CSA

[toddpage.livejournal.com]

Hey there!

My roomates and I were thinking about opting into a Community Supported Agriculture program, and I was wondering if anyone had experience with one of the farms who do drops in the davis/porter area and had recommendations?

Thanks aplenty!

Have a good day, kids!

Comments

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

CSAs typically sign up members starting in February or March and then start delivering shares in the spring.

My wife and I had a share with Parker Farm for two years and really liked it. If you see farms that you're interested in for next year, you should check them out at a local farmers market (Parker is at Union Square on Saturdays).

[wheeiminvisible.livejournal.com]

Do you mean for next year (we're basically at the peak of the summer season and it seems unlikely that you could join a summer share at this point), or for this winter?

This is what I do in from June through Christmas: http://farmerdaves.net/ . I have nothing but good things to say about Farmer Dave's, except that pickup is in East Somerville.

This is what I do from January through May: http://www.enterpriseproduce.com/ . These shares are a mix of local winter crops and more summery crops from small organic farms in Southeastern Mass. I thought it was all right, but not amazing. I thought the quality of some of the produce suffered during transport from Florida up to here and I don't think a lot of it tasted much better than supermarket food. I'd rather there have been more local produce.

[wheeiminvisible.livejournal.com]

Argh, ignore the many typos -- I was typing stealthily from work. By "Southeastern Mass", I meant the Southeastern U.S.

[sungold123.livejournal.com]

I had the Enterprise Produce CSA last winter and I completely agree with all your points. I've had them this summer, too, and I've felt "OK" about it, but I'll probably switch to Farmer Dave's next summer - being able to pick your own veges is a huge bonus.

I'd be very curious to see if anyone has heard of any other WINTER CSAs in the area? I'm not sure I can shell out the $700 for Enterprise again.

[wheeiminvisible.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm doing Farmer Dave's winter share (not too late to sign up!), which will last through Christmas.

After that, I'm undecided as to whether I'll do Enterprise again (since they let you begin past the start date for a prorated amount), or Red Fire Farm. I have some friends who do Red Fire -- you get a combination of local produce and things like jams, pickles etc made from local summer crops. Their schedule (January through March) is also convenient in that it picks up right when Farmer Dave's winter share ends.

I know there are other winter CSA options -- I actually made a post about this sometime last fall that you could search for. I got a lot of helpful suggestions.

[koloratur.livejournal.com]

Red Fire Farm offered a Deep Winter CSA for the first time ever in 2009. We signed up and really enjoyed it - the idea was that they would offer a share that was split between greenhouse veggies/storage veggies/local products. In addition to being the envy of our friends for the constant supply of delicious greens, we discovered several great local foods that we hadn't tried before. The Deep Winter CSA isn't on sale yet, but here is a link:
http://www.redfirefarm.com/CSA/wintercsasites.html#deepwintercsa

[borgin.livejournal.com]

I signed up for Farmer Dave's this year and I've been so happy with what I've gotten (the small share and the fruit share!) that I just signed up for the winter share as well.

Farmer Dave's!

[gingernoname.livejournal.com]

My CSA is with Farmer Dave's in Dracut. ( http://www.farmerdaves.net/ ) Their pickup is near the Stop and Shop off Broadway and McGrath but they do have a partnership with Metro Pedal Power that will deliver to the Davis area if you can't get down there.

My impression is that they're one of the smaller CSA's but I've been really happy with the quality and variety of produce this year. I have a small veggie share and a fruit share. The fruit share is AMAZING! Another thing that I really like about them is that the pick up is set up like a farm stand which allows you to pick your own produce according to what size share you have. I like this better than the prepackaged boxes.

I've been out to the farm to weed and met the CSA manager and Farmer Dave himself and they are great. I'm signing up for the winter share this week and I'll be staying with them again next year. I love Farmer Dave's!

Re: Farmer Dave's!

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

i really really really want to try and get a csa next year but there's only one of me, so most shares seem like they'd be waaaaay too much produce. how big/small is farmer dave's small veggie share? is it more veg than one person can eat in a week? also if i couldn't get to the pick-up until at least six (i work in belmont), is that too late to get decent choice for the pick-your-own? because i love that idea.

Re: Farmer Dave's!

[gingernoname.livejournal.com]

I'm in a two family omnivore household and I've found that I've consistently used up the last veggie on the day of the next pick up. If you're vegetarian or a big veggie eater it could work. If not, it may be too much. Any overstock could easily be blanched and frozen or pickled.

Last week I got the following:

1 Rosita Eggplant
6 Thai Eggplants
1 bunch Red Leaf Lettuce
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Cubanelle Pepper
4 enormous Tomatoes
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes
1 baggie of Yellow Beans
1 bunch of Scallions
1 bunch of Basil

In my fruit share I got:

4 Peaches
4 Nectarines
12 Donut Peaches
1 pint of Blueberries

I've picked up both early on and later and there was only one time that they ran out of something (I had to get mint instead of basil). The quality hasn't made a difference, it's all delicious.

