Wimer’s Organics CSA
This year Trig and I joined the Wimer’s Organics CSA, and we absolutely loved it. I was always hesitant to join a CSA because we travel and go out so much, but Wimer’s offers a biweekly share so we decided to try it.
Here’s the deal with CSAs: You take the good with the bad. That means that if your farm is having a bad season then you may not get a lot in your box each pickup. On the other hand, if the farm is having a good season your box may be overflowing. We experienced both throughout the season, but for the most part we had enough veggies to last us the two weeks.
Pros:
– The vegetables tasted fresher than anything we can buy at the supermarket.
– Local farms grow different varieties of veggies than we would buy at the market.
– The pickup location was close to home.
– We were forced to try vegetables we normally would not purchase. This was also a con.
Cons:
– There is a lot of veggie washing involved. Everything had a little layer of dirt on it requiring a good amount of prep time, unlike veggies at the market which only need a couple of minutes to wash.
– Collard greens. And swiss chard. Yuck yuck yuck. Unfortunately, with this CSA we did not have any control over what veggies we received. That means that on more than one occasion we were stuck with something I didn’t like. I hate collard greens. Ew.
– We still had to buy veggies from the market. There are some things that we buy when they are out of season and not local, like tomatoes. I did not anticipate this cost ahead of time.
We were very happy with Wimer’s Organics specifically. They are very professional and accommodating. On a few occasions we had to change our pickup week to our off week, and we were able to do so very easily. The boxes were delivered on time to a location close to home, and they were always packed well. The vegetables were never bruised or beyond optimal freshness. As they work with many farms, the variety of vegetables was greater than a single farm CSA. We really enjoyed working with them and look forward to joining again next year!
Feel free to ask any questions if you have any. I was wary of CSAs until I researched them more.
…and now I’m off to cater to my needy baby. I have so much to say but no time to write it. Hopefully I’ll get the hang of this soon.
I really want to do a CSA but can’t find anything that is even remotely convenient as far as pick up location. I feel like a 20-25 minute drive to pick up vegetables almost defeats the purpose of locally, organically grown!
PS-You can send me your collard greens b/c I love them!
I love collards, but my husband doesn’t. :/ Hope R gives you some longer naps soon!
I’m thinking about re-joining a CSA for our winter produce. There’s one nearby that sources produce from farms along the East Coast, so it’s not super local, but better than shipping stuff in from CA, Mexico, etc. It’s tough around Boston because the winters are so, so cold!
In the summer, I prefer to just go to the farmer’s market so I can choose my fruits and veggies. 🙂
I just want to say that you’re doing a great job! I’m a mom to an almost 3 week old and feel like I can relate to you a lot! Everyone keeps telling me that it will get easier. So I’m telling you that too. Your little boy looks like he is really loved and cared for:)
too bad you cannot send me the chard and greens! 😀
Don’t give up on swiss chard! It is basically the same thing as kale, which I love. But with a baby you have more important things to worry about than drak leafy greens.
I’ve been toying with the idea of a half share from a local CSA, but I’m also worried about the extra cost that I’ll inevitably have to pay to supplement it. I have a little more research ahead of me, me thinks!
Ah collard greens are so good! Haha! You are inspiring me…we keep talking about joining one. While I look forward to learning to be creative in the kitchen I also worry about having to eat beets for like a month.
Best of luck with your CSA. We belong to Greensgrow Farms winter CSA (in Northern Libs) and I love it! In addition to veggies, we get Amish butter, milk, eggs and sometimes locally made “prepared” goodies. Its fun – although sometimes you do get things that you have NO idea what to do with – making google my friend!