Briermere Farms FRUIT CSA SHARE - NON ORGANIC
FRUIT VARIETY & SCHEDULE
The Briermere Farms Fruit Share is primarily an Apple, Peach & Berry Share, with a few other varieties of fruit mixed in. This reflects the predominant fruits grown by this grower here on Long Island. Here is a schedule of when you can expect to see the various types of fruits during the season:
July through mid-August : Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries Gooseberries
End of July through mid-September : Peaches
August : Nectarines
September through November : Apples & Pears
QUANTITY & PRICING
Our fruit share distribution is based on the "Spend-Down Method". With the spend-down method, CSA members pay a set amount of money at the beginning of the season. When the fruit starts to come into season (usually the first week of July), the fruit farm starts giving a reasonable weekly quantity of fruit. This may be 1 or 2 portions, depending on what’s ripe to harvest. Each week, the fruit farmer subtracts the value of the distributed fruit from the initial payment. The fruit farmer continues to deliver fruit until the original payment is spent down. CSA members know the start date of the share but will not know the end date. The end date will be determined by when the money runs out. For each item in the fruit share there will be a defined price (listed below).
PRICES for the various fruits in 2012 are as follows:
Apples, pears, yellow peaches - $1.50/ lb
Nectarines, white peaches, ufo peaches - $1.75/ lb
Blueberries (pint) - $4
Raspberries (pint) - $4
Total Share Price: $138
ABOUT THE FRUIT FARM
Our fruit share is grown by Briermere Farm, a family farm located just a short drive away from us on Sound Avenue in Riverhead. The farm produces many varieties of peaches, apples and berries.
Long Island is a difficult region for tree fruit production because of the high humidity levels which contribute to fungus disease pressure, and can decimate fruit quality (and sometimes the whole tree). At Briermere Farm, insecticides and fungicides are used when necessary to produce marketable fruit. The tree fruit is sprayed with insecticides and fungicides at various points through the season. To reduce the use of chemical insecticides the orchards are close monitored and other pest control measures are used, such as insect pheromone mating disruption. Herbicides have not been used in many years. However, sometimes the weeds get out of control and a rescue treatment has been considered. So far this has been avoided. Briermere Farm’s own leaf compost is the only fertilizer/nutrient source for their fruit crops. No chemical fertilizer is used.
Depending on the weather at the time of pollination and fruit tree cycles, the amount of fruit a tree or berry shrub produces can vary significantly from year to year. If necessary, Briermere Farm may purchase peaches or blueberries from a similar type of family farm in New Jersey in order to fulfill the CSA fruit share without disrupting the delivery schedule. The philosophy is similar - the use of integrated pest management to reduce insecticides and the use of compost/mulch to reduce use of chemical fertilizer.