FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. How can I join the CSA?
Members must fill out an application form and mail it to:
Hall Gibson
Ryder Farm
404 Starr Ridge Road
Brewster, NY 10509
The application form is changed annually, so a current year version must be used.
Membership is subject to availability, please contact us.

2. What kinds of memberships are available?
Full shares and half (actually 2/3 of full) shares are offered.
Back To Top
3. How much do full and half shares cost?
Full shares are $ 27.00 a week and half shares are $ 18.00 a week. If delivered, add $ 2.50 a week regardless of share size. A small reduction is given for up-front full season memberships. There are also provisions for installment payments.

4. How long is the season?
A full season is 20 weeks, from mid-June till late October. An optional extended season membership may be added, beginning three weeks before and lasting three weeks after the regular season. Extended season shares are approximately half share size, cost $ 45.- for each extension, and must be picked up at Ryder Farm on Fridays.

5. Where my the weekly shares be obtained?
Members may pick up their shares from a walk-in cooler at Ryder Farm on either Tuesday or Friday afternoons. Deliveries are made to a central drop-off at Scarsdale around noon on Tuesdays; ; and at a central drop-off in late morning on Thursdays in Mt. Kisco.

6. What vegetables does the CSA provide its members?
Basically, it provides fresh, organically grown vegetables in season, all from Ryder Farm. Typically, early season selections are heavy on lettuce and tender greens; in mid-season, tomatoes, garlic, onions, peppers, squash and eggplant are mainstays; late season selections are heavier on hardy greens such as cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kale plus winter squash and root crops. Oriental vegetables (e.g. bock choy) are a specialty.

7. How big is the Ryder Farm CSA?
Nominally, it has 80 members. Depending on crop conditions, a few more may be accepted over the 80 member level.
Back To Top
8. How old is the CSA?
It was started in 1997.

9. How old is Ryder Farm?
It has been a Ryder family farm continuously since 1795.

10. Where is Ryder Farm?
It is in Putnam County, Town of Southeast (but Brewster post office), 404 Starr Ridge Road. it is bounded on the west by Starr Ridge Road, on the east by Peach Lake, on the south by the Westchester-Putnam county line, and on the north by Seven Oaks Lane. See map

11. What are the basic purposes of a CSA?
More than anything else, CSAs are intended to preserve small farms and market gardens as valued parts of local communities. In exchange for community support, CSAs supply fresh, healthful food for its members. In addition, they offer convenient opportunities to observe and participate in the wholesome environment of growing superior food.

12. How did CSAs get started?
The prototype CSA may have been in Japan in the 1960s when urban dwellers (many of them originally form the country) traveled to the country to help farmers in exchange for fresh farm products. The first CSA in the USA came around 1985 at a farm near Great Barrington, MA. There are not hundreds of CSAs in this country, no two of them being identical.
Back To Top
13. Can I work on the farm or help the CSA in other ways?
Yes. Farm work, especially harvesting, washing, and shorting vegetables for bagging in weekly shares, is typical work for inexperienced members. Farm help is generally most needed in mid-to-late spring and in the early fall after summer helpers have left. Members may also help with the myriad details of keeping records and caring for members weekly shares. We also can use help to keep members informed through web sites and newsletters. Work credits in lieu of monetary payments for membership may be arranged.

14. How can i learn more about the Ryder Farm and its CSA?
Contact Hall Gibson, Ryder Farm manager. (845) 279-3984 or HallGibson@prodigy.net