At PlantAge, it’s not just vegetables that are growing in the fields right now – our offering around our vegetable boxes is growing too. The time has come for a complete update of our website and software!
Over the past few years, we have organized member administration and packing lists across various systems, forms, emails and processes – mainly through gigantic Excel spreadsheets. That worked well when we were getting started, and eventually we simply got used to it. But as our community grows and technology continues to develop, it is becoming increasingly important to keep evolving and rethink existing systems. That is why our vegetable supply is getting a new home.
For more than two years, we have been tinkering, writing and coding behind the scenes. With the support of Antonella Morelli from At Heart Studio, who also created our website and branding back in 2017, we dared to take on this major project.
With our new website, we are introducing a new system that is designed to make many things easier – for you and for us. At the same time, our offering is changing: with the Flexi Harvest, we are introducing a new, particularly flexible way to get started. The CSA Harvest, or our Solawi-Ernte, remains our model for everyone who wants to support PlantAge on a committed and solidarity-based basis for at least one year.
Start flexibly – or become part of the CSA right away
In future, there will be two ways to get started with PlantAge. The 12-week trial period as we have known it will no longer exist in this form for the time being. More on that later.
Flexi Harvest
The Flexi Harvest is our new flexible offering. You can decide how often you would like to receive your box: weekly · every two weeks · monthly
There is no one-year commitment, and you can cancel or easily pause at any time. This means you can get to know PlantAge without any complications: Does the selection suit you? Can you integrate the vegetable box into your everyday life?
The Flexi Harvest is therefore a great way to gain some initial experience with PlantAge – while also being a permanent option for anyone who wants to remain flexible in the long term, for example because they travel a lot or their circumstances can change at any time. With our Flexi Harvest, we are responding to changing needs that we have been observing for several years. Our location near Berlin also plays a special role here. Life in the city is simply faster-paced and often more uncertain. Nevertheless, many people do not want to give up high-quality, regionally produced vegetables grown according to their own values, fairly, collectively and as a cooperative. We hope this will allow us to reach people for whom committing to a full year has not previously been possible, but who nevertheless feel connected to PlantAge and value our work.
CSA HARVEST
Our Solawi-Ernte, on the other hand, remains the classic PlantAge model, based on the principles of Community Supported Agriculture. You commit to one year of membership and receive your box every week. Four Joker weeks are already included in your contribution. They are intended for times when you do not need your delivery, for example while you are on holiday.
The Solawi-Ernte is cheaper than the Flexi Harvest. But above all, it is more than a lower-priced delivery model. Let us tell you what lies behind it.
→ You create planning security
Farming requires planning. We have to decide well in advance which crops to grow, how much seed we need, how to use our fields and how to allocate our working time. A one-year membership provides an important foundation for this.
→ You share the risk
Farming cannot be planned completely. Drought, heavy rain, diseases or pests can affect what grows in our fields. In Community Supported Agriculture, we share this risk together. You are not simply buying a fixed quantity of vegetables. You are participating in a farming season and sharing with us what it produces – in good years as well as difficult ones.
→ You become part of our community
For us, CSA also means that farming does not happen somewhere in the background.
As a member, you can get to know PlantAge more closely, take part in events and activities, and engage with our farming and the issues surrounding it. CSA members also receive discounts on certain events and offers. And anyone who would like to contribute beyond that can become an even more active part of our community.
That is exactly what we see as the difference between a vegetable subscription and Community Supported Agriculture.
A vegetable box can mean many things today: vegetables from different sources, pre-assembled produce or simply a delivery service. At PlantAge, by contrast, the vegetables come from our own farm.
We plan the cultivation, order seeds, sow and plant, care for our crops and harvest the vegetables ourselves. We decide together what grows in our fields and how we farm. That is an important part of what makes PlantAge what it is.
When you receive a box from us, you are not simply receiving an assortment of vegetables put together from elsewhere. You are receiving a share of what has grown in our fields and what our farm produces this season.
What happens to the previous half-share?
The previous model with a delivery every two weeks and a fixed one-year commitment will no longer be available in the future. However, nothing will initially change for anyone who already has a half-share.
If you only want a delivery every two weeks or once a month, you can use the Flexi Harvest for this. The Solawi-Ernte remains the binding annual model with weekly delivery and the Joker weeks already included.
This makes the distinction between the two offers simpler:
→ Flexi Harvest: flexible, no annual commitment, delivery weekly, every two weeks or monthly.
→ Solawi-Ernte: one-year commitment, weekly delivery, lower price and participation in a collectively supported farming system.
More than vegetables: everything in one place
The new website is not only intended to make the two models easier to understand. Gradually, our other offerings will also be integrated here. These include, for example, fruit and other additional products that you will be able to select and manage directly through the website.
You will also get your own personal login area. There, you can view and change your personal data yourself and find important information about your membership more quickly. For example, you will be able to check more easily:
- Am I receiving a delivery this week?
- Where do I pick up my box?
- Which products have I ordered?
- Which data do you have on file for me?
- Which additional offers can I use?
Many things that currently require an email or a form should become possible directly and easily through the new system. For you, this means more overview and more independence – and for us, in the long term, less administrative work, fewer sources of error and greater security for your data.
Stay informed – without information overload
Our communication will also continue to evolve. New members will automatically receive the most important information when they join – for example about pick-up, Jokers, events and the basic ideas behind PlantAge. The information will arrive step by step and at the right time, rather than everything at once in one long welcome email.
Our Gemüsebrief will also move to a new format and make greater use of email. After more than seven years, it is time for a modern update here too. This will allow us to continue informing you regularly about the current vegetables, the season and news from PlantAge, while also including many more photos.
And what does this mean for existing members?
First of all: nothing. We will not switch everyone to the new platform immediately. Over the coming weeks, we will first test the new system thoroughly and get used to our new processes. We want to be confident working with it ourselves before moving existing members over. Only then will we approach you step by step and explain what you specifically need to do. Until then, your existing membership will continue as normal.
A new system – with the same goal
Ultimately, all these changes are driven by a simple wish: We want to make it easier for you to be part of PlantAge.
The Flexi Harvest makes getting started easier and gives you the freedom to decide how flexible you want to remain. The Solawi-Ernte offers those who want to build a longer-term connection a lower price, planning security and the opportunity to genuinely support our farming in solidarity.
And the new system behind the scenes helps us organize our growing community more reliably. Less paperwork. Fewer errors. Fewer questions. And more time for what PlantAge is really about: good farming, good vegetables and a community that makes it possible together.
👉 Join our community!
Give it a try! Ever though about supporting your local farmers and not compromising on freshness, quality and values? We look forward to welcoming you into our CSA!
