CSA quandary

This year we and our neighbors decided to split a CSA share, but to be honest we've both been very disappointed with how things have worked out. Week to week the bounty has been pretty, well, weak, with a predictable and modest haul. Each week it's pretty much the same: a few tiny tomatoes, a handful of herbs and greens, one or two squash, maybe a single pepper, or single small melon, or single something else. Some chard, some beans. But not, as far as we can tell, nearly worth the money we paid (which works out, more or less, to $20 a week).

Now, I don't want to name the growers, but we regret the decision enough that we plan to switch farmers at the end off the season. Still, first we wanted to check with other CSA subscribers here and see if perhaps the weak bounties run across the board. Maybe it's just been a poor season? Maybe everyone is getting lame sacks of stuff? But so far for us we're surprised if we get a single cucumber, let alone eggs or more than a minimal batch of lettuce.

So: bad season? Or bad CSA?

I'm not sure who you're using, but I have a share with Angelic Organics (I don't split the share) and in the last box, I had about 6 beets, three leeks, lettuce, watermelon, about 10 determinate tomatoes, two huge heirlooms, three winter squash (two kuri, one dumpling), two onions, kale, garlic, basil, cilantro and about 5 bell peppers. The week before I also received about four ears of corn and about 2 lbs of yukon golds. (Last year I had more corn, for some reason.) So, if you have my CSA, I don't know why you're getting such a low yield, because my box has always had more than what you described in it. (I know do know that they've complained about the rain in recent weeks and the effect it has had on harvesting.) I recall from last year that the box got more stuffed into September.

So . . . hmmm . . . I don't know if you have a bad CSA or not.

I've been satisfied with our CSA. Its the first year I've done it. I do think the weather has affected the harvest a bit but i don't have much to compare it to.
We are doing a "half-share" (a box every other week) which has been fine for us - a childless couple.

I gave up on CSAs for all the reasons described and then some. I found out that one CSA in WI wasn't growing anything, but buying it all from a wholesaler in Chicago. Another one has the name "Organic" in it's title, but is not organic. I was ready to just give it up, then found Timber Creek Farms. Every week they deliver organic food to my house and I can't believe the prices! Check 'em out -- www.tcforganics.net

Deb Frueh wrote:Another one has the name "Organic" in it's title, but is not organic.

You mean it's not "certified" organic by the government (a lengthy, expensive process filled with loopholes)? Or that you are personally aware that its farming practices did not adhere to organic methods?

Both. I emailed them and asked if they were certified organic and they said "no".

I used TCF for a while and discontinued it - they have a few unfortunate drawbacks, one being that the delivery time to Evanston is 1AM; for those of us who don't have a sheltered porch and don't want to leave a key, it's a problem, especially when it's below zero. TCF may be organic, but the bananas and pineapples I got from them certainly weren't local. Delivering organic produce isn't the same as having a CSA; you might as well be buying from Whole Foods. I will say that their $20 box was chock-full of stuff, though.

Deb Frueh wrote:Both. I emailed them and asked if they were certified organic and they said "no".

Perhaps I wasn't clear - you can farm organically without being certified by the government (in fact old-style & European farms have been doing that for hundreds of years before the word "organic" even began to take on its post-modern meaning). I guess I now understand from you that the CSA was not "certified" organic, but did you have any independent knowledge that non-organic means of farming were used (such as pesticides)?

Deb Frueh wrote:I found out that one CSA in WI wasn't growing anything, but buying it all from a wholesaler in Chicago.

By the way, if that WI CSA represented to people that it maintained a farm, grew vegetables there, and that shareholders would receive a share of that farm's bounty, and you found that they weren't doing that, I would report your findings to the Attorneys General of both Illinois and Wisconsin. My two cents.

