One of our favorite features of our CSA is that it's customizable. We get it: there are just certain vegetables that you just don't like no matter how many times you try them and how many different ways you prepare them. For farmer Dan that vegetable is radish. It's just not my thing. That's why we have always offered share customization for our CSA members. Harvie makes it easy for both you and us to offer share customization. Here's how it works:
1. Farmer Dan estimates what will be ready. I use historical data plus my observation and experience to make an educated guess at how many bunches/bags/etc of each item we'll have ready. I usually do a field walk over the weekend to make a final determination but usually I know about a week ahead of time.
2. Farmer Dan creates the order list in Harvie and sends it to you. The result of this is the "it's time to customize your share email. My plan for this season is to send this either Monday evening or first thing Tuesday morning with the customization period ending on Tuesdays at 11pm. This would give all CSA members essentially a full day to make changes or adjustments to shares.
3. You customize your share (or not). Once you receive your customization email you can log into Harvie and make changes to your share as you see fit. You can also add extras such as dried culinary herbs from Under the Sun Herbs or Pastured Mangalitza Pork from Blue Dirt Farm.
4. Harvest begins. Once the customization time closes we then know exactly how many of each item we need to harvest. Harvie has this handy feature that automatically prints out a "pick list" for us. Harvest happens on the Wednesday before you pick up your share.
5. We pack your shares. On Thursday morning it's "all hands on deck" as we pack your shares. Harvie prints out a label for each share. We have a streamlined system to pack shares and have a system setup to minimize errors.
6. We bring your shares to your pickup location.
7. You enjoy your fresh, local, healthy vegetables!
