Muir High Farm Offering Produce Service at Open House on Thursday

John Muir High School will be expanding its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program to a second location starting Thursday when it will begin to offer weekly sales at the Pasadena Unified headquarters at 351 S. Hudson Avenue in Pasadena.

The Muir Ranch CSA program allows students to work on growing vegetables and flowers on a 1.5 acres at the Northwest Pasadena school for internship and course credit, according to a PUSD release.

According to the release, the program began in the summer of 2011, when a team of volunteer teachers, students and urban farmers began converting land on the sprawling Muir campus into a working urban farm.  The farm is employing about a dozen students this summer using funds from the subscription program.

The program will be hosting an open house in front of PUSD headquarters this Thursday offering free samples ranging from purple heirloom tomatoes to nectarines and fresh cut flowers.  

Interested parties can sign up for the CSA service from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m . at PUSD headquarters on Thursday and at Muir High School Mondays from 9 a.m. to noon or by emailing johnmuircsa@gmail.com. More information is available on the flyer at right.

Subscriptions are sold on a monthly basis as a full share (enough for 4-6 people) for $100 per month and a half share (enough for up to 3 people) for $60 per month. All boxes contain an assortment of 7-10 vegetable, fruit and herb types. Subscriptions to fresh cut flower shares are also available for $10, $15 and $25 per week, depending on the size of the bouquet.

The Muir Ranch is also a participant in the Altadena Farmers Market - so far, the booth has mostly sold flowers, as well as some vegetables, according to Joseph Shuldiner, the market manager.

For more on the program, check out the ranch's Facebook Page.