decision made...finally

I emailed a link to all the posts about the battle of the CSA boxes to the contact people at both to give them feedback. The people at Inland Empire responded positively and were really happy to hear about it. Nothing from JR Organics, which is pretty much the amount of interaction I've had with them, other than when they scolded me for picking up on the wrong date (even though I had told them when I wanted to pick up and they had said ok). Part of the reason I decided to switch from Be Wise is the lack of interaction with the farmer, so this is a big one for me.

I have belonged to several other CSA's, starting when I was just out of college with Black Bear Food Guild, then to Chicago for Angelic Organics (which, though it is the biggest CSA in the country, has great communication with the farmer and lots of activities on the farm). And of course my beloved Plowshares in Gainesville, which I was very involved in and knew the farmer pretty well. Each has been unique; when I was a member Black Bear had two pickups, one at the farm and one at a farmer's market. There were bins and scales, each item had a sign that said how much of each thing to take and if you didn't like something you could take a little more of something else. So simple! Angelic Organics had a "swap box" at each pickup location, if there was something in your box that you didn't like, you just put it in there and took out something you liked more. With Plowshares, you were encouraged to give them 2 bags with your name on them, they packed your veggies into them and brought them 2 more empties at pickup. Volunteering was also encouraged and I found it fun to work the stand at the farmer's market, selling the amazing produce and flowers (there was even a flower share, Rosie's flowers are a thing of beauty indeed) and handing out people's shares to them. One of my favorite things about belonging to a CSA is the community aspect; Be Wise fails utterly in that and my experience of JR Organics wasn't much better (though they did give Larry free flowers one week, that was nice).

Thanks for coming along with me on this experiment, it has been fun!

time to vote!

To recap my posts on the trial subscriptions, click here.

battle of the csa boxes, week 8

This was the last week of our trial with JR Organics. We got:

• 1 pint strawberries
• 1 bunch of baby tatsoi
• 1 big bunch of basil
• 5 blood oranges
• 5 heads of lettuce
• 1 bunch of beets and greens
• 3 small onions
• 4 apples
• 3 zucchini
• 2 summer squash
• 2 cucumbers
  

battle of the csa boxes, week 7

This was a bonanza week, the last week of our trial period with Inland Empire. We got:

• 1 pint strawberries
• 1 bunch of small celery (the grower emailed me telling me that it's for cooking only and didn't come out as nicely as they would have liked.
• 2 heads lettuce
• 1 bunch chard
• 1 bunch of dandelion greens
• 1 artichoke
• 3 oranges
• 6 loquats
• 3 small onions
• 6 new potatoes
• 2 small green peppers
• 3 heads young garlic
• 2 small round zucchini
• 4 avocados
• 1 head uncured garlic
• 1 bunch baby carrots
• 1 bunch red scallions
• 2 grapefruit
• 1 bunch of what I thought were collards but the grower tells me is broccoli or cauliflower leaves, that explains why it wasn't exactly right. It was tasty though.
• 1 bunch small leeks
• 2 red onions
• jar of honey
  

Wow, what a haul!

battle of the csa boxes, week 6

This week we got (from JR Organics):
*a bunch of basil
*a pint of gorgeous strawberries
*a bunch of arugula
*a large bunch of swiss chard (bummer, I don't really like it)
*a bunch of radishes
*a bunch of baby carrots
*3 purple kohlrabi
*3 blood oranges
*4 heads lettuce
*3 apples

Wow, only two more weeks to go after today.

battle of the csa boxes, week 5

This was our third box from Inland Empire, and it was the best quality so far.
We got:
*a bag of baby rainbow chard
*a bag of mustard greens
*3 bunches of baby celery, tough dry, and yellowing
*a bunch of spring onions
*a bunch of small white onions with tops
*4 loquats--I had never had these before, they were okay but I don't love them
*huge hydroponic purple basil
*hydroponic cilantro
*a head of hydroponic lettuce (looks like red romaine)
*a bunch of garlic scapes
*3 haas avocados (not ripe yet, but they look good)
*1 artichoke (yum)
*1 bunch of baby carrots
*2 huge grapefruits
*3 salad cucumbers, one shriveled
*5 small new potatoes
*a bunch of collards (yellowing and tough but were fine chopped up in the food processor and cooked into food)
*a pint of strawberries, delicious

battle of the csa boxes, week 4

This was our second box from JR Organics, which means we're halfway through this experiment. Nina and I were out of town, so Larry did the pickup and he remembered to write down what was in the box. So here's what he wrote:

*bunch of baby carrots
*pint of strawberries (I haven't tasted them but they look as good as the other ones we got from JR Organics
*5 small heads lettuce
*some herb (it was mint, just for the record, and he wrote "some herb")
*green onions (it might have been young garlic, though)
*bunch of parsley (actually not parsley, but cilantro)
*something I don't recognize (wow, so helpful, it was kohlrabi)
*3 large apples
*5 small oranges (they look like blood oranges, which Nina now describes as a kind she doesn't like, remember when she loved them? more for me, is all that means)

And Larry tried to buy a bunch of flowers but they gave them to him. He promptly put them in water not knowing they were straw flowers. He tried.

battle of the csa boxes, week 3

This was our second box from Inland Empire, and the quantity of food was certainly a good value. I'm not so sure about the quality, though. Here's what we got:
*3 avocados (really yummy ones)
*small bunch of chard (already wilted)
*bunch of red dandelion greens
*2 bunches of baby carrots (one orange and one white--what's the point of the white ones? they don't taste like anything and they're prone to getting sunburned)
*bunch of radishes
*bunch of baby celery (already dried out and yellow)
*3 oranges (yum)
*3 small heads of leaf lettuce (already slimy)
*bunch of scallions
*bunch of small onions
*bunch of sage (flowering)
*pint of strawberries (tiny, seedy, and already not so great, as opposed to the ones from last week, which were juicy, sweet, and not moldy or overripe)

battle of the csa boxes, week 2

As of last Sunday I hadn't heard from JR Organics yet, though I mailed out both applications with the checks on the same day. But this week I got a call from someone over at JR Organics telling me that they had gotten my application but it got photocopied and only half came out right, so what plan did I actually want, etc. A little obstacle, but still fine so far. I definitely told the person I spoke to on the phone that I wanted my first pickup to be today and she said that would be fine (I wrote that I was trying out two different farms on both applications, the Inland Empire person said they were interested to hear what I thought in an email). They did send me a confirmation email, but I must not have read it properly, because today I got a call telling me that I wasn't supposed to have a pickup today (I feel bad for the person whose box I got, but the person at the market should have known better). So I'm not super impressed with the communication and customer service so far. But the food is a different matter, it's all gorgeous. This is what came in the box today (as a unique feature, the food comes in a blue rubbermaid-type bin that you return, I have belonged to CSAs for over ten years now, and that's a first).

• 1 bunch of baby carrots (why do people always think we want the greens attached? they take up space and I don't care for the way they smell)
• 1 beautiful bunch of chard (not that I like it, but I can appreciate good looking produce)
• 1 bunch of baby elephant garlic
• 1 bunch of kale (again, very good looking)
• 5 small oranges, not sure what kind (valencia?)
• 6 apples, one a bit bruised looking
• 1 head lettuce (need I say? it's gorgeous, I should take pics)
• 1 small bunch of baby turnips
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 4 heads of leaf lettuce
  
• 1 pint of strawberries (they look good but haven't tried them yet, it's a more full pint than last week's)
  

battle of the csa boxes, week 1

For many reasons (which I'll probably detail at some point in this series), we have decided to switch csa farms. After some deliberation and advice from friends, I decided to give two a try, and I've decided to invite you along for the ride (most CSA farms will allow you to sign up for a trial subscription to see if it is a good fit).

The two we decided to try are Inland Empire and JR Organics. I love that the JR Organics site has an RSS feed for its weekly box contents, but this week Inland Empire wins by default. I sent out the subscription forms and checks for both on Tuesday and only Inland Empire has contacted me so far; by Thursday I had an email telling me that my first pickup would be on Sunday. That's FAST!

This week's box contents are:
1 pint strawberries, not super tasy, but not bad either (maybe the first of the year?)
1 bunch of aquaponic basil, it's deep purple and beautiful, I haven't tried it yet but am intrigued
1 small head of red and green lettuce
1 bunch of arugula flowers
1 bunch baby beets and greens
1 bunch red dandelion greens
1 bunch spring onions
1 bunch green garlic (looks like spring onions)
1 small bag salad mix, not baby greens, and some of it was already looking yellow by the time I got it home
1 bunch baby carrots, very anemic looking and not very sweet
3 regular sized haas avocados and 2 tiny ones
1 small bag spinach, not too tender looking, I think I will put it in the food processor and hide it in pizza dough (I don't really like spinach)
3 navel oranges (gone already, they were delicious)
1 artichoke (what does one do with 1 artichoke?*)

All in all, a pretty good haul; I'm willing to overlook the not so wonderful bits for now. I don't like bitter stuff and Nina thinks carrots are from the devil so I am fermenting the carrots, arugula flowers, dandelion greens (reds?), and radishes. The avocados aren't ripe yet, but they look promising.

*Here's what you do: make waffles with chocolate sauce and strawberries for dessert, which will distract them from the fact that you're going all Greedy Smurf on them and are eating the one artichoke all by yourself.