Arlington Gardens

This year we are offering 2 organic basket options and 10 drop-off locations

‘Regular Season’ Neighbourhood and Employee Baskets
A 21-week programme from mid-June to early November

Atwater & Jean-Talon ‘Farmstand Season’ Baskets
A shorter 18-week programme to coincide with our farmstand season,
from July through October

2020 will be our 11th season growing organic food for our customers and providing CSA baskets to our members. Our baskets are delivered at different drop-off locations in Montreal and at the farm. In addition to our neighbourhood and employee basket drop-off locations, you may also register for our CSA baskets at Atwater and Jean-Talon markets, where we operate seasonal farmstands from July through October.

CSA Baskets

Please see pricing for our CSA baskets below.

2020 PRICES

* SMALL: for 1 – 2 person(s)
** LARGE: for 3+ people

¹  There are 2 basic options for the 2020 season

• The Regular – our classic formula – 21 weekly baskets from the 3rd week of June to the first week of November
• The Farmstand* – a shorter offering to match our farmstand season  (18 weeks, at our Atwater Market & Jean-Talon market locations) from July through October

² For development and awareness-raising activities – fees which we remit to the Réseau des fermiers de famille (RFF), a non-profit organisation founded by Équiterre more than 20 years ago which is now part of the Coopérative pour une agriculture de proximité et écologique (CAPÉ), an organic farmers’ coop of which we are a member.

³ Payable in a single amount or in 3 equal installments

Online Farm Store

The basket sign-up process is via our online ordering system. Once the season begins, you will also be invited to place online orders for produce (like garlic and tomatoes) in greater quantities through our online store, subject to availability.

HOW TO PAY

Once you sign up online, our farm store provides 3 payment options for our baskets – via Online Banking, by Interac e-Transfer and by cheque¹. For your CSA Basket Sign-Up, we encourage you to pay using Online Banking or Interac e-Transfer – although you may still pay us by cheque if you prefer. In either case, you may pay in full or in three installments².  Later in the season, we will take farm store orders for veggie extras online,  with PAYMENT ON DELIVERY ONLY.

Online Payment

Arlington Gardens is a Registered Payee³ (or Beneficiary — the term varies) with the following banks:

If you have already registered but have yet to complete your online payment (i.e. your order is being kept “on hold”), click on the appropriate logo to complete your payment now.

Interac e-Transfer

Most Canadian financial institutions now offer Interac e-Transfers as a small business online banking payment option (click here for an up-to-date list of all financial institutions offering Interac e-Transfers). If you are familiar with this service and wish to use it to pay us, please do so. Your order will be kept “on hold” until we receive your payment.

Payment by cheque

If you decide to forego the electronic options above (or if you would rather pay by cheque), you can still send your cheque(s) to Arlington Gardens at the following address:

39 Chemin North
Stanbridge East, Québec
J0J 2H0

¹ Whether you pay electronically or by cheque, please note your Customer ID when you place your order (it appears on the confirmation of your order) – this ensures we can trace your payment back to you; we cannot process payments without it. Your Customer ID is the alphanumeric identifier based on the first three letters of your last name, the first letter of your first name and the four last digits of the primary phone number, all as provided by you when you register.

² Please make your first payment, in full or in part, upon registration, followed, if applicable, by a second payment by no later than May 1st and a final payment by no later than June 1st. If you choose to pay by cheque, please include your Customer ID on your cheque(s). If you pay in installments by cheque, please include all your post-dated cheques in the same mailing. Conveniently, your Online Banking installments may be pre-programmed for the due dates up front (see below)); the same can be done with Interac e-Transfers. 

³ As a ‘Registered Payee’ with the aforementioned banks, we are listed as ‘Les Jardins d’Arlington’ in French, and ‘Arlington Gardens’ in English. If your bank is on our list, clicking on its logo will take you to their online banking website where you can log in, select us from their list of Payees and pay your registration fee in full or in three (3) equal installments on or before the scheduled due dates. To process payment for your CSA basket, all 3 banks will require you to input your Customer ID.  

IMPORTANT NOTES

• As a participant in Arlington Gardens’ organic basket program, you are signing up for the duration of your seasonal membership. Collecting your share is your contractual engagement.  If you forget your share or cannot make it to the drop-off location, please try to make arrangements with a friend, family member or work colleague to pick it up on your behalf.
• You agree to pre-pay your membership, whether in full or in installments.
• You understand that disease, pests and inclement weather are risks inherent to agriculture which can affect harvests. Via your seasonal membership, you are accepting to share this risk.
• For scheduled holidays, you may arrange to either (i) have someone else take your share while you are gone or (ii) double up your shares before you leave or after you return to make up missed baskets.  Missed baskets must be recouped within the time frame of the program for which you registered, i.e. regular, extended or farmstand. Please let us know by e-mail which option you intend to exercise BEFORE you leave.  We do not refund vacation shares.
• You understand that the Réseau des fermiers de famille will not be held responsible for any portion of the contract between us.
• If you authorize us to share your contact info with the Réseau des fermiers de famille (RFF) and/or Équiterre when you register, such information will be used only in the context of related activities and other general projects. Neither the RFF nor Équiterre are authorised to share your information with third parties without your consent.

