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CSA begins
This year I'm trying a new CSA (community supported agriculture) -- if you've never participated, I highly recommend it. You buy a share of a farm's crops, and each week you pick up your local, seasonal, (usually) organic produce. In addition to being satisfying, it tends to be extremely cost effective, particularly if you're interested in buying organic.
A few friends and I are splitting a share from Stone Soup Farm in Belchertown, which has a couple of local drop-off points. Yesterday was the first delivery.
We got garlic scapes, radishes, cilantro, a little basil plant to repot, zucchini (the first of many to come), and plenty of greens. [EDIT: And turnip! How could I forget the turnips?]
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I'm guessing it's too late to find a CSA share available since it's so late in the season? I always forget to sign up in the fall/winter.
Unfortunately, it's probably too late. CSAs usually fill up pretty early. Still, people might drop out at the last minute, so it's worth calling to see. (They also tend to have wait lists, though.) While you're calling, sign up for next year! Then you can still forget in the fall/winter, and when spring rolls around you'll be pleased to remember you already signed up. Another possibility would be to find someone you know who has a share and piggyback. It's a lot of vegetables! They might be happy to share.
Whom to contact? Here are some CSAs I've had good experiences with and/or heard good things about from friends:
Drumlin Farm: http://www.massaudubon.org/drumlin
Parker Farm: http://web.mac.com/parkerfarm
Red Fire Farm: http://www.redfirefarm.com
Siena Farms: http://www.sienafarms.com
Stillman's: http://www.stillmansfarm.com
Stone Soup Farm: http://stonesoupfarm.googlepages.com
Waltham Fields Community Farm: http://communityfarms.org
To find other options, helpful sites include:
Boston Localvores (co-run by Globe Food section correspondent Darry Madden): http://www.bostonlocalvores.org/csa.html
Local Harvest: localharvest.org
In the meantime, shop your local farmers' markets and enjoy. To tide you over, another, slightly different option is the delivery service Boston Organics: http://bostonorganics.com. It's not all local, but it is all organic.
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