Farm Share FAQ

Should I get a large, small, or 1 month trial share?

If you know you consume a LOT of vegetables or you like to store things away for the winter, then choose the large share. The large share contains about 2 -3 extra items than what a small share gets. The small share contains 4-6 items and is great for 1 or 2 people. We offer a limited number of 4-week "Trial Share" memberships, where you can try out the experience with 4 weeks in a row of farm share bags.

When do veggie pickups begin? Where can I pick up?

Norwood Pickup: Fridays 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm 1759 Mills Ave Cincinnati, OH 45212. 20 weeks: Jun 7 - July 12 and Aug 2 - Nov 1.

Avondale Pickup: Thursdays 3pm - 6pm Digital Futures Building, 3080 Exploration Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45206. 20 weeks: Jun 6 - July 11 and Aug 1 - Oct 31.

Newport, KY Pickup: Thursdays 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm New Riff Distilling, 24 Distillery Way, Newport, KY 41073. 20 weeks: Jun 6 - July 11 and Aug 1 - Oct 31.

Home Delivery: If you live in the Cincinnati area, we'll drop off a pre-packed (no either/or options) bag to your door.

Do I get to pick out what I want each week in my bag?

At the Norwood, OH and Newport, KY pickups you get either-or options out of all the veggies we have available that week in season. 

The Avondale pickup and Home Delivery options mean you'll get a pre-packed bag - no either-or choices with these.

NOTE: In the first weeks of CSA, a lot of our crops will be leafy greens, salad mix, green onions, and cold-hardy root crops. You'll have lighter bags early on, then heavier bags as the season goes on with more diverse options.

Is this food Organic?

While we're not USDA Certified, we meet all the criteria and go way above and beyond organic requirements in terms of our soil health practices. (MK has worked on USDA Organic Certified farms in the past and done all the necessary paperwork for maintaining certification). We don't use any herbicides, pesticides, or synthetic fertilizers. Happy to share more or answer any questions you have!

What if I go on vacation and have to miss a pickup? What happens if I forget to pick up my share? Can I get my bag later?

If you know you'll be out of town, a popular solution many of our members use is to have a friend pick up the bag for the week. You can also see if another member in your neighborhood could pick up your share for you and coordinate picking it up from them later. What happens if you forget?... We all do it sometimes! 30 min before the end of the pickup window we send out text reminders to anyone who hasn't picked up their bag yet. All unclaimed shares are donated to Life of the World Cafe or the St. Andrews Gleaners.

Can I send someone else to pick up my bag if I can't be there?

Yes! If you cannot pick up your share yourself, simply send a substitute! All they have to do is give us your name.

How do I pay?

You can either pay in full or pay a deposit once you sign up. You can use Venmo, PayPal, check, or cash. If you have a remaining balance, it can be sent to us before May 1. If you need to break up your payments into more disbursements, that is totally fine. Email us with how many payments, what dates you'll make them, and the amounts and we'll add it to the calendar. You can post-date checks for the dates you want us to cash them. Trial shares pay in full to hold your spot.

How will I know what's in my bag each week?

The day of your pickup, we will email your newsletter with the contents of your share for that week. This list is usually about 90% accurate, but sometimes there are last minute changes due to how harvest went. This list will include best practices for each vegetable's storage, common uses, and whether you can freeze it.

How do I know what to do with the veggies you give me?

We're honing our newsletter skills this year to arm you with helpful techniques to incorporate our produce into your meals and freezer storage.

Eating seasonally can feel different if you're used to starting with a recipe and getting any ingredient from the store. We'll share techniques to get you used to starting with the produce available and then using or tweaking recipes accordingly. It can actually be freeing to cook this way - if you ever get overwhelmed by what to make for dinner it can help to have a few limits - following the parameters of what the land provides. 

Can I come help harvest sometime?

Yes! We'd love the chance to connect with you and show you how and where your food is grown! We have weekly volunteer days (usually a weekday morning). And some occasional weekend opportunities. Volunteering is not required as part of your CSA membership, but it definitely adds a lot to the experience. Reach out to marykate@mustardseedfarmer.com

I am composting food at the end of the week. Is that normal?

Some weeks, you may find that there are some veggies that you just never got to, or that you don't like. And they end up getting tossed into the compost pile. This can seem like a waste of food, and you may feel guilty about it. We want to encourage you to expect the fact that no matter how great you are at eating veggies, you will almost certainly compost a certain portion of your share this summer. It's unavoidable. That being said, if you find that it's happening a lot, we encourage you to find friends or neighbors to share with. We plan to share lots of strategies this year to help keep this from happening too much. As a last resort, we invite you to leave some of your unpopular varieties in the trade box at pick-up for someone else. It will take some diligence on your part to eat your share. But it gets easier over time!