Our Harvest Box CSA is your source for local food in the Airdrie, Olds and Red Deer area!
Our goal is to keep local food simple and accessible for everyone.
We work in partnership with two other local farms, Eagle Creek Farms in Bowden and Shirley's Greenhouse in Didsbury to provide you with one of the most diverse vegetable shares in Alberta. Each of our three farms specializes in different vegetables allowing us
We also offer the only fully customizeable year round CSA boxes in the province!
Our local producers are the best at what they do, giving us an almost permanent local supply of some popular items like potatoes, salad greens and tomatoes but sometimes a few extras help round out what's on our dinner plates!
What is a CSA?
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an agricultural system that views us all as either producers or co-producers of healthy food. Farmers need eaters and eaters need farmers. A CSA arrangement is a way for eaters to co-produce by providing support for the farmer early in the season when money is needed for seeds and other infrastructure expenses. We use the phrase “shared risks, shared rewards” to describe this program. When harvest is hot, you get loads of food! But members also recognize and appreciate that challenges such as unfavorable weather, disease and pests are part of the risks of agriculture and can affect the harvest. In exchange for signing up, the producer does his/her best to provide as much excellent and fresh food as possible during the weeks of delivery.
Because we are three diverse farms working with different crops in different locations you will find that there is not as much fluctuation in our share as there is in many single farm CSA programs. The shared risk is not as high as it is extremely unlikely that all three of our farms will be struck with disaster at the same time. The rewards are also more balanced through the season and you should find yourself getting a similar value throughout the season with few exceptions. If we are having a particular bounty though you may find bigger bunches or bags of certain vegetables in your share now and then!
What Do We Grow?
Your vegetable share will be filled throughout the year with fresh locally grown vegetables grown on one of three farms. Each of us specializes in different kinds of vegetables so you get a wide variety in your box every week of the year! There is always a little bit of overlap, but for the most part here is what each of us will be growing for you:
Country Thyme Farm
Beans, Herbs, Kale, Lettuce, Leeks, Onions, Peas, Radishes, Other Salad Vegetables, Spinach, Sugar Pumpkins, Swiss Chard, Turnips, Winter Squash, Zucchini
Eagle Creek Farms
Beets, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbages, Cauliflower, Carrots, Kohl-rabi, Parsnips, Potatoes, Onions
Shirley's Greenhouse
Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Peppers, Corn and hydroponic Lettuce
Other Alberta Farms
There are a few vegetables that none of the three of us grow such as asparagus, sprouts and garlic (and sometimes one of us has a crop that fails for the year). We do like to make sure that you get these extra vegetables at least once in a while so when they are in season we will sometimes add one or two vegetables from one of our friends in the Alberta farming community to your weekly box. We will always let you know which farm your vegetables are coming from each week.
How it Works:
Step 1
Create an account:
We use a farm account ordering system created by farmers for farmers to help us manage your account more efficiently. If you plan on signing up for one of our home delivery options, please make sure your address and phone number are up to date. If you have an address that is difficult to find via Google Maps please send us an email to let us know how to find you!
Step 2
Choose a CSA box:
We have a few different options for you depending on how often you'd like to receive fresh produce and how much customization you want in your box.
Couples Veggie Box - a small amount (approx. $30 per delivery) of vegetables delivered year round. Great for most couples.
Family Veggie Box - a medium amount (approx. $50 per delivery) of vegetables. Great for families and vegetarian couples.
Fruit Box add-on - a small amount (approx. $15 per delivery) of fruit delivered on a weekly basis year round. Our fruit box add-on is being provided almost entirely by B.C. fruit growers. Our friends in B.C. have a good supply of fresh fruit from June to December every year. From January to March B.C. only has apples and the occasional pear left in storage so we typically supplement with preserved fruit and sometimes honey from local or fair-trade sources to help balance your share out. Once in a while when one of our Alberta friends has a bit of locally grown fruit we will always try to fit that into your box!
Chicken/Duck Egg add-on - one dozen chicken ($6/doz) or duck ($7.50/doz) eggs added to your box.
All of our boxes have the option for you to receive them either weekly or biweekly, so you can select what is the most convenient for you.
Step 3
Select a payment option:
The payment system is setup to work with PayPal, the most common preference of most of our customers. We are also happy to accept payment by cash, cheque, e-transfer or credit card. Just select the "other" payment option and send us an email to let us know how you'd like to pay.
Payment in full - for your convenience we are happy to accept payment for the season in full when you sign up so that you don't have to worry about remembering to make payments later on. This payment option comes with a 10% discount on your share.
Monthly Installments - if making the full payment for your share all at once isn't the best option for you we also have the option for you to make monthly installments. Your first payment will be due when you sign up and the rest of your payments will be due as the season progresses. This payment option comes with a 5% discount on your share.
Pay as you eat - choose this option if you just want to pay for each delivery as you receive it. This option is currently only available through PayPal.
Step 4
Customize your order:
You can login to your account anytime between first thing Saturday morning and Monday morning at 7am before your next delivery to make any changes to your box you'd like. You can also set a hold on your delivery in your account at any time you like.
Step 5
Receive your produce!
Depending on which delivery preference you chose, you will either get your order delivered right to your door or it will be available to pick up at one of our pickup locations. At the moment Olds, Calgary and on-farm are pickup only and Airdrie and Red Deer have both pickup and home delivery options.
Our goal is to keep local food simple and accessible for everyone.
