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?
Oh wow, you have a lot of comments on this one! :)
My boyfriend and I started out first garden last year. I had worked on several farms in the past, and he grew up in a family that had a garden, so we just read some books and websites, and made some guesses. The main problem we had was knowing what to plant when, so I’m spending a day later this week to determine what can go in the ground now, and what needs to wait until after our first frost.
Besides our garden produce (and we have amazing berry bushes in our yard), I stick to the farmers’ markets and some farm stands. I like the idea of a CSA, but we live in a really rural area (with no CSAs nearby), and think it’d be too difficult with the driving. Plus, I like choice.
I can’t believe you drove 25 miles each week! I would love to have a garden and can’t wait til I graduate and get a house to start one. Until then, I try to go by local farmers markets as much as possible. They are tons of fun!
I joined a CSA for the first time last year and loved it for all the reasons you mentioned. We too got a little tired of some of the veggies (e.g., turnips!), but we got way more variety than what I would have purchased at the store. I love learning about new vegetables and trying out new recipes with them. Our CSA is only a couple miles from our house, so it is an easy bike ride to pick up the box. Plus, we live in a condo, so having a garden is not a practical idea. I’m already counting down the weeks until our first veggie box arrives!
We do a CSA, but the pickup is super close to our house so it’s no big deal for us. And I kind of like not knowing what we’re getting :)
I do however agree with some of the other “issues” you commented on…we got so.much.squash last year. We at one point got one that was larger than our cat!
I would love to have a larger garden this year! But we have to change some things in our yard to make room for a larger patch if its going to happen. I do however grow basil, thyme and tomatoes (I also grow cherry tomatoes at my neightbors house, its vacant and they are letting me use their small garden area). I REALLY wanted to sign up for the CSA this year but not sure I’ll have the funds on time. But I DO plan to get a meat and egg share (local pasture raised eggs and beef!! I know that’s not your thing ;)). Nonetheless I WILL be visiting the farmer’s market every week and our local pick your own farm. My son (who’s 3) loved going to the farmer;s market last summer. And when we walk downtown past the place that they set up he asks when we get to start going again! Its so nice to meet the local farmers and have them start looking forward to you coming every week.
Yes, yes and yes! We are starting our third CSA season in about a month. I think I reacted to fennel about how you did, Angela! Ha ha! Some weird stuff sometimes. :)
We occasionally pick things up at the local farmers’ market. As you can imagine, we don’t need to get a whole lot since we already have the CSA share. I like to get things that we don’t get in our share, like extra tomatoes or cucumbers. I never get enough cucumbers for my liking.
We had a small herb garden the last two summers, and we are considering planting more things this year. If we are successful, I think we will be sharing a lot of veggies! And perhaps doing more preserving. I am a total novice when it comes to canning, but I have done just a little bit and would be willing to try to do more. I’m sure these things will come up on my blog too as the summer starts and progresses.
Canning is so much fun! There are so many different ways to preserve, it’s always an adventure!
We’re on year 3 of gardening and it has progressively grown bigger every year. We rent a house in town that has a large lot size. We built 5 raised beds that are 12 inches tall by 2 ft wide by 12 ft long and three 4ftX4ft boxes. Growing your own produce is amazing and fun. Also the farmers’ market is not even a half mile from our house just in case we need something that we’re not growing.
This post was so helpful! I’ve been thinking of doing a CSA for awhile, but after reading your cons, I think I’ll stick with the farmer’s market. I love going there anyway. I am also planting an herb garden and some tomatoes. With any luck, I can pick from my own backyard. :)
I’m totally lucky to have a mother with an amazing garden (and gardening know-how!). She keeps us stocked in produce year round (she freezes some things and others, like potatoes, onions, and squash, last a while). I keep telling her that she needs to start a blog about all of her gardening experience!
I’ve been thinking about a vegetable garden… maybe I’ll take the leap with you! A friend of mine bought a CSA share and I paid for a few weeks when she wasn’t going to be around – I really really enjoyed it. That being said, the amount of produce I got was soooo much and I was really overwhelmed. I don’t know if I could handle that for a large part of the year. Someday when I have a big family I will definitely buy my own share :)
I’m moving in June to a bigger city and one of the things that I’m most excited about (not counting my new rooftop pool) is the farmers market only three blocks away from my apartment!!I see so many fresh fruit and tomatoes in my near future this summer :) and can’t wait for squash this fall!!
it’s a grand task yet pretty exciting thinking about building your own garden! I hope someday I can do that too. :) I usually go to regular grocery stores or farmer’s markets once in a while. I’ve been hearing about CSA more and more lately though. Thank you for the pros and cons! that helps to know.
