A visit to our farm

No, we did not give up life in suburbia life for the farm life, but we do own 2/3 of a summer fruit and veggie share of a local farm. I only learned of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) last year and, at that point, it was too late to become a member of one.  I was reminded of it this year when we were at a dinner party a couple months ago.  I immediately jumped online and searched for local farms in the area that sold CSA shares.

Many were already sold out, so we are very excited to have invested in the livelihood of Gazy Brothers Farm in Oxford, CT.  We were a little disappointed that the produce is not organic, however, it is grown using an integrated pest management program, which reduces the amount of pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals to ensure healthy plants and flavorful produce (from the Gazy Brothers website).

We aren't totally sure what to expect being a part of a CSA, so we are testing the waters with two other families from our moms group (hence the 2/3 share - we have two shares that we are splitting 3 ways). We will begin picking up our 2 boxes of mixed vegetables, herbs, and greens and our 2 boxes of mixed fruits and berries on July 1. The farm will bring them to a nearby farmer's market, one of us will pick them up, and then we will divide the boxes 3 ways the best we can.  Our summer program runs for 12 + weeks.

This past Sunday, the farm hosted a CSA open house. It was so much fun getting to meet the farmer and his wife and daughter and getting to see the fields and greenhouses.

The kids planted beans to make a bean house for them to play in later in the season.

Eliana enjoyed planting the beans and watering them.

The farmer took us on a hayride tour of the fields.

Here we are waiting for the hayride to begin.

Here are tomato plantings covered with black plastic (to prevent weeds and keep the plants warm). In the back there are leeks, and there are berries on the hill.

Here is broccoli and other greens growing with the greenhouses in the background.

I can't remember what this is.

Here is corn in the foreground with lettuces and strawberries and the greenhouses in the background.

Here Jimbo and Eliana are checking out the tomato plants in the greenhouse. They don't usually show the greenhouses because they are very susceptible to disease.

The farmer's wife gave the tour of the greenhouses.  She said that this year, for the first time, they had crop yields throughout the winter.  This winter she believes they will have enough to have CSA boxes every other week!  How awesome would it be to get fresh local produce through the winter IN NEW ENGLAND!

They also had a farm stand set up with leftover produce from the Spring program CSA shares.  I bought a bunch of dandelion greens, a bunch of Arugula, a bunch of leeks, and a tomato (all for $1 each). They also provided some yummy refreshments.  All in all, a very good day.  We look forward to getting our boxes, and getting to try some new produce and recipes.