We work in partnership with two other local farms, Eagle Creek Farms in Bowden and Shirley's Greenhouse in Didsbury to provide you with one of the most diverse vegetable shares in Alberta. Each of our three farms specializes in different vegetables allowing us
We also offer the only fully customizeable year round CSA boxes in the province!
Our local producers are the best at what they do, giving us an almost permanent local supply of some popular items like potatoes, salad greens and tomatoes but sometimes a few extras help round out what's on our dinner plates!
What is a CSA?
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an agricultural system that views us all as either producers or co-producers of healthy food. Farmers need eaters and eaters need farmers. A CSA arrangement is a way for eaters to co-produce by providing support for the farmer early in the season when money is needed for seeds and other infrastructure expenses. We use the phrase “shared risks, shared rewards” to describe this program. When harvest is hot, you get loads of food! But members also recognize and appreciate that challenges such as unfavorable weather, disease and pests are part of the risks of agriculture and can affect the harvest. In exchange for signing up, the producer does his/her best to provide as much excellent and fresh food as possible during the weeks of delivery.
Because we are three diverse farms working with different crops in different locations you will find that there is not as much fluctuation in our share as there is in many single farm CSA programs. The shared risk is not as high as it is extremely unlikely that all three of our farms will be struck with disaster at the same time. The rewards are also more balanced through the season and you should find yourself getting a similar value throughout the season with few exceptions. If we are having a particular bounty though you may find bigger bunches or bags of certain vegetables in your share now and then!
What Do We Grow?
Your vegetable share will be filled throughout the year with fresh locally grown vegetables grown on one of three farms. Each of us specializes in different kinds of vegetables so you get a wide variety in your box every week of the year! There is always a little bit of overlap, but for the most part here is what each of us will be growing for you:
Country Thyme Farm
Beans, Herbs, Kale, Lettuce, Leeks, Onions, Peas, Radishes, Other Salad Vegetables, Spinach, Sugar Pumpkins, Swiss Chard, Turnips, Winter Squash, Zucchini
Eagle Creek Farms
Beets, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbages, Cauliflower, Carrots, Kohl-rabi, Parsnips, Potatoes, Onions
Shirley's Greenhouse
Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Peppers, Corn and hydroponic Lettuce
Other Alberta Farms
There are a few vegetables that none of the three of us grow such as asparagus, sprouts and garlic (and sometimes one of us has a crop that fails for the year). We do like to make sure that you get these extra vegetables at least once in a while so when they are in season we will sometimes add one or two vegetables from one of our friends in the Alberta farming community to your weekly box. We will always let you know which farm your vegetables are coming from each week.
How it Works:
Step 1
Create an account:
We use a farm account ordering system created by farmers for farmers to help us manage your account more efficiently. If you plan on signing up for one of our home delivery options, please make sure your address and phone number are up to date. If you have an address that is difficult to find via Google Maps please send us an email to let us know how to find you!
Step 2
Choose a CSA box:
We have a few different options for you depending on how often you'd like to receive fresh produce and how much customization you want in your box.
Couples Veggie Box - a small amount (approx. $30 per delivery) of vegetables delivered year round. Great for most couples.
Family Veggie Box - a medium amount (approx. $50 per delivery) of vegetables. Great for families and vegetarian couples.
Fruit Box add-on - a small amount (approx. $15 per delivery) of fruit delivered on a weekly basis year round. Our fruit box add-on is being provided almost entirely by B.C. fruit growers. Our friends in B.C. have a good supply of fresh fruit from June to December every year. From January to March B.C. only has apples and the occasional pear left in storage so we typically supplement with preserved fruit and sometimes honey from local or fair-trade sources to help balance your share out. Once in a while when one of our Alberta friends has a bit of locally grown fruit we will always try to fit that into your box!
Chicken/Duck Egg add-on - one dozen chicken ($6/doz) or duck ($7.50/doz) eggs added to your box.
All of our boxes have the option for you to receive them either weekly or biweekly, so you can select what is the most convenient for you.
Step 3
Select a payment option:
The payment system is setup to work with PayPal, the most common preference of most of our customers. We are also happy to accept payment by cash, cheque, e-transfer or credit card. Just select the "other" payment option and send us an email to let us know how you'd like to pay.
Payment in full - for your convenience we are happy to accept payment for the season in full when you sign up so that you don't have to worry about remembering to make payments later on. This payment option comes with a 10% discount on your share.
Monthly Installments - if making the full payment for your share all at once isn't the best option for you we also have the option for you to make monthly installments. Your first payment will be due when you sign up and the rest of your payments will be due as the season progresses. This payment option comes with a 5% discount on your share.
Pay as you eat - choose this option if you just want to pay for each delivery as you receive it. This option is currently only available through PayPal.
Step 4
Customize your order:
You can login to your account anytime between first thing Saturday morning and Monday morning at 7am before your next delivery to make any changes to your box you'd like. You can also set a hold on your delivery in your account at any time you like.
Step 5
Receive your produce!
Depending on which delivery preference you chose, you will either get your order delivered right to your door or it will be available to pick up at one of our pickup locations. At the moment Olds, Calgary and on-farm are pickup only and Airdrie and Red Deer have both pickup and home delivery options.
Join in on our local CSA box
Sign up today to get fresh seasonal produce delivered to a community near you!
Click the sign-up link below to get started.
Click the sign-up link below to get started.
