CSA

What is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)?

CSA is a partnership between a farm and the surrounding community –the community financially invests in the farm by purchasing “shares” prior to the beginning of the growing season and in return, the farm provides, to the best of its ability, a variety of fresh vegetables harvested at their peak weekly.

In farming, there are risks. These risks are shared by both the farmer and the subscriber. Each season, crop abundances and failures are part of the natural order – crops are subject to insects, plant diseases and inclement weather. We grow a large variety of vegetables to lesson these risks and assure our subscribers a bountiful harvest.

Becoming a member creates a bond between people and the food they eat, the land on which it is grown and those who grow it. It helps support small farms and responsible farming.

What is in a Share?

You can enjoy the bounty of Echo Ridge’s produce by joining our CSA. CSA members receive a weekly share of seasonal vegetables and produce freshly harvested.

Weekly shares (equal to ½ - 1 full paper grocery bag of produce) contain an assortment of vegetables and in sufficient quantities to feed 2 adults or a small family. Pick-up is at the farm or in Winchester in 2008; in 2009 we plan to expand to Leesburg (if we have at least 15 local members).

The first harvest should be in early June; each week until fall, we harvest what the season provides. Spring brings delicate greens, radishes, peas and beets. Summer overflows with ripe tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, and summer squash. We pick the best produce from the garden just before packing and usually the day of pick-up.

We grow many heirloom varieties – over 50 different ones. We believe in preserving heirloom vegetables – plants that have been handed down over generations and not genetically manipulated. They provide a connection to the past and a promise for the future.

Click here to see the vegetables we grow!