CSA / Community Supported Agriculture

[Janey]

Didn't want to hijack the Kitchen Tools thread... ;) but Juliebug's post about her salad spinner inspired me to start this one. Here's a place to talk about your CSA. Info on CSA's can be found, amongst other places, at the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/csa/).

For those of you who already do the CSA thing -

What sort of CSA do you belong to?
Do you like it?
How has it helped you?
What are the drawbacks?


I did Pioneer Organics (http://www.pioneerorganics.com/(hvcfsmyb1ikcog45jhxjhh45)/Default.aspx) for a while (not really a CSA, but close), back when I was a single gal livin' in the city. Once B came along, he ate so much fruits-n-veggies, that Pioneer Organics didn't really make sense for us any more. I've been thinking about signing up with a CSA once we're married. I'd love to hear others' experiences with them.

[Jazz]

I joined one for the first time this year, and just got my first batch on Monday! (I have a post about it in my LJ, I was so excited!) Here's a photo of this week's goodies:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a284/jazzier/CSA/csa_week1.jpg

Okay, it's only been one week, but I'm loving it so far. The pickup location is about two minutes from my office (part of the reason I picked this one), and the pickup is on Monday. The Monday pickup works nicely to give us veggies for the week, and I'll probably continue to visit a farmer's market on Saturdays, since I do my "big" & fun cooking on the weekends.

For your specific questions:
What sort of CSA do you belong to?
It's a fifteen week organic CSA, pickup on Mondays (or Saturdays at the local farmer's market). It was $175, so $15/week.

Do you like it?
Love it! I especially love that it's a way to help support local farmers who may not be able to afford to farm otherwise. (I got really interested in CSAs after reading Fast Food Nation and some other related info a few years ago, and finally took the plunge this year.) I also like that I'm eating foods that are organically grown, and that have been picked within a day or so.

How has it helped you?
Having veggies in the house means we'll eat them! Also, I think we'll ultimately save money. If you look at this weeks supply, it's probably not quite $15 worth, but it's the first week. The list of things we can expect in August is huge! I suspect it will all balance out in the end (and I'm probably not quite calibrated to organic food prices).

What are the drawbacks?
None yet. I've read that people sometimes don't know what to do with new veggies, but I like trying new things, so that doesn't bother me. The other one might be that we go through the week's supply in far less than a week -- and while you can sign up for two shares, you don't want stuff to go bad either.

The other potential drawback, of course, is that if it's a crappy farming year (drought, flood, plague of locusts ...), you don't get your money back. That's the S in CSA (community supported agriculture). You buy in, and get your percentage back, whether it's a great year or a bad year. But, for us, $175 was an okay amount to spend and risk not getting our moneys worth, and for me, if that means one farmer could continue on if it were a bad farming year, that's worth it.

I'd be happy to answer other questions if I can, and if I remember, I'll stop by with photos in future weeks, but feel free to pm me or drop by my LJ (link in sig -- shameless plug) if I forget. :)

[Juniper]

I have been meaning to look and see if we have one in our area. I think that is so awesome. We don't have alot of farmland out here, just cattle ranches, so I may be out of luck. Thanks for the link!

[houseblend]

I wish they had that where I live. Out of luck, though.

[Marilyn]

They have one near me (Rochester Hills, MI) but it is $600 for the year and they are already booked up for 2005. You can knock it down to $450 if you get a working share. I would love to do it but the price is too high for me.

[Jazz]

... it is $600 for the year ...
Wowzers! Do you know how many weeks that covers? That's a lot of money up front!!

[Marilyn]

Wowzers! Do you know how many weeks that covers? That's a lot of money up front!!

It covers 22 weeks. They also have classes and special events.

The website is www.jupazza.com if you would like to check it out.

[juliebug]

Yowzers, my wee little post inspired a thread? I'm honored and excited to join in the conversation ;)

What sort of CSA do you belong to?
Our CSA is through the Waltham Fields community farm (http://www.communityfarms.org/csa.htm). I found out about it last year, although the shares were already sold out. I temporarily forgot about it again until my friend Kerri (WC's booka) starting blogging about her cooking adventures with her CSA share and a local friend and I got talking about joining ours.

