CSA Farm Share Experiment Week One

I have wanted to join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) since I first heard the term, when I went through Ohio State University’s training for master gardeners. I live in the city but I grew up in the country. My great-grandparents lost their farm due to a bad business deal early in their marriage, but they never lost their passion for farming. Once my great-grandfather retired, they farmed an acre of strawberries and one to two acres of corn by hand on my grandparents’ property. My great-grandfather pushed his own plow and had a hoe in his hand every summer day that I remember. His farming tools went to the historical society to honor his tradition after he was gone.

I have always gardened, but I have more shade than sun and very little space, so I can’t possibly grow everything I want to eat. I’m also a creature of habit. Aren’t we all? The only way I am going to go out of my comfort zone is to challenge myself to make use of what is grown locally and not focus on what I think I have to buy at the market. I believe firmly in supporting our local farmers so that they can continue their way of life. What better way to do that than to join a farm buying group who sources farms within a 75 mile radius?

So this year I’ve become a Fresh Forker with Fresh Fork Market. We’re getting the Vegan small share and I’m splitting it with my parents. Start small and work my way up, if needed, makes sense to me, and already I’m excited and overwhelmed! I’m sure anyone trying this for the first time will be too, so I thought I’d take you along on our experiment and tell you each week what we got and what we did with it. You’ll know my success, my oopsies and my failures but if you don’t want to learn from your own mistakes, then you can learn and laugh with us! 🙂

So, the picture above is the full small Vegan farm share for summer week one in northern Ohio, which also informs you on what you could be harvesting from your own garden the first week in June in Ohio. We received…

Spelt Flour – 1.75 lb
Kidney Beans – small bag, dried
Red Russian Kale – 1 bunch
Radishes – 1 bunch
Spinach – 1 bunch
Mesclun Mix of Lettuce – 1 bag
Asparagus – 1 lb
Rhubarb – 1 lb
Broccoli – 1 head
Bunching Onions – 1 bunch of 7
Caraflex Cabbage – 1 very large head
Strawberries – 1 quart

Another picture of what that looks like spread out on a table….

After dividing that in half, below is what my half-share looks like that will be used for two people and any friends I ask to dinner!

More to come in future posts such as what you do with a farm share the day you bring it home, besides eating whatever you can’t resist right at that moment. I’ll also post recipes and pictures of what we make out of the farm share, how we preserve the over-abundance, and how we transport it so that it survives a multi-house photo shoot before it gets eaten. Hint – ice baths are my friend!

The Mesclun mix was half eaten for dinner that first night in a salad that did not get photographed with a bit of the kale and the spinach. I was too tired to do anything more than cook some already prepared vegan burgers and toss a salad. I’m sure I’ll get faster at this as time goes by but on that first night when I was eating dinner at 9pm, I really wondered about my sanity!

What’s your fork been up to?

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