I have planted and grown a little veggie and herb garden for about 3 years. Last year was my first in Ottawa, and it always takes a bit to sort out what grows best in your location (geographically), and also where you plant in your yard (ie with amounts of sunlight etc). My most successful has always been tomatoes, and in Waterloo lettuce grew really well. Beans and spinach are easy to grow too. I would say for your first year try a bunch of things, and see what happens! It’s really fun to watch it grow. Oh, and watch out for bunnies too – if you live near woods, you might have to put up a little fence or something to make sure they don’t eat all your greens!
I supplement my garden with stuff from farmers markets – but would love to be part of a food box type program for other stuff that I can’t grow, and that would let me get good quality stuff throughout the year.
All the best with your garden, if you get around to it! It’s really satisfying!
We just moved into a new house so we have a dirt pit for a backyard. I’ve been begging my boyfriend to agree to build me a garden, but he’s reluctant because he doesn’t think I’ll use it and/or my veggies will all die. He’s probably right. I suck at taking care of things + I’m soo busy! Thankfully we have a farmers market every Wednesday evening during the summer, so I plan to do that. Plus our local grocery store stocks a lot of organic + local produce, so I think it’ll all work out!
I’m planning to join a local Co-op in Peterborough, www.bythebushel.ca to try it out. A friend of mine is one of the producers in the co=op. I’m luck to have access to organic beef from my parent’s hobby farm plus all the venison and waterfowl hubby brings home. I would be really interested in finding a source of organic poultry though!
Re: repetition – I’m planning to chop and freeze whatever extras I have if possible. We end up throwing away a lot of produce I purchase at the grocery store. It’s super frustrating to pay such high prices for conventionally grown produce with no taste that has been shipped from who-knows-where and been on a truck for a significant period of time. I like to know where my food comes from! Support Canadian Farmers :)
I buy our vegetables at the grocery store. However, being that there are many farms where we live, I would like to support local farmers and buy produce from them.
Since our daughter is almost 3 years-old, I would like to plant a garden with her. It is something fun, and she can see the fruits of her labor.
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
I keep adding to my garden every year, its wonderful to have fresh veggies. As others have said, raised beds are the way to go. I put down rock all along the outside of the boxes and paths to keep the weeds away. It really helps. We also have a lot of deer, so a 6 foot fence was a must. I get the plants when they are about 4 inches and plant after May 15th (except for cucumber and squash, you just need to toss some seed down and they grow). I am looking forward to seeing your pics of the process. Good luck!
I’ve been using a CSA since August 2010 and I love it for the most part. I will definitely agree that certain items get old when you receive them in your box week after week. Luckily for us there is a pickup location less than a mile from my work, which makes it very convenient. My favorite part is not having to shop for as much produce but still getting so many healthy vegetables in my diet.
I have never joined a CSA, although I am somewhat interested to. But I have the same concerns that you had about repetition and actually getting things I like to eat. I don’t want to spend the money for a CSA and then go to the store to buy tomatoes or something I am not getting.
I just started a garden this spring. It is really awesome and I highly recommend it. It is so rewarding to actually GROW your own produce. I bought seeds online from Seeds of Change and they are doing really well. I advise you to stray away from buying plants from big home improvement stores because they often sell diseased plants. Also, there are a lot of seed companies out there who source their seeds from Monsanto (even organic). I don’t know if that is an issue for you or not, but I recommend doing research online about it.
And just start small. I fenced in a bit of space in my backyard and tilled the whole thing. Pulling out weeds and tilling will probably take you the longest, then I put some newspaper down (organic & biodegradable), peat moss, cedar mulch, manure, and planting soil. My plants are growing in their own containers and soon I will plant them in a few weeks when they grow a bit more.
I love Farmer’s Markets because I can actually talk to the farmers and get fresh products. Going to farms is great too, but they are too far for me to travel to all the time. I feel incredibly lucky to live in a state (Texas) that has a lot of farmers though!
Wow! I never would have thought to check out the source of the seeds…that is a bit scary! Thanks for the advice :)
Living in NYC I’m lucky to have amazing Green Markets all the time in the summer!!! I get excited going to them : )
Omg comment mania on this post!!
I agree with you on all pros..value for the dollar, trying things you would never be exposed to or try on your own, including scary things. lol And supporting local famers.
