Vegetable Share
2010 Vegetable Shares are Still Available!
We offer Main Season and Fall Season vegetable shares. The Main Season is 22 weeks and runs June-October. You can choose to pick up vegetables every week (Full Share) or every other week (Half Share). The Fall Season share is two deliveries taking place the first and third weeks of November.
As A Vegetable Shareholder, I Agree To…
As a vegetable shareholder, you must agree to eat seasonally. Weather and other natural occurrences greatly affect the variety and quantity of produce that fills your share each week. You will receive vegetables, greens, and herbs you may not have tried in the past. This will certainly broaden your culinary horizons but you must be willing to try these new things and eat foods you normally do not purchase at the store. As a vegetable shareholder, you must agree to make the best use of the food you receive even if it is not what you expected that week. We are at the mercy of the weather. It can delay or damage crops or produce an absolute bounty. It can encourage certain pests or keep them to a minimum. It can produce the most perfect fall days or send us running for cover in a wind damaging summer thunderstorm. As a vegetable shareholder, you agree to roll with the season and accept the food provided.
How much quantity and variety will I receive in a vegetable box?
Our weekly boxes are a half bushel and we aim for no less than 6-7 items in each box. Variety depends on time of the season and we choose what goes in the box each week. Flexibility is very important as you will most likely receive vegetables you have never prepared or eaten before. Early boxes contain lots of greens, radishes, green onions, cabbage and broccoli. By July and August, you will see tomatoes, peppers, beans, fresh basil, summer squash and more. Quantity is for fresh eating from week to week. It is not our intention to provide enough to can or freeze although in a bountiful growing season, that may be an option.
To view sample boxes from previous growing seasons, please click here.
I Don’t Like Beets. Can I Customize My Vegetable Box Each Week?
No. It would be way too complicated to customize each shareholders box. The idea behind the CSA is to eat seasonally and that means taking from the garden what is plentiful, ripe, and ready for harvest. So often we hear customers say how they didn’t like a particular vegetable UNTIL they tried it from our farm. Eating something truly fresh and organic makes a world of difference. So you may find yourself eating those wonderful beets after all.
When Do the Main Season Vegetable Shares Begin and End?
The Main Season is the first week of June until the last week of October for a total of 22 weeks. Full Vegetable Shares receive a total of 22 vegetable boxes. Half shares receive a total of 11 vegetable boxes.
When do the Fall Vegetable Shares Begin and End?
The Fall Season is two deliveries taking place the first and third weeks of November.
What is Included in the Fall Vegetable Share? How Does it Differ From the Main Season Share?
By the time we are delivering Fall Shares, the weather will have cooled and the first frost and possible freeze will have taken place. Gone are the warm season crops like tomatoes, basil and eggplant to be replaced with beautiful greens, lettuces, and other fall specialties like potatoes, onions, green onions, beets, turnips, broccoli and cabbage. Think cool season storage type crops.
When Should I Expect The First Tomato?
Remember, you are eating seasonally and not from the grocery store. The first tomatoes will not arrive until the beginning of July – at the earliest! June boxes will be dominated by gorgeous greens, lettuces, radishes, kohlrabi, turnips, broccoli, cabbage, baby beets, green onions, and sugar snap peas – all early cool weather loving vegetables.
End of June and July bring on carrots, beets, cucumbers, summer squash, cherry tomatoes, peppers, green beans and fresh basil.
By August, tomatoes are a mainstay in the box along with green beans, eggplant, peppers, and zucchini. Late August through September the garden is in full swing. Almost all crops can be harvested at this point. Sunny fall days help with the harvest of winter squash and onions.
Frost typically arrives the first or second week of October. Gone are the warm season crops like fresh basil, cucumbers, and peppers. A few tomatoes may survive a light frost in one of our hoophouses but most of the tomato crop will not survive the cold. Boxes will once again be filled with greens, lettuces, radishes, and new crops like potatoes, onions, winter squash, and sweet potatoes.
Unless you produce your own vegetables, eating seasonally through our CSA program is the healthiest, freshest, tastiest, BEST food you can eat.
Do You Provide A Newsletter? Recipes?
Each share includes a newsletter. It will give you a little farm news, a list of vegetables in the box, a recipe and/or other tips. The newsletter has limited space and we usually only provide one recipe. So we encourage you explore other options either through cookbooks or online sources to learn new ways to prepare the vegetables we provide. As a vegetable shareholder, you must agree to bear some of the burden of learning about your food including storage tips, recipes, etc. There is plenty of information available if you take the time to seek it out. Being a part of a CSA means not only knowing where your food comes from but also how to best take advantage of the food provided.
What Vegetables and Herbs Do You Grow?
See the sidebar on the right of this page for a list of what we plan to offer in our vegetable shares in 2010. Some crops may not be successful and if you purchase a half share, you may not see all these vegetables in your boxes since you will miss half of the deliveries. Many crops will be repeated several weeks including lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, onions, potatoes and summer squash. But some you will only see a few times like kale, eggplant and cabbage.
Where Can I Pick Up My Vegetable Share?
We deliver to Dunlap, Peoria, Peoria Heights, and Naperville. Please click here to see times and days of delivery for each location.
What If I Need to Miss My Pickup of Vegetables?
You need to notify us at least one day before we deliver your food that you are canceling. Once the food is delivered, it is your responsibility to pick it up. We do not replace food that has been delivered but not picked up. If, however, you notify us ahead of time and the food is not delivered, you do have the option of making it up in another week. Or, you can have a friend pick up while you are away.
What Does It Cost?
Main Season
Full Share, 22 weeks, June – October, $484
Half Share, 11 weeks, June – October, $264 (pickup every other week)
Fall Season, 2 deliveries, first and third weeks of November, $52
How Do I Sign Up?
Shares for vegetables are available until sold out. Shares will sell out! Shares can be purchased online or by sending payment directly to Broad Branch Farm, Ltd. at the following address. Before mailing, print out the subscription form, fill out all information, sign and return to our address along with your payment.
Broad Branch Farm, Ltd.
15848 Twp. Rd. 500 North
Wyoming, Illinois 61491
Sample Boxes
Weekly Box Examples
It's very helpful to see actual examples of boxes we have provided in the past. Keep in mind that you receive a box every week so it's important to enjoy your food on a daily basis so you're ready for the next one.
Week 2
Greens Blend
Leaf Lettuce
Radishes
Garlic Scapes
Radishes
Parsley
Week 7
Lettuce
Parsley
Carrots
Broccoli
French Sorrel
Cherry Tomatoes
Week 14
Leeks
Potatoes
Carrots
Roma Tomatoes
Slicing Tomatoes – Red and Yellow
Red Cherry Tomatoes
Fresh Basil
Eggplant
Cucumbers
Week 18
Greens Mix
Parsley
Onions
Leeks
Peppers
Baby Turnips
Winter Squash var. ‘Delicata’
Cabbage
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