CSA:
Frequently Asked Questions

CSA: Frequently Asked Questions

OUR SECOND ANNUAL CSA SEASON BEGINS NOVEMBER 14th, 2021. SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH OUR CSA.

OUR THIRD ANNUAL CSA SEASON IS NOW OPEN FOR REGISTRATION, REGISTER HERE

WHAT IS A CSA?

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. By joining our CSA program, you are actively connecting to the land in which your food is grown, supporting the healing and regenerative practices of our sustainable, integrated farm, and enjoying a share of the farm's rich harvest each week throughout the season.

WHERE ARE YOUR FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND HERBS GROWN AND SOURCED?

Our diversity focused, regenerative organic planting schedule allows us to grow a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, microgreens, herbs, and edible flowers across our 17 acres here at Paradise Farms. In addition, we occasionally partner with Local, Certified Organic Farms large and small to bring you an even wider array of the best produce South Florida has to offer. We’ll notify you in our weekly email when we bring an item in and what farm it’s coming from.
Past partners include Empower Farms, Health and Happiness, and Alderman Farms.

IS PARADISE FARMS ORGANIC?

Yes! Our farm is USDA Certified Organic and Regenerative Organic Alliance Certified Regenerative. We've been a pioneer in the Organic farm-to-table movement since 1999 and have spent the intervening decades honing our farming practices and principles to bring the most diverse, vibrant, and healthy food to chef + market.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT IN MY BOX?

We pride ourselves on offering an astounding array of beautiful, sustainably grown, seasonal USDA Certified Organic produce. Each box boasts 6-15 different offerings. Pending peak ripeness, this will look like: multiple types of tropical fruits, vegetables, greens, and herbs, select roots and alliums, and some special farm delights such as edible flowers, mushrooms or microgreens. You will also be receiving a weekly email with box contents, holistic benefit notes of one of the items in your box, as well as an exclusively tailored recipe from our all-star chefs at Plant Miami.

CAN I CHOOSE WHAT'S IN MY BOX?

The contents of each box are dictated by peak ripeness and seasonality and, unfortunately, we cannot offer changes or substitutions. As the harvest allows, we may be able to include additional treats or add-on options from week to week. We keep members in the loop on that (and any other updates!) with our weekly Harvest Letter email.

WAIT...I DIDN'T GET SOMETHING YOU SAID WOULD BE IN MY BOX?

One of the benefits of participating in our CSA is the experience of eating hyper-locally and in tune with the rhythms of the seasons—we time our harvests in sequence and pick our produce when it is at its most rich and nourishing. It also means experiencing the risks inherent in farming: bloom delays from surprising low temps, shortened harvest times from unexpected rain or pests! While we do plant extra crops in anticipation of our yield for our CSA Members, there always exists a possibility that we may lose a particular crop(s) due to a weather event or unexpected pests. This is a risk all farmers and CSA Members understand. Uncertainties are a given in the life of a farmer and never more so than in these wild times of climate change. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES A BOX FEED?

This definitely depends on your household's fondness for vegetables, but our bountiful boxes should serve a small family (3-4 people) for the week if signing for the full-share membership. If signing for a half-share membership, the box should serve 1-2 people. The CSA share is not meant to entirely replace your weekly grocery shopping as our box does not contain any grains, nuts, seeds, oils etc. This program is curated for people craving a culinary experience of exploration and connection with their local farm.

DO I NEED TO WASH MY PRODUCE?

All of our produce is lovingly hand-picked and minimally processed—straight from the soil. We therefore recommend washing your produce before preparing it.

WHERE DO I PICK UP MY CSA?

Friday's from 12pm-5pm: Paradise Farms (map)
Saturday's from 9am-2pm: Local Farmers Market (map)
Sunday's from 9am-2pm: Our sister location, The Sacred Space Miami (map)

WHAT IF I MISS A PICK-UP?

