The show will start on the evening of Tuesday, March 9th, at 6:00 PM in the Central Library of Grand Junction.

After the show there will be a panel discussion, including community members that regularly have direct interaction with the soil. Thomas Cameron will be apart of this panel, holding ground for the organic movement. 

Help us cheer him on!

Ben

Please keep in mind that the work is not limited to grueling labor in the fields. Rather, we will provide many options including paperwork and running farm-related errands,for example. When signing up for a work day, we encourage you to consider tasks you enjoy doing the most, or would like to know more about. We ask that you come with open minds and a willingness to share in the farm experience. If you cannot envision a task most fitting for you please let us know and we will work with you!

How Do I sign Up? 

How to Sign Up:

1. Please view our provided schedule and determine a day and task that would work best for you and your family. These will be updated as opportunities are reserved, so please check the schedules just prior to signing up.

Group work Sessions

Individual work Opportunities

The group sessions have three difficulty levels listed next to the task. These are all relative to the amount of energy farming/gardening requires. A low difficulty task reflects our most relaxing days, in which you may be sitting on your behind for two hours pulling small weeds or planting seeds. A medium task reflects your average feeling upon finishing a gardening session-- a little exahusted but nonetheless mindfully pleased. The high difficulty rating applies to the longer sessions and also those where you may be doing heavy lifting. These will be our hardest days, yet most exhilarating upon finishing the task!! 

2. To reserve a spot please contact us with a date and task from either schedule listed above. If that opportunity is still available you will be added on a first-come, first serve basis.  Please limit your reservation request to the required hours, so that everyone can find their niche. We will call 3 days prior to the work day, or any deadline relevant to your farm-related task as a reminder and to provide more detailed information.

3. If you find that none of the provided work opportunities fit your schedule, please contact us. We would be happy to help you find a way to fulfill your commitment.

Whether or not you enjoy getting your hands dirty; we will be here to encourage you and will feel thankful for the time you give...please feel free to come out and join us anytime. We always love to see our members on the farm, participating in the growth of the investment they have made. It's a great way to get out of your regular routine and meet people with similar interests and beliefs

If there are any questions or concerns regarding this new requirement please feel free to ask. We look forward to seeing all of you on the farm this year!!

We provide four types of main season “garden shares”. To see an example of what a share might look like in August, please click any of the highlighted words.

The NEW Garden Share

The GARDEN BAG share this year will act as an experimental model. This share will allow a member to fill a provided reusable bag with any type of produce they like. The volume of this bag will be similar, if not greater, to which one receives in our standard share. Limitations will exist on certain crops that aren’t in abundance at the time. Since this idea is in its infancy we are only going to make it available to those members that pick up on the farm. Thus if we are short during a pick up, we can always harvest more. Upon signing up for this option please feel inclined to provide feedback. We would also like you to fill out an end of pick-up survey every week to get an idea of what crops are more desirable. This data will aissist in making decisions about the direction of the pickup style we pursue in the future.  

The Ol' Standby's

These include the SMALL GARDEN, STANDARD GARDEN, and LARGE GARDEN options. These memberships are available to be picked up off the farm in Grand Junction or in the Redlands, once a week, for an additional cost. You can also join us at the farm, in Palisade, on Tuesday or Saturday. They vary in size depending on your membership crew. The SMALL GARDEN share will provide the equivalent quantity to what a standard individual might eat in a week. The STANDARD GARDEN share will easily feed a couple or small family of produce lovers. The LARGE GARDEN share is a quantity sufficient to feed a large family of produce lovers or four adults.

New Work Requirement

All garden shares are now required to commit to a WORK INVESTMENT, upon signing up for the season. This commitment requires each adult shareholder to participate in 2 hrs of farm-related work for the entire season. For instance, if your household consists of two adults and has commited to a standard garden share, than we ask you to put forth 4 hours of work for the season. More information on how to sign up can be seen by clicking the highlighted link above. 

How much does each share cost? Click on our logo to find out.

More Produce- Click here to learn about our early season salad share, end of harvest fall share, and “Pick Your Own” opportunities.  

Fruit Shares- Please click here if you are interested receiving fruit during the 18 week growing season.

Flowers- Please click here for availability of flowers during the season.

Enough! Where do I sign up?

Registration Form

Here is an EXCEL version to fill out on your computer and email to us.

