A little about our vegetable journey and is a CSA right for you.....

As CSA Day 2016 approaches we have looked back over our own vegetable journey along with answering a few questions that we feel everyone should ask themselves before joining a CSA!

We have always been big vegetable eaters but I would say our vegetable consumption has increased over the last 15 years and even more so since we started Strattons Farm.

I often wonder would we have joined a CSA 15-20 years ago and I think my answer would have been NO!!! I know shock, horror, gasp!

15+ years ago we started to do our weekly shop at the Blackheath farmers market.  We got to know our farmers, they knew us and our dogs and we would buy most of our weekly shop there.  We started to try new vegetables like purple sprouting broccoli and Samphire.  I remember asking one Sunday  for Samphire and watching the farmers eyes chuckle at me and then nicely say that it was only available certain times of the year.  I even started to mark our calendar to make sure I remembered.  This was our first lesson in eating seasonally and suddenly realising that we needed to embrace the vegetables when they are at their peak for harvest and learning that they are not available 365!

We are now great advocates of eating locally, supporting local farmers and of course in joining a CSA.
Not just because we run one, but because we believe it allows the consumer to build a real  connection with their food system. To build a relationship with the farmer, to embrace what is seasonal and to know more about the journey of that tomato, from the seed placed into a soil block to the hand that nurtured, picked it  and delivered it to it's final destination.


CSA's are great for trying new vegetables along with your old favourites. They allow your food dollars to stay within your community and support a local farm, dollars kept in your community rather than feeding the big Ag companies. Vegetables are at their freshest when you receive them and they taste how the vegetable should taste.  I can speak all about about the benefits of the CSA but we all need to remember and be honest that there may also be a downside (depending on your point of view) of joining one as well.  Many members often say the first year of joining a CSA is the hardest, learning to deal with different vegetables, the abundance of the season, the repetition of certain vegetables and adjusting to seasonal eating, but they always say the second and successive years are always easier as they have a better idea of what to expect.

Recently on a forum we are part of, one of the contributors made the following statement "The struggle AND satisfaction of eating locally is eating seasonally"

Here are a few questions we think everyone needs to ask themselves before considering joining a CSA and joining the seasonal and eat real food movement!

Tomatillos

Do I like vegetables, am I happy letting someone else dictate what I eat week to week? 

It seems a silly question at first as CSA's do provide staples of lettuce, potatoes, carrots, beets and garlic but also vegetables like kohlrabi, tomatillos, eggplant, turnips, kale, swiss chard, Asian and mustard greens are going to turn up in your weekly baskets.  I knew about all these vegetables, some I would turn my nose up at and others I could not get enough of.  One vegetable I used to really not like was parsnips, the smell used to turn my stomach, but I grew up with the motto of try everything at least once! So one Christmas I gave them another go after Michael had roasted them! Since that day I have never looked back, I now love them roasted and one of my all time favourite soups has parsnips in it!

The other thing we have to adjust to in a CSA is the farmer will make your vegetables choices for you on what is available that week and season, you do not have the freedom to choose what you might like to cook that week. 

Mustard green pesto

Do I enjoy cooking?

It seems a silly question to ask but you either need to be up for the challenge or already enjoy cooking. If you are up for the challenge most CSA's will provide you with a weekly newsletter with recipe suggestions.
Do you also have the time to prep vegetables that turn up with soil still stuck in the roots or when the spinach is not pre-washed.  These are things to think about especially when you get into peak season.

What will I do with the extra?

Will you give it away to friends, take the time to freeze or can for winter or donate to your food bank or will it go to waste?  These are things you need to think about especially if there is an abundance of a crop or if you happen to be out for dinner a few nights in a week and the vegetables start to pile up in the fridge. 

Do I travel a lot?

When you make a commit to a CSA it can be anything from 16-24 weeks, some CSA's now run year round.  If you travel a lot through the Summer do you have someone else to pick up your basket of vegetables. What happens if you do not make it to the pick up point? Can you find someone to collect your vegetables the weeks you are away?

Am I OK with 'shared risk'

In 2012 our community along with a huge portion of Ontario suffered the worst drought in years.  This meant the shares were smaller, some crops did not grow and due to the heat and we had so many pests that ate lots of our crops.
Being part of a CSA means that along with the farmer you share the risk of crop failure. You might not get tomatoes due to blight or the potato crop might be low due to bugs or a frost might wipe out a whole crop. Are you ready for this?  On the flip side the farmer might have a bounty of watermelons and they could turn up in your box every week for six weeks!

If you answered "No" to any of these questions then maybe a CSA is not for you at this time, but if you answered "Yes" then don't leave it to long to register.  This is the time of year when your local CSA farmer needs your registrations and deposits that allows your CSA farmer to purchase seed, soil and tools for the coming season.

