CSA

Know your farmer, know your food!

You can now sign up and pay for your CSA share online.  We request that you use the secure eCheck option (especially for installment plans), as we are unable to accept credit cards.  Thank you

Click Here to Sign Up for the 2012 CSA

Hatchet Cove Farm’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program is a great way to receive farm-fresh, delicious, organic vegetables at a great value. When you become a CSA member (by buying a ‘share’ in the farm for the season) we become your farmers, and Hatchet Cove Farm becomes your farm.

How does it work? When you purchase a CSA share you help support our farm by paying up front for your veggies in the spring.  That helps us pay for seed and cover the expenses of starting up the farm for the season. In return, you get a weekly selection of all that is available on the farm. This means you are eating the freshest, most delicious seasonal veggies possible.

Members also can receive surplus vegetables to put by for winter, and have the option to add on cheese, bread, mushrooms, eggs, chicken, pork and beef shares. Members receive a weekly letter full of news from the farm and recipes and are welcome at the farm for visits, to volunteer, and at our annual garlic-planting party!

Also, if you work at a MaineHealth affiliated facility (including Pen Bay Hospital, our newest delivery location), you can recieve $50 towards your CSA share cost.  If you receive Food Stamps, we happily accept EBT (and often receive additional grants to cover portions of your payment).  Contact us for more information!
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How long does it last? 18 weeks (mid-June through mid-October).  We also offer a fall share (mid-October to mid-November, $65).
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How will I get my share? We have a number of different delivery and pick-up options in 2012:
1)  Delivery to Rockland in front of the First Unitarian Universalist Church on Sunday mornings (10:30-11:30am).  If you can’t make it to the church while we are there, you can leave a cooler or a bag with your name on it in front of the church. We will put your share in it for you to pick up later in the day.  Or, with advance notice, you can pick up at the farm at another time or day.
2)  Pick up at the farm in Warren on Monday or Thursday evenings (5-6:30pm).  If you miss the evening farm pick-up, your share will be held for you in our walk-in cooler through the following day.
3)  Delivery to Pen Bay Hospital in Rockport.  Pick-up will be on Tuesday afternoons from 4:00-5:30pm, outside of the Café at the employee exit.  If you miss the pick-up your share will be held in the Café refrigerator through the following day.
4)  Delivery to The Village Bakery and Café in Waldoboro on Tuesday afternoons.
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How much does it cost? $325 in 2012 per “small family share” (typically enough for a family of two).  There is an installment plan available (see below) and we also accept EBT funds (Food Stamps).  Additionally, we have a CSA “scholarship” fund that can be accessed to help pay for your share.  Please contact us directly with questions.
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How do I pay? In 2012 we have three payment options available through our online sign-up process:
1) Pay in full (by check or, preferably, by eCheck).
2)  Pay with EBT card (Food Stamps).  Deduction plan based on your budget and SNAP rules.
3)  Pay in installments (three or five payments, preferably via eCheck).
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What about the cheese, mushroom, bread, eggs, chicken, beef and pork options? We’re thrilled to again offer these locally crafted, grown and foraged options in 2012:

Appleton Creamery, the award-wining goat, sheep and cow cheese operation, has agreed to offer a Cheese CSA for Hatchet Cove Farm members. For $225, CSA members will receive a variety of different cheeses every week, equalling a retail value of approximately $325.   In the past the cheese CSA members have raved about the quality, variety, and quantity of the cheese.

Oyster Creek Mushroom Company will again offer a weekly Mushroom CSA for our members.  OCMC cultivates Shitake mushrooms and sell fresh wild mushrooms from Maine including Porcini, Oyster, Chanterelle, Black Trumpet, Hen, Morel, and Chicken of the Wood mushrooms, among others. The mushroom share will consist of around a pound of mushrooms a week at wholesale prices, for a cost of $190 for 18 weeks.