Here is a PDF copy you can mail to us if you prefer to print it out, or can’t access that version.

     As a young farmer and engineering graduate I never pictured myself having such a strong desire to write. There is no proof that I exhibit a writing style that is attractive or makes a bit of sense to an outside reader. I actually imagine it's quite horrible for I have never been good at grammar, let alone have any stunning word choices in the spider webs of my creative brain. Yet there is something about writing, and those that have inspired me to consider the hobby, that has stuck in my consciousness. Perhaps it's the thought of having all my thoughts recorded and organized, which is quite nice from an engineer’s perspective. The question is whether I can portray those thoughts in an aesthetic nature. If not, I know at least Mrs. Hobbs would be happy.

Photagraph taken by the lovely Chloe Hollis

     “Gardner Greats” will be my reflections at the end of each month of the good things in life about being a professional gardener. Even though I have only reached the apprenticeship level, I hope that these thoughts would relate to those with shared gardening experiences...

February 2010,

The clock reads close to 6:00 AM. My blanket cocoon is set at a cozy 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  A radio turns on in the distance, around 6:30, attempting to interrupt my hibernation.  This morning “alarm”, however, has become so engrained in my routine that the effectiveness is negligible.  Any sort of shuffling doesn’t usually happen until 6:45, 8:00 at the latest.  My entire being isn’t sparked until realization finally reaches the brain. At that point, determination shoots me out into the unknown possibilities of another day.

This epoch of awakening is apparent in all forms of life, albeit in different durations of time. Perennial plants take this morning routine and apply it on a monthly interval, instead of half-hourly as we do. If you were to imagine yourself in the roots of a perennial plant, alarms would begin to sound come late-February.  These alarms are guised by the timely calls of some new February friends, such as the Mourning Dove or Western Bluebird. Then, upon hearing these bird calls, you would rustle your roots a bit and hit the snooze button for perhaps another month.  How long you actually snooze depends entirely on your individuality and how many cold days have passed since the beginning of dormancy. Some have already begun to yawn, while others refuse to show any sign of getting up yet. This world of perennials is indeed an intriguing one, which I intend on becoming more engaged in. For now, though, my February has been mostly engulfed in the world of annual plants.

Difficulty arises when trying to make this same analogy apply to annual plants because I wish to focus on the emergence from the seed. The annual’s seed, unlike the other examples, is commonly seen as the birth of a new plant, not so much the awakening of pre-existing one.  However, there is something inherently different within the seeds of annuals that can never occur in perennials, or even humans. If the annual reproduces among its own species the seed is not an offspring, but a reincarnation of the parents. Thus, the annual’s seed is a beautiful display of mimicking perennial motifs.  

Seeds of annual plants have overwhelmed my time in February. They are the basis of field design, a common factor in annual budgeting, and mark the beginning of intense observation and care that is retained throughout the season.  As I write, some annuals have finished their morning ritual and are getting prepared for this theological “day”.  Some annuals have begun shuffling in there warm seed coating. Most seeds, however, are still in that deep sleep, awaiting that 6:30 alarm, whatever that may be.  

Until April,

Bean

    Now you may be asking yourself, how is my measly 2 hours of work this season going to improve produce quality? Well, we did some figuring and found that if all 300 adults (from last years season) contributed that amount of help, it would amount to 600 hours. That's almost another intern! With this help, and the success of our group sessions, we can make those longer jobs much more vibrant, uplifting the souls of all who attend. God knows we need some community encouragement when staring down a 500' row of weeds that can only be tended to by hand or hoe. Please put on your farmer hat for a couple hours this season and give someone for our interns to talk to.

    To sign up, just check the Group Session Schedule or the Individual Opportunities Schedule and contact us with the date and task you would like to sign up for. Please be as specific as possible in your choice so we can organize the group days more efficiently. More information can be found on the Volunteering page or by contacting us.  

Thanks!

Ben

P.S. To clear up some of the gardening jargon in these schedules:

-"MSCG" stands for the Main Street Community Garden at 10th and Main St. in Grand Junction.  We plant a portion of this garden as a pick your own section for our members. 

-Succession seeding refers to seeding out crops directly into the field that we plant multiple times during the year, i.e. greens, carrots, beets, turnips, etc. 

