CSA Experience

We signed up for our first CSA this year & it was amazing. I was documenting it on my Instagram, but wanted to lay it all out in 1 place to really illustrate the benefits.

What is a CSA?

Community Sponsored Agriculture (or community-supported agriculture; I've heard it both ways), is a program in which the community purchases shares of a farm's produce. This is a great way to get farm-fresh produce that is both local and seasonal. And of course, it also helps support small farms in your area.

If you are interested in the misfit or ugly produce programs, this is something else to consider. Just like these more commercial programs, food waste is reduced as the farms aren't picking the best looking items. You will get some funky looking pieces, but they will taste just as good as the pretty ones. In fact, I find my farm-fresh produce is so much more flavorful than that at the supermarket! It's picked when ripe, not in advance so it won't go bad on a truck. It's still covered in dirt because it came from the fields that day or the day before, and it hasn't been waxed or over washed. None of your CSA product has sat in a truck or freezer for an extended period of time.

CSAs are also cool because you are getting local & seasonal items, which may cause you to go outside your comfort zone, think outside the box, and really learn to enjoy fruits & veggies.

How to choose a CSA?

Look for a farm or farmer's market near you! Compare offerings too, as different farms may have different arrangements. 

There are 2 farms near me offering CSAs. Both offer an 18-week summer share. Both also offer a winter storage share, but one farm does a one-time pick-up and the other has 2 pick-ups. Only 1 farm does a 6-week spring share. These farms also vary in size options. One farm offers 3 sizes: personal (1/2 bushel), half (3/4 bushel), and full (1 bushel); the other only offers 2 sizes: half (1/2 bushel), and full (full bushel). For the farm I chose, your share size not just determines the number of items, but how many different items: the smallest share might get 5 different veg  & the larges share might get 10 different veg.

Look into other offerings too! The farms in my area also farm-fresh eggs and local honey that you can add to your share.

What does a CSA share look like?

Edited June 2021: This year the farm offered a Spring Greens share, which I thought was pretty exciting & wanted to include in my post. It was a one-size-fits all share & looks to be that way moving forward. It's a 4-week share, however, the summer crop was not ready yet so they offered a 2 week extension this year.

Week 1 2 heads of escarole, spinach, lettuce mix, microgreens, hakurai turnips, radishes, and asparagus	Week 2 red leaf lettuce, spinach, Asian lettuce mix, microgreens, hakurai turnips, radishes, and purple asparagus	Week 3 Boston bib, bok choy, salad mix, lettuce, micro greens, asparagus, and hakurai turnips
Week 4 romaine, bok choy, purple turnips, asparagus, spinach, salad mix, and microgreens	Week 5 napa cabbage, purple asparagus, kale, lettuce mix, boston red, kohlrabi, and hakurai turnips	Week 6 purple cabbage, purple asparagus, boston red, broccoli, salad mix, microgreens, and fennel

Well, I can't say for sure that my experience is average, but take a look below to see what my 18-week summer half share entailed. You will notice early weeks were a bit sparse, and the later weeks started getting smaller too, because that's how the season works. We also opted to add-on 1 dozen farm-fresh eggs to our weekly produce share (not pictured)

Starting 2022, the Summer share will be extended to 20 weeks!

Week 1 cabbage, romaine, Boston bib, onions, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes	Week 2 red cabbage, romaine, arugula, cucumber, onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, summer squash	Week 3 napa cabbage, frisee, bell peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, cantaloupe, red/yellow onions
Week 4  kale, basil, cantaloupe, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, red potatoes, bell pepper, anaheim peppers, red onion, cucumber	Week 5 corn, potatoes, onion, green peppers, tomatoes, summer squash, zucchini, eggplant, basil, cantaloupe	Week 6 cantaloupe, corn, zucchini, summer squash, bell peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, onion, green beans
Week 7 black watermelon, rainbow chard, basil, corn, summer squash, potatoes, bell pepper, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, white onion, scallions, green beans, fresh garlic	Week 8  Tuscan melon, corn, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green beans, cucumber, eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, pattypan squash, potatoes, onions	Week 9 corn, watermelon, dragon tongue beans, cherry tomatoes, tomatoes, Bermuda onion, bell pepper, banana pepper, new potatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, green beans, eggplant, pattypan squash
Week 10 corn, watermelon, eggplant, kale, basil, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, onion, potatoes, shishito peppers, baby garlic	Week 11 butternut squash, yellow watermelon, corn, Japanese eggplant, bell peppers, tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, potatoes, shishito peppers, green beans, basil	Week 12 broccoli, cabbage, yellow watermelon, tomatoes, tomatillos, baby acorn squash, delicata squash, honey crisp apples, sweet red pepper, poblanos, jalepeño, potatoes, pickling cucumbers
Week 13 cabbage, spaghetti squash, watermelon, basil, kale, microgreens, Roma tomatoes, eggplant, sweet red peppers, honey crisp apples, potatoes	Week 14 cabbage, butternut squash, broccoli, green bell peppers, carmen peppers, new potatoes, purple daikon radishes, Roma tomatoes, honey crisp apples	Week 15 sugar pumpkin, orangetti spaghetti squash, mini acorn squash, green bell pepper, carmen pepper, carrots, purple daikons, broccolini, tomatoes, honey crisp apples, sweet potatoes
Week 16 cabbage, rutabaga, lettuce, carnival squash, watermelon radishes, purple topped turnips, honey crisp apples, sweet pepper, parsley	Week 17 beet, acorn squash, lettuce, spinach, purple daikons, purple topped turnips, onion, spinach, carrots, honey crisp apples	Week 18 beet, delicata squash, acorn squash, lettuce blend, cabbage, cilantro, onion, purple daikon, tomatoes, honey crisp apples

We also signed up for the winter storage share. This share is hearty fruit & veg that will store for a long time over the winter. These items will easily last weeks, if not months if stored properly. A cellar or unheated garage is a great place to keep these items, but many will also fare well on your counter or refrigerator if you have the room.

Edited November 2021: I just wanted to add some notes as we saw some changes in the dried goods this year including polenta & oats! Parsnips & celeriac made an appearance as well.

Week 1 red beans (dry), rutabaga, pumpkin, beets, popping corn, sweet potatoes, onions, potatoes, honey crisp apples, Brussels sprout

Week 2 delicata squash, butternut squash, Thelma Sanders sweet potato squash, leeks, sweet potatoes, golden potatoes, red potatoes, red/yellow onions, honey crisp apples, cabbage, black beans (dry), honey

Stay tuned as I will be creating a new post, probably in the new year, that showcases all the amazing farm-fresh dishes we've made from our 2020 spring & winter shares.