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Our CSA Program

Join Earthwize today!
    Our CSA year runs April 1, 2010-March 31, 2011. Check out our schedule and delivery areas.

You can sign up anytime through the year as long as we have room available in your delivery zone. We started with 100 regular (~150 med.) shares.
As of May 27,
24 regular or ~43 medium Spring shares
 are left in current delivery zones but they're filling up fast, so sign up now!

 · Why CSA?
 · Why choose Earthwize Farms CSA?
 · Our produce: Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts, Herbs and more!
 · Pasture raised eggs
 · Locavore products
 · Certification
 · Delivery areas
 · Schedule
 · Share options
 · Costs
 · Shareholder terms

More CSA Info
    You can learn more about CSAs at these sites:
  · Local Harvest-CSA What is a CSA and how does it work?
  · Wilson College: What is CSA?
  · UMass Amherst Community Supported Agriculture

  · Freshness Most CSA produce is 1-2 days off the vine (unless curing is required before it can be eaten). Most  grocery store produce is six or more days old.
  · Quality Our crops are naturally grown and/or organic, minimizing shareholders' intake of questionable substances.
  · Flavor Earthwize Farms produce is selected for taste and nutrition; supermarket produce is chosen so it's good for shipping, often losing flavor in the process. 
  · Variety  Your share will include 6-20 kinds of produce and/or locavore products, depending on the season.
  · Value Shares often include specialty produce that's expensive or hard to find. Long distance expenses are much less so CSAs can concentrate on other qualities, so you get better produce for the same dollar.
· Local The average produce travel distance is 1,500 miles. Buying locally grown produce keeps money and jobs local and increases freshness.
  · Conservation Just 100 CSA members can save about 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year compared to supermarket crops. Sustainable planting methods help improve soil and maintain the local watershed. Integrated, low or no toxicity pest management minimizes the chance you'll get something you don't want with your produce.

Why choose Earthwize Farms CSA?
     Earthwize Farms CSA has several customer friendly features not common to most CSAs:
   · Seasonal produce and other treats are available for most of the year, instead of only for a 12 or 24 week season.
  · We deliver to most homes or offices in the CSRA, instead of all shareholders having to come to a central delivery point.
  · Our year is broken up into quarterly seasons. Unlike some CSAs where you have to pay for a whole year at once Earthwize Farms CSA allows payment by the half year or season. (though paying at once costs you less).

Certification
     All Earthwize Farms grown produce is produced through sustainable methods that would meet all USDA organic criteria and then some! We use an alternative certification program through the Certified Naturally Grown organization, an alternative for smaller and/or more diversified farms. You can also view Earthwize Farms' information and inspection reports.
     Sometimes when our crops ripen slower than expected we bring in fresh picked produce from other local farms so shareholders don't miss out. That produce is mostly grown through natural processes, and there'd be no preservatives, pesticides or waxing, but some of the farms haven't been going through the process long enough to be certified.

Our produce: Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts, Herbs and more!
     Earthwize Farms CSA shareholders get more than 40 types of the freshest, most flavorful local produce during the course of a CSA year. Since we don't have to ship long distances and can get food to shareholders soon after harvest, Earthwize Farms varieties are all chosen for superb taste, texture and nutrition. Many are heirlooms and/or unusual to this area.
     A detailed chart of produce types and seasons available is at our Local Harvest listing. Plus, you'll also find some customer reviews that'll give you an idea of how much our shareholders love being part of our CSA!

Pasture raised eggs 
     Our delicious, fancy breed, free-range pasture eggs are available via Egg Shares that're an add-on to the regular shares. An egg share provides about a dozen eggs each delivery.

Locavore products 
     The veggies & eggs are great but Earthwize Farms CSA knows our CSA shareholders want more. So, we hunt throughout the area for wonderful finds to take our shares up another notch. Every few deliveries include organic, handcrafted, locally produced baked goods, soaps, sachets, honey, preserves or other goods. .

Delivery areas  
      Currently we deliver to most areas within these zip codes:
 · SC: 29801, 29802, 29803, 29805, 29841, 29851 **
 · GA: 30901, 30904, 30905, 30906, 30907, 30909

** We previously delivered to Columbia, SC but discontinued when the number of customers dropped too low. We've recently had a lot of interest from people living there so we've started a Columbia waiting list. If you're interested please email us.

Schedule
     Our 2010 CSA year runs April 2010-March 2011, with 4 seasons, each 3 months (1 quarter) long. Deliveries go out every Friday except for major holidays. Factoring in those and possible weather skips we expect 44-46 deliveries overall. 

