Lyons-area CSA grows more than vegetables

by Katherine Weadley

CSA is a new term for an ancient idea. Individuals and families join Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) farms by purchasing weekly shares of produce as members of the farm. CSA members share the costs of farming, as well as the bounty or losses of the growing season.

In older, agricultural-based societies CSAs were a well-established principle. Today, CSAs are growing in popularity as people realize the health and environmental benefits of eating locally grown, fresh organic produce.

Stonebridge Farm, a CSA just east of Lyons, was established in 1993 by John Martin and Kayann Short long before eating locally was in vogue. Martin likes math puns and growing organic vegetables, but not necessarily eating them. Short likes knitting and composting. When they aren’t teaching at the University of Colorado they run their organic CSA. Martin is a math professor and Short is a professor of women’s literature and writing.

Stonebridge offers seasonal memberships of organic produce, herbs, and flowers. Every Saturday from early May to late October members come to the farm for their share of the vegetables picked fresh that morning. Offerings may include such items as cucumbers, carrots, basil, beets, and kale and a variety of beans, Jerusalem artichokes, dragon-tongue beans and heirloom tomatoes “Heirloom tomatoes look so different, but they taste great” said Short.

Short and Martin use seasonal workers to help pick their produce early Saturday morning before members arrive. However, these seasonal workers are locals who exchange their labor for a share of food. “We have about 25 people who barter for us. We had heard about the bartering system from CSAs in the 1970s. We have long term barterers,” said Short.

Stonebridge not only grows vegetables for CSA members but for the Eagle Rock School in Estes Park. Eagle Rock is an alternative school for kids, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Recently Short and Martin taught the class “Farm, Food and Forgiveness,” at Stonebridge for Eagle Rock students. “The kids were impressed by the fact that you could pick a vegetable directly from the ground and eat it. Now they are helping us rebuild our herb garden,” said Short.

Also on the farm next to the community building, the straw-bale outbuilding, a wood castle and many swings, stands a newly built stage. Country-rock musician Coyote Joe built the outdoor stage so he could have a concert there to celebrate the 15^th year of the CSA at Stonebridge last summer. Eco-folkers Jimmy Sferes and Jennifer White often grace this stage. “We usually have one or two concerts a season and they are open to the public,” said Short.

Short, who has 25 years experience teaching writing, life-writing, and women’s literature is developing the genre of eco-biography as a bridge between her writing, teaching, and farming lives. This May she plans a three-day workshop on the grounds of the farms. According to Short “an eco-biography may even be within an urban, rather than rural or wilderness, setting and may challenge the dichotomy of human versus nature.”

Along with providing food, Stonebridge also works to educate the public about the organic food production and its place in a healthy community. “Members not only discover the pleasure of eating seasonally, but also help sustain agricultural land and preserve family farms in Boulder County,” said Martin. “We emphasize the ‘C’ in CSA and we want the farm to be a place for people to spend extra time, to learn about farming,” said Short.

Another example of a CSA is the Pachamama Farm in Longmont. Pachamama is Quechua for “earth mother.” Quechua is a Native American language of South America. Pachamama also sells their produce at the Boulder’s Farmer’s Market on Wednesdays. The cost to join the Pachamama CSA is $450 for a regular-size share and $650 for a large-size share. Pachamama, unlike Stonebridge, does not offer a barter system or a discount for people who work on the farm. Both Stonebridge and Pachamama have waiting lists for their CSAs.

Not all CSAs offer exclusively organic produce. Miller Farms, located in Platteville on 300 acres, just recently added 10 acres to grow organic food to offer to their CSA members. Miller Farms, which is open to the public, sells their produce at over 25 farmer’s markets in Colorado.

Short says that CSAs are not in competition with each other. “We’re glad that people have found out about CSAs and are eating locally. We hope that Boulder County will help new farmers develop CSAs in this area. We’re all full. We’re not competing with each other,” she said.

Lyons resident Betsy Burton works for the environmental non-profit Green Heart Institute in Boulder. Last year her organization and another non-profit organization, Boulder County Going Local! helped put together the three-day event “Renaissance of the Local” on the Planet Bluegrass ranch in Lyons. This event highlighted environmental practices, including CSAs and farmer’s markets.

While Burton isn’t sure if there will be another “Renaissance of the Local,” this year she and her partner Mike Whipp are having a farmer’s renaissance of their own. Starting in the middle of July they began a small farmer’s market on Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. on their self-named “Lyons Farmette” at the north-east end of Lyons.

Their farmer’s market offerings include basil, dill, peas, beans, squash, beets, onions and fresh eggs among other produce. “We have the farmette; it is doing great and producing a lot so we thought ‘why not?’ So here we go. This is our first year and we view ourselves as more of a farm stand than a farmer’s market,” said Burton.

Not only do they sell produce but they also give it away. “Fifty percent of what we grow goes to the Boulder Homeless Shelter,” said Burton. Whipp, who has a background in agriculture, and Lyons resident Peter Rousseau are the main farmers. Burton, along with Lyons resident Carol Conigliaro call themselves the “chicken chicks,” and are in charge of the eggs. “We also have almost 60 free-range chickens, three peacocks, sheep, and one duck named Ping,” Burton said.

At the moment only produce from the Lyons Farmette is sold at their farmer’s market. However, Burton says they would welcome other growers to be a part of it. “It will take community support for this to work and we’ll see how it goes this summer and fall. It is all about local sustainability and fresh wonderful food – we feel that is important,” said Burton.