Organic Garden

2013 CSA shares are now available! Look Below for details.

The Community School Farm

Sited on the old Perkins Family Farm for more than 20 years, and surrounded by acres of woodlands, The Community School has a vested history in agriculture, wildlife, and education.

The Farm has always been an integral part of the school; this year marks our 16th CSA season. In the spring and fall, students help seed, plant, weed, harvest, and cook food from the garden. Science and history classes also take advantage of the many learning opportunities that a diversified farm offers.

We cultivate four acres, using sustainable, organic methods certified by the State of New Hampshire. Organic gardening produces healthy vegetables without the use of pesticides or fertilizers. We build our soil through composting, mulching, minimal tillage, and cover cropping; manage our pests with companion planting, organic pest control, and hand picking; and control weeds through mulching, and a whole lot of hand weeding. Using these methods provides healthier and safer foods.

Community Supported Agriculture

A CSA offers a wonderful, rewarding, communal relationship between farmers and community members. Each growing season, members pay for a share up front and in return, receive weekly harvests of produce in season.  Interested in joining?  Call Farmer John at 1-207-907-9141.

Members get:  a weekly supply of local/seasonal foods, investment in the food system, involvement in something positive for the earth and the body, the chance to try new foods and new ways to cook and eat them!
Farmers get:  the support of their community, to share the bounty (and risks) of their work, to interact with people on a vital level.

It’s not just the student body that benefits, though. Community members connect to the earth through volunteer opportunities, work share days, and on-farm events. Work activities include: planting, harvesting, weeding, greenhouse work, making bouquets, staffing CSA distributions, and more. If you have an idea of how you can help, or what you would like to learn, please let us know!

 

How It Works
Each week, members get a share of the harvest, choosing the day, time, and location for fresh food pick-up. When you arrive, harvest crates full of the season’s best selection, harvested that day, await along with a list of what’s available and how much you get to bring home.

Typically, CSA members find that they are bringing home more than they would from the supermarket for the same price. Since you have pre-paid for that food, you just grab-n-go, or enjoy the opportunity to hang out for a while, chat with the farm crew, meet friends, pick flowers, or shop at the Farmstand.

2013 Season

Vegetable CSA Share Options

___ Early Spring Growth—May 28 through June 25 (5 weeks) $100

___ Summer/Fall—July 2 through Oct 8 (15 weeks) $375

___ Summer/Fall    1/2  share  $175

___ Full Season—May 28 through Oct 8 (20 weeks) $475

** Sign up by March 1 for any share and get 5% off veggies

Add Sunnyfield Bakery Bread

___ Spring Growth $25 (5 weeks)

___ Summer/Fall Bounty $75 (15 weeks)

___ Full Season $95 (20 weeks)

Add Fresh Fish (available Fridays only)

___ Spring Growth $60 (5 weeks)

___ Summer/Fall Bounty $180 (15 weeks)

___ Full Season $228 (20 weeks)

Please make checks payable to The Community School 

Choose a pick-up day/time:

___ Tuesday on farm: 12pm to 3pm

___ Friday @ Tin Mountain, Albany: 3pm to 5pm

Alongside nourishing, organic veggies, we offer Sunnyfield Bakery bread; wood-fired, brick oven loaves  made from whole grains grown in New Hampshire and Quebec. Sign up for a weekly loaf; you won’t regret it!

We are fortunate to live where both the land and the sea share a harvest. Harbor Fish Market offers high quality, wild-caught fish off the coast of Maine. With enough interest, we can offer it to our members, too.

What’s more
We have teamed up with a number of producers and organizations to bring you the best of what our area has to offer: fresh breads, local seafood, meats, cheeses, seasonal fruit and more. And, with three pick-up locations, you can choose the most convenient place to get the best stuff!
Tin Mountain Conservation Center generously offers us their gorgeous front porch, reaching members who work or live in the Conway/Albany area. Of course, you are always welcome to come right to the source and pick at the farm.

Not only do we offer a means to feed your belly, we want to feed your need for learning, interacting, and thriving. There are a variety of workshops offered for both kids and adults covering gardening, yoga, cooking and more. Summer camps, craft fairs, hiking trails, and community dinners offer indoor and outdoor activities on our grounds. In conjunction with the Ossipee Valley Music Festival, we hold a Bluegrass festival here at the school in July. If you want to plug in to some great action in a setting often described as ‘magical’, The Community School is your outlet. Please join a committed, amazing, focused group of people, who truly put the Community  in Community Supported Agriculture

New Farmer in 2013

John Welton is the new farmer at TCS. He hails from Madison, Wisconsin, where he attended university and recently graduated with an English degree. Besides this study, he has spent the last four years farming and gardening in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Maine. He looks forward to continue growing produce for the school’s community and has been grateful for the warm reception he has received since arriving this winter. Be sure to stop by the farm this season to introduce yourself. The odds are good that you will find him there.

The Community School | 1164 Bunker Hill Road | South Tamworth, NH 03883
farm@communityschoolnh.org
Phone (603) 323-7000 | Fax (603) 323-8240