I Heart CSA - The Iceberg Cometh

I bet Hat Hammond's been waiting for that line since we got our weekly Wednesday night, Farmer Vicki e-mail, as to what will be in our box this week. And we found out, for one week only, one time this year, one time in 2007, we would get a big head of plain ol' iceberg lettuce in our CSA box.

Now, we've talked a bit about iceberg a bit of late. Not everyone may share my thrill with this weekly special. Still, I'm looking forward to all this bland crunch. Since I have tons of fresh herbs now from the farmers markets, I plan on a nice green goddess to dress our wedges.

Anyway, this iceberg that cannot otherwise grow in our summer heat is one of the neat things about a CSA. Farmer Vicki, at least, will gift her CSA with these special items before putting them for sale at the market. It's a key advantage of the CSA, first shot.

Vital -

Glad you brought this up as I just began to think about joingin a CSA. Have you heard anything about Irv & Shellys??

What is the setup for Farmer Vicki?

jpeac2 wrote:Vital -

Glad you brought this up as I just began to think about joingin a CSA. Have you heard anything about Irv & Shellys??

What is the setup for Farmer Vicki?

I don't know anything about Irv & Shelly, sorry. I've copied and pasted info on Vicki's CSA below:

Summer season – June, July, August, September, October
Large share (1 1/9 bu.) ----------- $760.00
Medium share (3/4 bu.) --------- $520.00
Fall season – November and December (7 weeks) ----------------------------------------- $170.00
Each season may also be paid individually. Two and three payments plans are available.
Pick up locations – Please circle
Chicago
Green City Market (Lincoln Park) – Wednesday – Saturday
1622 W. Devon (Chicago Center for Psychophysical Healing) – Thursday
3038 W. Irving Park Rd. (Cousins) – Thursday
Highland Park - (1171 Hillary Ln.) - Thursday
Mokena - (Creative Carpets, 19420 S. La Grange Rd) – Thursday
Oak Park – (229 S. Randolph) - Thursday (spring and fall);
Saturday (summer) - Oak Park Farmers Market
River Forest (Blue Max Café, 26 N Lathrop) – Thursday
Wheaton – 1020 E. Willow - Thursday
Please note:
$ Sales tax is included in your share price.
$ Summer shares will include both vegetables and in-season fruits.
$ For those wanting a large share for the fall, two shares will equal a large share.

Our pledge: We will do our utmost to provide you with a wide variety of fresh produce weekly, but please remember some crop failure can occur, and while this rarely affects our boxes, there is a certain risk involved in farming.

Mail checks to: Genesis Growers, 8373 E 3000 S. Rd., St. Anne, Illinois 60964.

You can contact her at genesisgrowers@comcast.net. I know she's almost sold out.

jpeac2, I don't think Irv and Shelley's is a CSA. I'm pretty sure they're a packager of the produce of other farms, mostly local but sometimes not.

I would go with an actual CSA, where you're buying a share in the farm at the beginning of the season and reaping the rewards for the next few months.

Shameless (but pertinent) plug:
http://www.gibbsfamilygarden.com/index.html

I am not financially vested in any way, just a friend of the farmer.

VI,

You know, the same thought hit me and I actually shot some pix of the Vicki lettuce yesterday, then wondered, "Is this actually iceberg?" I did a little checking (very little: http://www.answers.com/topic/lettuce), and it seems there are two types of "head" lettuce: iceberg and butterhead. What we had, I'm pretty sure, is iceberg...just a very good version of it (we ate it with the fresh radish greens, which was a good combo of light and dark greens).

Which brought me to this probably obvious conclusion: iceberg is not, as I had suspected, an inherently flavorless lettuce. Most available varieties have, however, been engineered for easy shipment and longer shelf-life and so "iceberg" has become the pale, flavorless globe we all know and loathe. Just like most chicken breasts, tomatoes and, increasingly, most heads of Romaine, the corporate supply system has wrecked a basically decent head of lettuce.

Hammond

All -

After reading this and just plain getting fresh produce fever, I have decided to join a CSA. So I have been reading about all the different CSAs over at local harvet and man, so many sound great, how do you choose one?

Do you just pick and go with it? Or do I pick the obvious favored one in this thread?

Sorry, I know these may seem like basic questions, but before I shell out $500-$600 bucks I want to make sure I know what I am doing.

Thanks for any input.

jpeac2 wrote:All -

After reading this and just plain getting fresh produce fever, I have decided to join a CSA. So I have been reading about all the different CSAs over at local harvet and man, so many sound great, how do you choose one?

Do you just pick and go with it? Or do I pick the obvious favored one in this thread?

Sorry, I know these may seem like basic questions, but before I shell out $500-$600 bucks I want to make sure I know what I am doing.

Thanks for any input.

I made my decision to go with Genesie Growers because they deliver to a home near my house. I had met Farmer Vicki some years ago; I had brought her produce at the Oak Park Farmer's Market (and liked it); and I respect VI's opinions about her operation, but the final decision was based largely on who was delivering in my hood at what time. Vicki's schedule worked with mine.

Hammond

...one other thing: with the abundance of farmers' markets in the summer, we're probably not going to get Vicki's weekly deliveries until next autumn or winter. I'm not sure I see much point in going the CSA-route during the summer, unless you really have no access to farmers' markets (or unless you just want to support your local CSA, which is a valid reason...but not mine).

Hammond

Dave -

Good point. Usually I am gone and out of town on the weekends so it is not always easy for me to get to them on Saturdays.

