Bush N Vine Farm - CSA Programs

I've been becoming more and more interested in finding a CSA program here in Charlotte. So I was so thrilled when Sam Hall from @bushnvine invited me out to tour the farm! 🚜

Before I tell you about Bush-n-Vine, let’s back up.

What is a CSA? 🤔

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs are awesome! Basically, a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" of their farm to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included.

Bush-N-Vine is one of the few CSA-only farms in the Charlotte area.

The Bush-n-Vine Farm has been in the family for over 100 years, and Sam Hall is a fourth generation farmer. (He lets me call him Farmer Sam now.)

They have 175 acres of land, and over 120 different varieties of fruits and vegetables. 🥬

Nearly everything sold in their store/put into their CSA boxes are grown on their farm. (Exceptions being apples from the NC mountains, and sweet potatoes from Orangeburg, SC.) 🧺

While Bush-N-Vine is not USDA certified (I don’t blame them - there’s a ton of red tape in that process, and it can be prohibitive for small farms), Farmer Sam doesn’t use any unnecessary fertilizers or pesticides. He pays meticulous attention to his crops.

And he uses crop rotation to keep his soil as clean and healthy as possible. Crop rotation helps farmers cut down on the use of fertilizers, etc. I love that Farmer Sam only treats his crops with “medicine” if they need it. 🥦

Healthy soil → healthy crops → healthy food! 🥕

I also LOVE Bush-n-Vine's overall commitment to its customers AND employees. Farmer Sam knows the name of every one of his pickers/planters. He appreciates them, and he even highlights each individual employee on their Insta account. Y’all should follow them if you aren’t already! ☑️

Farmer Sam and his team at Bush-n-Vine truly love what they do, and their passion for farming is palpable when you visit the farm.

“Farming isn’t about the money… you’ve got to love it.” - Sam Hall 👨‍🌾

I’m excited to get my first spring CSA box in a couple weeks! You can sign up on their web site.

P.S. If you are in south Charlotte, there are pick up locations in Southpark and Ballantyne.