Part of the CSA philosophy is that you are getting what is in season - if not they might as well go to the supermarket. I think given what you have and what is to come into season you have a pretty good plan. Unless you start getting complaints I would keep on doing what your doing and take pride in it. Play up what is in your box each week. It sounds like your doing fine to me.

Tom

If you are going to start the CSA before mid June then you might want to put in asparagus, rhubarb and berries. As for quick crops in spring: spinach, lettuce heads and baby leaves, baby kale and other baby greens, baby bok choy, white turnips, overwintered scallions and leeks, Napa cabbage and pea shoots. That is all I can think of that we have that early around here.

Thanks for the compliment and reply. There are things on that list we don't offer but will look into. We were planning to have beans next week, but the plantings were delayed several weeks by rain and honestly soil temps were not optimum for it much earlier.

We are not getting any complaints but we have had a few prospective members mention they wouldn't pay the 400 for a 20 week as they didn't feel like they were getting their money's worth. If they base their opinion only on the cold crops I would say they may be right. Had a lady yesterday trying to get us to knock 100 off of the cost. I refused. I did offer her some extra as we go to help make up for the 2 deliveries she missed. But the dollar figure was the hang up and not the product.

These CSA memberships are a hard sell but everyone who got in seems happy.

Again, the CSA philosophy is you get what is ready WHEN it's ready. If the person isn't available, then they are the ones that takes the loss. Otherwise, if she missed the deliveries, she doesn't get a refund. If she started late, I'd make an exception.

Anyone that is on vacation or out-of-town should make arrangements for 'her' share.

It is difficult to build up a base of people who really understand and enjoy CSAs. You have to work through the ones that shouldn't do it.

anyone who questions the "value" of my CSA -I charge $300 for 12 weeks and members get six items in their share. I do 3 12 week session a year-I pretty much write off as a person who doesn't understand the CSA concept and would not make a decent fit. I have come to this conclusion after trying to please such people (most of whom seem to think that for $25 a week they should get at least $100 worth of food). My CSA has been running full bore since the beginning of May. My members get a market style pick up where they get to pick what they want in their shares. I try to get 25 to 35 items a week, though in early spring that is tough

What they get are things like:
asparagus
rhubarb
spring mix
lettuce
arugula
kale
bok choy
Mizuna
strawberries
radishes
rapini (AKA Broccoli raab)
broccoli
broccolini
scallions
green onions
cilantro
Winter savory
thyme
oregano
sage
chives
garlic chives
garlic scapes
turnips

I also root cellar produce; I do a winter CSA and usually have stuff still coming out of the fields by the time spring rolls around and from that we distributed:
Carrots
leeks
dried herbs
rutabagas
Parsnips
garlic powder

I also threw in some canned goods early on-green tomato chutney and pickled jalapenos.

Boulder, you are where I want to be. We just haven't arrived yet.

My family. I was willing to knock off 40.00 or the amount equal to her missed deliveries, but that diddnt seem to be the issue with her, she kept saying 400 was too much for 20 weeks. I don't think we wanted her business at any price.

Regardless we keeping at it. The summer crops that are getting going are looking great!

This is family? Was she used to getting excess for free? $20/week doesn't seem bad unless every week is sparse. Even what you had listed (2 bags of salad mix - how big? But sounds like at least $10 worth of greens and the 2 doz eggs would be t least $6 here $16 worth) at beginning of season isn't bad.

Not that my family could ea 2 bags of salad mix and 2 doz eggs every week but you'll have other things coming..

Maybe it's a cash flow problem? I'm thinking of offering a "prepaid plan" for smaller amount, pay $100 and get $120 worth of produce (market prices, this is like a store credit just come to farm or arrange pickup at market) with option to extend? At least then could get some $ up front, but people don't feel it's a huge investment and they get to pick out what they want (of course then I could be stuck with a lot of kale but at least I'll know not to plan more)?

Not family, was trying to reply to. Myfaimlyfarm posting.
Spring selection is a bit limited at the moment but we always make up for it later in the season.

That prepaid sounds like a good idea.

$400 for 20 weeks is NOT too much for our area. She just wasn't ready, do you offer 1/2 shares? Or maybe she needs to get with someone else that doesn't need/want as much to share a share. You always get a few like her, unfortunately.

Thanks for the reassurance! We have not offered smaller shares but reading has inspired me to offer a summer share 12 weeks at 300 to run from late June on. I am willing to do halve shares, but my figures say I can't offer a 400.00 whole share for 200 as there are fixed expense. I am thinking half share on the 20 week for 250 and on the 12 week for 180. Those are not nice neat numbers. Might have to think about that.

We have some great looking bells and the like coming on,, won't be long now before those 20.00 a week shares are going out as 30 ish in value,

I've never seen 1/2 shares being more than 1/2 price, but I haven't had the need to look around much. I know some people get fancy boxes to put the produce in, but most don't. Many even tell the members to bring their own.

You could take a list of people for the 1/2 and help them match up. Make them divide the box, that way you won't have any extra work involved.

Spring baskets are always lighter than summer baskets.

Well,, the one who was so upset called today and joined. I knocked off what she had missed but she didn't ask. Strange. Looks like in a week or maybe a touch longer we will have green peppers and some kohlrabi. Lettuce is regenerating fast with the shade cloth and misters. Spinach is still trying to bolt but heavy cuttings seem to help that. 3 pretty heads of broccoli coming on, now if the rest will follow. That shade may be just what my cold crops needed to catch back up.

