Christopher Farm Internship Information, Summer 2021
We have a full time Intern position open for summer 2021. This is a good learning opportunity to work one on one with a well-seasoned grower and gain experience in all aspects of operating a small scale organic vegetable production farm during peak season, including routine crop planting and care, harvesting and marketing, and preparations for our annual farm tour event. This internship is designed to be intensive, extensive, and experiential. Days on the farm are often long and strenuous, but we do our best to maintain a fun work environment and an appreciation for the work that we are doing for our land and our community.
Requirements include some prior vegetable gardening/growing experience, willingness to work in all kinds of weather, a good work ethic, curiosity and interest in learning, and willingness to communicate openly. As a production farm, we work 6 days a week and frequently during evening hours
As intern, you will be provided with room and board, in addition to a stipend of $500 for the first month. The stipend will increase by $150 for every consecutive month. (We will have plenty of food, but you will need to do some of your own cooking.)
In addition to your work and education on the production side of the farm, you will have access to a small library of reading materials relating to organic gardening and be immersed in the experience of living a homestead style life. It is for good reason that this lifestyle has become so romanticized in our culture, but the facts of the demand and commitment required often seem to be overlooked. A three month block is a nice amount of time to be able to step into this occupation and the life that accompanies it while also knowing that it will come to a close.
I hope to fill this position ASAP. If you are interested please contact me at ruralwendy@gmail.com, or at 812-459-4475 so that we can set up a time for you to come out for a working interview (if you are geographically close enough to make this happen). This visit is helpful so that both of us can get a sense of how we work together and whether it feels like a good fit.
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"Mid-April through October the Wednesday box of fresh vegetables and fruits from the CSA means scrumptious salads and marvelous meals for Eva and me. Wendy's newsletter reminds me that growing healthy food is both an art and an act of love. Join the CSA. It's a blessing for your health and heart." Van Temple and Eva Abbott
"We love being part of the Christopher Farm CSA! Each weekly box is a nice variety of "old standby" veggies along with some items we are less familiar with but excited to try. We enjoy Wendy's weekly newsletter and the recipe links, which has helped us to discover some new favorite ways to use our CSA goodies. Wendy and Adrian are personable, kind people who clearly love what they do - this is evident in the way they interact with their customers and the quality of their gorgeous produce." Jennifer Lewis and Brian Schleeper
"Receiving a Christopher Farm CSA Share is a little piece of magic. Super tasty organic veggies appear in a big box weekly at a convenient pickup place. My personal favorites are the pre-washed spring lettuce mix, the ginger, cherry tomatoes, carrots, beets, and the broccolinni. (I'm having a hard time ending this list!) Being part of this CSA increases the amount of veggies we include in our diet , and our child is growing up knowing (and loving) the taste of fresh veggies. Wendy and Adrian are friendly and really listen to the preferences of their clientele to create diverse veggie boxes filled with surprises and classics. Supporting Christopher Farm feels good and tastes great!" Annelies Sizelove
Christopher Farm 2024 Richmond CSA
Thanks for supporting our local farm. Our CSA will make weekly deliveries to Richmond on Tuesday evenings next season. If you sign up, you will receive a weekly assortment of fresh vegetables all grown on our farm, recipes, and ideas for preparing less common vegetables. Community Supported Agriculture is a joint contract that allows the farmer to support her or himself while providing good, nutritious food to a community. Our pledge to you is to make every effort to provide a wide variety of certified organic vegetables, balanced over the growing season. As you know, there is always the possibility of a crop failure, and this has increasingly become the case with the climate disruptions we are experiencing. Luckily, different crops have different growing requirements, so hopefully lack of a particular item or items will be balanced with bounty in other areas.
In addition to our own crops, this past season we also added produce from Mile Creek Farm, another certified organic farm, to our fall inventory for the CSA. This includes crops which we don't grow, such as potatoes and sweet potatoes, as well as crops we can't grow enough of, such as Butternut and onions. This expands the variety you receive, as well as supports another local organic farm.
Schedule
Deliveries will begin the last Tuesday in April and run until the end of October. Should we have to start late, we will add a week or two on at the end of the season. There will be two one-week breaks during the course of the season in order to allow you to eat down your fridge a bit, and in order for me to regroup. The first one will be in June, and the second in late July.
Deliveries
Our deliveries will be set up under the arch between the Richmond Friends School and West Richmond Friends. Please pick up your share between 4:30-5:30 on Tuesday during the season. If you are unable to pick up your share on any given week, please contact us in advance, or arrange for someone else to pick up your box. We also have the option of leaving your box for you to pick up later if you let us know in advance.
Option 1 - The Fixed Share or Surprise Box
For those who have participated in the CSA in the past and like the challenge of eating whatever is provided in season, we will continue our traditional fixed shares, aka. surprise boxes. We will incorporate a few choices at the point in the season where there is sufficient abundance to do so. If you will be gone for part of the summer, we can pro-rate the cost to fit your schedule. If you will only be gone 1-2 weeks during the summer, we encourage you to gift your share to a friend, family member, or a household that normally couldn't afford a share.
Share Size
Our regular "full share" size is intended to feed 2-4 people, depending on your veggie use. We will also continue to offer a slightly larger share for families, or those who eat a larger amount of veggies, and a smaller share, geared towards one person, that is an alternative to splitting a box with another household.
Cost
Small Share: 6 months $350
Full Share: 6 months $575
Family Size Share: 6 months $700
Full Choice Share: $300/$500
Option 2 - Full Choice CSA
If you prefer to pick which veggies you do or don't receive, we also offer the option to make that choice yourself. This allows you to decide how much you will receive on a given week, what you will receive on a given week, and also skip a week if you plan to be out of town. You can also customize the amount you receive so that some weeks it's less and others it's more. These shares are available in the same increments as the Fixed Shares. Full Choice Shares cannot be purchased through our website, but must be purchased in person with a credit card or check.
CSA Payment
At the time of year when our income is the lowest we also have the most expenses. These come not only in the form of seed, but also in a variety of supplies: materials for the soil mix we start the seeds in, row cover to protect tender seedlings from the elements, propane to heat the greenhouse, wages for our hard-working farm crew, etc... When you make your CSA payments earlier, it allows us to purchase these supplies without stress, and to plan for how many households we need to plant for. To hold a spot in the CSA, please make a minimum deposit of $150. Shares will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. The remainder of the payment is due by March 31. Given some current difficulties with our online store, the best way to make a payment is either to mail a check or money order to the following address, or pay us directly at market.
Wendy Carpenter
Christopher Farm
5305 W. 500 S.
Modoc, IN 47358
(812) 459-4475
The Veggies
The list of available produce will include, but is not limited to:
Spring: kale, spinach, lettuce mix, head lettuce, radishes, scallions, cilantro, arugula, carrots, Swiss chard, beets, mixed Asian greens, salad turnips, parsley.
Summer: Most of the above plus sprouting broccoli, tomatoes of all kinds, garlic scapes and garlic, onions, cucumbers, summer squash, basil, green beans, peppers.
Fall: winter squash, baby ginger, carrots, daikon and other specialty radishes, hakurei salad turnips, and a large number of the items listed above
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