Ours is also expensive ($500 for an approximately 22 week season, plus an administrative cost of $25 for something or other) but I justified it for three reasons:

we almost certainly spend $20 a week on produce, and it's just from the plain ol' conventional grocery store
I liked the idea of a challenge to eat and cook with a lot of veggies and try new things
it's nice that it's locally grown and working to preserve green/open space in an urban area


Do you like it?
So far, so good. We're only three or four weeks in, but it's nice to drive to the farm and wander through the fields doing my PYO stuff. Plus, it makes me feel healthy to have a bulging bag of greens in my fridge ;)

How has it helped you?
As I said above, the prospect of the two of us eating an entire share of veggies makes me feel like we are probably eating pretty healthy.

What are the drawbacks?
One drawback is the fluky New England weather. We had a week of wicked unseasonably warm weather (like 90s), and then a plunge to the high 40s/low 50s. The warm weather crops took off but then screeched to a halt, while all of the early season crops that we could have expected for week 3 in the season went to flower. They had to cancel the pick up that week, although they did open to do some PYO lettuce because that was about all that they could provide that week.

So far, it's been all lettuces, and other greens, except for some yummy strawberries, but as the season gets rolling it will be tons of other stuff too. Part of what worries me is when they say alot of veggies, they described this in terms of a large bag (think 10lb potato sack) full of assorted greens, plus another large bag (again, the sack) of veggies, PLUS PYO stuff each week when the season further along. Yikes!


Looking forward to chatting and sharing ideas on what to do with the weird stuff we all probably will get in our shares, like the garlic scapes in my fridge and the kohlrabi they threatened in our last newsletter!

eta: PS: Jazz I like the picture of your spoils... I'll try to take one of our haul tomorrow.

[Jazz]

Ah, a fuzzy memory is coming back -- I *think* I remember something about our CSA calling a "share" enough for 2 people, whereas most CSA's call a "share" enough for a 4 person family. That could expain some of the price difference ...?

Marilyn -- that's a great website (I wish ours had more info!). I did see when I was poking around that they'll sell you a "half share" -- maybe that would be more do-able if you want to give it a try next year?

Juliebug, yours looks fantastic, too. Do you have to pay extra for the PYO, or is it included? Do you have a picture of this week's share? I hope you got some stuff besides greens. A 10-lb potato sack of veggies might scare me too. ;)

There's a great weekly chat on washingtonpost.com by Kim O'Donnell, she answers all sorts of cooking questions, and there are often posts from people wondering what to do with veggies in their CSAs (one of the places I first "heard" about the CSAs). This link (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032401387.html) should take you to a page with archived transcripts, or you can log on Tuesdays (chat is at noon eastern time) to submit questions. She had something about garlic scape pesto a couple weeks ago ...

We got raspberries and swiss chard this week, yum!

[dionysia]

DH and I belong to the same CSA as Juliebug. ;)

We actually are sharing a share (hee hee) with some friends.

Di

[juliebug]

Our share for this week included:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a153/jak326/cooking/03b1b300.jpg

2 pints of strawberries PYO (last of the season probably, they were pretty hard to come by)
1 pint sugar snap peas PYO
1 pint snow peas PYO
1 head cabbage
3 heads of lettuce
1 bunch of carrots
1 bunch of baby red onions
20 pods of fava beans
as many garlic scapes as we wanted


So far, we've eaten all of the strawberries, all of the peas, the fava beans, the onions, about 1/2 of the lettuce and 1/2 of the carrots. Haven't touched the cabbage or the garlic scapes yet (and actually we still have some of last week's scapes still).

Hi Di! When did you get your share? I'm just wondering if you got strawberries because we were there close to 4 on Sunday and it was already slim pickins.

Jazz ~ Well, we're not up to a 10# bag of stuff yet, but happily we are getting a better variety in our share. I think they say that a "share" is typically enough food for 2 vegetarians or a family of 3-4 omnivores. So far, DH and I haven't had a bit of trouble getting through it all in a week, except some occasional lettuce that gets tossed because we haven't finished it by the time we get our next batch. The PYO stuff is included in the price of our share.

Our CSA also partners with local fruit growers who will provide (for an additional cost - $60 for 12 weeks I think) fruit, including apples and pears later on in the summer. We are not big fruit eaters and I don't think we could handle 5lbs of apples a week so I think we will pass on that!

[Janey]

HeeHee - I gotta tell you guys - I'm enjoying the heck out of this thread. :D I wish I could post pictures of my own spoils...ahhhhh soon! Keep 'em coming, ladies! This is tons of fun.

