What is a CSA?

Sometimes, because I've done so much research on it, and participated in one, I forget that other people don't even know about CSAs. Or what they are.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, it's a system whereby you purchase a "share" of a farm at the beginning of the growing season (usually mid-winter or early spring, or even the year before! Some CSAs fill up really early!). What you're doing is investing in that farm's future. Your share money allows the farmer to purchase seeds and equipment in advance of the farming year.

Then, during the growing season, your CSA entitles you to weekly "share" of the farm produce. Each CSA runs differently. Some farms require a work committment along with the payment. Other farms do not.

We belonged to the Holcomb Farm CSA in Granby, CT for several years. They grow organically, which we love. We would get about 20 weeks of "share pickup." We were given a cloth grocery bag that we could fill up each week with our choice of the farm produce. The Holcomb CSA was especially value-added because they had a huge Pick-Your-Own crop that was in addition to the share bag.

As the season goes on, different kinds of produce are available. In June, there's lots of lettuce greens, radishes, maybe some spring onions... July brings the squash, cucumbers, beets, and more. August is a good month because you have a large variety of produce. September and October bring the squashes, pumpkins...

What's great about a CSA is that you get your food directly from the source. You can often pick what you want for your share (some farms create share boxes where the produce is pre-selected). And you can get to know the farm and their farming practices first hand.

Are there drawbacks to a CSA? Sure - if the farm does not produce well, your produce pick up is reduced - or you might just have less of a selection. Because you're getting only in-season foods, you might eat the same kinds of veggies a few weeks in a row. And of course, you have to drive to your pick up location every week, sometimes at a certain time.

But overall, if you research and find the best value CSA in your area (some farms offer fewer weeks or smaller bags) you can get a really good deal and really great food!

Have you ever belonged to a CSA? Do you have more questions about how they work?

I'm thinking summer...

...it's gotta be somewhere under all these 30 inches of snow. I am looking forward to getting the jogging stroller back out of hiding, walks in the park, and hopefully entertaining a little toddler! I've already started to think about what outdoor toys my son might like this summer. Will he want a pool again (the last one broke!), a sandbox, slide, or maybe a wooden swing set?

I have fond memories of hanging off our swingset when I was little... I've been browsing through CSNStores.com to see what kind of play toys might work for a 14-20 month old this summer. I'll be reviewing a product from them soon - not sure what I'll decide on (I COULD use some winter boots if this snow doesn't stop coming down!). But I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, check out CSN for yourself!

Help me out - What is/was your child's favorite outdoor play toy or game around age 1-2?

Planning Season

Plant carrots in January and you'll never have to eat carrots.

~Author Unknown

No, it's not time for planting. But it is time for PLANNING. This is your friendly reminder that you need to order seeds, plot out your garden plans for this coming growing season. Because pretty soon, if you want to eat those carrots, you need to start some seedlings indoors or in a cold frame.

Happy Gardening!

Hybrid Seeds, or Heirloom Seeds?

If you're thinking about planting a garden, the winter months are the time to get started planning, plotting, ordering seeds. Browse through some catalogs or look online for ideas.  One question ask is whether you want to use hybrid seeds or non-hybrid/heirloom seeds?

Hybrid seeds are created by artificially cross-pollinating two plants to create an improved plant. Perhaps one that has greater resistance to disease, or tolerates drought. However, a major drawback is that you cannot "save" seeds from hybrid plants because they don't reproduce reliably. Instead, you have to buy new hybrid seeds every year. And, hybrid seed plants often need special fertilizers and chemical pesticides in order to flourish. One other reason I don't prefer hybrids is that due to the time it takes to create a reliable hybrid seed, there aren't that many varieties of each type of plant available, so your gardening choices are limited.

Heirloom seeds, on the other hand, can be saved from year to year, allowing you to save money and also invest yourself more deeply into your gardening. Heirloom seeds tend to adapt to their environments as well - learning to fight off pests, or withstand a drier climate, and so on - they tend to be hardier. Also, heirloom seeds come in lovely varieties, so the choices of colors, sizes, and flavors of your flowers and vegetables is nearly endless. Heirloom seeds can make experimenting in your garden much more fun!

We'll talk more about the benefits of heirloom seeds, and how they can be organically gardened as we go throughout the year.

CSN Stores For Kids In The Garden

CSN Stores keeps amazing me. I mean sure, we all know they have 200+ online stores offering everything from leather messenger bags to great cookware, but did you know they feature an extensive supply of gardening tools?

CSNStores.com offers everything for the backyard gardener from hoes and trowels to hand-push mowers if you're looking to save money on gasoline and also get a good work out in:

 I love that they have gardening toys for children too, as we hope to encourage our little one to enjoy the great outdoors (well, in our backyard!). We might get him this cute duckie watering can:

 Or a kid-sized wheelbarrow so he can help daddy cart mulch around!

 And can't you just imagine him running by the butterfly bushes trying to catch some butterflies with this net?

I can't wait to decide what to buy! Stay tuned because I'll be reviewing whatever we decide on!

We've Struck Red Gold! Tomatoes!

It's that time of year again. Putting up tomato sauce like any good Italian mama would do!

Last Saturday we spent 11 hours canning sauce, tomato broth/stock, and tomato salsa. I never feel like it's enough - what can I say, I like to stockpile this "red gold!"

225 pounds of tomatoes PLUS

Piles of Onions, PLUS

Bundles of basil, EQUALS

100 Quarts of Sauce, Stock, and Salsa!

Spring Bounty

This spring we've had just the perfect blend of sunshine and rain to create a fabulous early season of lettuces, herbs, berries... the perennials have come back thick as thieves and there's no sign of that thievin' woodchuck! We're off to a great start for our gardens!