The Green Gardener: Farm Romance

I'm very excited to be signing up with a CSA program. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and there are farms all across the country that participate. The program I'm newly enrolled in (as of 15 minutes ago!) is Farm Fresh To You (FFTY), an organic farm located in the foothills of the Sacramento Valley in an area called Capay Valley.

There are many fine CSA's in my area...what made me pick FFTY was I could start, stop, skip or double up on a scheduled delivery whenever I wanted. And, they delivered to my home!

For my first delivery ($25 for a small box of mixed fruits & vegetables), I'll be receiving:
2 lb FFTY Satsuma Mandarin Orange
2 lb Washington Braeburn Apple
2 lb FFTY Butternut Squash, winter
1.5 lb Fresno Sweet Potato
1 cnt FFTY Lacinato / Dino Kale
1 bu FFTY Broccoli Rabe Rapini
1 cnt FFTY Romaine, green Lettuce

I have a veggie garden myself, and also grow several types of citrus, but I still am jazzed about the idea of someone delivering a box of produce to my front door! Makes me feel connected up with these farm folk...part of the community that's supporting local agriculture ... local organic agriculture!

I should have been a farm girl. Then maybe I'd say, "hey, it's not all romance!" But, I grew up in the suburbs and most of what I know about farming is from books and movies ... Oklahoma, Gone With the Wind, The Grapes of Wrath! Still, I feel a bond with my Irish farming ancestors, despite my grandmother's response when I asked, "we're Irish, aren't we?", "if it was that great, we wouldn't have left."

Maybe you, too, have romantic notions about farms or maybe you want to eat more healthily. Perhaps you simply want packages delivered to your door step (yea!) ... know that you'll be helping local small farms at the same time. To find a CSA in your area, go to Local Harvest.

Whether you need garden design, coaching, seasonal maintenance or planting, Geno's Garden can help! Call me at (916) 764-5243, or email hansonja@aol.com. For more information on our services, click here.