Red Hill Farm – FAQs

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms are mutually beneficial partnerships between a local farm and a neighborhood that desires fresher, healthier produce.

Before the harvest season begins, each CSA member purchases a share. As a shareholder in the farm, a CSA member receives a weekly share of the highest quality produce.

Payment is required before the season begins to provide a stable financial base for the farm. This allows the farmer to purchase seeds, hire labor, and get the season started without having to take out high-interest loans.

Argula, beans, beets, blackberries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celeriac, collards, cucumbers, escarole, eggplant, fennel, flowers, garlic, greens, herbs, hot peppers, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, melons, onions, potatoes, radishes, raspberries, salad mix, scallions, spinach, summer squashes, sweet peppers, tomatoes, tomatillo, turnips, winter squash

Our practices are guided by the national organic standards and by our own goals for achieving a sustainable system. Because the CSA farmers and crew have personal interactions and relationships with the shareholders, we find it an unnecessary step to apply for or pay the expenses of federal organic certification. We invite all shareholders and farm visitors to spend a day with us, walk through our fields, and come see for yourself how we farm. Let’s keep it local!

Cover crops are planted to fix nitrogen, build soil organic matter, and prevent erosion. Seeds are organic when available, with the inclusion of heirloom and open pollinated varieties. We control pests primarily through using crop rotations, encouraging diversity, fostering natural predators, and using floating row covers over the crops. Weeds are kept in check by mechanical cultivation and hand weeding.

Our share season starts in early June and ends mid-November. The length of the season is dependent on weather and local frost dates. In December and January we are planning for the next season. From February through May, we seed, transplant, and nurture the crops we will harvest for you starting in June.

You choose either Tuesday or Friday, from 1 P.M.-7 P.M., and come to the farm each week to pick up your share. We harvest the bulk of the produce for you. However, members harvest the crops in the U-Pick garden themselves. We have a relatively large U-Pick garden. Some crops include berries, beans, peas, herbs, cut flowers, cherry tomatoes, and hot peppers. The U-Pick area allows members to experience food at its best—from farm to table. It is a great place to teach your children about different crops and it gives you an opportunity to spend time at the farm getting to know fellow members.

We offer products for sale each week (dairy, eggs, frozen meats, fruit, etc.). All of the products are locally sourced, pasture raised, and organic when available.

We offer raspberries and blackberries in the U-Pick field. But, we are primarily a vegetable CSA. We can’t do everything so we concentrate on what we do best. Growing more fruit would require more space than we have so we leave that up to our friends Nancy and Bob Bernhardt down the road at Indian Orchards.

Their fruit shares are available for pick-up at our farm. We also sell their fruit a la carte during the season. For more information, see our “Membership Page.”

A full share for the 2018 season is $775.

Full or partial (2  installments) payment is required along with the registration form to reserve your share.

Yes, some members prefer to split a full share with another family because it is too much produce for them. Finding a share partner and organizing the distribution of the share is your responsibility.

We suggest you have a friend/relative/neighbor pick up your share. There are no refunds and switching days throws us off when harvesting. If you can’t find a substitute, please know that we do not allow food to go to waste. Any leftover produce is donated to local organizations that help those in need.

Please email (redhillfarm@osfphila.org) your name, mailing address, and phone number. We will send you a member form and any additional information you need to sign up.