NOTE:
* ‘Regular Season’ – 21 wks
† ‘Farmstand Season’ – 18 wks

Neighbourhood Baskets

Employee Baskets

Market Baskets

During the outdoor season we are at Atwater & Jean-Talon markets from Friday to Sunday. Farmstand baskets can be picked up 9 to 6 on Fridays, 9 to 5 on Saturdays & Sundays, from July 3-4-5 to October 30-31 & November 1

At the Farm

What does CSA mean?
What’s in a basket?
Do you offer winter shares?
Are your vegetables sorted and washed?
Does a weekly share include everything available that week?
Do you allow “trades”?
What about vacations?
May we visit the farm?
What farm events, if any, do you have planned for partners?

What does CSA mean?

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), often referred to simply as “organic food baskets,” is a concept which links consumers to local organic farms. With Community Supported Agriculture, you become a farm member for the season by pre-purchasing a share of the season’s harvest. Participating vegetable farms deliver baskets of fresh produce to a drop-off point in your neighbourhood or at your workplace each week. CSA projects have an important social dimension, since they allow you to get to know your family farmer by lending a hand on the farm or just dropping by for a visit.

CSA provides a real boost to small-scale farming in Quebec. By purchasing a share of the farm’s harvest at the beginning of the season, you allow us to plan our season with a measure of financial security; in return, you get to enjoy our delicious, fresh, nutritious produce throughout the season. CSA also ensures that we receive the full price paid for our produce, further encouraging sound, sustainable farming practices.

CSA encourages local organic food production which promotes, among other things, human health and environmental protection. By participating in CSA, you can eat organic food at an affordable price. (FAQs)

What’s in a basket?

We produce more than 60 kinds of vegetables of different varieties, as well as berries (blueberries and black currants), ground cherries and watermelons. The content of our baskets, or shares, varies from week to week.  We fill them with seasonal produce.  At the beginning of the season, this means a lot of leafy greens (spinach, lettuce, etc.). Later in the season, our baskets include summer classics like tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant.  We close out the season with fall root vegetables (see below for sample seasonal basket contents). Usually, vegetable quantities amount to the equivalent of 1 to 2 grocery bags per week. We provide weekly information on basket contents by e-mail and under Weekly Updates. (FAQs)

Do you offer winter shares?

We do not currently offer winter shares. We offer baskets for 21 weeks, to early November. (FAQs)

Are your vegetables sorted and washed?

Yes, as required. We prefer to keep our dirt in our fields and out of your kitchen. We strive to offer you top-quality produce. Each week, crops are selected for peak readiness, hand-harvested, and sorted for size and quality. We do not include damaged or un-fresh veggies. Salad and cooking greens, like lettuce and spinach, are usually rinsed and bagged. Root crops – carrots, beets, potatoes, etc – are rinsed and bunched.  It is generally not necessary to wash vegetables such as tomatoes, zucchinis or melons. (FAQs)

Does a weekly share include everything available that week?

Not necessarily. We try to keep shares practical and interesting. Some examples of when an available crop may be excluded are summer squash (when several varieties mature at once – we may choose different varieties for different drop-off customers), beets (this is a very prolific crop – but some people tire of them, so we try not to offer them for a month straight), cucumbers and lettuce (two other prolific crops – where we may mix varietals and colours depending on available quantities). All of these are succession-planted throughout the summer. Other items, like beans or melons, are served during a definite window when summer (and their flavours) is at its peak. See our market harvest chart to get a better idea of general availability of our produce throughout the season. (FAQs)

Do you allow “trades”?

We determine share contents every week based on the harvest. The whole concept is to let us “share” the fruit of our labour with you, and to have you discover a broader variety of vegetables than you may otherwise select on your own.  The range of vegetables which can be grown right here in Quebec is surprisingly large.  That being said, if you hate brussels sprouts, we won’t force them on you!  We will always bring extra vegetables to allow you to trade those brussels sprouts for something else.  (FAQs)

What about vacations?

For scheduled holidays, you may arrange to either (i) have someone else take your share while you are gone or (ii) double up your shares upon your return to catch up.  Please let us know which option you prefer BEFORE you leave.  We do not refund vacation shares.  (FAQs)

May we visit the farm?

Visitors are welcome, but we are very much an operating farm. Please let us know beforehand so we can ensure someone is available to greet you.  Driving instructions and suggested cycling circuits are available here. (FAQs)

What farm events, if any, do you have planned for partners?

Weather and workload permitting, we try to celebrate the harvest by organising a méchoui towards the end of the season for our partners. We’ll let you know in due course as the season unfolds. (FAQs)