Ahh decisions.

jpeac:

I had a Genesis Grower's Spring and Summer share last year. My advice? Don't worry so much about which farm you choose, but how the drop/delivery fits your schedule and the price, your wallet.(I split a small share with a friend, and for the way we eat, it worked out fine, without being too much $$). Farming is a tough, unpredictable job, so it's hard to really judge a CSA from year to year (and also why you never ask a farmer, "How are the crops doing?"--whether they don't want to jinx it, or because the state of a crop can change in a matter of hours...lovely weather we're having today, ain't it?)

Half the fun of the whole CSA thing is the surprise element of what you get every week in your box (and, of course, the warm fuzzy from supporting a local farm). Overall, I was happy with Genesis, and I would definitely do another CSA share (but, unfortunately, it doesn't fit my schedule this summer). My only little gripe with the share was the very regular inclusion of a green that grows mad-wild in cracks here in Pilsen. I'dve taken a few more of her outstanding tomatoes or sweet-tart blueberries, but therein, the drawback: you can't really pick and choose the way you can if you go to a farmer's market and do your own shopping.

crrush wrote:but therein, the drawback: you can't really pick and choose the way you can if you go to a farmer's market and do your own shopping.

One option Vicki gave us Oak Park subscribers was the opportunity to trade out something in your box for another item. Don't like bok choy; switch it for arugula, etc. I thought this was a good fix for those who were unhappy with the grab bag, but it was an option I never took because I kind of like getting stuff I don't normally buy.

Here is some of Farmer Vicki's iceberg lettuce. It was a fine version of a leaf that I have come to believe was originally pretty good but which, over time, has been engineered into blandness by corporate food scientists.



Hammond

Our family subscribes to a CSA, Genesis, and we are (very) big farmers market shoppers as well . I need them both, so to speak.

Why the CSA? Well, I do feel some coniption about actually supporting, nay "owning" a piece of the farm. Still, it is not just an act of charity. Ownership has its benefits. First of all, as with this week's iceberg, there will be things that go into the CSA that never make it to market. We have first crack. Second, and even more important, you build a relationship with a farmer. This cuts two ways. You can go to the farm, see how the stuff is grown, see what kinda practices they use, actually understand where you food comes from. Also, you get the inside track on things. As I have blogged about, there may be the opportunity to buy some of the heard, there are the off-season CSAs, these are less available and may be sold out to non-subscribers--and off-season is the time when you really need the stuff. And, and there is really off-season. Farmer Vicki does not advertise or offer to many, but there is the chance to buy from her even in the dead of winter. Finally, as an owner, you also have access to other products of the farm. Vicki offers her home canned goods (and she's a fantastic canner).

Now, I go to the farmers markets to supplement what's not in my box, what else I want. I'm typically adding, besides items like meat, herbs and speciality items, like what Nichols or Green Acres sells.

The CSA gets me my basics for cheaper, it has all the other advantages enumerated; the farmers markets has all of its advantages. I'm a happy guy.

Vital Information wrote:Finally, as an owner, you also have access to other products of the farm. Vicki offers her home canned goods (and she's a fantastic canner).

VI, I'm glad you put "owning" in quotes the first time you used it, but in what sense do we actually own any piece of Genesis? Do you have a different relationship with the farm than most of us? If you do, that's cool, and I'm not challenging, I'm just curious how the word "ownership" actually applies in this circumstance...except maybe metaphorically.

Hammond

David Hammond wrote:

Vital Information wrote:Finally, as an owner, you also have access to other products of the farm. Vicki offers her home canned goods (and she's a fantastic canner).

VI, I'm glad you put "owning" in quotes the first time you used it, but in what sense do we actually own any piece of Genesis? Do you have a different relationship with the farm than most of us? If you do, that's cool, and I'm not challenging, I'm just curious how the word "ownership" actually applies in this circumstance...except maybe metaphorically.

Hammond

A CSA member is suppose to, suppose to at least, own a share in the forthcoming harvest. It's like an old hippie co-op store, no?

It's a legal fiction that does have some meaning. For instance, CSA members of certain farms can get raw milk sold to them, as we got the canned goods.

This is our third year with Angelic Organics which is located in Caledonia, IL. Several of my colleagues were already shareholders, so I knew the quality of the produce that they received throughout the growing season. Angelic delivers to many areas in Chicagoland and some were mid-week instead of weekends. They even deliver to a home on Wednesdays that is between my office and home! Still, it seemed like a big commitment (financially, and there seemed to be a lot of veggies to eat!), so we purchased a 12-week share the first year to try it out. We LOVED it! The last two years we have purchased the 20-week plus 4-weeks of storage veggies (in the fall) package. I love the anticipation of what's going to be in the box each week and the search for recipes to try new things.

I still supplement with produce from the farmer's market - mostly with fruits because Angelic doesn't grow fruit.

If you want to check them out, here's the url.

http://www.angelicorganics.com/share.php

I also had an Angelic Organics box one year. I was living with two others, so it made sense. We liked them because of the convenience of the drop offs and the price. There are also "swap boxes" at each drop off location, so if you get something you don't want in your box, you can drop it in the swap box and see if there's something you'd rather have in there.

I've been living alone and on a tight budget recently, so haven't been able to go back to a CSA. But the second I can, I will be returning to Angelic Organics.

I like our CSA too, it's www.kingshillfarm.com - there are multiple pick up locations, you can skip a week (or as many as you want), and there are half shares. There's also an additional bag of fruit for 15$ if you want it. I really think King's Hill is reasonable - it was 60$ to join and 22$ per half share box (which is more than enough for 2 people for a week).

On the iceberg note, I just tried Earthbound Farm's organic iceberg, and while it looked much like Hammond's beautiful pic, it was indeed quite bland. It certainly wasn't terrible - I ate half of it at once - but I'm looking forward to trying a local iceberg and doing a taste test comparison. Lettuce crawl, anyone? (just kidding.)