As for what to do with the "weird" stuff ... I would try Epicurious ... if a vegetable hasn't shown up in all of the years of bon apetit/gourmet magazines, I'd be surprised ... outside of that, Pioneer Organics used to send me recipes (http://www.pioneerorganics.com/(5wu3kpil40lcq13n34mrbur5)/recipes.aspx) for the stuff they'd send me every week, some of which was a little odd. But if you find any good recipes for the weird stuff, post 'em up!

[chefker]

I was very tempted to join a CSA after hearing about juliebug's yummy weekly hauls! However, this year I went nuts and planted a garden, so I guess it's a self-supporting CSA for one, lol. So far I've grown & eaten tons of fresh herbs; green beans; scads of lettuce and kale. We also planted (and have yet to harvest, since it's not at peak picking condition yet) corn, tomatoes, squash (summer & zucchini), eggplant, celery,carrots, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, and peppers (bell & jalapeno). We have raspberry bushes up the wazoo also. It is a crapload of work, but enjoyable.....so far!

Next year we'll have a little one, so I may not feel up to task in gardening quite THAT much; if that ends up being the case, I'll probably just tend my herb garden, and buy a CSA share next year. The one near us is the Holcomb Farm CSA (http://www.holcombfarmcsa.org/) . Prices are $225 for a half share, and $425 for a full sharem, which sounded reasonable to me. It looks like a lovely little farm, and is on my way to/from work.

[dionysia]

Julie,

DH and our friend went last night. No strawberries afaik, but we picked 5+ quarts a few weekends ago at another local farm! ;)

Di

[Sarah051504]

I am extremely jealous of you girls almost to the point of hatred! :p I found a CSA near me and got super super excited. It’s the Michigan State University Student Organic Farm. I’m an alum and thought how cool fresh local veggies, which I’m hard pressed to find in the stores, plus I’m helping students learn farming. So my excited self contacted the farm and found out that I am number 63 on a wait list and there will probably only be less then 10 spots open in the next session, which starts next week. :(

I am so so disappointed, I was hoping I had run accross an unknown gem in the area. Boy was I wrong. The up side is they said if I came an volunteer at the farm I could take some veggies home with me, it's just been way to hot for that but as soon as it gets out of the 90s I might just do it.

[hockeybrat]

What sort of CSA do you belong to?

I belong to Full Circle Farm here in Washington www.fullcirclefarm.com

Do you like it?

So far, I really enjoy it. We get our veggies and fruit every other week on Wednesdays. Today afterwork, we'll go pick up our box :p

How has it helped you?

We are eating more fresh veggies and fruit and I'll make soups with any veggies that are in the fridge for too long.

I am also trying out new things, so far, I've had parsnips and sunchokes, I've never had them before!

What are the drawbacks?

I got eggplants the other week that didn't last as long as I'd like. Also, in order to keep costs down, they deliver the boxes of veggies to a central location instead of door to door. It is just a slight detour for me going home but that is about it.

I love this and I am glad I have discovered CSA!

[polarama]

I *just* signed up for one for 2006. I am very excited and look forward to the summer and fall. A few years ago, we joined one but it was the big Rainy Summer of 2003, so it was a very lettuce/greens heavy summer. I also had to go to a central pick-up location that didn't always work with my work schedule. We took a break the last two years, and I found myself spending at least 30/week at the farmer's market, so I looked into a CSA that would deliver this year. We're with Great Country Farms (http://www.greatcountryfarms.com) this year.

[Noniitis]

Bumping this thread up.

I am thinking of joining a CSA. I went to a CSA fair this past weekend. I talked to about 6 growers. I then found the Local harvet links and am looking through about 20 mores farmer to see which one may work out best for us.

Anyone have any additional things to add about the CSA's they used last year??
http://www.localharvest.org/

[Sarah051504]

Noniitis THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I have been on the wait list for the only CSA in the area for the last 4 sessions and I'm still waiting. I was so upset over this because I just can't get the quality or the veriaty of produse that I want at teh store. So when I saw your post I thought "what the hell I'll check out the link" and at teh link I found a CSA that's starting up this year! It's the same price as the one I've been on the wait list for, and they are only 5 miles from my house! I called them up and got a spot!!!!! I'm so so so excited!

