The CSA Share

welcome to seasonal eating!

We started Gathering Springs to grow excellent produce in a sustainable way. To us, sustainability starts with the soil: healthy structure, bacteria, and fungi with the right inputs to ensure balance makes for great veggies! Our membership is you joining in the effort - Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Your investment at the beginning of the season helps with our yearly start up costs, such as seeds and small tools and equipment that allow us to grow a diverse range of high quality vegetables!

What farming practices do you use?

We use pest and weed control methods that adhere to organic standards, and go beyond what they require in many cases. We never use synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. We use compost to fertilize, rain and well water for irrigation, and most weed control is done by hand. Tilling happens once a season rather than each time we replant a bed, which lowers weed pressure and preserves soil structure. If you have any questions about specifics, please don’t hesitate to ask!

How does it work?

2024 will be our 6th season and we are getting better and better at a growing the things our customers love. We are offering a 20 week CSA share which is basically a vegetable membership. You get 20 weeks of vegetable, which are pre-paid at the beginning of the season, and are redeemable over 23 calendar weeks from June through the end of October. You will collect your weekly share at your desired location once per week, with the option to skip 3 weeks when you need to, for example, if you are out of town. If you find yourself not skipping weeks, we can easily continue your share on a week by week basis at the end of the season. You can also pick up double shares, with prior notice, if you have family in town and want to share the farm’s bounty!

If you don’t pick up, or have weeks leftover at the end of season, this food will be donated to a local food bank.

cost

The total cost is $680 for 20 weeks of veggies - that’s $34/week. We accept payment via check (preferred) and card - the card processing fee will be added to your total. All checks are due within 2 weeks of sign-up.

What will I get?

Each week you’ll get 7-8 different items - we try to rotate week by week as much as possible! Sometimes you’ll get more than an item’s worth if we have an abundance, and number of items will be higher during the peak season. Remember, by joining our CSA community you will be sharing in the ups and downs we will undoubtedly have. This means you can expect to eat with the seasons - tomatoes tomatoes tomatoes in July/August and delicious greens in the fall. Here are some examples of what a weekly bag might contain (prices next to each item are the retail cost at market):

1.5lbs Slicing Tomatoes ($6.75)

1 pint cherry tomatoes ($4.50)

1 bunch swiss chard ($4.50)

1 bunch carrots ($4.50)

1 bunch scallions ($3.50)

1 head lettuce ($4.00)

2lbs zucchini ($6.00)

Add ons

Egg share: From our free range flock at the farm. You will receive 1 doz/week for the duration of your CSA. Our eggs are from pastured chickens who were raised from days old on the farm. They get rotated on fresh grass weekly for plenty of access to dirt to scratch, bugs to eat, and grass to mow! Chickens are also fed a non-GMO, layer feed from a local farm. CSA share eggs are un-washed and keep for up to a month unrefrigerated, and we do accept the boxes back to reuse. $6/week

Mushrooms: We are so pleased to have Cian from Fellow Fungi offering his unique culinary mushroom add on again this year. You will receive 1/2lb of exquisite fresh culinary mushrooms each week for the duration of your CSA. You can expect to see one of the following strains: Chestnut, Blue Oyster, Black King Oyster,  Italian (Lung) Oyster, Pink Oyster, Yellow Oyster, Lions Mane, Snow Oyster, Shiitake. $12/week.

Coffee: Sticky Bean Coffee Co. provides fresh roasted, whole-bean or ground coffee and cold brew, offering a rotating selection of single origin coffees from different farms/regions all over the world. Includes free education on fresh roasted coffee and how to enjoy the best cup from the comfort of your home! Whole bean/ground coffee 1/2lb - $10/week. Cold Brew in returnable glass bottle 32oz - $10/week.

Sourdough Bread: Sacred Hearts Goods are a boutique sourdough bakery based out of Chefscape in Leesburg and are small scale, hyper-local and committed to promoting organic, sustainably sourced ingredients from our neighboring farms. Your bread add on will be a rotation of 4+ loaves of handmade sourdough, with different seasonings (some from right here on the farm) and classic flavour combinations. 1.5lb sourdough loaf - $10/week.

Artisan Cheese: Eric and Kelly operate Village Cheeseworks out of Upperville, Virginia. The milk for their cheese comes from the last remaining commercial dairy in Loudoun County, Virginia, just a few miles down the road from their cheese plant. A weekly share will be a rotation of one of the following varities: Atoka (4.5oz soft ripened), Round Hill (6oz Camembert), Zulla (6oz washed rind) and Bluemont (6oz blue-style) - $8/week.

• Add ons will be available for pick up with your share each week - don’t forget to grab them from the crate!

• Add ons cannot be purchased without a CSA sign up.

Full payment for add-on will be required when you sign up. Just be sure to add your selection to your cart when you check out.

Member perks:

• 25% off up to 2 on-farm events annually

• Special deals for produce purchases in bulk when there’s an abundance

• A weekly email with a list of what’s in season, and recipes for streamlined meal planning

• bragging rights to your friends - you know your farmer!

Sign up now!

This season we’re accepting 60 members - we’d love to have you!