This is my first year as a full-share member of Home Grown Wisconsin (and first CSA experience). The boxes have been full and well-packed and the newsletter informative. The quality has been incredible, with great variety and ample portions. In the last eleven weeks, we have received (most more than once):

apples-summer, arugula-baby, basil, basil-lemon, beans-edamame, beans-romano, beans-snap, beans-string, beets-red, broccoli, cabbage-green, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard-rainbow, chives, collards, corn-bi-color, cucumbers-diva, cucumbers-slicing, eggplant-globe, garlic-red, garlic-scapes, kale, kale-lacinato, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce-batavian, lettuce-little gem, lettuce-bibb, lettuce-red leaf, lettuce-romaine, lettuce-salad mix, melon-musk, melon-water, micro-greens-radish, mint-spearmint, mushrooms-button, onions-italian bottle, onions-mini red/white, onions-red, onions-walla walla, onions-yellow, parsley-curly, parsley-flat, peas-sugar snap, peppers-anaheim/banana, peppers-green bell, potatoes-new red, potatoes-white, potatoes-yukon gold, radishes, raspberries-black, rhubarb, scallions, spinach, sprouts-sunflower, squash-pattypan, squash-yellow, squash-zucchini, strawberries, thyme, tomatoes-cherry, tomatoes-heirloom, tomatoes-red, tomatoes-roma, tomatoes-yellow

Last week, we were able to purchase an additional "salsa" box containing ~15 lbs of tomatoes (cherokee, yellow, roma, green and saladette), yellow onions, mixed hot and sweet peppers, cilantro and garlic.

Enjoy!

ps. Have been lurking for a couple of months and this is my first post.

I'll second Homegrown WI. We used them last year, and the boxes were very very generous. It looked like I had a pumpkin farm on my front porch!

We skipped it this year, and I kind of miss it, but don't miss the "box guilt" of not using everything because I don't have time.

Welcome, Kathleen K! me envying your salsa box!

I do a half share of Homegrown Wisconsin, plus an egg share, and I've been very happy with it. Lots of stuff, good variety, convenient pick-up times/places.

this is our 2nd year with Growing Home. We love them, they seem substantially cheaper than some other ones listed, but on par with the CSA you have (original poster). They do not have the huge variety the other CSAs have, from what it sounds like from other posters. We get a 1/2 bushel per week, yesterday I got a few tomatoes, a big bunch of basil and dill, several new potatoes, a big bunch of leeks, kale, pattypan squash, garlic, onion, peppers, and maybe a few other things I'm forgetting. These guys also work with Chicago Coalition for the Homeless to provide job training in organic farming, which is another reason why I love them.

So maybe at the price we pay, we get a little less compared to other CSAs. I remember when I first signed up, I did try to find a lesser expensive one.

Also, I use FreshPicks in the off season, and specify local only. They deliver to your home and have great selection and service. They are great, the pickings are pretty slim in the off season, so I don't know how worthwhile it is with delivery charges, etc, but I have friends who use them now and they get so much yummy yummy stuff. So again, I think it come down to price, but the intangible benefits using a CSA is so much more than just $$, right?

Fewer consumers opting for that weekly box of veggies, so local farmers are struggling to survive

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... l#nws=true

I love the idea, but not really surprising. I personally go to the farmers market every Saturday morning and pick my veggies. I am notoriously an over buyer, but I am also a person who cooks a lot. I make soup every Sunday morning with many of those veggies. Pepper and eggs, mushroom and eggs, pasta's with veggies and chicken, etc.... The boxes would be fun for me because I have a cooking imagination and can use any types they have in there (just made hot giardiniera, from farm market veggies bought on Saturday - I need to figure out how to put pictures on this site). Most people do not cook as much and my guess is that they throw too much away, especially the non mainstream veggies. So, being able to pick your own and the lack of imagination on many peoples parts probably hinder the business.

If I lived a life that lent itself to predictability, I'd be a happier person. I fantasize about getting a box of fresh produce weekly that will inspire me to cook for the week, but some weeks I don't get home until very late, some weekends we have outside commitments every night and sometimes I'm just too exhausted. If I lived with June Cleaver, maybe.... But my wife is busier than I am.

I have tried maybe 3 different CSAs over the years, but they just aren't a good model for us - between my husband's oxalate restrictions and the fact that the CSAs never seemed to give enough of our staple household veggies (onions, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers) they just left too many gaps. Plus we now have a house with yard that has 8 raised beds, plus 2 long skinny ones along the garage, so we can grow much of what we use in season.