The Farm at Moose Hill
Since 2006, Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary has been operating a 17-acre vegetable farm to provide Sharon and surrounding communities with an affordable source of high-quality, certified-organic produce.
Our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program gives the community a chance to have a deeper connection with their food, knowing where it comes from and how it is grown. Our farm is also committed to improving Food Access through partnerships with hunger relief organizations and Farmer’s Markets.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
The Farm at Moose Hill offers a CSA program from June through mid-October. Our CSA members enjoy 20 weeks of the freshest vegetables. In late spring, that means tender leafy greens, spring onions, head lettuce, radishes, and other early crops. Summer brings tomatoes, sweet corn, summer squash, carrots, peppers, melons, cucumbers, and more. Finally, in fall enjoy winter squash, sweet potatoes, kale, cabbage, and broccoli.
CSA members have access to pick-your-own crops depending on what’s most abundant throughout the season. All shareholders also receive weekly newsletters with cooking tips, recipes, and updates about our farm, farmers, and farming practices.
We ask that all CSA shareholders be Mass Audubon members.
Types of Shares
Share size recommendations depend on cooking preferences and how central vegetables are to your diet.
- Full Share (ideal for 3-4 people) • $595 ($30 per week)
- Small Share (ideal for 1-2 people) • $395 ($20 per week)
- Work Share (see FAQs below)
- SNAP Share
- Egg Share (optional add-on for CSA members only) • $130 for one dozen per week or $65 for one dozen every other week
Pick-Up Times & Locations
All members pick up once a week at the farm in Sharon or at the Boston Nature Center (BNC) in Mattapan. Your pickup day is selected when you sign up. Please note that CSA members will need to bring their own bags or containers to collect their share at either location.
The Farm at Moose Hill • 4 Moose Hill Street, Sharon
Wednesday or Friday, 2:30-6:30 pm
Boston Nature Center • 500 Walk Hill Street, Mattapan
Thursday, 3:00-6:00 pm
Farm Stand
Don’t want to commit to a full CSA share? Drop by our Farm Stand to purchase organic vegetables, eggs, and our very own maple syrup.
4 Moose Hill Street, Sharon
Wednesdays and Fridays, 2:30-6:30 pm
Farmers Markets
You can also find our organic produce at several Farmer’s Markets in Boston from July through October.
Egleston Square, Community Servings in Jamaica Plain
Saturdays, 10:00 am-2:00 pm
Mattapan Square, Corner of Cummings Highway and Fairway St.
Saturdays 10:00 am-1:00 pm
Frequently Asked Questions
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), at its most basic, is an agreement between the grower and the consumer. CSA members make a commitment to support the farm through their growing season by paying in advance for a portion of the farm’s produce. This creates a season-long relationship between the farm and its CSA community. CSA members know exactly where their food comes from and receive a whole season's worth of fresh, organically grown produce.
We farm with the health of our adjacent woods, meadows, ponds, and vernal pools firmly in mind by actively stewarding these natural areas for birds and other wildlife. Purchasing a CSA share at the farm at Moose Hill not only supports our farming program, but also Mass Audubon’s overall mission to protect Massachusetts’ biodiversity and ecosystems.
Additionally, education is an important component of our farm which is why we offer volunteer opportunities, work shares, and a pick your own experience to help the community develop deeper connections with their food.
Here are some sample shares from past years.
Small Share
- June: Bunch of collards, bunch of turnips, bunch of spring onions, 2 broccoli, 2 bok choy, 6 garlic scapes, pint of strawberries, half pound of snow peas, pint of snap peas.
- August: Bunch of kale, bunch of basil, 1 bag of string beans, 2 summer squash, 1 watermelon, 1 cantaloupe, choice of 4 pounds of tomatoes, choice of 4 peppers, pint of cherry tomatoes, 3 ears of corn, 2 onions.
- October: Bag of salad greens, bunch of kale, bunch of turnips, 2 peppers, 3 pounds of sweet potatoes, 2 pounds of green tomatoes, 2 butternut squash, 2 garlic.
