CSA: Gardens on Glen, LLC

This product is only available for individuals and family within regular driving distance of Council Bluffs, Iowa.

What is a Crop Share Plan?

A Crop Share Plan is a food production and distribution system that directly connects farmers and consumers. In short: people like you buy "shares" of our urban farm's harvest in advance and then receive a portion of our crops, as we harvest them, during the six month long program. In 2023, we harvested OVER 2,100 pounds from nearly 50 different crops in our 2,000 sqft of garden space! We have effectively doubled our planting area, so this season we want to harvest closer to 4,000 pounds or more!

We raise a variety of fruits and vegetables on our urban farm, Gardens on Glen (Avenue) in the middle of Council Bluffs, Iowa and ALL of our produce is grown using organic and sustainable methods, focusing on healthy soil conditioning, with the health and well-being of our family, your family, and our Earth in our heart and mind all year long.

How does a Crop Share Plan work?

Step 1) Buy your share, while available! While this is our most popular product, due to our predicted crop yields and previous experience we're offering 24 Crop Shares to the public and saving one special Crop Share to donate to the local food bank. Shares go fast. Reserve yours today! (A limited number of shares are available for our Special 5-Month Payment Plan option. See below for details!)

Step 2) Read our pre-season newsletters to learn and get familiar with our procedures and each weekly newsletter, once harvest begins, for recipes and the predicted harvests of each week.

Step 3) Pick up your weekly “share” of the in-season harvested crops during the program length at Gardens on Glen's home location, starting on May 6, 2026. As needed, we can work out a time that works for both of us on another day. You'll also sign in your empty Crop Share Bag and sign out your full Crop Share Bag each week.

Step 4) Repeat Steps 2 & 3 through the end of the Crop Share on October 14, 2026.

Step 5) Sign up for Crop Share Plan 2027!

What grows at Gardens on Glen?

We grow: Acorn Squash, Asparagus, Arugula, Beets, Berries (Aronia, Cranberries, Elderberries, Goji Berries, Raspberries), Broccoli, Butternut Squash, Cabbage, Carrots, Cucumbers (Pickling and Salad/Slicing), Edamame, Garlic, Grapes, Green Beans, Green Onions, Leafy Greens, Herbs (Basil, Chives, Dill, Lemon Balm, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Peppermint, Rosemary, Thyme & More!), Peas, Popcorn, Potatoes, Spaghetti Squash, Spinach, Sugar Pie Pumpkins, Summer Squash, Sunflowers, Sweet and Spicy Peppers, Sweet Corn, Tree Fruits (Apples, Cherries, Pears, & Plums), Tomatoes, Wildflowers, Mushrooms, Watermelon, Zucchini, & More!

What are you buying?

A weekly “share” of our harvests, including: various fresh picked fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Also included in some, but not all (as seasonally available), of your weekly pickups: fresh picked wild flowers, products that we've preserved in-house (like delicious jams, jellies and out-of-season produce), eggs and chicken meat (from the chickens that we raise on-property) throughout the season. We include a copy of a couple of our most popular cookbooks FOR FREE! We use some of your investment to support other local, responsible growers and include some of their produce in our crop shares, when we can. 2 NEW FEATURES THIS YEAR: #1 With the purchase of a share at full price, you'll receive weekly complimentary Gardens on Glen credit vouchers worth up to $60! (Conditions and restrictions may apply. See below for details.) This is a special Thank You for being part of our Crop Share Family this season. #2 We're in our 2nd year of honey production, so we'll be able to harvest and share our very own amazing Iowa Honey! 

What does a “share” of our Crop Share Plan cost?

For 24 weeks (6 months!), from the first Wednesday in May (May 6, 2025) through the 2nd Wednesday in October (October 14, 2026), you receive a large share of the freshest fruits, vegetables and herbs that we have available every week. But wait, there’s more! To help us round out your weekly shares we include some goodies, that we make here. Goodies like: Homemade Sweet Breads, Canned Goods and Preserves, All-Natural Handmade Soaps, and even Wine! At the end of the season, you also get to keep the pair of heavy duty, reusable bags that hold your weekly shares to take home forever and always! $599 for about 230 pounds of farm to table produce and farm-made goods works out to about $2.60 per pound! Significantly less than the national average cost of a pound of organically raised produce (around $3.25/pound). Even less when you redeem your Crop Share Vouchers!

