Hooray for CSAs!

The title of my blog, "An overcrowded chicken farm produce fewer eggs" is a Chinese proverb that I thought fit the idea of the CSA. If you treat your animals and your vegetables well, you can more out of the land.

Farm shares are not for people who like planning meals. Some weeks you'll have enough lettuce for a rabbit farm, and other weeks you'll wonder how you'll consume five pounds of tomatoes. Experiment! And watch Iron Chef like it's your job.

Last year was the first year I participated in community supported agriculture (CSA). Each week, I'd go to The Food Project http://www.thefoodproject.org/ in Lincoln, MA to collect a share of whatever they harvested each week. I share my share with my sister Elena.

This year I also found a meat share that distributes in my area. Based in Hardwick, MA, Chestnut Farms http://www.chestnutfarms.org/ sends their truck to different towns in Massachusetts once per month. You pick up a cooler full of meat, and they also offer eggs "these were all laid yesterday" for purchase.

This blog will include what I received in my weekly vegetable share and my monthly meat share. I'll post successful recipes, articles about CSAs, and may veer into farming news or farmer's markets every now and then.

I always wanted to live on a farm, and even took a course in organic farming when I was at UMass Amherst. I grew tomatoes and peppers and peas at my parents' house, but now I live in a condo in city. CSAs seem to fill that need for seeing things grow, picking tomatoes, and chatting with other people who care about where their food comes from.

Drop me a line if you have any questions or information you would like me to post.