Organic CSA

I just had the best day and wanted to share. I just joined a CSA, and today was the first pick up!

We got to the pick up spot for the CSA, which is a condo complex courtyard. They hang out in the grassy courtyard next to the fenced in playground. Everyone was nice and friendly, and I chatted with a few really nice people. My 6 year old daughter instantly met a new 4 year old friend, and we hung out for about 1 hour there.

What was in the bin from the CSA you ask? All organic: (1) medium watermelon (1) huge (like almost the size of the watermelon) eggplant. (9) small crookneck yellow squash (1) bag of green beans (4) asian pears (4) heirloom tomatoes, 2 large, and 2 small (4) ears of corn (5) yellow sweet peppers

all that for $17 plus gas for driving the ~20 miles total (in my Prius, so not too bad). We’ll be combining that weekly trip with visiting our friends who live in Berkeley, so it won’t be always driving that distance just for the CSA.

We’re both very excited about this. I’m really looking forward to the simplicity of having a bin of fresh, seasonal produce with enough variety that I will only need to supplement fruit and a few of my daughter’s favorite veggies (she’s a picky eater) when we go to our weekly farmer’s market. I’ve been spending way too much time looking at RAW recipes and going to the store to buy something I’ll need for a recipe, and spending WAY more $$$ at the farmer’s market.

I just I just wanted to share my excited with you all since you can appreciate how exciting it is to receive a bin of organic produce fresh from the farm! :)

Comments

  • oh well, I guess no one is interested. just thought I’d share my experience to encourage other’s to find and join their local CSA.

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    feeling neglected? =)

    i think that’s fabulous. and VERY reasonably priced! where are you located?

  • FeeFee Raw Master

    Umm, being thick here – but whats a CSA?

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    community supported agriculture

  • FeeFee Raw Master

    Ah – thanks, I would never have worked that out in a million years. It sounds like a great idea.

  • beanybeeganbeanybeegan Raw Newbie

    I have heard about CSA. from email friends. Wish it wasn’t 60 miles to the nearest drop off point. Tho right now I have a large garden, but could use some tree fruit.

  • :)

    I live in a tiny condo, with a tiny deck… upstairs, so my meager attempts at are container garden are not much. I had thought that there wasn’t a CSA close to me either, but then one day I did an online search and amazingly I found it!

    I’m located in the suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area, so yes, I’m more suitably located for this kind of thing… but I know lots of families across the country who’ve found CSAs close enough to them to be worth it.

  • emtpdmomemtpdmom Raw Newbie

    Littlegems, I’m very excited for you. I plan to try a CSA share in my area this fall. I visited the main farm a couple of weeks ago, and was very impressed. The shares are a little pricey for a family of one ($35 a week for 12 weeks). and the box is pretty full. Wish I had a freezer. Maybe it’s time to make that purchase. There’s also one vegetarian at work that might be interested in splitting a share and the 40 mile roundtrip to pickup. In the mean time, I have several elderly neighbors I share leftovers with, so I don’t think anything will be wasted.

  • SuasoriaSuasoria Raw Newbie

    To find a CSA near you, try Localharvest.org. I’m too much of a control freak myself. I like to pick everything out personally…

  • waterbaby12347waterbaby12347 Raw Newbie

    Philo~ Are these “pluots” hybrids or GMO??? I saw some today in the grocery and their four digit number started with a 3 and there were some other items like low “fat avocado” also started with a 3… Makes me wonder??? Does anyone know if these products are Monsanto based???

  • MOTHMOTH Raw Newbie

    Is there anyway you can get an all-fruit CSA? I don’t really like vegetables or greens.

  • MOTH, yes, you can depending on where you live. I found one that also delivers near me and was considering joining for the extra fruit, since my current one only has a little bit of fruit. However, after doing the math it ended up being cheaper to shop at my local farmer’s market where their summer fruit is mix and match $2/lb! The CSA was $35/week for 10lbs. of fruit. Well, I brought home from the farmer’s market 9lbs. of fruit for $18. So it wasn’t worth it for me.

    do a web search for your local area CSA, and see if any fruit farmers are offering a CSA.

    Good luck.

  • beanybeeganbeanybeegan Raw Newbie

    waterbaby12347, I have written down #8 as GMO. I once asked the produce manager why different numbers, he said they run out of numbers. So have to use ones other than 4,8,9,.

  • I too think that pluots are hybrids and not GMO. Years ago when I was taking an agriculture class in college we grafted two different varieties of apples together… literally took a branch of one variety and made a cut onto a different variety apple tree and wrapped it to hold it until the branch grew attached to the tree! It was that simple. Then when it blooms, the pollens mix (thanks to wind and bees).

    I remember learning that it works with other fruit trees too, not just apples. :)

  • heyenglishheyenglish Raw Newbie

    So glad this topic popped back up! I’d never heard of a CSA until now… and I just researched it and found a local farm. Yay! Now I’m just trying to do the math to see if it’s worth it for me, personally. I suppose I can always give my parents left-overs if I can’t eat them all!

  • CSAs are awesome. The one I belonged to in Tucson has a trade bin and a giveaway bin. they had grains and dried beans and occasional roasted peppers that I traded for things like armenian cucumbers that people also put in there! In a lot of cases, then, I was able to unload what I didn’t want (non-raw) and got loads of extras. We were able to vote for what we preferred (although I can’t imagine that they WOULDN’T harvest something, but maybe it was for next growing season). Remember that it’s seasonal, though, so for weeks at a time you might get a lot of the same stuff.

    Lots of different kinds of beets (chioggia, gold), carrots (yellow, white, sweet), greens (rainbow chard!), and stuff like that. Heirloom toms. Good stuff.

    The farm’s stuff wasn’t certified organic, but claimed to go beyond organic standards. Either way you’re supporting local ag.

  • Oh, also we had an every-other-week split share option (it’s a LOT of food), which is what I did. Alas, there is no CSA here in Bisbee where I now reside (but there is a co-op nearby!). Mickmaster out.

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