[Janey]

Right on, Sarah! You'll have to post pictures of your spoils. :D

Noniitis - good luck choosing a CSA. Keep us updated on your progress! I love that localharvest site. Through them I found out that our area has community supported seafood. Right on. I get free halibut/salmon, but I want to look into that for shrimp/scallops/crab. hooray for living near the ocean!

Hockeybrat - I'm glad to hear that you like Full Circle. I'm thinking about either going with them or going back to Pioneer Organics.


I eat: onions, broccoli, mushrooms, corn, and bell peppers. And that's about it. That was one of the things I miss about having Pioneer Organics -- the variety! I tend not to go out of my way to choose variety, but if it's set at my doorstep, i seem to eat it.

[Noniitis]

Yay Sarah! I am so glad that link was helpful!

Mrs Hill.. I am a bit overwhelmedwith the info.. I am going to a 'green living expo in 2 weeks to see even more CSA's.. However I think I am going to do either a spring and winter share so that I can go to the farmers market and have my big garden.. or do a flex plan that one of the farms offers..

community supported seafood?!? YUM~! I don't think they will be offering that here in Minnesota.. funny that :p

Three of my friend have chosen the ones they want to use... I am glad I know so many people chosing to shop like this!

[mamax2]

We're in our first year at a CSA - Provident Organic Farm and picked up my first share last night! I'm so excited to figure out how to use Beet Greens and Leeks, plus the regulars like spinach, red lettuce and flat leaf parsley. Our shares are also designed for a family of four so we're sharing w/another couple. If we volunteer at the farm, we get 'pickers perk' where you can take home anything that is in over-abundant quantities. Our pick-up is weekly, at someone's home about 10 minutes from my house, so it's pretty convenient. The farm is about an hour away, but I'm going to try to make it out there this weekend for an Open House. My 2.5 y.o. is dying to 'meet the farmer' :D

[magrat]

Bumping to say I just signed up for a CSA! I had heard about them for a few years but never thought about signing up myself, especially since I didn't think there would be any in MN, I thought it was more a CA or East Coast thing. Boy was I wrong, I looked and saw that we have tons of them. I just signed up with Two Gals and a Garden (http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M11214). They offer a half share without having to find a partner, and a bread share (and a pie share, but we're not doing that - not that I don't want to, but this is supposed to be about eating healthier :p ). Very reasonably priced. The rest of the season (like 10 or 11 weeks left) is $130 for a half share and $33 for the bread share. I can't wait to get my first box!

[Sarah051504]

Well I'm 5 weeks into my first year of CSA and let me say I'm loving it! I've only got a half share which is a really good thing cause the only thing that my DH has ate is the strawberries and the potatoes! The rest is up to me, it seems like all I'm eating is veggies lately. My new fav Swiss Chard! I'd never had it before but it's so yummy!

Hope everyone else is enjoying their CSA's.

[magrat]

I picked up my first CSA box today, it was even better than I thought it would be! I got green and yellow beans, red leaf lettuce, arugula, new potatoes, savoy cabbage, a small cucumber, red currants, broccoli, mint, dill, and a beautiful loaf of crusty bread.

[jenjunum]

It's funny, we have lots of farmer's markets in Los Angeles but not many CSAs. I've only found 1 that delivers to this part of LA and that comes from San Diego. I wish we had more choices. But they just opened a Farmer's Market within walking distance of my office on Thursdays so that's a really good thing.

[Sarah051504]

How is everyone enjoying their CSA's. I've got a question for you. How much are you getting each week. I just picked up my share for this week and honestly it feels skimpy to me. I have a half share and it works out to about $13 a week. This week I got 4 ears of corn, a quart of green beans, a bunch of baby beets with greens, 4 sweet yellow peppers (long and skinny ones), one long skinny oriental eggplant, 3 salad cucs (pickles) and a quart of roma tomatoes. I think if I picked up the same stuff from the same farm at the farmers market it would cost less then $13. I know last week the beets were $2, amd the pickles were 3/$1 the rest I don't remember so I'm going to go to the farmers market on Weds to check prices for sure but wanted to check what everyone else's shares were like.

[strwbrygirl]

juliebug or dionysia,

Have you heard anything about Boston Organics (http://www.bostonorganics.com/)? DH & I have talked about joining Waltham Fields, but we're concerned about making the time to go out to the farm each week, as well as not being able to eat all of the produce. Boston Organics seems like it could be a good (slightly more expensive) compromise, and we could potentially cancel it if it's not working.

