Seldom Seen Farm’s goal is to provide Indianapolis area households with fresh, high quality vegetables for as much of the year as possible. As a CSA member, you are supporting the farm by contributing a portion of the farm’s operating budget, and the farm in return does its best to produce the tastiest and most nutritious vegetables possible. Shareholders can develop a meaningful relationship with your local farm, while the farm is assured of a supportive community with which to share its bounty. We can then concentrate on treating the soil and the land in the most environmentally-sound fashion. The members thus share directly with the farm responsibilities of the long-term care of the soil, and the quality of our food.

Why Community Supported Agriculture?

• You are assured of receiving the freshest possible produce coming from our farm.
• You can be certain of receiving vegetables grown without the use of potentially toxic herbicides, pesticides and chemicals.
• You will be supporting a local farm, one dedicated to preserving the soil, the environment, and the ecological balance and diversity of the area.
• You will be conveniently doing a week of vegetable shopping simply by picking up your box.

What you will receive:

• Our best produce for 22 weeks
• A wide variety throughout the season
• Different produce most weeks.
• More than a little salad mix, but not as much as last year
• A pre-filled swap box to trade veggies you don’t like for those you do

What sets our CSA apart?

Quality – With the time not spent on field labor we can achieve a greater focus on crop quality. You can expect a 10 day shelf life on most of our produce, even salad mix. Most crops are harvested within 48 hours of delivery, many will be less than 24 hours out of the field. Our low time to market ensures that you receive the farm fresh produce of the highest quality.

Taste – Each year we do numerous variety trials and have selected the best tasting vegetables we can find. Some varieties may be interesting and new to you, while others may have improved taste, color, or tenderness that cannot be found in a supermarket.

Diversity – Seldom Seen Farm hosts around 40 different types of vegetables. . . but that number doesn’t really lend a good visual image. We grow eight different varieties of onions for scallions, fresh eating, and storage. Salad turnips that melt in your mouth, and a weekly salad mix boasting ten ingredients. And tomatoes, you ask? We’ve got the reds, romas, cherries. . . and 20 different heirlooms to get you through summer tomato cravings.

Season Extension- currently we have 7500 square feet of unheated greenhouse space. In these structures early summer crops are grown. The hoop-houses will not only bring in an early crop, but the produce from them is of higher quality than field grown produce.

2010 Share Prices

All Shares are delivered weekly, June 1 – October 31, 2010, with the exception of Winter Shares.

Full and Half shares include: Beans, Snap and Wax; Beets; Broccoli; Brussels Sprouts; Cabbage; Cabbage, Napa; Carrots; Cauliflower; Cucumbers; Eggplant; Fennel; Arugula; Asian Greens (Bok Choy, Mizuna, Tatsoi); Kale; Collards; Kohlrabi; Salad Mix; Melons (TRIAL); Onions, Bulb; Onions, Cipollini; Onions, Green; Peas, Sugarsnap and Snow; Peppers – Green – Red – Hot – Sweet – Weird; Potatoes; Radishes; Shallots; Spinach; Summer Squash; Winter Squash – Butternut – Acorn – Delicata – New Trials; Chard; Turnips; Tomatoes – Heirloom – Cherry – Red – Roma – Early; Cilantro; Parsley; Basil

• Half Share – 22 weeks

The half share has variety of veggie crops. It is designed for two adults that eat veggies regularly, or one person that want to make local vegetables a primary part of their diet. The half share has either fewer total types of veggies, or partial quantities included in the full share. Ideally, the half share has 5-6 different veggies weekly.

Half Share Price: $365 ($16 /week – cash/check price)

• Full Box – 22 Weeks

This share is designed for a family of four that doesn’t eat out too much, or two people that want to make local vegetables a primary part of their diet. Our ideal box has about 6-8 different veggies in it.

Full Share Price: $625 ($28 /week)

• Winter Share

Late season veggies change a little from the summer season. Expect cold tolerant field crops until the distribution before Thanksgiving, then a greater reliance on storage crops. The later season shares are supplemented with fresh harvested salad greens and spinach from our greenhouse. The 2009 season was unexpectedly long for field crops. We were surprised to have broccoli, kale, collards, fennel, and cauliflower late into November.

Field Crops: Arugula, Spinach, Salad Mix, Radishes, Scallions, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi, Collards, Kale, Brussels Sprouts

Storage Crops: Onions, Turnips, Rutabaga, Beets, Carrots, Napa, Cabbage,

Greenhouse Crops: Salad Mix, Arugula, Spinach

November 1 – December 18, 2010

Winter Share Price: $210 ($TBD / week)

Limited Delivery Areas, TBD August 2010

How the System Works. . . . .

• Applications are available. Fill out the membership page of the flyer and mail it in with your preferred payment type, or pay on-line. Applications and Payment are due by June 01, 2010. We have flexible payment options:

Payment in full via check – 4% cash discount

Send three checks with your application: 1) Deposit 2) Dated April 1 3) Date May 1

Payment in full via credit card

Payment plans after June 1 are not possible. (EBT is the possible exception)

• So long as we have salad mix available, both of our boxes will have a half pound of salad mix each week.
• If we have a crop failure we will do our best to substitute produce of equal value throughout the season.
• You will receive a weekly box of produce. Your box will be available for pickup at the point of your choosing each Saturday or Tuesday from June 1 – October 31, 2010.
• We also hope to offer many pickup sites in the Indianapolis area, but we are unsure of the locations at this time. If you would like to host another, please let us know.
• We cannot offer substitutions or special orders, but are open to customer input on building product flexibility into our subscription system.
• All CSA members are welcome to split a share with another household. If you are having trouble finding someone to split with, please post a comment and we will try to pair you with another household.

Application and Information

• 2010 Subscription Flyer &
  Membership Application
• 2010 Winter Flyer
• Weekly Produce Availability (estimate)
• What the CSA received last year

Shares

• Full Share
• Half Share
• Winter Share
• Splitting Shares
• Work Shares

Buy a CSA Share

Information

• Pickup Locations
• Purchase On-line
• Contact Us
• Host Sites Needed

Host Sites Needed

We are looking for a number of places around Indianapolis for CSA members to pickup. These pickup points can be either a home or business. If you are willing and have a covered porch or garage, and a place to store boxes from week to week please contact us. We offer a discount on any share for hosting a pickup point.

Market Work Shares

We have a limited number of farmers’ market work shares available. We need help at our primary market, and are willing to trade CSA shares for assistance on Saturday mornings. Those interested in a work share should have a strong knowledge of cooking (vegetables), the ability to maintain a positive attitude in a fast-paced environment, the ability to make change without a calculator (it’s not that hard once start). A full share would work out to 11 market days, plus a pre-season training event at the farm.

• Work shares also have access to free market leftovers.
• The season for work shares is June 1 – Nov 14
• Market work hours are 6:30am-12:30pm
• Contact Kelly for more information.