Welcome to the Great River CSA!

2012 is our 4th year!! We've learned a lot and want to thank our members for joining us in building this community relationship and to welcome new members on this journey.

We are getting ready for the 2012 summer season and have started to offer Veggie, Chicken and Egg Shares. We will offer Thanksgiving Turkeys shares at a later date. So, keep your eyes and ears open! Please contact me at: kate@greatrivercsa.org and let me know that you want to be on our mailing list.


What is Great River CSA?

Great River CSA is made up of three family farms: Terripin Farm, Feiner Gardens, and Grassy Hill Farm.

Terripin Farms is a family farm operated by Jessica and Brad Whiston. Jess and Brad started farming in 2006 with a push tiller. They currently grow on twelve acres, three of which are in cover crops. They provide the vegetables and some fruit. This year they moved to the farm!!

Feiner Gardens is operated by Kate and Jim Daniels. They cultivate a variety of naturally grown herbs and garlic. They purchased a green house which fell due to snow weight in the January 2011 snow storm. They got a new one and it is finally got it up. Jim planted some grapes and bought 5 alpacas and a llama. As the gardens develop, they hope to provide a wide variety of variety of heirloom herbs, vegetables, fruit, flowers, and specialty crops such as hops.

Grassy Hill Farm is operated by the Hochstetlers: Miriam, Jacob and their children. They are offering chickens, eggs, and turkeys for our Great River CSA. They completed the switch to 100% organic and non-GMO feed which they grow themselves on the farm.


How does the CSA work?

Members purchase a share in advance and then receive a basket of fresh, local, and in season produce, meat or eggs throughout the season. Our summer season usually runs from June through September. We also offer Thanksgiving Turkey Shares (common and Heritage) the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and Winter Shares of chickens and eggs from December to May. Our current members will have 1st choice on the share options.


Summer shares (June 6th through October 3rd)

What can I expect in my basket?

For the summer chicken share, every other week we offer approximately 3.5 pound chickens, plucked, quickly frozen, and packaged in a plastic bag with the giblets, heart, and liver inside the chicken. You may order as many as you like on the offered dates.

For the summer egg share, every other week we offered 2 dozen fresh brown eggs of various sizes.

For the vegetable share, each week you can expect a wide variety of in-season, delicious, fresh vegetables and herbs. One full share will contain enough to feed a family of 4 each week. The half share will contain enought to feed 2 people.

Where will I pick up my basket?

We have two pick-up locations for summer shares:

On-site pick-up - Wednesday evenings between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. at Feiner Gardens (6426 Church Hills Road, Quincy, IL – call or email us for directions). While there, you are invited to walk around the gardens and the pond and pick up “extras” when they are available.

In-town delivery - Wednesday afternoons between 4:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the side entrance of the Unitarian Universalist Church (1479 Hampshire Street).

You are always welcome to come to the farm on Wednesdays between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. to pick up extras or feed the alpacas and llama.


How much does it cost?

Summer Egg Share: $54.00 for 18 dozen eggs ($3 per dozen); 2 dozen eggs delivered every 2 weeks. (The delivery dates are: June 1st, 15th and 29th, July 13th, and 27th, August 10th and 24th, September 7th and 21st.)

Summer Chicken Share: $8.75 per chicken available every 2 weeks. Delivery dates are the same as the egg shares.

Vegetable shares: A full share is $450. This provides enough produce for a family of 4 or two hungry vegetarian over the 18 week season. A 1/2 share option costs $340.

2011 Winter Egg Share: $36.00 for 12 dozen eggs ($3 per dozen); 2 dozen eggs once a month. (The delivery dates are: December 14, 2011, January 11, 2012, February 8, March 7, April 4, and May 2.)

2011 Winter Chicken Share: $99.00 for 12 chickens ($8.25 per chicken); 2 chickens once a month. Delivery dates are the same as the egg shares.


How many shares are available?

Membership enrollment is accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.


When does the summer season start and end in 2012?

The summer share pick-up day is every Wednesday, from June 6th through October 3rd, 2011. The 4th of July falls on a Wednesday, so we will have the pick-up on Tuesday, July 3rd.

Pick-up for the egg shares are every other week, starting June 6th, 2012. The dates are as follows:

June 6th
June 20th
July 3rd
July 18th
August 1st
August 15th
August 29th
September 12th
September 26th.

Thanksgiving Turkey Shares

For the Thanksgiving turkey share, one fresh turkey ready for pick-up just in time for thanksgiving. Available at: 6426 Church Hills Road on Tuesday, November 2oth from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. We will send out an email regarding cost. We are looking at a per pound share with small, medium and large options.

We aren't sure we'll offer the heritage breed.
Heritage birds are also natural birds, not hybrid. They can naturally reproduce and don't have to be artificially inseminated. The common white broad breasted turkey was bred for its quick feed to meat conversion. From what I've been told, for this reason they often are very top heavy and become lame more easily and cannot reproduce. These birds are getting more rare and raising them helps to increase genetic diversity.

