2014 CSA Share Week 5

This is the diary of our 2014 CSA share. The cost of our full share is $545 for 22 weeks (this CSA offers a winter share) which will bring us to the last week in October, and works out to $24.75 per week. Western New York weather is such that June is lightest CSA month. September and October will be more than abundant! Usually I feel I don’t get my money’s worth the first few weeks (which will be predominantly lettuces), but the fall bags more than make up for that.

We also purchased a Fruit Share this year for $180, lasting 18 weeks which works out to $10 per week. The local fruit included in the fruit share starts with cherries, apricots, plums, peaches, nectarines, blueberries, and moves into pears, raspberries and of course apples! This portion of the share begins in July.

I was quite unhappy with this week’s share. Above you see what I paid almost $25 for in a weekly share. Now, I could have picked a quart of peas/beans and some herbs in the u-pick (I did pick some dill), and I could have filled a bag with Arugula (which certainly would have been worth $$), but I didn’t. Relying on what was already picked and what we had to choose from to fill the “regular” plastic bag full of stuff? I swear I would have paid less at Whole Foods!

We enter our CSA through one door, and exit a second door. Their blog stated this was the last week for scapes (garlic must be taking off after this), and there would be “extra pickling cucumbers available in the share room at a deeply discounted price if you are interested”.

I should have gone in the exit.

In my plastic bag that I paid $24.75 weekly, I added 10 pickling cukes. The greatly reduced priced ones? 15 for $2!! The garlic scapes in that photo above? $3 for the load.

This is week 5 of 22 weeks, and I can’t say that I feel I have receive fair market value of $123.75. I could pick up at local farm stands for less money for more produce. However, looking at week 5 in 2013? Doesn’t look much better. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t seem to pick up significantly until August.

2014 CSA Share Week 5

● Beans (u-pick)
● Beets *
● Broccoli *
● Chard
● Garlic Scapes *
● Cucumbers
● Head Lettuce
● Kale
● Napa Cabbage *
● Peas (u-pick)
● Pickling Cucumbers *
● Salad Turnips
● U-pick – various herbs, took dill *
● Various Greens – including Arugula*, Tot Soi, Vitamin Greens* and Tokyo Borkan
● Zucchini

* took for share

Hubby and I will be making freezer pickles with all those pickling cucumbers. Recipe to come!

Next week starts our fruit share. I was told everything was “by the pound”, so it should be straightforward determining the worth of the fruit we are receiving, and whether or not it is a decent value. I hope.

Do you belong to a CSA? If so, what type? How much? Do you find it as worthwhile as I do?

● For more CSA posts on Ann’s Entitled Life, click here.

● Mind Your Peas and Cukes pinterest board: All things CSA, Produce, Farmstead Fresh – community supported agriculture, farmstand fresh produce, organic produce, more from all over the United States.

● CSA posts
● Find a CSA
● Porter Farms CSA (we belonged for years)
● Root Down Farm CSA (our 2013 and 2014 CSA)
● NYS Fruit and Vegetable Harvest Calendar
● US Agricultural Data