Farm shares?

[borgin.livejournal.com]

I'm looking for a CSA to join this summer, and while I've looked at old posts (and just saw one for a farm share fair that I obviously missed!) and I've emailed a few places, a lot of these places don't have a lot of online reviews - and I don't know anyone who already uses this method of obtaining fresh, local produce. Do you have any farms to recommend or avoid? I'm particularly looking for pick up points in Somerville or Cambridge, but I might be willing to go a little farther for a T-accessible weekend pickup.

Thank you!

Comments

[msackton.livejournal.com]

I thought Red Fire Farm was great. They have a pick up at the Somerville Growing Center near Union Square.

[koloratur.livejournal.com]

Seconded. Love love love Red Fire - this summer will be our third year with them. We tried Parker Farm two years ago and went running back to Red Fire. I've enjoyed the Deep Winter share which was new this year, and the egg shares, which are the best eggs I have ever had in my life. We loved being able to visit the farm in Grandby for pick-your-own stuff as well. We use the pickup at Harvest Co-Op, but they have quite a variety of days and locations.

[emp42ress.livejournal.com]

Parker Farm is pretty good. They provide oh-my-god a lot of vegetables, so don't get the large share unless you really mean it.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure they are still taking members, as well...

[bex77]

I think it's Parker Farms CSA that drops off at First Church, corner of Francesca and College Ave., about 4 blocks form the Square every Tuesday. Here their link: http://web.mac.com/parkerfarm/iWeb/Site/csa%20program.html
$475 for full share; $300 for half share, Begins in June and through about the first week of November
Pick-up locations: Davis Square, Somerville on Tuesday; Central Square, Cambridge on Wednesday; and
Porter Square, Cambridge on Thursday. Pick-up times are between 6:30-8:15pm (evenings)
No work requirement

[jennyelfenmass.livejournal.com]

New website at parkerfarm.org (parkerfarm.org).

Shares are $550 for large and $375 for a small.

drop off are
* Davis Square - Tuesdays from 5:30 to 8pm at 14 St. James Street, Somerville
* Central Square - Wednesday from 5:30 to 8pm in the Parking lot # 4 on the corner of Bishop Allen and Columbia, Cambridge
* Porter Square - Thursday from 5:30 to 8pm at 52 Elm St, Somerville (The driveway is around the corner on Mossland)

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

Correct link: parkerfarm.org (http://parkerfarm.org)

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Parker is not the First Church drop-off.

I've been with Parker for four years and I love him.

[jennyelfenmass.livejournal.com]

Or unless you can split it with someone.

As a side note, I've gone with them for the past 2 years, and while last year's yield wasn't great (lousy weather), I'm still continuing with them this year. Plus Steve is friendly and the produce is good.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

yes, us too

[trtls.livejournal.com]

Second Parker Farm. We are a family of 4 and still split the small share!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_meej_/]

Or, if you're up for it and have freezer space, get the large share and do a lot of quick blanch-and-freeze on excess produce. My wife and I are still eating last season's greens at least once a week.

Been with Parker Farm since '03, I think it was? Anyway, he's been terrific. Last summer was, as with many, a rough year farm-wise, but overall it's been a great experience.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I've had a share in Red Fire Farm since 2005, and have been happy with them. I don't think they have any weekend pick ups, but they do have T-accessible ones on other days of the week (including Harvest Coop in Central Sq and South Station's farmers' market; with other points that are slightly less T-convenient). They also offer fruit, flower, and egg shares as extras.

[logt.livejournal.com]

We used Enterprise Farm for their share in winter, and are planning to use them in the summer. They have an agreement with farms in the south (Georgia, Florida, Carolinas, Virginia), so their variety in the winter was pretty good (most of the stuff is organic, some transitional and very rarely conventional). The summer share runs June 1st through end of November (?), and you can pick it up at Porter sqr or Davis Sqr (check their website), or even have share delivered to your home by MetroPedalPower. The large share we used is pretty big (16 lbs of veggies/fruits), small is 10 lbs, so you might want to split it with somebody.

