Roundabout Hills Farm
15505 Cattail Oak, Glenwood, MD 21738http://www.roundabouthills.net/301-768-4702
CSA
We have decided to change almost completely how we interact with our members and market our produce, making it more accessible financially, more convenient, and involving our members more in the operation of the farm. And to top it off we are throwing in a new name for the new approach: Roundabout Hills Kitchen Garden Food Guild!
The Kitchen Garden Food Guild will work this way:
Scheduling Flexibility: Members are completely free to come and get their produce whenever they like as many times as they like – seven days a week and anytime during the day. If they choose, they can also skip a week or two, without any financial loss.
Complete Choice: Members are not limited to the amount or kind of produce they receive. Instead, they can choose what produce they will take and how much they take. If you don’t like kale, you don’t need to have it, but can choose carrots, potatoes, asparagus, or whatever other seasonal produce is available. Each week, we will post the crops available and then you choose what you will take home.
A more authentic garden experience: Members will also get to experience the pleasure of harvesting their own produce, choosing exactly which carrot, lettuce, or leeks they would prefer and ensuring that the produce is as fresh as possible. We will provide the harvesting tools needed for the available crops, and trugs for collecting your produce, and if you wish bags to put it in to take home. It will be just like having your own backyard garden, but without contending with mosquitos, weeds, and the heat of summer!
Member control over crop planning: Instead of a “potluck” experience, we ask our members at the beginning of the season to tell us what crops they would like that year. If we can grow it in our climate and there are enough members requesting the crop, we will figure it into our crop plans.
Financially accessible: Best of all perhaps is the new way of paying for membership. Instead of charing $500 to $1200 at the beginning of the season, or $200 to $300 split into seasonal payments (which is still tough for many), members will pay only for what they take home, much like going to the grocery store, fruit stand, or farmers market. Each week, we will both post on our website and send emails announcing what crops are available for that week. After you’ve chosen and harvested what you want to take home, you will simply leave your payment in the member shed at the site of the garden – no big prepayments. To cover the costs of seeds and any other inputs, we will charge a registration fee based on our total anticipated costs for the season, excluding our labor. We are currently calculating this fee and will shortly post it on the website.
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