Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

Recently, I was asked what a CSA is and what these letters stand for. While I know what a CSA is, I  didn’t know what the acronym meant. So, I looked to the place where I find many answers, the internet search engine Google! I was able to find out not only what CSA stands for (Community Supported Agriculture) but I found a great website (http://www.localharvest.org/csa/) that gives a lot of information about CSAs and explains what they do, where they are, and how they function. Take a look at this site if you are interested in finding a local CSA in your area, want some great tips on what to expect when joining one, or on your own find out what “CSA” stands for, so you can use the term with confidence!

Have any tips to add about what to expect from a CSA, please respond to this post and share your stories.

Also take a look at our Freshman Farmer blog – filled with our Farmer fledglings most of which have created and are running their very own CSA farms.

Happy growing!

Now is a great time to sign up for delicious veggies, all season long!

Sign up for one of our Freshman Farmer’s CSAs right now:

Four Frog Farm in Nevada County, CA

DeepSeeded Community Farm in Humboldt County

EarthDance Farm in St. Louis, MO

Follow the links above and click on their website link underneath their profile!

Or find a CSA in your area here.

I want you to imagine for a minute… more fresh vegetables than two people could eat, salads with five or ten different varieties of greens… imagine knowing that your produce has only been touched by one or two other people by the time it shows up on your table.

If these are not astonishing ideas to you… you must be eating locally, you must know your grower.

I’m three weeks into my CSA membership and already I am knee deep in greens. For real… Andrew (that’s my farmer), slow down there buddy! I’ve had a giant salad 3 nights out of 5 and I still have 3 big bags of mixed greens in my “crisper” drawer. Now if you don’t know anything about CSA’s you should read my previous post here.

Even though I complain in jest… I actually I love it! These first few weeks are like a warm-up, in the early season there are only a few kinds of veggies that are ready to harvest; greens, broccoli, radishes, and the like. So my box is loaded with ‘em. There is nothing like coming out of winter and suddenly you have more fresh garden goodness than you can eat.

As I crunch on salad and steam the greens I start to crave the squash and tomatoes that are on their way. Beets, turnips, kale, potatoes, carrots, peas, corn… oh sweet corn… my mouth waters at the thought of it.

Please I implore you… I’ve said it before… but once again; If you only do one thing for yourself and your planet this year…. JOIN A CSA!

Over at the Freshman Farmer Site, the next installment of our video series documenting Andrew Meyers’ first year farming journey.

Click here to visit the post.

Originally written for FreshmanFarmer.GrowOrganic.com

I am pretty new to the “Buy Local” or “Know Your Grower” concept, I joined my first CSA only last year. In that short amount of time I have become a huge supporter of the local food movement. Joining and volunteering on a CSA farm was so influential in my life that since becoming enlightened to the movement I have changed my career path, my eating habits, and my leisure activities to align with the movement, even my politics have been effected.

Lee helps Andrew put the Agribon out

Read the rest of the post here.

Freshman Farmer is off and running. Over at the site I’ve put up the inaugural episodes in our video cast of Andrew Meyers’ progress in starting a fresh new CSA.

Andrew is a 23 year old farmer who Peaceful Valley is sponsoring in his first year of farming. We hope that by sharing his story, it will inspire and encourage a new generation of farmers to jump in and make a difference.

Click here to watch the videos and to read Andrew’s journal entries!

On Tuesday I got the opportunity to go up to Andrew Meyer’s farm, Wild Grace Organics. Andrew is the very first participant in Peaceful Valley’s “Freshman Farmer” program.

Andrew Meyers at Wild Grace Farm

Freshman Farmer is an initiative that Peaceful Valley took based on our understanding that farmers not only aren’t getting any younger, but younger people aren’t looking to farming as a valid career move either. So we’re “sponsoring” Andrew’s farm this year, giving him the equivalent of an employee discount on supplies that he needs to get started, and to grow a CSA for the season.

