Karla and I are going to experiment with getting produce from a CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture farm. I picked one that works best for us since it has a pickup site just a few blocks away from us in the Bank of America building at 5th and Capitol. That way, I can stop by on my way home from work or walk there (I’ve walked a few times).
The basic deal is, 100% certified organic produce, grown year round at a local farm, put in a box, delivered to a pickup site every week near where you live or work. About $5 per person per week gets you a box of whatever is in season, just pick a box size that is right for how many people you are cooking for. The farm I picked is called Terra Firma Farm, over in Winters. There are other CSA’s around Sacramento, here is a list so you can check them out yourself!
Along with the box you pick up is also a weekly newsletter - you get a recipe of the week to best make use of the different fruits and veggies that were harvested and also how the recent weather affected the farm and YOUR produce. Also, there are often discussions of water, agriculture, and other topics and responses to subscriber emails. It’s pretty freaking sweet, and a great way to support local farmers and reduce your carbon footprint (it takes a lot of energy to power those hot house lights and then truck in those Safeway veggies).
The first box we got contained carrots, salad mix, potatoes, basil, apples, garlic, tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions, spinach, and eggplants. The newsletter discussed the local region weather patters and how it affects growing seasons, very interesting to learn about. Pablito at Terra Firma writes:
This fall is as different as all the others we’ve had: heatwaves at the wrong time followed by pounding rain. But overall, we are getting numerous indications that winter is coming early. Nights are chilly and many fall crops are growing slowly after being stunted first by a late August heatwave. So here we are, after ten plus years of growing fall vegetable crops in the Sacramento Valley, and we still haven’t gotten it figured out. Maybe, just maybe, there’s a good reason more farmers here don’t do it.
You can read the full newsletter for that first week, or browse the whole archive.
Today I’ll be picking up our third box, and while I can go read the newsletter for this week online and find out what will be in it, it’s much more of a surprise to just open it and discover what you’ll be eating for the next week.
And did I mention, while organic produce may look a little funny, it tastes WAY better than what you’re probably used to!
Karla also wrote a post about our CSA adventure and the Urban Family Dinners we started because of it! Read her blog at www.mesohungie.com.
I love this idea. The premise of PARK(ing) Day is to reclaim the street parking spaces that cater to our car-based cities and turn them, one by one, into tiny PARKs and open spaces for citizens to enjoy.