EDIT:

[gingernoname.livejournal.com]

TWO PERSON. Not two family. More coffee, please.

Re: Farmer Dave's!

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Find a buddy and share your share! I can't speak for the specific quantities in Farmer Dave's, but if you're worried about quantities either because you're a small household or one that doesn't cook enough, half a share or even a third of a share is a great way to get it on one.

[joyfulkel.livejournal.com]

fyi
you can sign up for a bunch of farm shares through Metro Pedal Power (http://metropedalpower.com/), which will deliver by bike to your home.
I do enterprise farms and I like it. They go year round.

[obie119.livejournal.com]

Here is a list collected from a Farm Share Fair that was held in Somerville this past January. There may be some changes but it's a great starting point. Enjoy!

http://www.somervilleclimateaction.org/web/farmsharefair

My two cents - because I think it should be clear that different things work for different people -

I do farmers markets only in the growing season - I have found that my husband and I are not home often enough to cook/prepare food, and I prefer having the freedom to go to the market with an idea of how many items we could realistically consume that week. Plus, we are growing a lot of our own veggies.

I had the Enterprise winter share for the past two winters, but the same problem applied - we just weren't on a regular enough schedule for the CSA. Now that there's plans for a winter market in Somerville, I feel confident in going off the CSA model. Plus, there is always Enterprise produce avail at Dave's Fresh Pasta is you shop at the right time.

So don't feel bad if you are a CSA failure like me - there are many ways to support local agriculture! :)

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

If you do want to get in on one now, see if you can find someone who has been using one of these farms all summer and bit off a bit more than they can chew and wants to split.

Or find someone who is going on vacation so you can try a whole share for a week or two and pay them for it.

I don't see anyone scrambling to offer in response to your post, but maybe you might be able to post specifically looking to buy a week or two of someone's CSA share or to find someone who wants to share a share and find someone....

I've been doing a slightly silly project with our CSA box - each week I note the farmers' market prices and then add up "what my box would cost if I bought it at the farmers' market" (seems more fair than comparing to Market Basket or Whole Foods but maybe that can be next year's project.) So far it's not a factor of 2 better or anything, though I think it might get closer by the time fall harvest season is over. If you're curious: http://outoftheboxfood.blogspot.com/search/label/market%20analysis

Not a CSA, but

[bettyw.livejournal.com]

For winter, take note that there will be a Somerville winter farmers' market (http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/somerville/2010/08/somerville_scene_a_winter_farm.html?sudsredirect=true) happening, location not yet set but maybe at the Armory.

For a CSA for next year, I've stuck with Parker Farm (https://sites.google.com/site/parkerfarmma/csa/about) for many years. He did have a rough season last year, but after making a decision to scale back the # of shares this year he's been much happier and more successful - I can barely tote off my small share (last 2 weeks the SMALL share got 12 ears of corn!)

Re: Not a CSA, but

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

I am also still with parker farms, and wanted to add that one of the great things about his CSA is that it does offer a small share, which my household of 4 (two adults, 2 toddlers) handles quite well. When I was looking before, a lot of places didn't seem to have half shares.

and man, that fresh corn is so delicious!

Re: Not a CSA, but

[chaiya.livejournal.com]

+another for Parker Farms. We've been one of the dropoff sites for the past couple of years, and this year just keeps getting better and better. :)

Re: Not a CSA, but Winter Farmers' Market

[fefie.livejournal.com]

I too had noticed that article the other day on boston.com about the winter farmers' market in the works for Somerville. I hope it happens!

[teresaelsey.livejournal.com]

We, too, get the Enterprise Farm CSA, continuously for about a year and a half now. It's been up and down -- I love the serendipity of having to cook with whatever arrives (we blog about it, too: http://farmsharestories.blogspot.com), but recently I've been looking at the farmer's market produce with envy when I see our box. We considered switching CSAs this spring, but the convenience of the Kickass Cupcakes pickup is hard to beat.

(We're a five-adult mostly vegetarian co-op, and their large share is about the right size for us.)

In their last newsletter, Enterprise mentioned that they were accepting new members for a 12-week fall share (starting at the end of August), which might be a good way to try them out (info here: http://www.enterpriseproduce.com/farmshare/index.htm).

Red Fire Farm

[masswich.livejournal.com]

Has always done it for me. You can pick your own produce and they let you go out to their farm in Granby and pick 8 qts. of strawberries and 8 pts. of peas each year as part of the deal.

Stone Soup Farm!

[bostonirish36.livejournal.com]

I signed up for a half share with Stone Soup Farm this summer for the first time and I LOVE it! They deliver to Harvard Square on Tuesdays (I know it's not Davis/Porter, but it's easily T accessible). I love that I was able to do a half share, which is perfect for two of us, that the farm is organic, and that they provide a range you can pay for a share in order to make local produce more accessible to those with lower incomes. The produce has been delicious, and being a member of a CSA has cut down on my grocery bill significantly - I really think it has saved us a lot of money. They also do a winter share and an egg share.

http://sites.google.com/site/stonesoupfarm/