It's Not Too Late for a CSA Share

If you've been thinking about signing up for a CSA share this year, it's not too late. Many farms still have shares available. CISA has a convenient list of Local Hero CSA farms here. They are listed by county and include descriptions of the farm and typical share contents, pickup locations, and how to get in touch with the farm.

In addition to the meat CSA offered by Bostrom Farm of Greenfield, CISA also lists a few others in the Valley.

Beef/Pork CSA from Bostrom Farm

Bostrom Farm in Greenfield is offering a summer meat CSA. A full share consists of 4 20-lb boxes of either beef, pork, or a combination, to be picked up the second Saturday of each month at the Greenfield Farmers Market. Half shares are also available. A full share (80 lbs total) costs $560 and a half share (40 lbs) costs $280. Contact Kyle Bostrom for details: KLBostrom [at] comcast [dot] net or 413-772-3732.

Grain and Bean CSAs

Locally grown grain seems to be the next major growth area for local food here in the Pioneer Valley. Upinngil Farm in Gill has whole wheat and flour available at their farm store all year round, and Four Star Farms in Northfield now has barley, wheat, and spelt, plus flour, available at Green Fields Market on a regular basis. The People's Pint is now making 100% Local Ale from local grain and hops, and Valley bakeries such as Hungry Ghost, Wheatberry, and El Jardin are expanding their use of locally grown wheat and other grains. It's an exciting time!

Last year we saw the introduction of the Pioneer Valley Heritage Grain CSA, organized by Wheatberry Farm, offering shares with a variety of heritage grains and dry beans.

Now I've just learned about another grain CSA in the Valley, from White Oaks Grains in Belchertown, which has 40 shares available of 150 lbs each.

Both CSAs provide the grains in whole grain form, but offer the use of mills at the farm if you don't have your own. Check them out!

Late Fall CSA Box #2

Another box, another bounteous load of local produce.

Lettuce
Kale
Beets
Potatoes
Butternut squash
Pie pumpkin
Leeks
Celery
Carrots
Cilantro
Daikon
Garlic
Turnips

More of this week's items are things that will keep for a while, which is nice, though in the end I did manage to use just about everything from the last box before this one came. The pumpkin is already earmarked for pumpkin pie (I was hoping we would get one!), and perhaps the squash as well (I need to make two pumpkin pies for the big crowd we're hosting this year). I have to admit that neither beets nor turnips are on my list of preferred vegetables, but I'll either figure out something good to do with them or foist them off on our neighbors. That's the risk you take with a CSA share, but everything else is so wonderful that I don't mind.

First Fall CSA Box

If you had a CSA share this summer, you may now be feeling a combination of wistfulness and relief, missing the weekly box but, at the same time, secretly glad not to be trying to figure out what to do with an enormous quantity of something or another. Here's it just the opposite: all summer long we eat out of our garden, and in the late fall we get a CSA. We picked up our first Picadilly Farm box this past Thursday. Just as I remember from last year, the abundance and beauty contained therein exceeded even my anticipatory imaginings.

Among other things, we now have Swiss chard, spinach, arugula, lots of lettuce, and radicchio. Also potatoes, carrots, delicata squash, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, and a red onion. That's just what I remember off the top of my head; I'm pretty sure there were a few other things in there. Yikes! The potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash will keep for a bit, but the greens need to get used up soon. So...stay tuned for greens recipes!

Local Grain CSA

Just heard about this, again via CISA. Sign up for the Pioneer Valley Heritage Grain CSA, organized by Wheatberry Farm and Bakery with the participation of multiple Valley Farms, and get 100 pounds of heritage grains and dry beans.

A full share costs $350. A half share, about 50 pounds, costs $200. There are two pick-up dates in November, at farms in Hadley and Shutesbury, and shareholders must show up at both to get the whole share. The grains are unmilled (i.e. whole grain, not flour) but milling is available weekdays at Wheatberry Farm or you can use a home flour mill like I have.

See the website for details and the sign-up form.

(If 100 lbs, or even 50 lbs, sounds like too much at once, there are a few other sources of local grain and flour in the Valley, including Four Star Farms in Northfield and Upinngil Farm in Gill. I have seen Four Star Farms at Winter Fare and other markets, and Upinngil has a farm stand that is open year round.