Our Bread CSA bakers are the women of The Village Bakery and Cafe in downtown Waldoboro.  Liz Petruska, Jess Hunter and Susan Price are skilled bakers who have created a wonderful gathering spot in what would otherwise most likely be an empty storefront.  We are excited to support them, and they are excited to bake for our members.  Each week in the bread CSA you’ll receive a Village Bakery loaf including Anadama, Multigrain, Cinnamon Raisin Swirl, crusty baguettes, focaccia and more.  Village Bakery will make every attempt at including organic and Maine-grown ingredients in their loaves.  If you family goes through a lot of sandwich or crusty bread, you would probably consider this a supplemental loaf.  The cost is $98 for eighteen weeks.

Cheryl Denz of Terra Optima Farm in Union will be providing us with four different shares this year:  Chicken, Egg, Pork and Beef.  Cheryl’s livestock is all-natural, woods- and pasture- raised and medication free.  

  • Chicken share:  Every-other-week delivery (nine weeks total) of a four-to-five pound pasture-raised chicken.  Cost:  $170.
  • Egg share:  Every-other-week delivery (nine weeks total) of one dozen eggs from pasture-raised hens.  Cost:  $30.
  • Pork share:  Once-a-month delivery (five deliveries total) of a farmer’s selection of pork, at a value above Cheryl’s farmer’s market rates.  Cost:  $315 for the season (for approximately one-third a pig in total).
  • Beef share:  Once-a-month delivery (five deliveries total) of a farmer’s selection of beef, a value above Cheryl’s farmer’s market rates.  Cost:  $315 (for approximately one-eighth a cow in total). 

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What happens if I can’t pick up my veggies some weeks? If you let us know in advance, we can arrange an alternate way for you to get your share.  Or, if you plan to be out of town and to not eat your veggies at all, we can donate them to a local food pantry for you.
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How and when can I sign up for the coming season? Click on the ‘CSA Sign up’ link in the right sidebar.   This will take you to our online sign-up ‘wizard’ where you will choose a pick-up location, add-on options, and a payment plan. We strongly encourage you to pay with eCheck, as it is a totally secure process.  Please feel free to email or call us with any questions!
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What kinds of vegetables can I expect? When you are a CSA member you share in the both the risks and the bounty of the farm. For example, if you love broccoli and it is a great year for broccoli, you might receive it for a number of weeks in a row, enough to eat your fill and still freeze some for the winter. If it is a tough year for broccoli, though, (due to weather, pests, etc.) you might only get to enjoy it once that season. We work very hard at growing a wide variety of veggies, and every year have provided far more veggies to our members than the same amount of money would have bought at farmer’s market.

To see an example of the veggies you might receive in a week, at the bottom of each of our archived newsletters there is a list of what was in that week’s share.  So click on any newsletter posting to see what a average week might include.

Some of the veggies we grow for our CSA members: Mesclun Mix, Baby Spinach, Boc Choy, Arugula, Lettuce Heads, Beets, Kale (four different varieties), Swiss Chard, Broccoli, Cabbage (red and green), Herbs, Scallions, Sugar Snap Peas, Radishes, Basil, Carrots, Cauliflower, Potatoes, Sweet and Hot Peppers, Zucchini and Summer Squash, Green Beans, Garlic, Slicing and Cherry Tomatoes (heirloom and hybrid), Winter Squash, Onions, Kohlrabi, Celery, Sweet Corn, Edamame, Dry Beans, Celeriac, Fennel, Shallots, and more!
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Some quotes from Hatchet Cove Farm CSA members:

CSA pickup at the Rockland UU Church

“Thanks you guys for a great summer of veggies — again this year it was the highlight of my week and your recipes are amazing… thanks again!” – Melissa Holt

“We were so pleased and thrilled with your CSA. We love the freshness, variety, and amounts.” -Cheryl Parker

“Had your new potatoes last night – to die for. I boast of our arrangement as an example of one of the true advantages of living in the paradise that is Maine. Thanks for what you contribute to our lives.”  – John Meyn

“We loved the experience, from delivery (like “Christmas” when it arrived!) to the lovely recipes we enjoyed all summer.  Yum, yum!  Thank you!” – Liga Jahnke

“With our crazy life this summer, receiving this incredible food: 1. made us remember to eat our veggies and 2. sustained us physically when things got out of control!” – Patti Montana

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Interested in joining or have more questions? Contact us at
info@hatchetcovefarm.com

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