Once again, H and I Signed up for a CSA. Last year, we only signed up for fruits, but this year we decided to take the plunge and go for both fruit and veggies. This is the 2nd update of our CSA for 2012.
This year has been a lot different than last year. For starters, we have been without a kitchen for quite some time, and while we currently do have a kitchen, we do not have counter tops in yet, so it makes it rather hard to cook in the kitchen. We are also still sort of living half upstairs, half downstairs after buying a house, and im anxious to get that over with as well.
So, for the past 3 months, we’ve been getting a variety of veggies. This has been tough, because we get lots of things that we are unfamiliar with, or have difficulty cooking because we dont yet have a fully functioning kitchen. We’ve gotten eggplant, bell peppers, beets, kale, swiss chard, spinach, butter lettuce, dried beans, peppers, squash, zucchini, carrots and a whole bunch of other things I cant even think of! I typically try to ride my bike to our pick up location and get our shares, but they have become pretty big and difficult to get home.
With our fruit shares, it has been mostly plums and apples since we got back. It was really hot where our peaches grow (western colorado) this summer, so they came early and the people who we had arranged to pick up our shares got the bulk of that. I was really looking forward to eating those this year, and was really hoping to have some to put away for the winter. Even though we dont have a functioning kitchen yet, I do have a system for canning and preserving that I’m hoping to implement soon (perhaps with the peapples?) so hopefully we wont have to eat it all in one fell swoop.
Like I mentioned earlier, we decided to do the grocery store challenge, which has gone pretty well so far. We’ve been able to cut our grocery bill about in half, and I think that should get even better as we get more functionality out of our fledgling kitchen. Typically, we go to the store about once a week, but lately it has been once every two weeks as we continue to fill in holes with our shares and take advantage of all the food that we get from the CSA, as well as all the food that I was able to go out and get for myself in the last year or so.
I did the math on the weekly cost, and it came to around $30 per week (for 26 weeks) of fruits and veggies. I dont think that’s too bad, but I’d really like to supplement that next year with a garden of our own and better tracking methods for prices at the time we get the items.
Every year, I want to go the CSA route, but every year, I have some excuse. This will be one of my goals next year — no excuses! If you can do it without a kitchen, I can do it ____ [(with a baby, without a car, even if I'm lazy) Fill in the blank]!
exactly! I ordered my csa in january to take advantage of a discount (I think 10%) So keep your eyes open starting soon. and in my own defense, I wasnt really planning on not having a kitchen when we ordered the CSA
That’s really impressive. I have no idea what I would do with a single pound of veggies, much less however much you get from your CSA! My girlfriend would love it though.
they are pretty sweet kevin, but they arent just for veggies and fruits – you can get cheese, bread, eggs, and meat through mine (and most of them, from what I understand)
Signing up for a CSA is a great move. Not only that it supplies you with fresh locally grown produce, it also saves you a lot of grocery money. Another thing about it is that it exposes you to new vegetables and new ways of cooking it so you’ll get to vary your weekly menu. I personally don’t have any plan like this, but I see the benefit.. If I wasn’t such a lazy cook. I literally only eat chicken and broccli most of the time.. boring but it works for me.
Boring sometimes is the only way to go Dominique! It’s much simpler and usually takes less time. I’m enjoying this though, as it really has gotten me into some foods I probably wouldnt have tried otherwise.
I used a CSA when I lived in NYC because the veggies were so much better than store bought. I would definitely recommend for those in urban areas. I have thought about a CSA now that I live in San Diego but the farmer’s markets here are out of this world. Also once a month we go down to Suzie’s Farm and pick our own veggies – and it’s only 10 bucks to fill up a bag. Such a deal and doesn’t get any fresher!!
that is awesome – i’ve been halfheartedly looking for a u-pick in the area, and can never seem to pin one down that has the stuff that I want!
Look forward to seeing pics of the garden next year. Now is the time to start planning and digging…:-)
I know 101 – I’ve got an article in the works about what I’m doing.