2020 Fall Farmshare

  
What is Farmshare?
Our Farmshare is the foundation of how we sell vegetables from the farm.  It is a subscription agreements in which a family buys a share of what our farm produces during the heart of our growing season.  Twice a year we open this up to families wishing to  join our farm community and enjoy really delicious organic food.
Why a Farmshare?
For us, it truly is about community.  While we are grateful to be part of a large local food movement through the Little Rock markets, we also want to share our vegetables and flowers with our rural neighbors.  The commitment our Farmshare customers make by forming this membership allows us to do this.

For you, we hope it is because you too want to be part of our community.  We hope that it is because you want to know where your food is coming from, who is growing it an dhow it is being grown.  We know that it is because you want the freshest, healthiest, tastiest vegetables available to you.

What is our Agreement?
By becoming a member you agree to take the time to stop by our farm or the Little Rock pick-up points at the designated times for six weeks to receive a basket of organic vegetables we have grown and  harvested at the peak of maturity to be enjoyed by your family.  In return, we agree to work our tails off growing you ta variety of organic, fresh vegetables that have been selected based simply on how fantastic they taste. 
What scrumptious vegetables are being grown at Rattle's Garden?
We've learned a lot about growing in the fall over the last four seasons but I do want everyone to go into this with their eyes open and know that we are going to do our best to put together great baskets this fall but that we are always at the mercy of Mother Nature.  Our crop plan for the fall includes four different varieties of summer squash, possibly small tomatoes, green beans, purple hull peas, cabbage, broccoli, kale, lettuce, swiss chards, radishes, beets and carrots as well as the remaining sweet peppers and eggplant from the summer.

When will this subscription begin?
As with all farming, we are dependent on Mother Nature.  We hope to start the Farmshare the second week in September and run for 6 consecutive weeks.  If our fall temps are moderate it's possible we will start a week earlier, but it's more likely that we would start a week late due to extremely warm temps during August. 
What are the pick-up days/times?
Farm pickup (1780 Hwy 64 East, Vilonia) - Tuesday 9-11 or 4-6
Little Rock pickup (location TBD, possibly behind Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, possibly parking lot of Zaza's in the Heights, possible the Argenta Market in North Little Rock) - Saturday 7:30-9:00

What if your family needs to miss a pick-up?
During the summer we offer a make-up week at the end of the season for anyone to use in case they need to miss a week.  With the fall season lasting only six weeks and because it will be pushing right up into cold weather, we will not have a make-up week for this season.  If you have to miss a week, we ask you to make other arrangements to have your food picked up for you.  If this isn't possible, we ask that you give us a head's up and we can make sure your basket goes to a need family in the area through the Spirit of Vilonia Ministries.

Do you get to pick what you want in your basket?
Not exactly...we'll divide each week's produce up evenly between the baskets to make sure everyone gets variety and the full value of their basket.

What about all of those chickens in our front yard??
This summer we are starting a new flock of young laying hens and will be out of eggs until early next spring.

Communication...
One key to the success of our program is always communication!  I will send out a short weekly newsletter to your email address letting you know what you can expect in your basket each week.  This newsletter will start coming out the last week in August to let you know how the growing season is going and when we plan to start pick-ups.  We also want to hear from you...keep us posted on which veggies you love and let us know if something isn't working for you.  We can be reached by text at 501-941-0331 or by email at rattlesgarden@yahoo.com.

2 comments:

  1. This is so exciting! It's time to get our 2017 Farmshare reserved. Last year was our first experience with Rattles Gardens. My sister and I eagerly anticipated our weekly drive to the farm where our bags were filled with fresh, colorful, mouth-watering inspiration while our hearts were filled with the charm of this little farm and the menagerie of animals and children. We loved the hundreds of butterflies hovering over rows and rows of flowers. We loved chatting about the successes and challenges of gardening as we have a little home garden of our own and can really appreciate all the hard work that goes into growing delicious, organic produce. May seems far away, but it will be upon us so quickly. Thanks, Tara and Crew for serving us and the community with your passion!

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