I tend to forego the lunches in such educational marathons in order to take a vigorous walk around whatever environments they offer, and I was reminded that so many towns on the western slope have a similar core imprint of late 19th century architecture with a mix of innovation and/or basic survival tactics applied; some more aesthetically appealing than others...

As I found a seat for the afternoon sessions, I wondered how the outside and the inside find compatability;  the theory and the applicability;  the mind and the hands;  the brain and the body...the same old dialectic.  Farming is both in all of its complexities.

Putting this debate aside,  it was nice to know Ben was in the same room sharing the experience--information we may or may not find applicable for The Cameron Place. This was an opportunity to meet others whose friendly faces participate in a common desire to work the land and understand the responsibilities this committment engenders.

Thanks for participating in our farm in whatever way you see fit.

Melanie

I am looking forward to an interview at KAFM radio station at 12:00 today in which we will talk about the farm...and the anticipation of the 2010 season.  I can't tell you how much I long to see seeds sprouting in the greenhouse!

Meg at Inari's Bistro in Palisade is working with us to start up some community-oriented gatherings this season including "Friends and Flowers" as well as community dinners featuring our produce as it comes into season. More information will be available soon--we hope to see Palisade become the cultural hub of the western slope, so please plan on joining us!

Melanie

I'm sitting cozy next to the computer with NPR blasting in my right ear and glaring into the 18 degree morning. Last night, I finished my first article in the Gardener Great series. I did not expect it to be released so late into the month, but editing and rewriting pushed it back. I anticipate the following articles to be released regularly on the first of every month. Please let me know if they are a nuisance or you are actually enjoying them.

You can find my amateur journalism attempts under "More..." and labeled "Gardener Greats". Or click here to be teleported to the first entry.  

Thanks,

Ben Wilke

Assistant Garden Manager

     The benefits of supporting a model like this are endless. Watching your food grow provides a direct representation of your investment. The community begins to thrive as earnings and relationships flow through it and not out of it. Jobs are sustained as the community shares the bounty of the harvest and the burdens of natures unpredictable behavior. Educational outlets are provided for the community by allowing students of all ages to engage in the work themselves. Health concerns are reduced as the farmers agricultural practices reflect that of the community.

     Since this model is so dependent on the ideology of the surrounding community its overall working structure is diverse throughout the world. As we would see a change in biology while passing through different ecosystems, we see a change in models from community to community.

     We’re in the mouth of the Grand Valley, the “fertile crescent” of Colorado. Fresh snow melt from the Rockies bless our valley with cold silty water. When you join Cameron Place CSA you are ingesting the nutrients which flows through the land you perceive every day.

Here is how it works…

Spring Salad Share

This early season salad share offers a range of lettuce and early season produce. The volume is dependent on abundance, but does not exceed that of a standard garden share. The pick up is only offered at the farm on a weekly basis. It will be offered during the three weeks prior to the start of the main season garden shares. Last year our main strawberry crop came along during this time frame and offered a new addition to the share. During the winter of 2009-2010 (the coldest in 30 years of course!) we have attempted in over wintering some cold hardy crops, so there may be new additions this year as well. Click the highlighted title for an example.

Fall Garden Share

This end of harvest share provides a good quantity of storage crops to help get you through the winter. The share starts the second week after the main season garden share ends. The pickup is exclusively on the farm and continues for the next two months on a bi-weekly basis. The volume will be equivalent to that of a standard garden share. Click on the highlighted title for an example of what the share looks like.

 "Pick Your Own" Section

At the farm there are two areas dedicated for our members to pick a limited amount of flowers, herbs, and produce. Please note that sometimes the limit is, “As much as you can eat!!”. This year we will be separating the two sections so that one is exclusively flowers and the other is herbs and produce. Some examples of herbs and produce that can be found in these beds are thyme, oregano, chives, basil, dill, chiles, cherry tomatoes, and more. There will also be times where gleaning is necessary and members are encouraged to go out into the field and pick.

How Much Does it Cost?

Garden Shares- Please click here for information on receiving vegetables throughout the year.

Fruit Shares- Please click here if you are interested receiving fruit during the 18 week growing season.

Flowers- Please click here for availability of flowers during the season.

Enough! Where do I sign up?

Registration Form

Here is an EXCEL version to fill out on your computer and email to us.

Here is a PDF copy you can mail to us if you prefer to print it out, or can’t access that version.