CSA Time

It is that time of year again for us. Renewing our CSA. We have really enjoyed Vermont Valley for the past 2 years. This year, however, we are switching to a new farm. We love VV for their quality, variety, freshness, and convenient pick up locations, but they are just so far away from us we never get to take advantage of all of the member events like the corn boil, pesto pick, pumpkins or strawberries. SOOO the big move.

We have been reviewing farms and weighing what we want to get this year. We have had 2 years of 1/2 shares (every other week) for the veggies, tried the fall storage share one year, and had the fruit share last year. We want to try a full share this year yet still supplement with our home garden...I grow a ton of herbs, tomatoes, peppers, flowers, and pumpkins. This year I am also growing beans!!! And peas!!!

It looks like we are going to go with JenEhr! We have heard great things about this small organic family farm in Sun Prairie. They don't offer pickup locations throughout town, but they are only 15 miles away. I am excited that this year we will be close enought to participate in the strawberry pick, tomato pick and any other seasonal events...YAY!

I also love that the boys see what we grow here at home, and see such a variety of veggies in our share all summer. But to get to go to the farm to pick up our food, and to actually go to u-picks - the 4 year old is big enough to enjoy seeing a local organic farm, see where our food comes from, and to participate in it more actively - what a bonus.

Summer share time comes slowly in Wisconsin, and the slowest time of year is always March and April when you can feel spring is approaching, but still have a few months to wait. I am excited about fresh vegetables with the smell of the earth still on them, picked not long before we receive them, warm to touch. I await the bounty.

(CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Local farms sell 'shares' to the public - and you then get weekly or bi-weekly crates full of vegetables/fruit from the farm. Some CSA's have other types of shares, such as flowers, eggs, or cheese.

To find out more about the Madison area and participating farms, as well as more about benefits, etc. you can visit:
http://www.macsac.org/

Some insurance companies, such as Physicians Plus, offer refunds/rebates to those that have a CSA. Healthier families mean less medical bills, I suppose.)