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CSA |Pad Patter 2.20

bestcee

bestcee

In love with places I've never been to
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Dec 18, 2013
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So, the time has come around here that CSA (community sponsored agriculture) are open to sign up! We are headed to an open house for a bunch in about 10 days. But I'm researching them beforehand and getting excited for fresh from the farm veggies! There's so many options this year, and it makes my farmer's daughter heart happy!

Have you ever participated in a CSA?
 
Yes, we did several years ago. I really enjoyed it, but I found I was getting a bunch of stuff that I didn't know what to do with. For example, I never could figure out a way to fix sunchokes that appealed to us. I have the itch to give it another shot though.
 
I have no idea what you're talking about. I'll google.

**Update**
I looked it up. Very interesting idea. It's really pricey here though. $700 for 5 months of veggies that feed 1-2 people. I'll stick with the farmer's market.
 
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I'll be sticking to our local Farmers Markets as the closest CSA is about 30-40 minutes away. Sounds cool though!
 
I've thought about it, but have opted for the Farmer's Markets, instead. I have friends who do it and absolutely love it! I'm planning on putting in two large (3'x8') raised vegetable gardens this spring so I can grow my own. Let's see how it goes!

Let us know what you decide.
 
I love the idea but I'm afraid of getting too much for us to eat, and plus I have 3 kids who are very unadventurous when it comes to food. Once, last spring, my friend let me pick up and keep one of her CSA deliveries because her family was out of town. Indeed it was too much food for us and I'm sorry to say I didn't manage to figure out what to do with the okra and it was wasted but overall the experience was wonderful and we enjoyed that afternoon at the farm.
 
I have occasionally signed up for a similar thing here that comes with recipes. Without recipes, I don't think I could do it. I remember slicing up sunchokes for pizza once. It was pretty good! I probably did other things with sunchokes but I can't remember.
 
I'd never even heard of a sunchoke before. :giggle

We have a fairly decent garden in our back yard so that holds us over for most stuff. We have a farmers' market two blocks over and a great local produce stand, so we're good as far as veggies, but I'd consider meat/eggs as long as I didn't have to eat sheep or rabbit. :/
 
not sure if we have that... but $700 dollars that Jess @jesskab mentioned seem a bit salty...
we do have firms that deliver boxes of organic, small farms produce which is a bit more expensive than the supermarket but I doubt on the veracity of the whole thing..... there has been rumors of bribes that gave certificates that were bogus...so I m always thinking I may be paying more for something that comes from the same place the supermarkets stuff comes from.....
 
@MrsPeel that was just for fruit & veggies! Eggs are an additional $9 per week for a dozen a week. There's another service around here to deliver fresh veggies, but it's not the typical CSA, so I know what you mean about the unknown origins. We have really great farmer's markets and amazing Asian markets in the San Francisco area. Great, now I want some Chinese broccoli!
 
They are too expensive for us. We have a few really food farm markets around us, that going to those is always a better option. There are 3 really really good ones nearby, a great orchard grocery too. We get all kinds of different veggies and fruits, one of the markets offer recipe cards next to the ones that no one knows, lol! They figure you might give it a try if you know what to cook! They also leave samples... that's how I tried ground cherries. They are yummy and not what I envisioned when I popped it in my mouth. :) Going to the actual market is a fun trip for the boys and I.
 
My hubby chose the driest winter in memory,to start his own veg patch. So I have a feeling I wll still have to go to the farmers market. LoL
 
I had to look it up too. Our closet CSA is an hour away and Farmers Market is 30 minutes away. But it does sound cool!
 
I've never done a CSA... I should look it up and see what is even close to my area. We have a fabulous farmer's market every saturday morning, so we visit that quite often.
 
I have for the past 6-7 years and have always enjoyed it. But on the fence for it this year as it is looking to be a really busy summer and not sure I'll be home enough to make pick ups and use the food before it goes to waste. I always also plant my own veggies and am happy that my seeds recently arrived and will start my tomatoes soon. :)
 
CSAs are an awesome option for people who don't have access to home grown. I know alot of bigger city people that do and they love. I don't have a need for it, because we live in a small town area that has stands and farmers markets daily/weekly.
 
I did one for a year or two just to support the farm but it got to be a waste for us. There were lots of root vegetables a lot of the time and I grow my own herbs so I didn't need them. We also have good farmers' markets round here so it just means getting myself up and out in the am for the best stuff which is often gone by 8am.
 
We do a co-op instead of a CSA, which is a bit different but works out better for us. Basically, we contribute $20 a week only on the weeks we want to get a basket, so no worries if we're busy or out of town or whatever. The basket is 1/2 fruit and 1/2 veggies, but it's all the same kind of stuff you'd get at the grocery store and not locally grown. Still, we find that we get 2-3 times more stuff for our money this way, so it works out really well for us!
 
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