[Noniitis]

Anyone still/started to do a CSA this year? I am looking at all my options on http://www.localharvest.org/


love to hear more thought s on it...

[magrat]

Noniitis Yep! I just have to send in my check. I know you're local, so I have to recommend the one I use - Two Gals and a Garden. They don't have a very big web presence but I have some word docs about them I can send you if you're interested. I've been very happy with them.

[LeighW]

I'm so glad this thread got bumped up. It reminded me to find a farm.

I just bought a share in Bull Run Farm, www.bullrunfarm.com

I can't report on anything yet but the price: $450 for a 2-person share (20 weeks). I'm also buying 1/2 dozen eggs per week for $20 and a fruit share for $65 (fruit from mid-July to mid-October).

:)

[HGMorgann]

I plan on doing a CSA again this year. I did a working share at a farm last year and LOVED doing it. I was a SAHM then and now work, so I don't have the time to do it again. My only wish is that it was year-round, however in NH, thats just never going to happen! I will be signing up with another farm this year, but excited to start picking up the fresh, organic veggies in a few months! :-) Because we got a box each week, it forced me to be healthy. When you go to the grocery store, its quite easy, to skip over all the healthy stuff you ought to be eating: "Hmm. turnips...nah!" But with a big box of veggies including turnips, you learn how to use them:-) I have to admit though, I haven't bought turnips (or beets, kale, ect) at the grocery store since my CSA ended.

[Noniitis]

magrat- One of my Mommy friends and I got the two gals and a garden's last full share. We are going to spilt it. I decided to not do the pie or bread share... cuz I would just eat it! Heh! I am so glad to hear you liked them!

[magrat]

noniitis Cool! You'll love it! Maybe I'll see you at one of the canning sessions :)

[Noniitis]

Bumping up the thread .

I want to hear about everyones CSA's

I am a little dissapointed in the amounts I guess. This past week I went to the farmers market to get more veggies.

Magrat is the CSA the same amount as last year.. from the news letter I am wondering if the crop is not doing as well as last year.

Anyhoo! I am just wondering about others and there CSAs

[Sarah051504]

I know at my CSA in the beginning we get just a couple of things, maybe enough for two meals but come the middle of summer we're getting so many veggies that I can hardly use them all in the week.

[moderngal]

We belong to a food buying club. It's a little different than a CSA because we get to choose what and how much we want, but it's all local and what we can pick from is based on what's available. We can also get fresh, local dairy from happy and named animals (goats and cows).

[magrat]

I'm not sure if the amounts are the same as last year because I signed up late in the season. I do know it's a bit early for MN crops. Still, the amounts may not be enough for you if you're a big vegetable eater. It's plenty for me and DH and we often have trouble using it all. It can be hard to know what to do with one small beet though.

[Noniitis]

Thanks Magrat for the response I was just wondering how year to year compaired.

It funny because I told a neighbor about our CSA and she got the last 1/2 share at the SLP drop. So I get the advantage of seeing the difference in the two sizes. And since I share my full share I have to split it and want to see that a full split is pretty close to a 1/2 share. My friend who I am 'sharing' with used a different CSA last year and said she though she had got more last year but the farm she used didn't wash the veggies and that really required time on her end so I really do appreciate the nice clean veggies we get. I think another thing I really must look into is a CSA with a fruit share.

I have grown my own garden the past 3 years with the transplants from Rock Spring <they sell them through Cooks of Corcushill and transplants from Seed savers. I chose not to plant this year because if the CSA. I think next year I will do both. It was just hard to know how much I'd use but I am fortunate that I have a lot of friends and neighbors who will take veggies off my hands whenever my cup runth over.

[mamax2]

We're in our second year with our CSA and the amount of foods is about right for our family (2 adults, 2 kids - one of whom eats NO vegetables :p )
We split our share with another family and our season costs $575 +$20 membership fee (whatever that means - it was new this year!) That covers late May - through mid-November. From mid-April through May, we also had a pre-season share, which I LOVED! We didn't split this with anyone (it was $120 for 5 weeks) and we got tons of lettuce, carrots, strawberries... basically all my favorite things.

Right now, we're getting squash, beets (and I'm not a beet person at all, but I have learned how to cook w/the greens), garlic, swiss chard, green beans, potatoes. I'm not big into cooked greens, so it's a struggle for me to come up with ideas for all the chard, kale, turnip greens, etc. Still, it's good because I'd NEVER buy these things in the store so it forces me to try something new. We also love all the heirloom stuff like yellow and purple green beans, purple potatoes - it's really fun for the kids, especially.

