Shareholder Handbook
Important information that will make your CSA membership a safe and enjoyable experience for you and everyone else on the farm!
WHAT TO DO
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Visit our Pickups page for all the details
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When you arrive at the farm, park in the designated parking area right as you pull into the farm.
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At the entrance of the share, someone will greet you. Be sure to check off your name on the shareholder list
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Inside the farm stand or greenhouse, you will see a whiteboard listing what the week's share contains. Vegetables in crates will be laid out on tables, with little signs telling you what's what and how much to take. Please bring your own bag/basket to retrieve your share. Please note our share is NOT free choice. We grow specific amounts of veggies just for our CSA. Giving free choice is too challenging for us at the moment and would lead to potential waste that we would like to avoid. If you have an allergy or strong aversion to a specific veggie we would be happy to swap it for something else!
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If you know that you are going to miss a pickup, let us know the night before share pick up and we will pack a share for you and leave it in the cooler with your name on it. If you're going on vacation, feel free to have somebody else pick up your share for you. If we don't hear from you, we can't be responsible for a missed pickup.
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Another whiteboard is where you will find a map of the PYO showing which crops are open and the amount of each that can be harvested per share.
Please bring your own tools and bags for harvesting from the PYO.
Follow signs to the PYO garden. Beds that are open for picking will be marked with signs at the beginning of the bed.
We wait to open some crops, such as herbs, until the plants are big enough for everyone to get some. Even though sometimes it may look like a crop is ready, please don't pick from a row unless it has a sign. Throughout the season, we plant many successions in the PYO garden.
Please be careful of beds with ungerminated seeds or baby seedlings (and make sure your kids are careful). Please only walk in pathways between beds even if you're sure that there is nothing planted.
Please be prepared for bad weather. We reserve the right to close the PYO for the safety of people and plants.
Please do not pick the PYO flowers unless you are a PYO Flower CSA shareholder. We will have specific hours and pricing for PYO flowers shares posted in late June if you are interested.
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All of our crops are grown without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. This does not mean we recommend eating them without washing them first. We thoroughly wash all produce to remove most of the loose dirt, but please don't stop there. We have wildlife nearby, birds poop as they fly over head...you get the picture. So wash your veggies.
WHAT not TO DO
Besides the CSA, Iron Ox Farm is a working farm. Please be cautious around machinery and electric fencing. When the PYO garden is open the electric fence will be turned off. Otherwise assume all electric fencing is on for caution. Maintaining a safe and mutually beneficial relationship between the CSA and the farm crew is critical for our success. So here are the rules...
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We ask that unless accompanied by a farmer, shareholders do not leave the areas of the farm used by the CSA. These are the parking area, share tent, road to the PYO and PYO garden and surrounding areas. If you have any questions, or want to see another part of the property, don't hesitate to ask. We have a few working farm dogs that all love to bark but are very very friendly and loving! Please show them love and respect!
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Dogs: Please don't bring them. We love dogs, too, but we have our own dogs, little kids and a Roadway.
Greenhouse: We'd love to show you around. Just don't go in there unaccompanied. Please ask.
Other Concerns
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One of our favorite things about CSA and especially PYO is that it gets kids involved in food. Please make sure that your children are close by at all times and understand that a farm can be a dangerous place.
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We do not currently have any facilities available to the public. We are sorry that we're not yet as well equipped in this regard as we'd like to be.
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Please be respectful of our neighbors property including the usage of their driveway. We ask that everyone always enter the farm through the main entrance where the parking lot is located.