Full Share
- June: Bunch of collards, bunch of turnips, bunch of spring onions, 4 broccoli, 3 bok choy, 12 garlic scapes, quart of strawberries, 1 pound of snow peas, quart of snap peas.
- August: Bunch of kale, bunch of basil, 2 bags of string beans, 3 summer squash, 1 watermelon, 2 cantaloupes, choice of 6 pounds of tomatoes, choice of 6 peppers, pint of cherry tomatoes, 6 ears of corn, 3 onions.
- October: Bag of salad greens, bunch of kale, bunch of turnips, 3 peppers, 6 pounds of sweet potatoes, 4 pounds of green tomatoes, 3 butternut squash, 3 garlic.
As the season progresses, we offer pick-your-own (PYO) opportunities. CSA shareholders are eligible to participate in PYO on their distribution day at no additional cost. PYO happens during the same hours as distribution. PYO info will be available in the farm barn as well as distributed via the weekly CSA email.
Pick-your-own is considered a normal part of your distribution so any pick-your-own activity must happen during your regularly scheduled distribution time. There are times when shareholders may choose not to participate in the pick-your-own option due to their own time constraints, weather, or interest in a particular crop. We cannot make switches to accommodate changes in schedules, weather, or interests of the shareholders.
If you cannot make it on a certain week, we invite you to send a friend, family member, or neighbor to collect your share.
All shareholders receive a confirmation when they register for our CSA. This confirmation contains all the dates for your pick-up. We suggest that you mark your calendars so that you do not miss a week. If you do miss a week, we are unable to allow you to “double up” the following week and we cannot refund money for a missed week.
With CSA Work Shares, you will have the opportunity to exchange work for in exchange for a full or half share—no prior farm experience is necessary.
Field Work Share
33 hours in exchange for a small share or for a discounted full share ($200).
The work also varies seasonally and includes a lot of bending and lifting. Please be prepared to get dirty and work in rain, shine, or heat. You may choose how to spread out your hours over the course of the 20-week season during the designated times.
- Tuesday and Thursday, 1:00-4:00 pm
- Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday: 8:00-11:00 am
Work Share
54 hours in exchange for a full share
You will be responsible for helping with all aspects of distribution to ensure each week runs smoothly. This is a weekly commitment. Occasional absences can be accommodated with prior notice or swapping with another workshare. Responsibilities include:
- Greeting CSA members, farm stand customers, and guests.
- Keeping produce bins well-stocked throughout the shift.
- Ringing up farm stand purchases.
- Maintaining a clean and tidy pickup area both inside the barn and outside.
- Creating a positive, welcoming atmosphere for all community members.
Shifts (one per each day/time)
- Wednesday, 2:00-5:00 pm and 4:00-7:00 pm
- Friday, 2:00-5:00 pm and 4:00-7:00 pm
Yes! Discounted CSA shares are available for anyone wanting to pay with their SNAP benefits. We are also able to offer HIP benefits for the 2023 season! Please email us or call us at 781-486-3063 for pricing and additional information.
Growing Practices
We grow our produce using organic principles—no chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers—and we exceed the organic standard by:
- Building soil health through crop rotation and green-manuring. As crops are harvested, we till the plants back into the soil and plant cover crops. These crops ("green manure") help fix nitrogen and build organic matter when they are also tilled back into the soil.
- Utilizing row cover for pest exclusion and management as an alternative to chemical approaches.
- Testing our soil yearly and add nutrients, such as chicken manure, to the fields. All of our soil fertility derives from natural sources such as cover crops and organic compost.
- Using limited drip irrigation in our lower field. Our focus on building healthy soils allows us to limit irrigation, which is an energy-intensive method of watering plants and producing food. We choose to have some crops with drip irrigation providing needed water at the roots of the plant.
- Limiting our consumption of non-reusable materials. Beds are covered with straw for mulching and we use reusable crates to distribute our produce.