Oh, as for fruit, our CSA doesn't have a fruit share, but they do provide strawberries in minmal quantities. I supplement by going to pick-your-own farms. We have PYO strawberries & blueberries that aren't certified organic, but for all intents and purposes, are organic. Blueberries start next week, can't wait!

[LeighW]

Noniitis~I'm also disappointed with the size of my CSA share. I bought 1/2 of a share, supposedly enough for 2 people. I live in VA, and the summer crops are in, so I don't understand why I'm not receiving more.

Here's what I got yesterday (for a week):
bunch of scallions
3 hot peppers
1 garlic bulb
1 green pepper
1 small eggplant
10 tomatillos
small bouquet of flowers
basil and oregano (as much as I wanted)

I think this was the smallest lot so far. I think the price works out to about$19 a week. I think this week's lot was worth about $10.

I spent about $40 at the farmer's market this past weekend and got much, much more--enough fruit and vegetables for the week (including a vegetable soup that was our dinner for 2 nights). I know that local farmers have tomatoes, squash, cukes, potatoes, many types of beans, berries, peaches, melons etc. because I bought all of those things at the farmer's market (all farms have to be within 100 miles to sell at this market).

Definitely not signing up with this farm again!

[Noniitis]

LeighW~ the CSA is a hard sell for me to my hubby so I want to make sure I am being reasonable with what I expect from the CSA. I think my half equals about 11 dollars a week so it is not that big of a commitment however I can make 11 dollars go pretty fair at the farmers market.

Mamax2~ I am sharing a full share with a good friend of mine and I told me neighbor about this CSA so I pick up her half share every week so I get to see what I would have been getting for each. I think we should have split a lettuce share as well I am suprized at the amount of lettuce. I think we get a fair amount of greens but my friend I share with said her share last year from a different farm was 4x as much.

I do eat salads daily and I guess I should have thought of that. I also am thinking I need to get in a CSA with the fruit share next time. There is even one with a coffee share.. I am thinking that would be up my alley too.

[Noniitis]

Hello again~

Well our share just ended and I guess I just didn't pick the right CSA for me this time. I understand that the area our farm plot is in was hit pretty hard in end of July with rain... I can deal with smaller 'shares' based of weather... my issue at the end was the rotten vegs/fruit my share sent to both me and my neighbor... I got a rotten cabbage that was rancid. My neighbors got a moldy cantalope... So I am not sure how far in advance some of our stuff had been picked but it never seemed like the best of the best. I have my eye on 3 other CSA's that have pick ups reasonably close. I have convinced my hubby that itreally is a good thing for us even if we didn't find our fit the first time. and next year I will be doing my own garden as well so I will have that to fall back on.

How was everyone elses experiences?

[jenjunum]

I'm joining a CSA in January. It was a hard sell for me. They aren't common in Southern CA despite our proximity to a lot of farms. This is the only one available. It's quite expensive ($350 for 4 months/about $40 every other week for biweekly deliveries). But I'm having a baby in April so I think it will be helpful when I'm too tired to make it to a farmers market when I'm very pregnant and with a young baby. We'll see how it goes for 4 months and re-assess. Ours is year-round. I feel a little silly since we have a farmer's market almost every day of the week all year round within a few miles but I think it will be easier and help us branch out and try new things.

[mpc863]

I'm joining a CSA in January. It was a hard sell for me. They aren't common in Southern CA despite our proximity to a lot of farms. This is the only one available. It's quite expensive ($350 for 4 months/about $40 every other week for biweekly deliveries). But I'm having a baby in April so I think it will be helpful when I'm too tired to make it to a farmers market when I'm very pregnant and with a young baby. We'll see how it goes for 4 months and re-assess. Ours is year-round. I feel a little silly since we have a farmer's market almost every day of the week all year round within a few miles but I think it will be easier and help us branch out and try new things.

Jenjunum, I am looking for a CSA in the LA area. I haven't had much luck - do you mind posting the info of this one?

Thanks!

[mamax2]

jenjunum ~ FWIW, your CSA is priced similarly to mine and I don't even get delivery. I think yours sounds like a deal!

I feel a little silly since we have a farmer's market almost every day of the week all year round within a few miles but I think it will be easier and help us branch out and try new things.