Spring quarter: 
     April - June; Holidays: April 7 & 9

Summer quarter:
     July-September; Holidays: July 2

Fall quarter:
     October-December; Holidays: November 26 & December 24, 31

Winter quarter
     January-March; No holidays expected but there may be weather skips

Share selection 
     Earthwize Farms CSA offers Medium shares and Regular Shares. Either share size may opt for Regular delivery (usually weekly) or Alternating delivery (usually bi-weekly).
     We plan for a Medium Share to be a week's supply for up to 2 people as side dishes, and a Regular Share to be enough for 4 people as side dishes or 2 people as side and main dishes. The actual quantities vary according to what ripens when, and how much is available at a time.
     As an example, our first 2009 Spring delivery had 7 different produce types. A Medium Share got:
 · 4 thick bunches (about 3.2 lbs) of young collard greens
 · 5 large (about 1.2 lb) of broccoli heads
 · 6 large stalks with long greens (about .5 lb) of green onions
 · a large bundle (about .125 lb) of fresh cilantro
 · 9 small (about 1.5 lb) tender redskin potatoes
 · 3 medium heads (about .25 lb) of garlic
 · a packed quart-size zipper bag (about .2 lb) of mixed gourmet baby salad greens
 
     A Regular Share got *twice* all that, and the price for both includes delivery within the Aiken-Augusta area.
 
Costs & payment
     We know times are hard and you can be assured we're pinching pennies and planning carefully to hold the line on costs! Our prices are a great deal for Certified Naturally Grown organic-type produce, and a good value all around. 
     Our shareholders have found that compared to commercial organic produce the Earthwize Farms CSA produce costs less than at regular groceries and much less than at specialty stores, and the quality is better than either one. The cost is a little more than for conventionally grown produce from regular groceries, but again Earthwize Farms is far fresher and tastier than those sources. Plus the delivery service, newsletters, recipes, information and other support we provide our shareholders are big benefits you won't find via other sources.
     Standard, full year payment is the best value. Half yearly & quarterly plans cost us and you more. They require down payment plus scheduled partial payments. Deliveries missed for crop/weather conditions or late payments won’t be credited.

        Current & new shareholders by April 30: total your choices and send that amount with the agreement.

        All after April 30: Please select the option you would have used for the full year. Send $40 down payment with your agreement. We’ll apply it and give you the pro-rated payment schedule when we call to review your agreement.

Terms
      · Commitment: After requests from folks traveling during certain seasons we've decided to allow share commitments for one quarter at a time. The cost for each quarter is the same as the quarterly payment schedule. We'll get the form updated soon but until we do just mark "Spring only" at the top.
     Unless you indicate otherwise you’re reserving your share for the entire season (all cycles), or the full remaining time for late sign-ups. We do not refund previous payments.

      · Schedule: Our 2010 CSA year runs April 2010-March 2011, with 4 seasons, each 3 months (1 quarter) long. Deliveries go out every Friday except for major holidays. Factoring in those and possible weather skips we expect 44-46 deliveries overall.

      · Delivery changes: Please request delivery changes by 5pm 2 (two) Wednesdays before a scheduled delivery so there'll be time to plan an alternate option. We can re-route your share elsewhere if it’s on a current route. If you choose or if we get no other instructions we’ll deliver your produce to a local food program.

      · Share options: We offer regular or medium food shares, delivered weekly or bi-weekly. A regular share is about a week's supply for 4 people’s side dishes or 2 people’s side and main dishes, and a medium provides 2 people’s side dishes or 1 person’s side and main dishes. The actual quantities will vary according to what ripens when and how much is available at delivery time; a regular share will usually fill a ream-sized copy paper box, and medium about half that. Food sharers may add one egg share (about 1 dozen eggs) delivered with their produce.

      · Payment: See the selection section for rates. Standard, full year payment is the best value. Half yearly & quarterly plans cost us and you more. They require down payment plus scheduled partial payments. Deliveries missed for crop/weather conditions or late payments won’t be credited.

      · Communication: We’ll keep you in the loop via bag notes, emails, phone calls, Facebook and our website. We’ll contact you directly as needed. You can talk with us on Facebook, or by email or phone.

      · Quality: Our goal is complete satisfaction! If you’re unhappy with the produce or we miss your delivery call us at once so we can fix the problem. If no one’s on site to accept your share you must provide ice packs and a large enough cooler to hold the entire delivery. Our drivers will make every effort to protect your produce but we can’t be responsible if a proper holding environment isn’t provided!

      · Unpredictable factors: Despite successfully farming for more than 30 years and 3 years of CSA experience we can never tell for sure what or how much will be available when. That’s the nature of farming. We plan ahead for redundancy and variety, planting many different crops at weekly intervals. We also get produce from other responsible growers within the 100 mile locally-grown radius. Despite all our planning there will sometimes be more or less of a product. Great conditions can mean bumper crops. Pests, drought or too much rain can mean small ones. If it’s very wet or icy we can’t safely get in the fields so we’ll have to skip delivery that week.

      · Returned check fee: $30 plus all collection costs. Fee, bad check redemption and future payments must then be made in cash or by secured check.