CSA Farm Share Loss

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Bummer!

     I feel deflated. I just got news that the organic farm I buy my produce directly from is closing. Not just for the summer, but forever. I had finally gotten a space this year in this farm, after years of wanting to get into a CSA. Now they are closing.  They say they can not charge enough to keep going. That no one would buy the produce if they charged what they need to keep in business. I would have paid more if I had to, but I realize most people would not.

     I loved it. Gorgeous fresh organic produce. I drove to the farm to pick it up. It was so much fresher than what's in the grocery store. I could speak to the farmer. I knew that there were no odd freshness coatings on the food. It tasted amazing. I even liked some of the vegetables that I had previously disliked.

My first bag of fresh produce from the farm.

     I loathe the thought of having to go back to the grocery store for my vegetables. I know of one other local organic farm, but it is not having openings and the waiting list is long. I have no outdoor property to grow food on. I know there are a couple of organic farmer's markets around, but they are only partly local. I find plenty of produce in them with stickers. I want my vegetables fresh and organic. Picked fresh and in my hands. Not picked fresh, then cleaned and packaged and shipped to the area where I live, for me to buy a week or more later. I suppose it's back to the CSA hunt for me.

     I am doing what I can in my little condo. I have a small square foot garden on my patio, a half barrel of tomatoes on my front door step, and a small grape vine in a large container hiding behind the bushes in the front of my window. I put a bucket out when it rains to collect rainwater for watering my plants. I also have a hidden compost bin, hidden because my condo association doesn't allow it; and they aren't happy about my veggie growing, either. I suppose in the future they will probably change the potted plants rule to specify 'ornamental plants only'.  I can't wait to have my own land to grow food on.

     Back to the closing farm... Next week they are allowing their members to go to the farm and harvest whatever is left, for free. I will make the most of that. I'm going as soon as they open on Monday. I plan to fill my freezer with greens to use in green smoothies. Get my favorite vegetables to cook with. Gather delicious herbs... which I will probably end up drying. I'm out of dried catnip, so I hope they have some catnip left (no, I don't have cats, I'll explain why I use catnip in a future post).

     On the plus side, I did recently find a local source of fresh pastured eggs! Yay! I eat a lot of eggs.

:)

Update: I started aggressively searching for new options, and just sent an e-mail to a farmer. I hope it works out!

Another extra note:  I just realized that saying the farm closes over the summer might sound backwards to a lot of people, but I live in a hot climate, our growing season is during the fall, winter, and spring.

ETA:  I got a response from the farmer I e-mailed and it looks good.  She even said she will teach me to raise chickens free of charge (I asked)!