Welcome to the Edgewater Farm Website! Edgewater Farm is a family owned and operated farm located in Plainfield, NH. Within this website you can find information about our produce and products, our farming practices, directions to our farm and employment opportunities. Please feel free to contact us concerning any other questions that you may have!
New Blog Soon Available to CSA Members First of all we need to welcome all the new CSA members that signed on from Grantham and Eastman. Thanks and we will work to earn your continued support. Now that our total CSA membership is over 100 members it has become quite difficult to manage the CSA news letters. Some of you with Mac computers couldnt open the attached documents to your e-mails and there were others that were deleted by automatic spam filters etc etc. Suffice to say that I am a farmer and not an internet technology person so we will be changing this year to putting out a weekly blog that will be linked to our website and if you are interested you can go see the weekly updates if and when you are interested. It is in its developmental stages as of May 10,but should be soon up and running soon and we will e-mail you all at that time.
Greenhouses Open for the Season on April 19th
Mother’s Day Container Workshop for Kids
Mother’s Day is an important day for kids and moms, so why not celebrate that day by having your child design her a special mixed container. Kids are welcome to come to the farm between 8-10:30am on Saturday, May 10th. (That's the Saturday before Mother's Day.) The cost of the workshop is $35. Preregistration is required. Call for more information or scholarships.
Heirloom Varieties of Vegetables & Small Fruit Pooh likes to talk about everything, but he especially loves to talk about plants and music. On Wednesday, May 14th at 6 o'clock Pooh will share some information on older varieties of plants that he enjoys. Afterwards there will be a question and answer session where you can ask him whatever you want. The talk is free, we just ask that you let us know if you plan on showing up.
Greenhouse Walkthrough We here at Edgewater love plants and want to share that love with you. Come on Wednesday, May 21st at 6:00pm and meet some of our new friends and old favorites. Preregistration is requested, but not required.
Farm CSA Offered for 2008 This past summer was our first year offering CSA memberships. We will offer CSA shares again in 2008. If you are contemplating membership with us in 2008 please send us an e-mail and we will notify you with specifics around the 1st of December. The following passages are a general description of our CSA model and how it differs from other types of CSAs.
About CSAs
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) was originally devised as a way for the buying community to become more directly connected with the agricultural community by pre-purchasing shares in the “off season” to help with the farmer’s annual start-up and maintenance costs. The direct benefit to the farmer is the infusion of money during a time of year when there is no product to sell and no cash flow. While there is a modest financial benefit received by the consumer from this “pre-buying” arrangement, there are many intangible benefits as well. First and foremost, you will be getting plants and produce of the highest quality from our farm. In a broader sense, you will be supporting the local economy through this investment, as well as protecting the environment and landscape by supporting local agriculture.
How it will Work at Edgewater
Members can purchase as many shares (or half-shares) as they would like by sending contact information and a check to Edgewater Farm no later than March 31st (January 31st for the biggest discount). Each CSA member is entitled to spend their share’s value on any and all products at the Edgewater Farmstand and Edgewater Farm Greenhouses. That includes not only the fruits and vegetables grown on our Plainfield farm but any other products offered for sale here as well. For example, if you wish to spend your share’s total value on McNamara Chocolate Milk, Taylor Brothers maple syrup and Garfield’s Smokehouse products offered at our stand, you may do so without restrictions. This gives you the freedom to pick up what you choose, in the quantity you want, when you want it, all season. Please note that all share value must be used in the current season; we are unable to extend unused credit into the following year. The farmstand’s last weekend is usually the first weekend in October.
CSA Subscription Rates
Membership
Cost to You
Value
Purchase Deadline
Full
$475
$500
Jan 31
Half
$240
$250
Jan 31
Full
$485
$500
Feb 28
Half
$245
$250
Feb 28
Full
$495
$500
Mar 31
Half
$250
$250
Mar 31
Other Benefits
A twice-monthly e-mail to inform you about what is going on at the farm, and a general “heads up” regarding product availability (printouts available at the farmstand, for those with no email).
Pre-opening tour of the greenhouses
Free Edgewater Farm bumper stickers for all members, plus a free t-shirt to the first 20 members
A Membership Field Day and Farm Tour. There will be demonstrations of machinery, harvesting and cultural techniques as well as some vegetable sampling. You can visit and talk to the folks of Edgewater Farm and find out about their work.
Top priority on discounted quantities of produce. We have always offered discounts on bushel quantities to those who wish to can or freeze, and bulk vegetables have been historically offered on a “first come, first served basis”. But there are some years when we just do not have enough product to satisfy all the folks who get on our list. In the event this occurs we will make sure that all CSA members will have priority.
How to Sign Up
We are excited about starting this CSA. We feel good about how we care for the land, what we produce, and how we look to the future, and we invite you to be part of our farm.
To purchase a membership, send the following information to Edgewater CSA, 99 River Road, Plainfield, NH 03781:
1. Your name, email, phone number, and address;
2. How you prefer to be contacted (email or phone);
3. The date and number of the check you are enclosing (sorry, no credit cards right now);
4. The number of shares you'd like to purchase;
5. A check or money order in the appropriate amount (see table above);
6. Names of other people who will be able to use the CSA share besides the purchasing member.
We're happy to answer any questions - just email us . Remember to order early for the best discount, and thanks for your support!
