CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares are where you purchase a portion of a local farmer's crop. Information about shares in your area can be found on Local Harvest.org website. In seasonal areas, shares usually start in May so it is important to sign up NOW.

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I guess that I don't understand what this is. I probably should since I married into a farming family (?). Could you give me a little more info.

A CSA is community supported agriculture. You essentially buy a "share" of a farm's harvest for the season. You generally pay quarterly, for the season, or monthly (depends on the CSA), and pick up produce weekly.

You get stuff that's fresh, local, and in season. And because you are buying a share, the farmer gets the money that you pay up front early (to help him buy supplies & get started). You also live the highs and lows of the crop year.

We've been members of our local CSA (which runs 9 months of the year) for 8 years. We have had the "year of the lettuce" (3-4 heads per week), "year of the strawberries" (lasted until October), "year of the peaches" (last year, we got several pounds for several weeks in a row), and whatnot. We had a bad frost last year (great for peaches, bad for avocados).


But that also means that there are times (like now) when they are "between harvests" where I have to buy produce elsewhere to supplement. We got lettuce, strawberries, carrots, peas, fava beans, beets, and cauliflower this week, just not quite enough for three people.

The localharvest.org website can tell you the ones near you.

Yum! Can't wait! This will be the second year that we have participated. We should start picking up fruits and vegetables the beginning of June.

I may actually purchase a food saver this year (one of those sealing machines for your freezer) so we can mix our vegetables up more. Trying to let the air out of freezer bags didn't work and the kale and mixed greens didn't make it.

I'm going to review all the recipes I got from my CSA last year and am looking forward to the new recipes they post. I know we will be eating more nutriously this summer.

I encourage everyone to look into this. Our farm family is a couple in their
30's w/three children. I would much rather see a farm than a half empty strip mall (the popular landscape in the suburbs around me).

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