Red Wagon Farm

It’s almost spring! That means it is time to sign up for a CSA. I’ve seen a lot of CSAs over the years. And I’ve also answered hundreds of questions for people asking about the Red Wagon CSA. There are so many CSAs in the area–how do you choose the one that will be the best fit for you? You can start by asking friends in the area to recommend a CSA they have enjoyed. Or look online to see if the farm has any reviews.

Here is the most important question to ask yourself when choosing a CSA: Are you a) trying to help a farm (a new farm or one that has been around for a while) by supporting them financially and you aren’t that worried about what you actually receive? Or are you b) looking for a CSA farm that will provide you with a good variety of produce all season long?

I you answered “a”, your work is easy! Find a CSA farm that you love (for any reason) and join away! If you answered “b”, you have a lot more homework to do. Here are some questions you should ask before you join a CSA if you are really counting on receiving the food you paid for:

1. How long has the farm been in business? The more season the farm has under its belt, the more able it will be to deal with the many challenges that come up during a season. Do you know what a “normal” growing season looks like in Colorado? Me neither. Every year is vastly different in terms of weather (and plant diseases, and insect pests, and…) and it takes a number of years before you know how to roll with all the challenges Mother Nature throws at us.
2. What did CSA members receive in their shares last year? Ideally, the farm will be able to show you a list of what CSA members received every week of the previous season. Obviously each year will be unique in terms of exactly what CSA members receive, but looking at a list from the previous season will give you a good idea of what to expect this year.
3. What crops does the farm grow? This is similar to #2, but slightly different. Does the farm grow a lot of leafy greens? Will you be eating only beets, zucchini, and turnips? Maybe you are allergic to tomatoes and the farm prides itself on providing 8 weeks of tomatoes to CSA members. Find out if the farm grows the kinds of vegetables you like.
4. Do CSA members get first-quality produce? Or do they get seconds? If CSA members get seconds, you should ask if the price reflects this.
5. Is the produce washed? Some people love getting home and rinsing off dirt from freshly harvested vegetables while they sort through the week’s haul. Other people want clean veggies they can put straight in the fridge without having to spend any time on prep.
6. What quantity of produce will you get? Will you get enough to feed you for the week? Or will you get large quantities of some items for canning?
7. How many weeks is the CSA? You will likely pay more for a CSA share that runs 22 weeks than one that runs for 16 weeks.

There are many more questions you could ask. And there are no “right” answers. It is all about gathering information before you make a commitment.

Both the farmer and the CSA member are unhappy when they have different ideas and expectations for the CSA. The more information you can get ahead of time, the more likely it is that the CSA you choose will be a good fit for you and you will happily eat your way through the summer.

Thank you so much to those of you who contributed to our Farm Worker Support Fund. You have no idea how much it meant to our farm crew.

If you’d like to make a contribution, click here for more details on our Farm Worker Support Fund.

The Red Wagon Farm Worker Support Fund is new in 2015. So far we have collected $5,332! Over 20% of CSA members made a contribution and Tuv Ha’Aretz contributed $1,000 as a group. I have not yet promoted this fund as much as I would have liked. But despite that, my heart is warmed by the huge response we have received.

We distributed the money to the farm crew in September paychecks. Full-time crew members who have worked the full season received $300 each and a smaller amount was given to part-time crew or people who have only worked part of the season. A lot of the crew members were not aware of this fund and many people were shocked with gratitude that our CSA members made so many contributions. Here are some comments that people sent me after they got their paychecks:

I would like to express immense gratitude to those who contributed to the Farm Worker Support Fund. We rely on this type of community support so that we are able to continue growing good food! ~Kevin

A BIG Thank You to our CSA members who gave money to the Farm Workers Support Fund. Organic farming is a way of life and practice that we truly believe in. Some of the field hands have families and are commuting up to an hour one way every day. Farm work is hardly profitable. Work days are long, begin before the sun is up, and are physically and mentally exhausting. The bonus on the paycheck keeps the motivation high and is greatly appreciated! ~Christian

I just wanted to express my deep, heartfelt gratitude for everyone at Red Wagon and the amazing community of people who support us. The work we do out here is the most challenging work I have ever done in my life. But to be able to provide wonderful, organic food for so many people makes every day out in the field worth it. Thank you so much for your support, my gratitude for this community is beyond measure. ~Maggie

This act of kindness could not have come at a better time. ~Allie

Thank you Amy and Wyatt for thinking of your farm crew and setting up such a generous fund and thank you CSA members for your contributions. I speak for many of my coworkers when I say that most of us are not doing this job because of the pay but because it is work that we can feel good about in a country where farming is a forgotten craft. The work is a challenge and the reward is serving the community. Your donations have been an unexpected gift and a welcome surprise! Thank you! ~Ana

We had to get the propane tank to heat our house filled this month and that is a big expense so the fact that this happened was pretty great! ~Sarah

And a longer comment from Leigh:

As the harvest manager, I get a lot of great quotes and jokes daily from the crew–but the donations from the Farm Worker Support Fund elicited some particularly great responses. Here are a couple of direct quotes from the crew:

“This could not have come at a better time. The extra money on this paycheck is literally going to keep the debt collectors [from student loans] off my back.”

