We are excited to announce our 2022 CSA!

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and is one of the best ways to support Common Roots Farm and enjoy seasonal, local food. A CSA is a reciprocal partnership between a local farm and its community. At Common Roots Farm, CSA members become active participants in our local food system by investing in a “share,” while providing opportunities for farmers living with developmental disabilities to grow their skills, too.

Our 2022 CSA season goes from May 24th to October 22nd during which customers receive a weekly share of fresh veggies and fruit as well as a seasonal flower share. CSA pick-ups will be on Tuesdays in Mountain View and Fridays and Saturdays in Santa Cruz.

We grow over 25 varieties of vegetables and 30 varieties of flowers. We are particularly excited about our strawberries, raspberries, sweet peppers, slicer tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, zucchini, beans, peas, lettuce, delicata squash, herbs, and some other surprises. Being a CSA customer is a meaningful way to support this local farm and our ecological growing practices, while eating seasonally.

We will be including a selection of seasonal flowers every week. We feel passionately about local, organic flowers for their beauty and contribution to biodiversity on the farm. Local, organically-grown flowers are still a very small part of the overall flower market in the US, and we hope to provide our customers with the freshest blooms possible while following the best agricultural practices for the environment.

Our weekly CSA newsletter is filled with photos from the farm, interviews with our farmers, recipes, and cooking tips for your produce. During the season, we will host a customer-only farm tour with a chance to meet your farmers and sample some of our value-added products.

This season should be our best yet, so don’t miss out!

It‘s “shear” fun on the Farm

Early spring has arrived and with it, time for sheep shearing!

We had a milestone moment on the farm last month when our three lambs were sheared for the very first time. We drew some onlookers from among farm volunteers, residents and staff from Coastal Haven, and our neighbors, as Matthew, our sheep shearer from Mendocino Wool & Fiber Inc., came to share his craft.

Matthew was quick and efficient, skillfully bringing each sheep to the plywood sheet where he turns them onto their backs to begin the process. In minutes, each fleece is removed in a single piece, to be laid out for examination and then cleaning.

Our onlookers applauded for each sheep as s/he finished up and bounded off for some much needed nourishment. Sheep must be off food for 12 hours prior to being sheared, so they were all good and hungry by the time they were done. Yes, for those who are wondering, we did give in and offer some extra sheep treats when it was all over!

Next up? Learning how to wash and process the wool for future fiber crafts!

Plant sale May 7th: Save the date!

Nourish your inner gardener by shopping Common Roots Farm’s spring plant sale. Save Saturday, May 7th, to pick up your strawberry and raspberry plants, perennial and annual flowers, and assorted veggie starts, including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, summer squash, and much more!

All moms will receive a Mother’s Day gift to take home!

By supporting our plant sale, you are supporting young adults like Juan, who are busy propagating plants right now to supply you with healthy starts for your home garden.

Here at Common Roots, farmers of all abilities are learning to grow both perennial flowers and annual vegetables and flowers, many of which will be filling our row crops this spring for another productive season.

Treat mom to an outing and stroll our farm 10 see our new accessible path, raised bed garden, and emerging orchard, all new since last spring.

We hope to see you at the farm, 301 Golf Club Drive, Santa Cruz, on Saturday, May 7th, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.