They do cost more. The poults (baby turkeys) cost about 4 times as much. They also have a lower survival rate, so not as many make it to full maturity. It takes more feed to convert to pounds on the bird and it takes about 2 months longer to raise them to maturity.


Winter Shares (December through May)

For the Winter Egg Share, once per month we offer 2 dozen farm fresh eggs. The Hochstetlers don't use any antibiotics and they grow their own feed from non-GMO corn and beans with no chemical pesticides, herbicides, nor fertilizers.

For the Winter Chicken Share, once a month we offer
two approximately 3.5 pound chickens, plucked, quickly frozen, and packaged in a plastic bag with the giblets, heart, and liver inside the chicken.
The Hochstetlers don't use any antibiotics and they grow their own feed from non-GMO corn and beans with no chemical pesticides, herbicides, nor fertilizers.

Winter Shares are available at: 6426 Church Hills Road, Quincy, IL 62305. Pick-up dates are:

February 8, 2012
March 7, 2012
April 4, 2012
May 2, 2012

How do I become a member?

For more information, contact Kate Daniels at (217)440-7608 or kate@greatrivercsa.org. Or check out the Membership Information and Membership Agreement.

It is customary for members of a CSA to pay for their shares in advance. This enables the growers to buy seed and equipment before the season begins, thus reducing the burden of up-front costs for the grower. In order to guarantee your participation in our 2011 season, the signed membership agreement and your payment must be returned to us as soon as you are ready to commit.

May 11, 2009

After what I have been told is the wettest April ever, we continue to work with Mother Nature to bring you the freshest local and naturally grown food.

At Feiner Gardens, I have been planting asparagus roots (67 done so far), raspberries and a variety of herbs: 3 kinds of basil (Italian Basil, Thai Basil, and Lemon Dani Basil), Rosemary, Culinary Thyme, Sage, Chives, and French Sorrel. On the asparagus, I spread manure (to fertilize) and ash (to bring up the PH). I spread manure on the herb bed and mulched the new plants. I also put in a few tomatoes and mulched them. The majority of the tomatoes will come from Terripin Farms. All of the inputs have come from our farm.

I was a little worried about the Basil as it wasn't doing too well. Since it has been in the ground, it has really come back. I put gallon milk container over the top to keep them warm. I have a few other herb plants to put in as well: Lemon Thyme, Tarragon and Fennel. Some of my plants didn't make it out of the basement grow area. I just really needed more natural light and warmer temperatures. Feiner Gardens bought a 40 foot by 24 foot greenhouse and should have enough space to start our own seeds next year. Now, I just have to get it up! I'll also direct seed Cilantro, more Basil (you can never have enough Basil), and Lovage. The flower beds are the next on my agenda.

My Eggplant and Peppers (some hot, some sweet) did do well in the basement and outside, so they will be going into the ground in the next week.

At Terripin Farms, the volume planting continues: spinach, Michilli, spring mix, various greens, radishes, beets, and on. They are running out of room!! The back field is still a bit wet and we are hoping for a couple weeks stretch to dry it out. Hopefully, I will get out there this week to bring you back a better report of what is going in!

We practice naturally grown techniques and continue to find ways to go "beyond organic." Below is a study I thought you might find interesting:

New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods (March 2008)
An in-depth, 53 page study published by The Organic Center. Includes an overview of published studies comparing the nutrient content of organic and conventional food, differences in the nutrient content of organic and conventionally grown foods, and more. Read full study.

Remember:

Our first pick-up of fresh, local and tasty produce basket is just around the corner, Monday, June 1st. We are working diligently to bring you the freshest, most nutritious, and best tasting vegetables and fruit. Please remember to check out our website every now and then to see what we are up to.

Some Logistics:

For those of you who have registered for the UU Church pick-up, the delivery time is from 4:30 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. The address is 1479 Hampshire, Quincy, IL. (Directions: 2 blocks South of Broadway on 16th Street). Please remember that after you pick-up your basket at the church, you are more than welcome to come to Feiner Gardens to see what we are doing there. If you don't remember what you signed up for, send me an email or call me.

For those of you who have registered for the Feiner Gardens pick-up, the pick-up time is from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. The address is 6426 Church Hills Road, Quincy, IL 62305. (Directions: Take 48th Street South past John Wood Community College (JWCC), turn left at the next street St. Anthony road. After you will drive over Hwy 172, the road takes a 90 degree turn to the right. St. Anthony Church is on your left. Take the next street on your left, Church Hills Road. You will go down the hill, up the hill and over the hill. Our farm is on your right, about 1/4 of the way over the other side of the hill. I will have the gate open and hopefully a sign.) You are welcome to walk around the gardens, bring a picnic basket (and blanket as we don't have our picnic tables built yet) and enjoy the atmosphere. Kids are welcome!


Take good care,
Farmer Kate.
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