compost and cover crops to feed the soil. You are welcome to visit the farm to see for yourself!
We are already counting two weeks of break at the beginning of August. Should you be away at any other time, we encourage you to share your basket with your friends and family and let them discover the concept. Please let us know if you won’t be coming to get your basket when away or who will come in your place.
We produce for you and we want to adapt the offering to your desires and needs. More or less of a vegetable? Different varieties? Improvements? We will take into account your feedback in order to create a sustainable, delicious, heart-warming and creative offering to the group. Don’t hesitate to write to us! [email protected]
Interested in joining our CSA program?
Ready to become a member of the farm and nourish those around your table.
