How to Choose a CSA Farm

If you’ve read enough about conventional farming, dabbled in farmers markets and want to take your commitment to local, sustainable farming to the next level, now is the time to consider signing up for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm.  CSA membership is a commitment and they are not for everyone. A couple questions to ask yourself before taking the plunge:

Do you cook at home most nights? Make sure you ask how large the typical weekly share is and have a plan to use it all before it goes bad.

Are you willing to go with the flow and meal plan according to what’s in the bag? Adapting to a CSA can be difficult for type A personalities. This is the primary reason I started with a mini share, and supplemented our weekly produce intake at the farmers markets where I could pick and choose what I was in the mood for.  Some CSAs offer more choice than others, so if that’s important to you ask about options to choose your items or make substitutions.

Does your family enjoy the types of vegetables you’re likely to get a lot of? CSAs can be great tools for getting kids (and veggie-skeptical grown-ups) to try new things, but if you know that your family just won’t touch kale no matter how you dress it up/hide it, that’s something to consider.

Are you willing to spend time searching for new recipes to avoid greens (or squash or tomato) fatigue? There will be times when you just can’t stand the thought of another batch of sauteed chard, perhaps, or tire of zucchini bread. If you have friends or family nearby you can unload excess veggies on, that may help. You can also freeze batches to revisit in the winter when cravings for anything fresh set in. (Of course, stay tuned to FoodieTots for ideas during the growing season!)

If you decide to give a CSA a try, you might want to start with a half share, if offered, or find another family to split a share with for your first year. CSA Days, the blog of Basket of Life farm in Ohio, offers some good questions to ask of your farmers before selecting a CSA.

Stacey raised the question last week about the seasonal and price variations in different parts of the US. Price varies depending not just on location (more close in farms have higher land costs) but you might pay a premium for organic certification as well. As you might expect, those in southern regions have a longer growing season, but you might be surprised by how much variety CSAs offer even up north. Here’s a glimpse of what some CSA members take home from coast to coast:

Janette in Southern California is one of the lucky ones who gets fresh citrus and avocadoes in her CSA box (pictured right, photo (c) Janette Larson). Here’s her take in July: lettuce, bok choy, beets, oranges, leeks, heirloom tomatoes, tomatoes, white green beans, basil (still with roots), avocado, and beets. (Be Wise Ranch, year-round, $25 per week)

A June box from Timberwood Organics in North Carolina netted: kale, spinach, salad mix, cherry tomatoes, yellow cucumbers, green beans, yellow beans, bok choy, cucumbers, yellow squash, beets, zucchini, eggplant, broccoli. ($630 regular share, 28 weeks = $22.50/wk)

Here in Virginia, our CSA season runs from June through October, and hits its peak in August. Here’s an August mini-share haul (pictured left) from Potomac Vegetable Farms: tomatoes, fingerling potatoes, pole beans, garlic, purple and anaheim peppers, basil, corn. ($690 full share, 24 weeks = $28.75/wk; 16 week summer-only option available)

From Minnesota’s Easy Bean Farm, Jill typically receives: onions, potatoes, leafy greens, cucumber, zucchini/yellow squash, carrots, cabbage, leeks and green beans. ($490 full share, 18 weeks = $27.22/wk)

Check out the CSA group on Flickr for more glimpses at CSA offerings from past seasons.

Ready to take the plunge? Visit Local Harvest (or the Washington Post’s annual listing here in the DC Metro area) to find farms that are still open for new subscribers. And let me know, whether you’re a first-time member or seasoned supporter, in the comments and I’ll do another round-up of what folks are getting when the deliveries begin this spring.

Tags: community supported agriculture, CSA, From the Farm, sustainable farming

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