Last year we participated in short documentary along with Carolyn Coffin of the Eat Real Food Academy and filmed by Sean Scally on making better food choices.  We hope that it will provide a little more insight into CSA's and how they can help you to achieve this goal. However, if a CSA is not the right fit, which we appreciate does not fit everyone's lifestyle, then don't forget you can start your seasonal vegetable journey by supporting your local farmers market.

CSA Vegetable Box Registration is now open...

This year like other years we are expanding.  We always grow a little bigger each year making sure we can still maintain our workload between the two of us.  Last years season saw us running the farm without any additional help from family and friends who pop over for a holiday and end up spending most of it weeding! We are pleased that we have friends already booking their holidays for this year which includes a stay with us.  Not sure  if they realise yet that they will be supplied with boots and works gloves once they arrive at the farm! 

What are the changes this year?? We are extending our summer CSA from 18 to 20 weeks. All our members from last year when asked if they wanted us to run longer came back with unanimous YES! We have also added a Saturday pick up at the farm and this years Belleville pick up will be running in the evening from 5-6.30pm.  This is a trial run as lots of our delivery customers have said they would like an evening pick up  so we thought we would see how it works for this season.  Rather than ending our season in October and everyone having to wait another eight months until the summer season arrives again we will also be adding a winter vegetable box.  These boxes will be available on a monthly basis from November to February. The box will be made up of bulk storage vegetables and additional greenhouse greens.  

We have to be honest about a CSA Weekly vegetable basket, it is not for everyone.  Eating seasonally, or being given new and different vegetables does push us all out of our comfort zone. Boxes are also affected by mother nature and some years the bounty may be high others it may be low,  also if the weather is cooler we may see less of the heat loving vegetables and more leafy greens that enjoy cooler temperatures.
One of our members last year wrote about their CSA experience and how it has changed their eating in their household over the last two years.

"Veggies Smeggies, I itch when they're mentioned, just what were they thinking that day of invention.  Maybe for dinner I'll have me a tree, with a big bowl of bushes, just nature and me!"

This is a long time favorite story of my children.  In 2012 I came upon Strattons Farm, my goal was to change the thinking of my four kids and that this little story wouldn't be my real life experience.

 I liked the idea of feeding my family vegetables that were local and also free of all the nasty chemicals.  So I signed up for their CSA and haven't regretted it for a minute.  I was a bit apprehensive at first being I haven't always been too adventures when it comes to cooking and also the not knowing if there would  be to many veggies or not enough as we are a family of 6.  None of this however has ever been an issue.  Some weeks I will plan out what I am going to make and mass cook for the week and then others I will "fly by the seat of my pants" so to speak and just make up whatever my mood strikes me to.  We have gotten really good around here at modifying recipes and using what we have on hand as opposed to buying exactly what is called for.  

Last year when my littlest one  was still not eating solids I would blend up whatever we received and pop it in ice cube trays for quick servings at a later date. Before one year of age she was having beets, kale, zucchini and many other varieties of veggies.  If there is something I know that my fussiest of eater won't touch just based primarily on looks I will then either shred it up and add it to just about anything or even sometimes puree and add it too the meal.  Then at least I know they are still getting the nutritional benefits of the veggies.   I have pureed all type of greens  into eggs, smoothies, soups, spaghetti sauces, and even brownies, beets into pancakes and cake, and zucchini  into cookies.  I can tell you that they never know the difference and think pink pancakes are a pretty cool idea!  My kids have become much more adventurous and love kale pops as well as kale chips as snacks.  We now will use zucchini or squash instead of pasta which we never would have even considered before.The only veggies I buy at the grocery store during csa season are ones that aren't available yet (ie tomatoes) which is just a preference and not a necessity. 

People always ask two questions is it expensive and do you have enough or to many veggies.  

So first of all NO it is defiantly not expensive, to feed a family of six fresh, local ,chemical free veggies it's a great deal.  It doesn't even compare to what you would get at a local grocer (taste wise)and the amount I would pay to buy all of this every week considering it wouldn't last half as long due to it not being near as fresh.

Secondly, yes we always have enough.  We often have something left over but quickly use it up once the new veggies arrive.  We ensure that we incorporate all the veggies into our meals somehow.  Last summer if we found we had been out quite a bit one week and not eaten up as much as normal then we would add what we could to everyones smoothies or cook them up and freeze for later in the week.   It has really opened up our eyes to healthy eating and trying new things.  We never knew veggies could taste so good and we miss them terribly in the winter months.  So for families big or small, old and young we think a CSA is a must try!!  It has made a huge improvement in the veggies smeggies attitude in our household!

Andrea

So if you are feeling ready to take on the 2014 Vegetable Pledge of eating seasonally and locally this year then please visit our website for more information and to download your registration form for our summer CSA.  If you have any further questions about joining a CSA then please do not hesitate to contact us.