Maybe it'll help to focus on this as less about just prouring produce and more about sustainable agriculture. I've learned so much since I joined the CSA and I've come to the point that I'm willing to pay a premium on the product because I believe in the practice. I don't know if that makes sense or not, but for me, it's about creating the right cycle of accountability and taking responsibility for the land and what we get out of it. So, even if you have a farmer's market close by, it doesn't mean that the CSA isn't an even better way to do things, kwim? I hope it works well and you enjoy it!

[jenjunum]

mpc863 I believe this is the only one. The farm is in San Diego but they have pick up spots in San Diego, Orange County and LA County. http://www.tierramiguelfarm.org/ I've only found limited feedback on them online but it seemed to be pretty positive. They were recently purchased by an Indian tribe. I'm not sure if that will be better or worse. I think better since they have more money now. I'm not sure though. It is going to be kept as a farm and I'm pretty sure the same group will still be running it.

mamax2 Oh they don't deliver. But a pick up spot is convenient to me. Mainly I just wouldn't have to go to the Farmer's Market, pick things out, etc. I guess it's not too expensive, just more than we usually spend. We probably should be spending more (i.e. eating more veggies) so it'll probably be a good thing in the end. I guess I don't know how sustainable the farms are that come to our farmer's markets. I know many or organic but that's not the same.

[mpc863]

Thanks jenjunum! they have a pick up location near my house. i think we will try this!

[jenjunum]

Sure, no problem.

[Noniitis]

****BUMP****

Anyone doing a CSA this year?

I signed up for a new one this year. I signed up for the Spring Share, The full Summer share and a Organic fruit share. My neighbor and I are splitting it this year. I am very very excited. I am also planting a garden. I missed having one last year.

[Orange]

We just signed up for one. I live in the Boston area and they book up quickly! I have been closed out of the one I wanted for 2 years in a row. We did get in one last year but I wasn't too thrilled with it. The produce was of good quality but we didn't get much variety. It was pretty much corn, zucchini, greens and tomatoes all summer. I am hoping that the one we joined this year will be better.

[mgrace]

We are doing a CSA this year. :)

We are lucky because we have a lot to choose from, but in the end I chose the one closest to our house--it's only a few miles. We've bought their produce for years at the farmer's market. They are organic, the price is reasonable and they have special events on their farm. We are getting an every-other-week share, for a total of 16 weeks. Here are some sample boxes:

Their guess for the first box: asparagus, spinach, lettuce, spring radishes, green garlic, rhubarb, arugula

This is a sample summer box: watermelon, tomatoes, zucchini and summer squash, bell peppers, frying peppers, broccoli, swiss chard, spanish onions, cucumbers and basil.

We also shop at the farmer's market, belong to a co-op that stocks local produce and have our own garden, so I think we are set. :)

[Noniitis]

So I picked up my first share of the spring share yesterday < a week delayed because of the crazy weather this year> and I am soooooo excited!

We got Overwintered Spinach, chives, Red Russian Kale, Bok choi, Nettles, Beets, Carrots and onions. Everything looked awesome and fresh! I sauteed the onions, kale, nettles and 1/2 of the spinach for a side for lunch today and hubby was loving it. He was shocked when I told him there were nettles in it.

The share was a very good size and I am excited to see what's to come. I am MOST excited for when the summer fruit share starts.. Summer Fruit Share 2008 - An every-other-week delivery of certified organic fruit, sourced from the best fruit growing regions of North America. One to two varieties of peak-of-the-season fruits, from July's blueberries, cherries, and grapes through summer's peaches and nectarines to early October's pears and apples. June 27 through October 3. The place I pick up also has additional source for fruit that I may buy too...

Cherries


Afton Apple Orchards via Michigan’s best fruit growers.
$44 / (10-lb case) Call to order. Pick up mid–late July.

George and Apple Otte Orchard, Tonasket, WA (certified organic)
$63 / (8 lbs.) Call to order. Pick up mid–late July.

and Blueberries
Afton Apple Orchards via Michigan’s best fruit growers
$46 / (10-lb. case) Call to order. Pick up mid–late July.

Little Buck Organics, Hammonton, NJ (certified organic)
$65 / (8–8.5 lbs.) Call to order. Pick up mid–late July.

yeah.. now how to explain to DH I want to spend another hundred bucks on fruit...