“I just can’t believe it’s true…is this real? Is this real money?”

I think that these quotes emphasize something really key about this donation–it could not have been more perfectly timed. Life as a seasonal worker changes from one month to the next, even from one week to the next. And our well-being fluctuates with the well-being of the crops; when the farm is doing its best we feel the most secure in our jobs and continued employment. In the seasonal work community two times of year are called mud-season–late March to early June, and mid-October to early December. It’s named after the actual mud accumulating on the ground as snow melts (spring) or starts to fall (in early winter) but is also a fairly apt metaphor for the seasonal job market. Typical employment cycles begin and end yearly or even over many years, but for us work/life begins and ends every six months. This time of year feels particularly precarious as we search for our next homes and livelihoods. So a couple hundred extra dollars on the paycheck literally could not have been better timed. I wish I could capture the smiles of relief I saw as the paychecks were passed out. Thank you from the crew at Red Wagon Farm. ~Leigh

We have come to the end of another CSA season at Red Wagon Farm. Thank you so much to all of our CSA Members! We started our CSA in 2007 (after starting Red Wagon in 2004). We started with about 50 CSA members, all picking up at one location. We still have about 10 members who have been with us for all 9 years. (How can it be 9 years?!?) Thank you so much to all of you long-term members! And thank you to those of you who have been with us for just one or two seasons. We could not have our farm without our CSA members. You are the core of Red Wagon and you are our most stable and reliable source of support.

Every season of farming is different, but I think 2012 has been the most unique year by far in terms of weather. It is hard for me to remember this far back, but we started out with incredibly warm weather in 2015. Lauren worked a bunch of days outside at the farm in January because the weather was so nice! We got a lot planted early and we were really busy in March. Then starting April 16 we had 6 weeks of rain totaling 12″. That is our main planting season and I can’t believe we made it through that. We will see the effects of all that rain in our crops through the end of 2015. But once the rain stopped, it didn’t start again for months. We didn’t have a meaningful amount of rain all summer. And then we’re having the longest autumn in our 12 years of farming. We had one mild frost at our Valmont Farm location, but we still haven’t had a hard frost. We were still harvesting tomatoes at the beginning of this week! In mid-October!

A number of CSA farms in Boulder County closed during 2015 because it was such a difficult season. I feel very proud of Wyatt and all of the Red Wagon crew. We were able to bring you a good assortment of vegetables every single week and we gave you the full amount you paid for.

Growing vegetables for a living is beyond hard. There are times during every season that I am not sure we will be able to continue. But here we are, almost at the end of the 2015 growing season and we’re still going strong. A very large part of that is due to the support of our CSA members. Thank you. We love growing food for you and we hope to see you again in 2016!

Stop by our farm this month! The Red Wagon Pumpkin Patch and Yarn Shop is now open!

After years of waiting, we finally have beautiful yarn and rovings from our very own alpacas! The alpaca fiber is so incredibly soft. And when you pick out a skein of yarn, you can feed some carrots to the alpaca who grew the fiber for you!

Pick out a pumpkin, let the kids run through the straw bale maze, visit with the farm animals, and relax in a beautiful spot in Boulder County.

We’re open 10 – 6 every day through Halloween at 7694 N 63rd Street.

Thank you so much to everybody who came to our harvest celebration yesterday. We had so much fun with all of you and the weather cooperated–not a drop of rain!

Special thanks to:

• CSA members Casey and Dave of MacKenzie Shires for bringing their beautiful Shire horses and doing a bazillion wagon rides!
• Clay and his band, The Alcapones, for filling the air with their great music
• Kirsten Boyer (my favorite photographer), for sharing her incredible photos of the party
• Avery Brewing Company, for generously donating beer for the party
• Mo McKenna, for making yet another batch of yummy chili
• Everybody else who pitched in to make this such a fun celebration!

Send us your party photos–we’d love to see them! Email them to CSA@RedWagonOrganicFarm.com. Here are some of the beautiful photos Kirsten shared with us: