Welcome to Ripe Radish (beyond organic) Farm...Come experience the JOY of the harvest with us!!!
We are happy to offer our community of members 4, 8, or 16 weeks of full body health here at our farm. That doesn't just include the nutrient-dense, organic, ripe and delectable food that is sure to benefit every body, but also the experience feeds the mind, soul, and spirit as well.
There's nothing like sharing quality time with friends/fam in peaceful nature while learning about, sampling and harvesting your own ripe food...and then taking those ingredients home to further that quality time over recipe making and food partaking.
We also have: chickens that the children love to interact with and write letters to; weekly "sensory scavenger hunts" to really help you slow down and delight in all parts of nature; spring and fall festivals with local artisans and fun; peaceful areas for you to enjoy your picnic or coffee with friends or a book, or just sit and reflect in quiet solitude...there are even hanging tent pods for your relaxation time; and games scattered around the farm.
Here are the quick details regarding our member u-pick CSA, but feel free to check out the full story of the farm, and more in-depth details described below. We hope you grab your friends and family to join us here in 2024!
2024 Season: Starts June 11, 2024 and goes thru Sept 28, 2024.
Membership options: 16 week; 8 week; 4 weeks...1x per month.
We don't spray a single thing, so you may eat with freedom and comfort knowing exactly where and how your food is being grown.
We have a huge variety of offerings from all the veg, but also fruits and flowers. Here is a full listing of what we'll be seeding in 2024.
For purchasing options, please click here.
Our LONG story: We rolled out a Members-Only, U-pick CSA program in 2022. (CSA is “Community Supported Agriculture. Ours is U-PICK) AND IT WAS AWESOME! The community that was built was a complete joy and delight. Families and friends picking their chosen fresh organic food each week was the highlight of the summer! There were so many quotable comments that we can't repeat them all, but here are a few:
"This is our happy place."
"The whole family LOVES coming to "our" farm".
"The current members are going to get first dibs on next season membership, right? Because I would tackle someone to get my spot back. :)"
"It's like Christmas morning each week that I come. I have no idea what treats await!"
"Rainbow chard is my fave!" "Has it always been?" "Nope, I'd never heard of it before coming here. Lots of stuff I eat from the farm I've never heard of before." (i.e: honeyberries, black licorice mint, currants, gooseberries, lemon balm, raw asparagus, etc.)
"My kids are trying and loving stuff they'd never touch away from the farm."
For 2024 membership, below are all the details that you need to know.
Please scroll to the bottom for instant CSA details. Or keep reading for extended understanding. Thanks!
First off, thank you so much for being a beautiful part of the 2022 and 2023 growing seasons. We loved having you and your family/friends here at the farm, and we can't wait to have our farm fam back next season!
So, why a u-pick CSA? LOTS of brainstorming, number crunching, and conversations have occurred in hopes of coming up with a win for everyone. During this process, the priorities of the farm stayed front of mind:
- Offer organic and ripe: provide the highest taste/quality/nutrient-dense food that we can while protecting/nourishing the soil.
- Build community: where you are known, belong, and feel ownership here.
- Provide experiential activities: a place to find joy in the harvest, peace in the beauty, movement in the gathering, imagination in the foraging/creating, FUN, etc.
- Keep food prices stable: food costs are skyrocketing around us, but not here.
- Cultivate bonding: families/friends who harvest in nature together bond deeply.
- Practice financially sound stewardship. Be able to stay open as a u-pick organic farm.
- Minimize waste. Grow enough, but not abundantly more for the people that pick here.
- Utilize the plethora of fruits already growing on the farm.
With those things in mind, we found one idea that seemed to embrace all of those things. We hope you agree, and join us with our new farm model:
Member Only, U-Pick CSA!
We are so stoked to be able to offer our farm members the following HUGE benefits:
Member Only Benefits:
- PRIVATE (except for our Spring/Fall Fests and the one field that will be open for public strawberry picking): Enjoy a private member-only “park” to explore where you'll find: weekly "sensory scavenger hunts" to fully emerse yourself and your kiddos in nature; picnic spots with quilts or benches sprinkled around the property; metal sculpture photo opps; hanging tents to relax, chat, or read books in; befriend, feed, and write letters to our beloved hens; exclusive invites to events and classes (options are mentioned below under “add on’s”)
- OPEN HOURS NOW INCLUDE SOME EVENINGS in case you are busy during the day. Feel free to picnic after your weekly harvest...perhaps with newly found farm friends!
- VARIETY of flavors and exciting rarities that can be tasted here (some of these are perennial and will be first come, first serve): all the sought after things like sun-gold tomatoes, herbs, cukes, zukes, strawberries (the BEST...no joke, the fruit commissioner of MN raved about them!), blueberries, rasps, peppers, onions, greens, carrots, beans, radishes, beets, etc. BUT, we also offer exotic things like: black licorice mint, honeyberries, gooseberries, green and purple grapes, red/white/black currants, 3 kinds of plums, tart cherries, asparagus, gourmet garlic, golden raspberries, a few elderberries, etc. Full list of seeds we'll be planting are shown under FAQ section.
- PEAK OF RIPENESS: Nothing tastes better, or has more beneficial nutrients than ripe food...and that is not found in the grocery store due to perishable qualities. (as berries ripen, anti-inflammatory pigments are more present and help protect brain function/fight against cancer.) That's a big deal!