I’m making short videos to go along with his website, which is freshmanfarmer.groworganic.com. (as of this moment, March 13, there is not yet content, but keep on the lookout, an intro video is coming real soon!)

We will be checking in with him throughout the season to see how things are coming along, and what challenges and successes he is facing.

He will also be keeping a blog, regularly letting everyone know what is happening up at Wild Grace.

It’s such a cool program, one I’m really proud to be a part of. Each year we will be giving a young farmer a boost and interacting in a very positive and long term way, not just with the organic community, but with the community as a whole.

Other great things are coming out of this too, some I can’t talk about yet as they are not written in stone, but some, such as our retail store’s cooler being a drop off point for his boxes of veggies, that could really assist in making local food available and affordable for this community. Perhaps we will learn enough to be able to pass lessons we learn along to others.

Let us know what you think, if you’ve heard of anything similar regarding CSA’s, and if you have any questions!

I belong to a CSA, which means every week I get a box of the freshest veggies possible… from just down the road. Every year I find myself subconsciously competing with my CSA farmer… and I must admit I always lose. He always has tomatoes and peppers sooner, his lettuce and cabbage heads up better than mine, in short his thumb is just plain greener. And this year I’ve decided to be alright with that, I’ve decided to grow all the other things I like to eat that I never get from my CSA. Now this idea may seem elementary, but to me it’s a revelation.

For those of you who are not hip to CSA membership here’s a quick overview; A farmer near you grows a diverse yet practical variety of veggies, usually on a small amount of acreage (1-5 acres). You join the CSA (community supported agriculture) and pay for a box of veggies a week. It’s kind of a subscription to fresh local food. Usually $15-$40 a week paid in advance or in two or three payments. The idea is that by paying in advance you give the farmers the money they need to get off to a good start. In return you not only get the freshest veggies possible, you also get to”know your grower” which is a rare thing these days. For a more detailed explanation of CSA here is what Wikipedia has to say.

So this year I will grow some unusual greens; Double Purple Orach, Purslane, Miners Lettuce, Italienischer and Regal Spinach. Most of which I have no idea what they will taste like. Even though my CSA has tons of tomatoes, I’m still going to grow my own, mostly sauce tomatoes for canning, you can never have too many tomatoes in my opinion. The same goes for onions and garlic, in my house we eat so much of these it’s a surprise our friends can stand our breath. In addition I plan to grow pickling cucumbers, some specialty squashes like flying saucer and portofino. I also acquired a few giant pumpkin seeds from a winning giant pumpkin (800+ lbs) and I can’t wait to see what comes of that! Herbs are still on the plan this year, dill (for the pickles), cilantro, basil and parsley, and thyme. Shelling peas will be a new addition to my garden and so will the beautiful scarlet runner beans I picked up at a seed swap. Also in the plan this year are berries of the straw, blue and rasp varieties. The blueberries will be the only new item on the menu and even though I just put them in the ground yesterday… my mouth waters already.

My garden plan for this year started out as a supplement to my CSA, giving me the veggies I would not see in my weekly box. It quickly became more about exploring new kinds of vegetables. And while I realize that my garden this year will barely scratch the surface of the vast realm of vegetable variety… I’ve got to start somewhere… and my garden seems like the right place.

What’s in your garden this year?

We’re really excited about a big project we have coming up. We’re calling it ‘Freshman Farmers’, and what we’re doing is sponsoring a young farmer and supporting them in their journey to becoming a part of the organic farming community.
There is a troubling lack of young people interested in starting farms in California. We are hoping that by giving our first year farmer Andrew Meyers a helping hand by providing special prices so that he will be able to inspire a few others of his generation.

Andrew is farming some land in Nevada County in an organic way. He is ready to go for it after contributing a couple of years to other local farms and this year he will be launching a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).
A CSA allows for direct interaction between the consumer of organic food and the producer. In this way a local economic and cultural exchange is encouraged.
We are proud to be a part of Andrew’s start, and will keep you posted on our site devoted to his triumphs and tribulations.