Click Here to Enroll for 2024 CSA
2024 is my 25th year operating a Community Supported Agriculture Program, or CSA. Essentially the CSA is a locally-grown vegetable subscription service, filled with produce grown on my farm, occasionally supplemented with crops from other small, local farms. Over the years we have upsized and downsized, we’ve done a lot of experimenting, and we’ve learned a lot about how to keep our subscribers happy. Once feeding over 180 families in south King County and Seattle, the farm will be offering just 70 CSA shares in 2024 supplemented with u-pick opportunities and bulk purchase options.
Inherent to the CSA concept is the commitment of the CSA members to the farm and the farmer’s livelihood, by prepaying for their produce before the beginning of the season. These early funds provide the farm with funds for seed, fertilizer, and other supplies, and payroll for employees when available. The farm work begins months before any produce is ready to harvest, and this ensures that the farmers can concentrate on farming instead of working off the farm or relying on bank loans. In addition, the CSA members share in the risk of the farming enterprise, and provide support when weather or other outside forces are uncooperative. Simply stated: CSA members share in the risk of growing the food that they eat, and ensure that farms and farmers continue to exist.
CSA Share Season:
2024 CSA consists of one long season, with biweekly pickups in April and May, weekly pickups June through October, returning to biweekly pickups again in November and December. There will also be occasional biweekly pickups in the summer so that I can go exploring a bit.
Share Size:
In 2024 there is just one share size. This simplifies record keeping considerably. For those who are used to a Large Share, two Small Shares will be just right.
Pickup Options:
We offer weekly CSA pickup at the farm on Tuesday afternoons, 2:00-8:00pm or Saturdays, 10:00am-5:00pm. Seattle CSA members can choose to participate in one of two “share-pools” based in North Seattle and West Seattle, where group members take turns picking up everyone’s share at the farm. Please email me for more information if interested. All CSA members are encouraged to partake of the U-Pick Cutflowers and other attractions at the farm free of charge, no matter which pickup option they select.
In Addition:
A vital piece of farming in the urban fringe is encouraging our CSA members to visit the farm regularly, and putting faces and a location on the food that you feed your family. We are busy planning new, expanded u-pick opportunities for our 2024 CSA members. A large Cut-Flower Garden (June-October), the September Sunflower Patch, and Pumpkin Patch in October are all available to CSA members free of charge while in season. We encourage you to pick up your visit the farm regularly, but ALL CSA members are welcome to visit on any Tuesday or Saturday during pickup hours.
Practice Your Naturalist Skills:
Whistling Train Farm is an Audubon and eBird hotspot. Stop at the Birder Kiosk to pick up or photograph a map, and read the whiteboard to see which birds have been visiting. We are in the process of planting an acre of wildlife habitat in the back of the farm, and you are welcome to visit and see which creatures you spot there.
Enrollment for 2024 CSA is open now. Click here to go to our online store. In addition, I am offering a Pantry-Builder Subscription, consisting of somewhat monthly bulk items like basil, tomatoes, and pickling cucumbers. Click Here to Enroll and Purchase
Please feel free to email for more information or if you have any questions: shelley@whistlingtrainfarm.com
Whistling Train Farm 
Lovely & informatived blog, thanks! Will you be listing what crops will be in the shares each week so we can plan menus a few days before pick-up? Also, when will the u-pick herb & flower farms be opening? Can you tell I’m eager to get picking?
Blessings,
susan
I am planning on providing a menu at least a day before we start picking for the week. Sometimes it’s difficult to know for sure what we will be picking, but I will provide what information I can. U-pick herbs and flowers will be open later—we haven’t even planted any of them yet. We generally open them within the first few weeks of the Summer Season.
Are there opportunities for U-pick? If we pick up at your farm, will we be able to visit with the animals?
thanks
Yes, as a subscriber, you are welcome to come to the farm and u-pick flowers and herbs any time, plus peas, snap beans, and pumpkins while in season. Those items are free for subscribers. And yes, when you come to the farm you are able to walk everywhere on the farm, including visiting the animals and seeing your food plants growing.
Good day! I could have sworn I’ve been to your blog before but after going through a few of the articles I realized it’s new to
me. Nonetheless, I’m certainly delighted I discovered it and I’ll be bookmarking
it and checking back often!
Interested in winter shares
Hi Rebecca! Where would you like to pick up? You can definitely start this week.