[pearlythebunny.livejournal.com]

I loved Enterprise. In the summer and fall, they partner with other Massachusetts and New Hampshire farms, so the variety of produce was greater than I've had with any other CSA.
http://www.enterpriseproduce.com/

[mrsdollylevi.livejournal.com]

We signed up last year for Parker Farm and weren't happy. They cut off the deliveries by several weeks with no notice. I went to the pick up location one week and they just weren't there. Apparently the weather was bad and they suffered. But to get nothing at all was shocking. Apparently they lost everyone's email when a computer crashed, but there was no attempt to contact us. They were still selling produce at famers markets around, so they had stuff there, but not to deliver to customers had already paid.

I know they aren't the only CSA to really suffer last year. I don't recall the other that had to stop deliveries.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

I did hear about other CSAs having to stop, though I couldn't name any of them, so that might just be hearsay.

Steve (Parker) has been very vocal about what happened last season, and seems to have a good plan in place to prevent it from happening again. His communication has been much better of late and he significantly decreased the size of his CSA to avoid being overstretched.

We felt it was worth it to give him another chance. (this will be our third year with him). The first year (two years ago) was good, last year not so good. I can see how last year being your first year with him would be a very negative experience.

[magid.livejournal.com]

The only other CSA I heard about stopping delivery of shares for a bit last year was Land's Sake, out in Weston.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Parker didn't actually stop -- it was just one week off and he made up for it later.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I may have gotten an incorrect impression based on what I read in the journals of some people who had a share from him last year.

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

Weekend CSA pickups may be hard to come by because most farms do farmer's markets on the weekend.

I used Parker Farm for 2 years (before last year) and really liked them. If you're willing to venture over to East Somerville (near Sullivan), Farmer Dave (http://farmerdaves.net/) ran a CSA with a drop-off near Stop & Shop last year. I had friends who raved about it all summer. We wound up getting a free week for helping them with pickup and it was pretty impressive.

[wheeiminvisible.livejournal.com]

I used Farmer Dave's last summer and plan to again (http://www.farmerdaves.net/). I was really happy with the large amount of produce I got for my money and the quality. Last summer, they managed to avoid the blights (especially that tomato one) that so many other farms suffered from due to all the rain. Oftentimes, there was excess of some crop or another, and particularly if I came towards the end of the pickup time, they'd tell me to go ahead and grab as many ears of corn or peppers or something that I wanted.

Somerville pickup is over by Stop & Shop off of McGrath, so that might be inconvenient to people in Davis without cars. If you're going to walk, you'd definitely need someone with you to help carry it all. This year they're offering two options -- the typical pre-boxed assortment or "choose-your-own" deal.

Actually I just checked my email for information from last year, and found a list of what I got in one box in early September (I had the regular veggie share and a fruit share):

- 12 ears of corn
- 9 heirloom tomatoes
- 1 box mixed cherry/grape tomatoes
- 1 bag green beans
- 3 summer squashes
- 1 bunch hakurei turnips
- 1 bunch radishes
- 2 heads lettuce
- 4 onions
- kohlrabi
- 4 apples
- 4 peaches
- 4 nectarines
- 1 pint strawberries
- 1 pint raspberries
- basil and dill
- 1 bunch carrots
- 2 cubanelle peppers

Hope this helps!

[borgin.livejournal.com]

Thanks! After doing additional research last night, I was pretty set on Farmer Dave's (I take the 89 home from work so the location isn't a problem) and I liked the variety I saw (and the location was nice, too) so I'm glad someone posted about it. I'm going to send in my money tomorrow!

[masswich.livejournal.com]

I have only used Red Fire Farm, and looked at switching, but never really felt the need. The produce is good quality and decent variety, and the people are nice. I love the annual treks out to Granby for free pick-your-own that come with it.

They are also good with email, which is good when I have a question or issue (which is rare)

[djdreilinger.livejournal.com]

No one's mentioned Stone Soup yet—my friend seemed happy with them last year, and they have a Harvard Sq. pickup site.