Maple Spring Garden CSA

For years John and I have been talking about joining a CSA. For those of you that are not familiar with the term, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture. We go to the Durham farmers market each Saturday to buy produce, but sometimes we (and by we, I mean John) have a hard time getting up on Saturday morning to get to the market before all the good produce is sold. We sometimes find ourselves busy on a Saturday morning and cannot make it to the market and a CSA gives us an option for fresh, local produce even no matter our Saturday plans. We will continue to make regular trips to the market to support our  favorite farmers like Piedmont Biofarm, Maple Spring Garden Gardens, Tiny Farm, Four Leaf Farm, and Wild Scallions.  


CSA's and the Durham farmers market appealing to us because all of the farms that sell must have their farm within 75 miles of the market. Therefore, truly selling local food. For the past six years, we have made it a point to purchase as much produce as we can locally. We want to support the local economy, reduce our impact on the environment, know where our food comes, and to be part of our local community. We only purchase from farmers that refrain from selling meat and engage in farming practices that are healthful to the environment (for example, none of the farmers we buy from use pesticides). 


After the advice from friends, we decided to go with Maple Spring Garden CSA. They run a traditional CSA where you can purchase a small or large share and you pick up your order at a specified location each week. We decided to go with a CSA that picked the produce for us. We are not picky when it comes to produce, so we appreciate the surprise each week. It has now been four weeks and we have been impressed with our boxes. We have received broccoli, asparagus, strawberries, turnips, Bibb lettuce, romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, kale, spinach, Swiss chard, arugula, spring mix, leeks, and onions. All of which we have used throughout the week in our meals. 

Our box this week: spring mix, red leaf lettuce, Swiss chard, strawberries, and broccoli

 You don't have to be vegan to enjoy a CSA, it is for anyone. No matter who you are, I recommend you check out a local CSA. Beware though, there are companies that say that they are CSA's, but they provide produce from far away. Stick with those that provide only local produce, preferably from their own farm. I like to know where my produce is coming from and with Maple Spring Garden, I know that they follow organic practices, even though they are not certified as organic. 

Our box last week: turnips, Bibb lettuce, spring mix, arugula, and strawberries

Enjoy your fruits and vegetables! Happy Spring!