Cons…yes, pickup locations are huge. One of our CSAs had a Fri night pickup and altho it was only 2 miles from our house, it was in the heart of an urban area on Fri nite and traffic was 45 mins there and 45 mins back to go about 2 miles!
Also the repetition and lack of choice does get old.
And the feeling that omg I now have 4 huge bags of greens to use…NOW….or they will go bad on me. I don’t like that kind of ‘pressure’ with the onslaught of produce that comes ALL at once. I would rather shop twice a week or in smaller quantity b/c if a big quantity is cheap but I waste it, it’s really not “cheap” or a value anymore.
I do love CSAs but there are caveats, as you mentioned. Farmers markets here are beyond glorious but NOT cheap/cheaper than reg groc store. Beautiful food, support local farmers, but apples are cheaper at the reg groc store type thing. You have to know going in what is a better value at each location.
I could go on and on. Everyone else has too apparently with all these comments :)
This post makes me so excited for the upcoming season. We use a combination of gardening (mainly for tomatoes and zucchini), farmer’s markets, and farm stands to get our fruit and veggie fix each summer! :)
I am lucky lucky lucky. I live in Southern California.
We are CSA members, and have been since 2001. Our CSA runs January to November. I love it. But it did take some getting used to, mostly because of the repetitiveness and the need to figure out what to do with certain items.
We supplement though, since $20/week doesn’t quite get enough for the 3 of us.
In addition, we have farmer’s markets here 6 days a week, including one on Weds at my son’s school. And we have farmers galore, plus a couple of produce stores that sell local produce.
My neighbor gets delivery – so the company goes to the farmer’s market, or works directly with farmers. It’s an additional $5-10/week for the delivery charge, compared to our CSA cost (our CSA is on the way home from work). The advantage is that it’s delivered, you can choose to skip weeks, and you get more variety since you are getting from several farmers. Our farm also will occasionally provide produce from nearby farms. But there are some things that they just don’t grow, so you aren’t ever going to get them.
I’ve gotten quite used to the spring greens, and have no problem getting through them. This year was very light in squash, I was sad. But when we have gotten way too many squash, I will roast and freeze in baggies, then have months of butternut squash soup at my disposal. Or risotto.
Putting in/maintaining a garden ton of work, but totally worth it! I’m sure if you scaled it down a bit, it would be more manageable than what my family and I have going on! I have some diagrams and updates on my blog, though, if you want to check them out they might give you some ideas.
Good luck!
I’m joining a CSA and just planted a garden, both for the first time ever. The CSA is my back up plan in case some things in my garden don’t make it. Clearly I have a lot of faith in my gardening skills.
I’m doing a CSA for the first time this year–we’ll see how it goes! Someday I’ll do my own garden.
This post made me so excited for spring and summer veggies!
I am a die-hard Farmer’s Market girl and have always wanted to try the CSA option but it’s not too friendly on my budget currently. A couple months from now I will have the space and time to start my own garden, so I am definitely going to try that out. Please do plenty of posts on your garden building, I can’t wait to see your progress!
I SOOOOOoooo Miss our All Local Farmer’s Market!!! We moved about an hour and a half away from it and I still get a little sad every Saturday morning :( There are some farmer’s Markets about 20-25 minutes away from where we live now… Hoping to give them a try this season!
I agree with you about the pros and cons of doing a CSA. We did it once and ended up getting a lot of veggies that we dont’t eat (hot peppers!!) and it was about a 20 minutes drive to pick it up for us too! But it was nice to have fresh food right from the fram! Pros and cons to everythig I guess :)
I’ve been doing some research to get signed up this year as well. We just purchased our first home in January so I’m planning a vegatable garden right now. I feel like I don’t know enough to really get it going… but, we shall see!
I’ve shopped at farmers’ markets for several years and love it. This year we are splitting a CSA share with another couple, and I will supplement with the farmers’ markets and supermarket. We are also considering a raised bed for herbs, tomatoes, peppers and maybe garlic.
I REALLY want to find a CSA share for one, since my family wouldn’t ever eat all the veggies with me. It would open me up to so many different veggies! But in the mean time I plan on hitting the farmers market more often and making friends with my local farmers.
I Planted a garden and it was so easy. I thought it was such a miracle tha the veggies actually grew! I plant green beans, squash, and tomatoes. This year I am going to also do bell peppers and some herbs.
I love CSAs! I don’t think it’s fair that they wouldn’t disclose the pick-up location before you paid. It might have made you change your mind about opting out of delivery. I’m a failed gardener. I plan on trying again this summer. I’d like to try square foot gardening.