If you can't pick-up your CSA, please arrange for someone else to pick it up for you. Unfortunately, we cannot make up missed weeks or accommodate additional contactless pickups safely outside of our set pick-up time. If you happened to miss a week, don't fret! Any unclaimed shares or unsold produce are donated to Feeding South Florida’s Bridge to Hope food bank, Buddy System Miami’s food access program, or the Met International School Miami’s garden-to-table curriculum and organic lunch program.

CAN I VISIT THE FARM? 

There is nothing we love more than fostering connectivity between humans and the rich earth in which their food is grown. We are currently not hosting any tours, but please join our newsletter to be the first one to learn when we are ready to received you again.

WHAT IS A CSA?

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. By joining our CSA program, you are actively connecting to the land in which your food is grown, supporting the healing and regenerative practices of our sustainable, integrated farm, and enjoying a share of the farm's rich harvest each week throughout the season.

WHERE ARE YOUR FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND HERBS GROWN AND SOURCED?

Unlike many CSAs, our integrated organic and regenerative planting schedule gives us the opportunity to grow and source ALL of our fruits, vegetables, and herbs on-site at Paradise Farms. Even our rarest tropical varieties—which are almost always imported elsewhere—are grown, by us, locally right here in Miami.

IS PARADISE FARMS ORGANIC?

Short answer: Yes. We've been a pioneer in the Organic farm-to-table movement since 1999 and have spent the intervening decades honing our farming practices and principles to bring the most diverse, vibrant, and healthy food to chef + market. With the exception of our Carambola trees (which are sustainably managed but not officially certified), everything on our farm is both USDA Certified Organic and regeneratively grown.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT IN MY BOX?

We pride ourselves on offering an astounding array of beautiful, nutrient-dense organic produce. Each box boasts ~6-10 different offerings. Pending peak ripeness, this can look like: multiple types of fruits, vegetables, greens, and herbs, select roots and alliums, and some special farm delights (think: holy basil, mushrooms, or cotton candy fruit) alongside cultivar notes with relevant holistic medicinal benefits and custom tailored recipes crafted in partnership with the all-star Chefs at Plant Miami.

CAN I CHOOSE WHAT'S IN MY BOX?

The contents of each box is dictated by peak ripeness and seasonality and, unfortunately, we cannot offer changes or substitutions. As the harvest allows, we may be able to include additional treats or add-on options from week to week. We keep members in the loop on that (and any other updates!) with our weekly Harvest Letter.

WAIT...I DIDN'T GET SOMETHING AT YOU SAID WOULD BE IN MY BOX?

One of the benefits of participating in our CSA is the experience of eating hyper-locally and in tune with rhythms of the seasons—we time our harvests in sequence and pick our produce when it is at its most rich and nourishing. It also means experiencing the risks inherent in farming: bloom delays from surprising low temps, shortened harvest times from unexpected rain...pests! Uncertainties are a given in the life of a farmer and never more so than in these wild times of climate change. We so appreciate your patience and understanding.

HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES A BOX FEED?

This definitely depends on your household's fondness for vegetables, but our bountiful boxes should serve a small family (3-4 people).

DO I NEED TO WASH MY PRODUCE?

All of our produce is lovingly hand picked and minimally processed—straight from the soil. We therefore recommend washing your produce before preparing it.

WHERE DO I PICK UP MY CSA?

We will be offering contactless pick-up at our sister location: The Sacred Space Miami. More pickup details to follow as the season approaches!

WHAT IF I MISS A PICK-UP?

If you can't pick-up your CSA, please arrange for someone else to pick it up for you. Unfortunately we cannot make up missed weeks or accommodate additional contactless pickups safely outside of our set pick-up windows. If you happened to miss a week, don't fret! Any unclaimed shares are donated to the Met International School Miami’s garden-to-table curriculum and organic lunch program.

CAN I VISIT THE FARM?

There is nothing we love more than fostering connectivity between humans and the rich earth in which their food is grown. Unfortunately, due to our conscientious COVID-19 protocols, at this moment the farm is not accepting drop-in visitors.
OUR THIRD ANNUAL CSA SEASON WILL BE AVAILABLE SOON.
OUR SECOND ANNUAL CSA SEASON BEGINS NOVEMBER 14th, 2021. SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH OUR CSA.