Thanks for the replies!
As for the baskets and such, I am in charge of this venture but it belongs to my elderly parents. Mom makes up pretty basket liners every week. They return them with the basket, but she makes new different ones every week. I suppose at some point she will wash and reuse them.

I learn alot and get ideas here.

Oh, so she didn't "miss" deliveries, she just was late in joining? I would have charged 90% of full season since she joined after 10% of deliveries, if she just didn't want extra. Strange indeed that she was insisting $400 was too much then came up with it (or almost all).

Tell your mom enough with the basket liners - if you've already got enough for all the customers. They can be washed and rotated throughout the season. Just adds to cost (fabric and her time, even if she can't be out in field she must have better things to do than sew basket liners).

Lol, mom is old school, if I wasn't spending 10 hours a day at full time gig I would say she works harder than I do. With the weather we never got potatoes in. She planted 800 feet of double rows by herself this week. My wife got there and caught her and helped with the last 100 feet. They don't make em like that anymore and only 6 months out from a heart attack. She won't take a day off for nothin.

We switched to plastic mulch and drip irrigation to reduce the weeding and such, she just came up with more stuff to plant.

As for the new member it was strange, complete change of attitude. I was always willing to take off the weeks she didn't get but she was dead set on 18 weeks for for 100 less than 20. Again it was strange.

LOL! Cool mom. My mom helps me a few hours a week but can't do much.

This is my first year I haven't done a pay as you go program. I had a 100/120 program before. They would pay $100 and get $120 worth of produce over a few weeks. I dropped this because I always felt the need to give them more for the money since I itemized a receipt and didn't want them complaining and last year 3 people quit midseason (not my fault). But this year I offered 3 sizes: medium, regular and large. Medium is for 2 people. Regular is for a small family and large is for a bigger family. I have 2 customers splitting one every other week. Many medium shares sold and I don't know if I will like those. Seems like just as much work for less money.
My shares are 18 weeks:
Tues med 315 regular 425 large 575
Friday med 300 regular 400 large 550
Friday is cheaper because no one ever wants Friday and Thursday is market so I have some leftover things that are still way fresh to offer.
I do a prorating of the price for those who start late. I even have a contract written up for late season shares.

I used to do both full and half shares but it got complicated and I was selling a lot more small shares (6 items a week) than large shares (12 items a week). So I decided to have 1 size of share, small, and if someone wants a "large share" they can buy 2 or more small shares. i do have 6 members that go year round that get a large share for $1500 for 44+weeks. I will have to figure out what to do with that group before next year.

I find giving people less food for more money works well as most people who join a CSA do it to support a farm more than getting food and most people do not want a large amount of food and it is very easy to lose member because they get too much food, don't use it all and than suffer from food guilt and end up leaving the CSA.

When I had our CSA (only lasted 1 year), we found out from our customers that spring items, especially lettuce and radishes, we were giving way TOO much. We gave a gallon bag of each each week.

A gallon of radishes is a lot of radishes (of course, 1 radish is too much for me - I find them too sharp - though I like hot peppers so people think it's funny I don't like "hot" radishes).

They complained more about the lettuce, surprised me, too. I, also, don't like radishes.

I agree that too big of shares are a source of complaint to CSAs. I have, since my first year, made my shares smaller and cheaper than other farms. It makes less stress for me and people like it better. I had one complaint about size 2 years ago. A couple with 4 grown daughters home for the summer. She bought a regular size share and was mad she still had to buy produce to feed her family. I reminded her that my shares are advertised as smaller, for a smaller family. The next year I offered large shares in case she wanted to try again and she complained about having to drive 12-15 miles from the next town and wanted delivery. That is the sort of person I don't want involved.

Customers are indeed fickle and strange. I have done survey monkey surveys for years and sometimes someone will be all revved up on the survey. I swear the complainer last year was drunk. She filled it out at about 1 AM and never said a word otherwise. Any job with customer service you find out how moody and capricious people can be now and again.

BTW I think I am going to do courtesy calls this year and still might do the survey too but I want to talk once to each shareholder.

As for filling in with a quick crop let me mention my 'summer greens'. There is an old thread here about summer greens and I decided to try it. I seeded a bed with kale, tatsoi, mizuna, chard, beet greens, komatsuna, tyfon and spigariello on 5/10 and I cut the first leaves on Friday, less than one month. But the beet and chard leaves were still tiny.

That's a good thread. I put in my kale and spinach (Red Russian not doing as well as White) and seeded the tatsoi, bok choy, lettuce, etc. about 3 weeks ago for June 19 market. Lettuce is barely coming up (had to reseed another area after heavy rains 2 weeks ago, then had heavy rains again last Friday and more tomorrow). Carrots disappeared (dried up? With all this rain?) once I pulled the burlap off. I'm hoping to have something for first day of market besides tomato and pepper plants, jelly, and strawberries.

Think if I put in lettuce starts (if I can find any) on Wed I can get anything to cut in a week? 2 weeks? I won't count on lettuce in July - too hot.

Beets and chard are just coming up now, as are radishes. Seems like every time I seed (or reseed) something we have a downpour.

We are getting closer. Looks like we have a rabbit issue this year. Never seen so many before. They are eating the beans of all things.

Not sure how I am gonna deal with that.

Rio:

Rabbit problem, nothing a 22 and a few minutes every evening with take care of them, if you are a good shot!

Jay

I am a good shot but would enjoy watching my 8 year old clean them up! She even has a pink .22!

The rabbits are very plentiful around here also. We've always have had dogs that like to chase them out of the gardens, also chase the deers.