Some of you might remember last May when we bought a CSA share from Plan B organic farms. It was our first time ever buying a CSA share and we were excited for local and organic food each week.
Well to clarify, it was mostly ME who was excited…but excitement is contagious and I think Eric secretly enjoyed it too.
…I think it was all the cooking I did!
We quickly learned that there were things we loved about the CSA share and things that we didn’t love.
CSA PROS:
1) Value for dollar
At just $20 something dollars a week, we were given a huge box of organic produce. It would have cost much more had we purchased this at the grocery store. Even so, we wouldn’t have been able to find everything organic at the grocery store and I can bet it wouldn’t have been local either.
2) Support local organic farmers
3) Fresh & Crisp produce, better quality than what we find at grocery store
4) Our veggie consumption went way up and we felt amazing.
5) We tried so many new vegetables. Even scary ones!
CSA CONS:
1) Lots of Repetition
By August/September we were getting tons and tons of potatoes and squash (among other things) and we got so sick of the repetition. I’m sure if we lived in a tropical climate, there would be a better selection of produce each week, but around here I think we are more limited.
2) No choice in what produce you get
We often found ourselves longing for some items that were in season and they never came (e.g., tomatoes).
3) Picking up the box each week
We opted not to get a delivery to save money. We found out only after we purchased the share that the pick-up location was a 25 minute drive from our house and it wasn’t overly convenient for us. Plan B does not disclose the pick-up location until your make the purchase. Obviously, this was a con for our particular circumstance, but pick-up location is still something to consider before buying.
Our 2011 Produce Plan
This year, we decided that we are going to change things up and do things a bit differently!
Our plan for the 2011 season is to:
1) Possibly plant a garden this Spring, time willing!
2) Buy produce from the Milton Farmer’s Market. We aren’t working at the Oakville market this summer so we hope to attend the Milton Market (as customers!) as much as possible this year. It opens May 14th.
3) Buy produce from local organic farm. I recently discovered that there is an organic farm not too far from us. This organic farm lets you buy produce on Wednesday evenings and they will also be selling at the Milton Farmer’s Market on Saturdays.
(If we plant a garden, we won’t need to rely on the farm/market as much…but we’ll have to see!)
If we manage to build a garden, I plan on showing the process on the blog. I really have NO CLUE how to build a veggie garden (and I don’t know a thing about vegetable gardening!), but my RMT has been teaching me a lot about it because she is a pro. :) I’m sure I can find some tutorials online too.
I hope our new plan will work out well this season. I will keep you updated on our progress!
Do you have a plan of how you will be buying your produce this Spring and Summer? Do you ever use a CSA, Farmer’s Market, local farm, or plant your own veggies? If you plant your own garden, how did you start it up?
We signed up for a CSA for the first time this year. We got a really good deal on it. I’m sure we’ll be happy with it! We are also starting a very small (4’x6′) garden that will be mostly herbs and greens (kale, collards, chard) because I feel like that is what we go through the most and can save the most money. We will also supplement this with trips to the Farmer’s Market but probably not weekly like we did last summer. Maybe every couple of weeks. And I am certainly not against having to end up at the grocery store for a couple other produce items. We’ll never see bananas in this part of the world. ;)
For a while you spoke regularly about your business and the farmer’s market last year, but you’ve cut back significantly. I get that’s this is a healthy food and living blog, but I know I’m curious how your business is going and why you decided not to do the market again. Can you share?
Namaste.
I was curious about this too:) I was totally going to check out your stuff at the Oakville market this summer, but now I’ll order your delicious bars online.
I’m very interested to hear more about your gardening plans! I’m going to make a raised bed this weekend – gotta make use of my Dad while he’s in town!!!
I decide not to blog a lot about the business because I don’t feel that this is really the place to go on and on about my business. I do mention when I have sales and whatnot. We’re not doing the market because we had no personal/social life last summer because of it and I was working 7 days a week, Not healthy for anyone. Also, I can’t keep up with online orders as it is!
I’m glad to hear your business is so successful. So many of us in blog-land are rooting for you, so it’s nice to hear the quick updates that you are finding success following your passion. You are an inspiration girl!
Thanks Autumn!
I really wanted to get the family farmer basket this summer but can’t afford it :(. I would definitely save on fruits & veggies and can pay 16$/week but can’t pay 300$ at the beginning of the summer. Since they ask that you pay for all summer in May, it’ll have to wait.
And I wish there was a farmer’s market near.
Thank you for posting this! I’m actually heading out on Saturday to look into a CSA near me and this information definitely helps! I’m in Buffalo, NY, so we would probably have the same repetitiveness that you experienced. I think this CSA has an open market, so I might just do that instead of investing. Thanks for sharing!!!
I’m super excited to have found a Co-op in Orlando that lets you buy surplus on Thursdays! I cant wait to participate in that. Even though I cant really have a big garden in my apartment, I am going to be growing my own herbs…but on that note, do you know of any plants that could be grown in planters on my porch? I’ve got the perfect climate to grow but I would have to have everything in pots on my balcony :/
yu can grow tomatoes in pots on your proch if ther is at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight there
you can also grow greens such as spinach and lettuce you can give dwarf beans a try too make sure the pots for the tomatoes are 12 inches at least and keep an eye on moisture potted plants tend to dry out quicker
hope this info helps i hve luck with tomatoes this way patio tomatoes work well
good luck to you
Our farmer’s market starts up around mid-May. I always love going, and picking up -maybe one or two things – but I can’t afford to buy a lot.
