Farm Quality Produce While Living In Suburbia
Since I was very young, I had dreams of living on a farm. I wanted to plant my own crops, raise my own livestock. But God has other plans for me so far. My family lives very comfortably outside of a busy city in what would be labeled a “luxury townhome”. It is rather luxurious and I’m grateful, but it’s a far cry from the quiet and challenging experience of living on a farm.
Perhaps you find yourself in a similar boat. We stay near the city because that’s where the jobs are. My husband and I decided early on that instead of having a house with land in the country, we would spare him the commute time. His drive home from work is about 10 minutes long and the value of saving the stress of driving through traffic has been immeasurable.
So I think it’s worth it. But meanwhile in the townhome…
I’m always thinking about how I can have the high quality of food that I desire for my family.
There are very few farms left in our area, but we’re so blessed to have an incredible CSA that we have access to.
What Is a CSA?
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. You pay a certain amount up front to be members for the season, and in return the farm gives out shares of what was harvested that week. What’s even better is that you get to support a local farm and keep what’s left of local farming alive in your county!
Sometimes at CSA pickup, there is an abundance of produce, and my refrigerator can hardly contain all the vegetables! Other times, it’s not so much. Even from my townhouse non-farming life, I find myself praising the Lord whenever we get rain after a dry spell.
This Week’s Share
This week I took home beets, a bunch of basil, onions, green leaf lettuce, kale, a couple pounds zucchini, a couple pounds of cucumber, and a cantaloupe. We also have pick-your-own flowers, herbs, and cherry tomatoes, so I certainly took advantage of that! Soon we’ll have peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, and garlic.
How to Store Your CSA Share
The first thing I do when I bring home our share is separate the beet greens from the beets. This keeps the greens from wilting right away. I like to put the greens in a glass on my countertop like a vase of flowers because I think there really is some beauty to those beet greens. Everything else gets stored in the fridge.
Find a CSA Near You!
https://www.usdalocalfoodportal.com/fe/fdirectory_csa/?source=fe&directory=csa&location=&x=&y=