Monday, November 2, 2009

I LOVE my CSG!


This was the bi-weekly distribution from my CSG (Community Supported Garden) last Friday.
WOW!
We got 2 Acorn Squash, 1 1/2 lbs potatoes, 1 1/2 lbs carrots, 2 Daikon Radish, 1 head curly endive, 2 heads radiccio (there were other options on the salad front - those were my selections)
a head of chinese cabbage(again there were options), a green pepper, broccoli shoots, a small head of cauliflower, 4 radishes, 1 1/2 lbs onions, a head of garlic, and 1 1/2 lbs of cooking greens - I chose .5 lb of kale, .5 lb Collards and .5 lb of braising greens, 6 turnips with their greens, and fruit!
Yes, again we got apples & paw-paw - which I'll be turning into fruit sauce at my house....
AND my favorite autumn treat - hearty Kiwi!
They are a PYO item and WELL worth it.
The orchard is on the hill behind the distribution house and is BEAUTIFUL.
I can remember the first time I picked kiwi...with Ronnie in the snuggli 6 months old.
The memories just make them sweeter!
This time Evan was with me - running around the orchard and exploring the paths.
The CSG is awesome because even when we get one veggie that doesn't do so well - this year the tomatoes - generally there's something else that balances it out. This year we've been getting truckloads of greens. Over the winter we get to try all sorts of root veggies. Sometimes it's hard finding ways to use it, but soup is usually a good fallback :)
I could never grow the variety we get from the farm in my own home garden...
Over the past couple of years additional pay-in items have been appearing on the CSG shelves....we were bequeathed an adjacent property...another small farm...and with the additional space, our farmer has been busy!
We can now purchase WW flour grown on the farm and we can purchase eggs from our own hens! We used to be able to buy eggs from another farmer who would bring them on distribution days...but this is even better!
We've already eaten half of the eggs. They are quite delicious!




2 comments:

ChefDruck said...

Look at that bounty! The carrots look amazing. I'm assuming a CSG is different from a CSA in that you provide the work? I can't believe that you're getting kiwis. Always thought they were so exotic. I just got on the wait list for a local CSA. I am so excited to have truly local produce be part of our weekly routine.

Renee Unplugged - said...

Hi ChefDruck - actually I'm not sure why they chose to specify community supported GARDEN rather than FARM or Agriculture in general. My CSG is a part of the outreach at Genesis Farm which is owned by the Dominican Sisters who do peace outreach and sustainability education.
I'm going back and embedding a link to the CSG site now...so you can go see for yourself if you'd like!
There are volunteer oportunities at the farm, particularly at harvest time. But as I work full-time on the opposite side of the state I never get to do that.
The kiwi are a "hardy" variety - the orchard is similar to an apple orchard and the fruits hang in clusters and are the size of LARGE grapes. I wish I had taken a picture - drat!
We are very happy to have the CSG as part of our lives!