*Special 5-Month Payment Plan details: The first payment is $199, due upon ordering a 2026 Crop Share. There are 4 more payments, of $110 each, due on the first of every month. The additional $10 per month accounts for the additional payment processing fees incurred by Gardens on Glen for offering this payment type. We will send out invoices via email and/or text about a week in advance of each due date as a friendly reminder. The total balance of $639 must be paid on or before April 26th in order to begin receiving Crop Share disbursements. A payment not made before the morning of the 5th of the month will result in cancellation of the Share and forfeiture of any payments to that point. No refunds will be given on Crop Shares at any point.

Here’s what may be included in your weekly shares of Gardens on Glen produce:

May - June: Arugula, Asparagus, Carrots, Cherries, Green Onions, Herbs, Lettuce, Peas, Radishes, Spinach, Canned Jams, and Sweet Bread.

June - July: Beets, Cabbage, Carrots, Herbs, Leaf Lettuce, Peas, Raspberries, Peppers, Early Potatoes, Spinach, Summer Squash and Watermelon.

July - August: Arugula, Cabbage, Cucumbers, Green Beans, Garlic, Grapes, Herbs, Leaf Lettuce, Mushrooms, Peas, Pears, Peppers, Popcorn, Mid-Season Potatoes, Summer Squash, Sweet Corn, and Tomatoes.

August - October: Apple Butter, Apple Cider, Apples, Canned/Dry Beans, Green Beans, Beets, Canned Goodies, Carrots, Sweet Corn, Garlic, Peppers, Plums, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Pumpkin Pie Filling/Pumpkin Puree, Tomatoes, Winter Squash, Watermelon.

We like to share out our Farm Fresh Eggs on either end of the season with more eggs available for purchase on pick-up days. Fresh Frozen Chicken that we raised organically are included up to twice per season. We even include one of our very own Self-Published Cookbooks with your Share!

Sounds great! But what’s the catch?

1) We only have 24 shares available to the public. Get yours while they last!

2) We plant, grow, harvest, package and make your shares ready for pick up every week. You are responsible for making sure to read the newsletters weekly, picking up your crop shares while exchanging your empty Crop Share Bag with a full one, maintaining the cleanliness of your Crop Share Bags, washing and eating Crop Shares.

3) We aim to give you just enough to use in a week but sometimes we may give you more than that. Feel free to share your extras with friends and family. You can even preserve it for use later in the off-season! We provide easy-to-follow instructions for, primarily, dehydrating using a method that doesn't require any additional or specialized equipment beyond a standard oven.

4) Like our kids learned in preschool, “you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit,” meaning, certain produce only grows during certain times during the growing season and not year round. Sometimes, some crops fail to produce at all. Early hail storms, flooding, harmful insects, drought, and late/early frosts all can damage our harvest potential. We plan that some of our produce won’t make it to harvest, we do what we can and expect to have a great harvest every season due to our efforts.

5) Once we begin share disbursements in May, your share has been customized to you and you're fully entitled to keep all the products you've received, therefore refunds are not permissible after the first Share pick-up date. If extenuating circumstances require you to drop out of the program early, and we hope they don't, you agree to forfeit any remaining shares. Before we begin share disbursements in May, refunds under extenuating circumstances, are limited to 30% of the total paid price.

6) Every other week (starting on Week 1) you pick up your Crop Share on time, there will be a $5 credit voucher in the Crop Share bag. You can spend these credits that day, or accumulate them up to $60 worth of credits, on most of our other products. Restrictions apply, limits per customer and limits based on product availability. Credits can be used until the end of Crop Share Plan 2026, on Wednesday, October 14, 2025.