I try and buy organic from the supermarket but every week i am more and more dissapointed in the quality and that its not all local- why do they have to put wax on apples etc, it doesnt feel like real food when you can just about see your reflection in it. This year i am planning to buy produce from a local fruit and vegetable market and start a herb garden.
I’m a BIG Farmer’s market fan, and can’t wait until the local produce is available.
I am getting a CSA this summer, and I am pretty excited about it! I can’t wait to discover all the goodies!
I would love to have a garden but am pretty clueless, too. I’ll look forward to learning about it!
P.S. What’s an RMT?
Yayyyy gardening! I started our garden this weekend– started the seedlings for our peppers, tomatoes and basil, planted herbs in pots and and planted lettuce, arugula and peas in the window boxes on our deck. I’m documenting the process as I go, too, like how to start seedlings yourself, etc. Excited to see your potential garden!
When I saw Milton I thought it was just a coincidence, but then I saw Oakville. I can’t believe how close we live. I find it so cool lol :)
I often go my local farmer’s markets for produce but more often just go to the fruit shop up the road because I tend to get lazy early on Sunday Mornings :)
But gardening is one of my hobbies, and this summer I had a truck load of beans growing (really easy to grow!) and if you don’t have time for a full on garden like I don’t, pots of herbs and quick growing things such as radishes and salad stuff are very handy. I only have a 1x2m square area to plant in too, so I am limited in what I can plant.
Good luck :)
God, I hope your garden goes better than mine did last year! My cucumbers overtook the my yard, my tomatoes never ripened, and animals ate my squash and strawberries. I’m giving it a try again this year! Just picked up my seeds….
LOVE my CSA! The extra things that we tire of I freeze or can. Sure did enjoy them all winter long. I also plant a garden for what the CSA does not grow. He does not do Kale, collards, or pumpkins. Kale and collards do not have a lot of people who want them (or even know what they are!) and pumpkins are too late in the season for the CSA. Can’t wait for fresh, local produce!!
My husband does all the organic gardening for me. We’ve just moved to our first house so are planning to build raised beds for no-dig garden. And also a 3 compartment compost bin. And plant lots and lots of fruit trees. When we left our rental house, new tenants got our big, flourishing garden (big sigh). Hope they’re happy.
I have a mini garden where I plant tomatoes, sweet peppers and herbs. Even if you don’t have time to plant a full garden, I HIGHLY recommend planting just a few things. You will never taste more delicious produce in your life! Plus it is so convenient just to run out to the garden to get herbs instead of remembering to buy them at the grocery store. ;)
I buy a lot of my summer produce at the Burlington farmer’s market. I can’t wait until it opens again!
OH! You definitely have to do the garden….because I need to know about gardens. And it’s all about me, of course! :-) I look forward to watching the progression. And to see if you can find a way to keep the earwigs out of the tomato plants.
I love the CSA idea. I’ll have to see if there’s one near where I live.
When my husband and I get a house we definitely want to plant a vegetable garden too. I think it would be so much fun. :-)
I just started my own garden this past weekend, and it was so much fun! When my husband and I bought the house, there was a raised bed already in the back. Obviously that was a great perk, so I didn’t have to build my own. So I tilled it up and added some organic soil and planted tomato plants, a cucumber plant and some Bibb lettuce seeds. I also started 2 container gardens on my patio: 1 for herbs and 1 for hot peppers. We will see how it goes! Hopefully, I will get enough to can some peppers and cucumbers :) I posted pictures on my website if you want to check it out.
Good luck!
We are signed up for a CSA this summer, I am so excited! Our plan is for every other week pick-up, which I think will be a good amount for the two of us. I think it will be a good way to expand my horizons in vegetable cooking and eating! And I would much rather buy produce from a local farm than the grocery store. Better quality, better prices, and the farm has an ice cream window :)
planting a veggie garden is such a fun idea! my husband and i are considering this as well, although we live in a very hot area and are not sure what we can grow. not sure if you know of joy, from http://www.joyoushealth.ca/, but i think she lives in canada and she is always mentioning different farmers markets. she may know of markets, etc. in your area!
Good luck with the gardening. My dad in an avid veggie gardener who grows everything from corn, to tomatoes, and even a watermelon in his greenhouse once! The green thumb doesn’t seem to be genetic though – I have managed to kill a wide variety of house plants :( I’m thinking of attempting a patio garden with flowers and a few low-maintenance veggies this summer… I think even if I manage to get some fresh lettuce and cherry tomatoes, it would be worth it! An added bonus is that and I hear gardening can be very relaxing.