- FLOWERS: Enjoy the soul feeding benefits of taking home a weekly gorgeous BOUQUET! Not only do we have really unique tulips and daffodils which make up many of our sought after Mother's Day bouquets (sold at Spring Fest), but also tons of other rare finds...orlayas, mignonettes, lily of the valley, chinese forget-me-nots, honeywarts, snapdragons, dahlias, apple blossoms, pussy-willows, lilacs, sweet Williams, cosmos, bunny tails, ageratum, celosia, china aster, lace flower, corn cockle, poor man's orchids, scabiosa, zinnias, lisianthus, etc etc etc. Members say that choosing their bouquet each week is the hardest thing they do as they are all so stunning!
- ADD-ON’S (for additional cost), please feel free to choose from: our “adopt” a chicken program (pick a chick to “adopt”, and you’ll receive her story, picture, and a “real mail” letter sent to your home); free-range eggs of various colors; sporadic classes to be announced. (i.e: yogurt making with fresh berry compote; mushroom growing class; forage farm for wreath making; bouquet demo with local floral designer; ferment pickling; pressed flower art, etc); AND we'll be having a food/bev truck here on some of the picking times/days, so please stay tuned for that fun feature.
- BEYOND ORGANIC everything is enjoyed here. We do not spray any chemicals even if they are organically approved.
- STABILITY of Food Costs: Purchase now, and regardless of what food costs are in the grocery store come next summer, your costs WON’T increase!
- CHOICE: you pick what is in your box....meaning: whatever is ripe, you choose which ones you take (if zucchini is ready, you opt for large or small based on your recipe needs, etc.) (with lots of CSAs, you take what they give you.)
- BONDING: Spending sweet time with LOVED ones doing activities away from electronics that are great for the body, mind and spirit. It has been BEAUTIFUL watching familes from grandma/grandpas down to new borns experiencing the farm together each week. Ahh, the memory building times seeing, tasting, picking, smelling, savoring together.
- BEING KNOWN: Isn’t that one of our biggest human needs/desires, to go “where everybody knows your name”? Well, here at the farm, you will be welcomed, befriended, and known. Membership allows for smaller numbers of people so we can actually form a community! We want to know your name, and your fave veg, flowers, recipes, trips, colors, hobbies, etc. We all grow in the best ways when we know, and are known, and spend time listening to/with each other. WHAT a wonderful surprise that members are so kind to befriend us as well: you all have shared your recipes, homemade goodies from our farm offerings (black currant jam, apple butter, zucchinis, fermented veg, soap, baked goods, pies, etc.) THANK YOU FOR YOUR KINDNESS!
- JOY of the harvest (the best part of growing) where you frolic in nature while picking each item. Every berry/fruit/veg/flower is self-chosen per your discernment/tastes, and every moment in nature fills your inner tank. Truly.
- PHYSICAL Activity: you won’t even notice that you are using those muscles but, while harvesting, you’ll be getting some movement in!
- ABUNDANCE: Garden food will be grown based on the numbers of our members, so there will be plenty for you! During peak harvest, some members opted to drive their cars up for pickup of their boxes because they weighed so much!
- GIVING: Have to miss a week of picking? No problem: simply gift your missed week to a friend so they can enjoy the harvest while you’re away.
- Opportunities to VOLUNTEER! Starting 2024, we'll be having volunteer days for anyone interested in getting a small taste of what running a farm is like, and to contribute to the farm you love. The labor to keep everything organic/till-free/spray-free is WAY more than conventional farm since everything is basically done by hand. Your hands will help GREATLY. Thanks in advance!
NOW THE DETAILS:
Number of Weeks: 4, 8 or 16...you choose what's best for you!
Picking Detail: Each week you will take home beautiful (but not perfect thanks to no sprays of any kind...woohoo!), and nutrient dense veg/fruit/flowers/herbs. How you'll pick: At the beginning of the season, you'll receive a big crate that will hold all of the week's items. When you arrive at the farm each week, we will have boards with "Ripeness Reports" on them that will guide you in your picking/gathering. You won't be picking everything as that would take too long, so we will have approximately 1/2 of your items already waiting for you to choose from. We will give you what you need for that week's picking of the specific ripe items. For example: you may receive a quart-sized picking box for the beans and a pint-size picking box for the gooseberries, a bag for the greens, etc. Your crate will be able to house all of the smaller specific boxes.
Picking Season Dates: Starts June 11, 2024 and goes thru Sept 28, 2024.
Financial Investment: $750 for FULL membership of 16 weeks, $525 for HALF membership (8 visits within the 16 week season), and $400 QUARTER memberships (4 visits...1x per month).
HOWEVER, if you would like to cut your costs, here's how: have your friends/fam sign up for a membership, and we'll credit you $25 for each one. There in no limit to how many you can receive credit for....30 would make your full membership totally free! Now that's a challenge and incentive! :)
ALSO FOR 1/4 MEMBERS: Since you are most probably traveling a distance to participate in our monthly CSA, we thought it would be fun for you to make a day of it here in Hastings! We have connected with other fun local businesses that have offered discounts to your monthly members that you can enjoy while you are here in town. Coupon/discount booklets will be handed out to you when you arrive for your first visit, but also will be emailed to you in case you would like to schedule your daytrip prior to the trek here. Please stay tuned for those details as we get closer to June.
2024 Member Picking Days/HRS Will Be:
Tues: Day 9am-noon; Evening: 5pm-8pm
Thurs: Day 9am-noon; Evening: 5pm-8pm
Sats: 9am-NOON
Closed: Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for ripening and work.
Disclaimer: As a member of the CSA, you are making a financial commitment for the 2024 season to receive a weekly or quarterly fruit/veg/flower box. You recognize that due to the inherent risks of farming, there are no guarantees on the exact amount of produce you will receive due to weather extremes, insects, and/or other production factors. You are willing to share the risks of growing methods and reap the benefits along with the farmer. You understand that no refunds for CSA shares will be granted during the season. Thank you for your understanding, and support of local, organic, fresh, ripe produce!