My CSA from Farmer Dave's has finished for the year and I am a little sad! I really liked the concept of the CSA from the beginning. It is a great way to help out the farm when they need it the most, and then I get a steady supply of fresh veggies each week - pretty much a win/win situation!
I got a lot of great produce this year. From the beautiful tomatoes, to a steady supply of green and cranberry beans, to the big butternut squash, I was overall pleased with my shares each week. I got a lot of certain items which was nice as I was able to blanch and freeze items for the winter (I have TONS of sweet corn in my freezer) but there were some things I was quickly swapping out toward the end of the season as I'd simply had too much of them (bok choy and wax beans were often swapped for wonderful carrots and beets).
I would suggest anyone who loves produce and lives in an area where a CSA is available (which is pretty much everywhere these days) to give it a shot next year. You may not get all your favorite vegetables in the share each week but it will certainly help if you are getting bored with the same old veggies. Don't be intimidated if you look at a CSA flyer or website and it lists things you don't like or have never heard of - a quick google search will most likely yield a recipe that you'll end up liking. If not, a lot of CSAs have swap boxes where you can swap it out the next time!
I will be switching CSA's next year and I think its best to remember that this is not a multiple year commitment. If you go through the year and decide at the end that you didn't really like a lot of what you got, or that there wasn't as good a variety as you'd been hoping for, you can always switch next year! Many farms grow similar things but will have different ways of distributing between the shares. Also, it is sometimes a good idea to split a bigger share with someone in an effort to get a better variety (my plan for next year).
All in all, I loved my CSA and I can't wait for next summer to start getting a share of the crop each week again!
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