Frequently Asked Questions

What is a CSA?
What sorts of foods do you grow?
How much food does a member get each week?
How long is your season?
Can I pick which items I receive?
Why isn't there more fruit in the shares?
Can members visit the farm?
How do I pick up my produce?
What happens if I'm out of town on distribution day?
What are you farmers doing during the months you are not delivering produce?
What happens if your crops fail?
How much does it cost to become a member?
Can I try this out for a short time to see if I like it?
I want to join! How do I sign up?
Who at Mariquita Farm

What is a CSA?
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. We wrote a whole separate page about it, so please take a peek.

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What sorts of foods do you grow?
Take a look at our harvest schedule.

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Do you take credit cards?

Yes, but only over the phone... Visa and Mastercard. Call the CSA office directly to pay by phone: 831-786-0625 We much prefer checks since the banks charge fees for using credit cards... thanks in advance if you're able to send a check.

How much food does a member get each week?
Two share types are available, the Share and the Share with flowers. We consider a Share to be sufficient for a family of four for one week. A vegetarian family who rarely eats out will need more than the weekend gourmet; so some families share a share with another family, others get two shares. Large households or co-ops may want to buy two shares.

Here is a sample spring basket:

Share: 2 pounds fava beans 2 bunches baby carrots 8 small heads baby lettuce    (one per serving) 1 bunch spring onions 1.5 pounds snow peas 2 bunches radishes 1 pint strawberries 1 bunch parsley

Here is a sample summer basket:

Share: 1 pound strawberries 1 head romaine lettuce 1 large bunch Thai basil 2 pounds green beans 1 large bunch green chard 1 bunch carrots 2 pounds potatoes

The weekly share also includes a newsletter, which contains updates about the farm, stories from Andy, and recipes for the food you've recieved. In this sample share, your newsletter would include recipes for fava beans, baby lettuces, snow peas and parsley.

What about a half share? We used to make up two sizes of shares: Full Share and Half Share. Over 90% of folks wanted a half share, so we discontinued the 'full share' and made all our shares into what we used to call 'half shares.'

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How long is your season?
36 weeks; March through Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving, crops grow very slowly and production becomes inconsistent and chancy. From January through March, we plant and nurture the crops we will harvest for you in March.

To look at our harvesting forecast, click here.

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Can I pick which items I receive?
This is not a delivery service, but share holding in a working farm. We grow everything in its season and pick it at its best. The share is a balanced mix of what the farm has available in the field. Our members tell us they love getting surprised each week, and they enjoy trying things they wouldn't otherwise have tried. Many of the pick up sites have 'trade boxes', where one member can leave one item and another can pick up double of an item they love. We leave each trade box with a couple of items in it, please only take an item if you are leaving one, thank you.

We try to keep the boxes filled with the most popular items, and keep a balance when selecting what to grow and put into the shares each week.

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Why isn't there more fruit in the shares?
We are primarily a vegetable farm. We can't do everything, so we concentrate on what we do best. Stephen and Andy do grow organic strawberries and charentais melons, and our neighbor Bill Peixoto grows several kinds of organic apples; we plan to add these again during the season. We will continue to try to add other kinds of fruit, perhaps by cooperating with other neighboring organic fruit growers.

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Can members visit the farm?
Yes! We have an open house during the spring months and also give tours to school groups. We love showing off our farm, but it is also our home and we must balance tours with a very busy work schedule. Please contact us if your school or community group is interested in visiting.

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How do I pick up my produce?
Mariquita Farm delivers shares to several locations in Santa Cruz County and Silicon Valley. On delivery day, members go to the drop off site and pick up their shares for the week. For specific pickup sites and schedules, click here.

We deliver to your pick up site no later than 4:30 PM, many sites are as early as 1pm; ask the office what time the boxes are expected to be at your particular location. Many of our sites are at members' homes, so we ask that you pick up no later than 7:00 PM, some sites are ok with 8 or even 9pm, again, contact the office to find out the particulars of a given site.

Please break down the farm box, and leave it there in a neat pile. This way we can reuse the wax boxes and keep costs down.

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What happens if I'm out of town on distribution day?
We suggest you have a friend/relative/neighbor pick up your share. We cannot give refunds because we've planted months earlier. If no one can pick up your share for you, we can take it to our local soup kitchen (Loaves and Fishes in Watsonville) and get you a receipt for tax purposes. Please give us 24 hours advance notice for this service.

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What are you farmers doing during the months you are not delivering produce?
When we are not making our CSA deliveries, we are busy in our greenhouses growing herbs for winter wholesale deliveries or planting and cultivating the crops that will be harvested in early spring. Winter is a time when inclement weather makes promising a regular CSA delivery a risky (and muddy) business.

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What happens if your crops fail?
Because weather always affects the rates of plant growth or maturation, and insects or diseases can always interrupt production or damage quality, farming can be a risky business. In the past when a crop was delayed or destroyed to some degree, we substituted with produce grown by neighboring organic farms. We have ongoing business relationships with other organic farms, and we help each other out. We lend each other equipment from time to time, we sublet one another land from time to time, and we refer business to each other. If our farm needs additional product, we anticipate relying on our friends at Jacobs Farm of Pescadero and Santa Cruz, or at Watsonville's Lakeside Organics. All produce not grown by Mariquita Farm will be duly noted and identified in our newsletter.

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How much does it cost to become a member?
The Share is $20 per week. Members must sign up for a minimum of 9 weeks, although we do offer a four week trial membership for new members. Check our Payment Schedule for full pricing information.

In every comparison we've done over the past two years, we found our prices were at least 10-25% lower than organic produce at supermarkets and health food stores, including their "specials."

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Can I try this out for a short time to see if I like it?
Yes! For those new to our farm, we offer a four week trial membership. To find out if space is currently available, call us at (831) 786-0625, or send us email.

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I want to join! How do I sign up?
Click here to fill out our online membership application, or call us at (831) 786-0625.

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If you have any other questions, feel free to call or email us.