The weather in New England has only just started to show a softer side, but we already want to leap ahead to summer. And we're not the only ones--farmshares and CSA's around Boston have been filling up fast!
After enjoying their farmer's market produce for a few summers, we signed up for a CSA with Stillman's Farm this year. Any other New Englanders out there with a favorite CSA?
And for those of you who are looking for one, here are a couple of farms around Boston that still have openings...
Stillman's Farm
Half-share: $300
Full-share: $450
Pick-up locations in Jamaica Plain, Southborough, Framingham, New Braintree, Lunenberg, Brookline, and Quincy
Sign up here at Stillman's Farm
Stillman's provides a good balance of basics like peppers and onions with more unusual items like Romanescu broccoli. We also just happen to know that they have some of the best peaches around.
BONUS! Stillman's also recently started a meat share with poultry and lamb and beef, oh my! Learn more about it at the Stillman's Turkey Farm.
Siena Farms
Half-share: $250
Full-share: $500
Pick-up locations in Sudbury (at the farm), Copley Square, and Boston Public Market
To sign up, visit Siena Farms.
The produce from this farm is almost too pretty to eat! Luckily it tastes as good as it looks, as it should since farmer Chris Kurth is married to Chef Ana Sortun and the farm provides all the produce for her Cambridge restaurant, Oleana. Membership includes a significant discount on their farmstand produce but doesn't include a weekly box.
Common Wealth CSA
Full Season Vegetable Shares (24 distributions, mid June until mid Dec.): Sliding Scale $525-$650
Main Season Vegetable Shares (20 distributions, mid June until late Oct.): Sliding Scale $425-$550
Fruit Plus Shares, Available at Boston and Mass Mutual locations only: $180 each
Flower Shares: $100 each
Pick up locations Greenfield, Springfield, Jamaica Plain, Somerville, Brighton, Cambridge, or Montague
To sign up, visit Common Wealth CSA
This CSA is actually a cooperative of three different farms: Red Fire Farms, Shoestring Farm, and the Benson Place. We like that they really emphasize affordable healthy eating for families by offering a sliding fee or work exchange for their CSAs.
Parker Farm
Half-share: $300
Full-share: $475
Pick-up locations in Davis Square, Central Square, and Porter Square
To sign up e-mail parkerfarm@mac.com or call 978-582-9943
Visit their website: Parker Farm
This is a new one for us, but we've heard good things. The farm is employing mulching and crop rotation in an effort to curb reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
We were also going to mention Waltham Fields Community Farm, but all the shares seem to be sold out! If you had your heart set on them, they are auctioning off two final CSAs at Sprout!
Where are you getting your CSA this year?
(Don't know about CSAs? Check out our post on Choosing a CSA for some more background info.)
(Photo Credits: Red Fire Farms)
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I joined Stillman's for the first time last year and loved every week. All winter I've been dreaming about the first new box of the year. Glen the farmer like to grow heirloom varieties of all sorts of things just for fun and they generally end up in the CSA boxes (red kuri squash anyone?). Also they have amazing blueberries, that generally never survived until sundown on the days I got them.
view caitlinp's profile
I wanted to join Stillman's but the pick-ups weren't good for me. I am trying out a new CSA, from Stone Soup Farm.
http://stonesoupfarm.googlepages.com/
The farmer has been super-friendly over e-mail and I'm really excited!
Sliding scale pricing; half share is $250-300.
view katef's profile
red fire farm probably still has spaces; they do a distribution in central square.: http://www.redfirefarm.com/CSA/join.html
last year- (and this year), we have brookfield farm.
very top-notch veggies and greens.: brookfieldfarm.org
for 2 years in a row we did parker farms; the second year I wasn't as thrilled but then it was a bad growing season that year; and a friend that had them last year was happy with them.
my favorite part of the csa is getting introduced to new vegetables and greens that we wouldn't otherwise try.
we now love kale, mustard greens, beets, rutabagas,celeriac, and make our own delicious pickles (we use mark bittman's recipe from how to cook everything, btw)
view jillrenee from boston's profile
Hi, this is my first time posting on any AT website. I've joined a CSA for the first time this year in Dover, MA, a few towns over from where I live. It's the Powisset Farm CSA, run through Trustees of the the Reservations, and it's a 10 acre farm with 200 shares this year. I think it's only in its second year.
I don't know what it will be like but I read about it in the Boston Globe last year and couldn't wait to sign up. There are no distribution points that I know of, just the farm location itself. I think most of the harvest is organic, and there are pick-your-own options in addition to the weekly box.
I don't know if there are any shares left but the contact info is mlatronica@ttor.org.
view jena 's profile
i don't live in the area anymore, but a friend of a friend recently started a boston-area csa (stone soup farm) that looks great and i think still has spots left: http://stonesoupfarm.googlepages.com/
view breakfaster's profile
My first post, too! And this is my first year joining a CSA; there's only one here in the Tri-Cities area of eastern Washington state. Schreiber and Sons is the name, and I don't know if they have any shares left, but any eastern Washington residents reading this might want to contact them right away, as they were just written up in the Tri-City Herald. I'm really excited about all the fresh produce to come and can't wait for May!
view STH's profile
I'll have a share from Parker Farm for the first time this summer. I too have heard great things, and I love that they deliver to me in Davis the day before the weekly farmers market, so I can supplement with more goodies. They also include fruit in the CSA.
As a bonus, Steve, the farmer, sends weekly email updates which I have already come to look forward to.
view elizsn's profile
Welcome, new folk! So glad to have you! Since this is my first summer with a CSA too, I'm really looking forward to swapping stories and getting excited about strange new vegetables with everyone.
view EmmaC's profile