Our First Month of CSA Boxes for 2025
After careful consideration we decided to continue our CSA program this summer. CSA stands for community supported agriculture. In January we sign up and pay money upfront to the farm. They use our money for seeds, crop preparation, etc. and in return we get a portion of their crops each week all summer long (and into the fall too). We sign a waiver acknowledging that there is no guarantee of crop yield since nature is nature and the farm has no control over droughts, flooding, natural disasters and the like. Luckily both last year and so far this year we have had some pretty nice bounties of fresh fruit and vegetables to enjoy.
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CSA Vegetable box #1 (June 19th) included 2 kinds of lettuce, some tomatoes, pea pods, strawberries, cucumber, and some garlic scapes. We used the lettuce with other veggies in our fridge to make a large tossed salad. The strawberries were gone by morning. We used the pea pods and tomatoes for our fajita bowls. I cup up the garlic scapes into just about any and every recipe in place of actual garlic cloves and the cucumbers were used in salads and just as a side dish for my lunches.
CSA vegetable box #2 (June 26th) included more cucumbers, some tomatoes, beets, pea pods, and radishes as well as another head of lettuce. We used the lettuce and tomatoes to top our burgers and sandwiches and to make a salad along with a few of the cucumbers. I decided to make some homemade pickles again and tried my hand at making pickled radishes too. We used the pea pods in a chicken stir fry and roasted the beets with carrots and potatoes one night.
CSA Vegetable Box # 3 (July 3rd)-- We once again had some radishes, tomato, lettuce and cucumbers but we also got squash, zucchini, and what we believe is Swiss chard. We used lettuce and tomatoes on our burgers and the rest of the lettuce and the cucumber in our salad. I cooked up the squash and zucchini with mushrooms for a side dish and put the peas in a macaroni salad. One night we roasted the turnips and the chard and added some sauteed mushrooms and onions for a very tasty side dish.
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| we cut up and froze the rest of the chard to use in fall/winter soups and stews and things |
CSA Vegetable Box #4 (July 10th)-- romaine lettuce, tomatoes, onions, beets, radishes, zucchini and summer squash. We used the lettuce right away to make a salad for dinner that very night and I cooked up the tomatoes (and some onion) to make a marinara sauce for later. I made some squash casserole with the rest of the onions and most of the zucchini and squash for my birthday party on Saturday. We roasted the radishes for dinner with lots of other veggies as a side dish Friday night. And I think that is the fastest we've ever used up everything from our box! Though I did slice up the tops of the onions to freeze and pull out whenever a cooking recipe calls for scallions.
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| I'm not sure why it looks so orange; it's definitely more red in person! |
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I think this is just wonderful and I have thought about doing it!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeletePickles are a fave around here and they scream summer to me- enjoy your loot!
ReplyDeleteMy husband loves them but he's just about the only one.
DeleteSo do you get approximately the same amount of food each time? I'm sorta assuming but it looks like maybe there's a little bit more in the most recent box. It seems like around here anyway, garden/farm production yields increase the further into July you get so it made me wonder if you get more when there's more coming in from gardens. Everything looks so good! I love the bright colors of the veggies and what you've done with them!
ReplyDeleteThe first few boxes and the last few boxes have less in them as the season start and end have fewer crops to pick from but the ones in the middle are quite full.
DeleteI loved the CSA we had in Montana. We tried 3 different programs, each a bit different from another.
ReplyDeleteWe heard of another one locally where you get so many dollars/credits each week and can shop their local store-- it sounds so different from any other program that I've made it a mental note to try that next summer!
DeleteSo fun seeing the veggies you receive!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteSo many fresh, healthy, colorful foods! That does look like Swiss chard to me, too!
ReplyDeleteOh good; I've asked all our neighbors and family and friends and no one had any clue!
DeleteThis sounds like a fantastic scheme and the boxes of fruit and veg sound great! What great hauls and it sounds like you have used everything so well!
ReplyDeleteWe really have; it can be a lot of work some weeks when I'm prepping food for fall/winter/storage but we really enjoyed those fresh tastes of summer last year so much that I just couldn't not get them this year.
DeleteI think these are fabulous because it makes us get creative with the veggies instead of us always choosing the same thing at the grocery store.
ReplyDeleteXOXO
Jodie
I like that it forces me to try new veggies too!
DeleteI love radishes but never had pickled ones. We always buy local.
ReplyDeleteThey weren't that bad (and I say that as someone that doesn't like pickles or radishes!); they were really easy to make too.
DeleteI think this is just the best program! You are buying local, helping the economy, and getting fresh vegetables. I looked and there aren't any (yet) in my area. I would love to support something like this. I love how you incorporate them all into each meal.
ReplyDeletehttps://marshainthemiddle.com/
Thank you!
DeleteHi Joanne, what a fabulous idea! I love it, and you've made such good use of what you receive each time in your box. I absolutely LOVE Bread and Butter Cucumbers so I'd be making heaps of that if I got cucumbers. I've never tasted picked radishes but I'm very curious now! Thanks for sharing with us at #WWWhimsy xo
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteHi Joanne, what a great idea these boxes are. Thanks for telling us about them and how it works. Deb for #Teamwwhimsy
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
Deleteso much yum!! I miss getting a CSA
ReplyDeleteWe nearly didn't sign up this year but I thought I'd miss it too much... I figure once the boys move out I won't need these added goodies.
DeleteI learned a lot about CSA boxes here! I've had friends who have joined and love the bounty they receive! I would love participating in such a program but I'm afraid a lot might go to waste with only two of us at home these days (and a hubby who only eats a few specific veggies of choice). I think I could survive on them though as I love them all!
ReplyDeleteThat would be tricky; though our farm does have 2 sized options one for just 2-3 people and one for larger families (we obviously picked the larger family size option!).
DeleteYour boxes of produce look so delicious. My husband plants a garden each spring. Normally it produces much. However, this year was different. We had hardly anything. We had a very late last freeze and that is what got most of the garden. At the time of the freeze, Kevin did not replant some, like tomatoes. That's my garden favorite. Hopefully next year the tomatoes will be overflowing.
ReplyDeleteTake care and best wishes.