Farming & CSA at Drumlin Farm

Community Supported Agriculture is a collaboration between farmers and their customers to provide an intimate, season-long relationship between the farm and its shareholders. The CSA model creates a direct and mutually beneficial relationship between farm and consumer. Shareholders know exactly where their food comes from and receive a whole season's worth of fresh, sustainably-grown produce. 

To us, Community-based Farming signifies our deep commitment to the people, land, water, and air that support our farm. We grow our produce using organic principles (never any chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers), and we exceed the organic standard in the following ways:

• Building soil health through fallowing and green-manuring. Each Drumlin acre produces crops for five years and then rests (lies fallow) for two years. During those two years, we seed the acre to clover—a green manure—which fixes nitrogen and builds organic matter.
• Getting help from our farm animals, we make and spread our own compost on our fields. Much of our soil fertility derives from on-farm sources such as cover crops and compost.
• No irrigation. Our focus on building healthy soils allows us to avoid irrigation, which is an energy-intensive method of watering plants and producing food. The particular soil type, natural slope of the ground, and presence of a high water-table make this possible at Drumlin Farm, though extremely rare in New England.
• Limiting our energy consumption. In the summer, we harvest early in the morning and distribute food on the same day, or following day, so as to reduce the need for refrigeration. In the winter, we store root crops in a simple root cellar cooled by outside air—no refrigeration is required.
• Limiting our consumption of non-reusable materials. We never use plastic mulch. Instead we mulch some of our crops with leaves sourced from the town. Our CSA bags are biodegradable and compostable.

Our CSA shares are distributed weekly from our farm in Lincoln, MA. All distributions are held on Wednesdays from 12:00-6:00 pm, and are conveniently located at the Farm Stand, right next to the admissions area and the parking lot.

We offer a choice of Standard or Deluxe Shares. Depending on the time of the season, Standard Shares can expect to receive about 8 different crops each week and Deluxe Shares about 12. Please note that some items may differ between Standard and Deluxe Shares. There will often be a choice between two or more items, so you can select your favorite veggies each week!

Our Deluxe Shares will feed a family of four, or two or more adults, depending on how often you cook and how central vegetables are to your diet. 

We grow a wide and beautiful variety of crops here at Drumlin Farm. Crops will vary from week to week, but here are examples of individual shares in different months to give you a sense of the produce you’ll receive: 

A sample Spring Standard Share: 2 heads of lettuce, 1 bunch of kale or chard, 1 bunch of salad radishes, 1 bunch of hakurei turnips, 1 bag of spinach or arugula, 1 bunch of scallions, 1 bunch of mustard greens, 10 garlic scapes. Deluxe Shares also receive: 3 kohlrabi, 1 bunch of herbs, 1 lb of cauliflower or sprouting broccoli.  

A sample Summer Standard Share: 2 lbs of summer squash, 1 lb cucumbers, 2 lbs tomatoes, 1 bunch of basil, 1 bunch carrots, ½ lb of peppers, 1 bag of Mustard greens mix, 2 heads fresh garlic. Deluxe Shares also receive: 1 bunch of beets, 2 bulbs of fennel, 1 head of escarole. 

A sample Fall Standard Share: 3 kohlrabi, 1 bag of spinach, 1 lb daikon radish, 1 bunch of kale or mustard greens, 1 bunch of scallions, 1 bunch of carrots, 2 heads of garlic, 1 piece of ginger. Deluxe Shares also receive: 1 bunch celery, 1 bunch cilantro or dill, 1 lb green peppers.

Our PYO Veggie shareholders harvest set amounts of our cherry tomatoes, peas, tomatillos, okra, hot peppers and string beans over the course of the season. 

We also offer a PYO Flowers share, where you harvest set amounts of our seasonal flower varieties each week, building a large bouquet. 

In either case, you must purchase a regular share or a work share to get a PYO share—these are not available as stand-alone options. 

While our regular shareholders will receive many of the vegetables that we grow, there are occasionally some vegetables that are either limited in quantity or available only if you choose a Pick-Your-Own addition, such as cherry tomatoes and snap peas.  

We will let you know at the pick-up location if there is something different available at the Farm Stand that you might choose to purchase that day. 

We are unable to distribute shares past 6:00 pm on the distribution day. If you cannot make the pick-up time during a certain week, we invite you to have a friend come to collect your share. We appreciate a heads up if someone else will be gathering your share. Please inform the CSA Coordinator [email protected].

Yes, if you are not already a Mass Audubon member, we require that you become one in order to participate in our CSA program. You can sign up at the time of registration or purchase a membership on its own. With your Mass Audubon membership you gain access to over 60 wildlife sanctuaries throughout the state as well as discounts on purchases in the Mass Audubon Shop and discounts if you choose to take a program.