I would highly suggest checking out lasagna gardening — no weeds & LOTS of veggies. I don’t think a CSA plan would work for us because I plan all meals for 1-2 weeks ahead of time to save on waste, money and time. I looooooove farmer’s markets though! Can’t wait!
We rely on the farmers market (1 mile from our house) for our meat and some produce. During the summer and fall, we get most of our produce from a local farm that offers work shares. So we can work on the farm for 4 hours on Saturday and leave with two CSA shares (one for my husband and one for me). This is a perfect option for us because it’s budget-friendly and lets us get our hands dirty!
i’m fortunate enough to have a big garden with tons of veggies.. and everything else is purchased at the farmers market!
I looked into a local CSA and the delivery includes milk, eggs and honey, none of which I eat, and they were inflexible! So forget it! Last year we used the Farmer’s Market May – October. I loved it. While I plan to do that again, when possible I have discovered that my local grocery delivery (yes, I order groceries online!) has a local produce option in the spring / summer and I plan to use that on the weeks that I cannot make it to the the farmer’s market.
Your intro photo is stunning.
I’m excited to get back to the Farmers Markets this spring/summer. I’ve heard from friends that CSA shares in MN are not the best — mostly corn and potatoes every week!
I’d love to have a garden. My mother in law has one and we get quite a bit of produce from her — lettuce, peppers, potatoes, etc. And my dad grows a ton of tomatoes so we are set there.
I would love to join a CSA! I think all the new veggies would be exciting, but my husband is still easing into the veggie world and slowly talking himself out of imaginary food allergies. So he’s not on board yet, and really, we’re both too busy (work+school) to find the time to cook all of those veggies anyway. So we’ll still be using the local farmers market. I love the Saturday morning tradition of going, buying coffee, and wandering around looking at all the pretty, healthy food. I hear there’s someone selling local honey this year too! Our started two weeks ago and I’m determined to make it this weekend, even if I have to go solo.
We grow our own tomatoes, beans, peas, herbs, and lettuce in containers on our fourth-floor terrace (yay urban gardening!) and belong to a fabulous CSA – New York is somewhat south of you, so we get a better selection longer, but it does get a little repetitive near the end. I try to think of it as a challenge to get creative about using stuff up :)
I belong to a CSA. I chose it because it is local (they are based in my neighborhood!) and they don’t require me to buy a subscription. I do have a regular delivery schedule (every other week), but I buy each box individually ($33/box) so I can feel free to skip a delivery when I need to. I also love that they will deliver to my job or my apartment, depending on what I need, at no extra cost.
The repetition can get taxing. I am so glad I haven’t seen a squash in a few weeks!! But overall, I enjoy it. My farmers are totally friendly, I get a decent selection and have branched out and tried things I normally wouldn’t have. They also have agreements with other farms and I get the option of having organic free range eggs included, or meat or most recently, kombucha! It’s cool!
I tend to kill houseplants, but I’ve successfully grown several batches of wheatgrass so I’m going to try a very small garden this year. It may only have one vegetable – kale! Keep it simple, no? :) Our farmers market is only open Saturdays’, and that’s a hiking day so I miss out on the market. Several friends have HUGE gardens so I’ve been lucky enough to graze at their place.
Just made VOO for the first time and licked my bowl clean this morning! Chocolate protein powder added to the classic recipe, with the lovely goo layered with papaya jam…
Living in the Bay Area, we have many more choices with CSA’s, however, I still ran into some of the same “cons” you did (no more squash please!!). Anyway, I used to be clueless in the gardening department but over the last year or so have learned so much (through trial & error too). We now have a great garden full of edible flowers, herbs, fruits & veggies. It’s actually kind of addictive b/c I just bought 6 more plants to add to the mix (peppers, tomatoes, beans, etc.). I can’t wait to see more about how you get started! Oh, be sure to get a compost going though too b/c that is the magic that makes your garden grow!
Sarah
veggie-kids.blogspot
That’s awesome that you’re thinking of planting a garden. I’ve had a garden for 3 years, this will be the fourth. I love it! It does take a lot of time though. I find most of my work is after I’ve planted and just keeping the weeds down. It’s endless, but so worth it. You just have to jump into it. Till up your land and plot out what you want and where and then plant. The thing is it doesn’t have to be perfect, you can put all different plants together except for a few major ones(read your packages). If you start from seed, some things need to be started inside earlier and you’ll need to find out when your last frost is because a lot of things can’t be planted outside till then. I’m thinking of sharing my garden on my blog but I still don’t know if anyone would be interested. We don’t have a csa here but I do shop at the farmers market and even still the grocery store to fill in the gaps.
Gardening is so fun! Last year, I started small, so things that were not easy to find at the market: tomatillos, pasilla peppers, and herbs. This year, I have grown it to include things like amaranth, arugula, 4 types of tomatoes, mustard greens, kale, and cabbage.
I like to start mine from seed, which I did a few weeks ago and use containers but many of my friends use raised beds, which are successfull.
It takes time, but by mid-July, you should have stuff! Have fun!
This is a great post Angela! It’s fun to experiment with the different sustainable options out there and find what works for you, and we’re all unique with our own lifestyles, so it takes some trial and error to find the best option! My family used to have a garden when I was little, and it was so much fun to watch everything grow and know that you grew what you were eating yourself. Plus, the veggies were SO fresh and delicious!!!
Hi Angela – two really good gardening books:
Crockett’s Victory Garden (possibly THE vegetable gardening book), by James underwood Crockett
Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew
Have fun!