Ever join a farm CSA?

[simple.serf]

I've been thinking about joining a farm CSA.My only concern is that I have a decent garden, so I'm not sure if I need another 20# of tomatoes on top of the ones I'm growing. Any way around some of that? How much do they usually cost?

My wife runs a medium sized CSA for the farm she is a field manager at. Typically, they don't do 20# of something at one time. She recommends talking to the CSA operators in your area. I know one farm at a NOFA meeting we went to offered a greens only portion. Another farm would give you your week's "credit", and then let you use that credit a at farmer's market type setup that they did.

We don't do a garden anymore, due to the amount of sort outs we get free, but one thing that hurts CSAs in my area is the number of people who actually CAN and DO garden. Now if you had an area that had HOA's or something like that that banned gardening, that could be a gold mine for local small farmers.

 

[ScotO]

Here where we live, we buy off of the Amish farms over the mountain in the next valley (10 minute drive). Always have a huge variety of fresh vegetables, corn for most of the summer, fresh eggs and even lots of homemade baked goods......all of it very cheap. I used to do a HUGE garden (for 15 years), but with time constraints and animal damage I gave it up. Just a PITA to keep up with it. I still grow some strawberries, everbearing raspberries, rhubarb, some tomatoes and such, but no more big gardens.....

I can't justify it when I can get the stuff on the cheap from the Amish farms....

 

[Thistle]

Not much room here & even less time for major gardening.But I still have most herbs every year (about 1/2 are perennials even with our long cold winters),a small garlic patch that reseeds itself,onions,leeks,shallots (do you sense a theme here?) & a couple pepper & tomato plants. Other veggies I buy at local stores off season & at farmers markets starting in early May.