That one time when we had a vegetable garden…

When my girls were small we had a small enclosed back yard. In that little back yard we grew our first vegetable garden. It was at this house where I experimented for the first time with growing a vegetable garden.

I’ve never had a green thumb. When I was growing up my dad worked a lot and had a long commute. My mom managed the inside of the house and all of my activities, so a gardener maintained our yard. I never really learned how to garden or grow plants. Can you believe I was in my 30s the first time I mowed a lawn!?!

We all learned a lot that first summer in our garden. Like what kind of soil we needed and how to thin out the veggies we planted too close together. The girls learned all about how vegetables grow and they loved grabbing carrots and greens right from our backyard. Having fresh veggies available made my toddler and preschooler much more interested in eating their veggies…

We moved a few years later and now we don’t have a fence. Deer and other wildlife frequently roam our yard and neighborhood. We’ve only planted tulips and blueberries but both are quickly eaten once they bloom. Yes, we could build a fence and another vegetable garden, but I’ve accepted the fact that growing our own vegetables isn’t for us. At least not right now.

Now we support local farmers through a CSA.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and when you buy a share of a CSA, you are essentially subscribing to a box of produce (usually weekly) throughout the growing season. Being a CSA member supports local farms while also benefiting shareholders with ultra fresh produce.

It’s pretty fun to open the box of fresh veggies to see what we will be eating for the week. My girls are more interested in trying different vegetables when they come from our farmshare. Plus the produce is fresher so we waste less because it lasts longer and tastes better.

One last reason why I like supporting local farmers through a CSA is because it is better for the earth. Small farms commonly use less pesticides and fertilizers than conventional farms, there is less packaging needed (usually farm shares come in a reusable box), and since the produce doesn’t travel as far, there are fewer emissions of greenhouse gases.

Have you ever participated in a CSA? What’s your favorite thing about supporting a local farm through a farmshare?

If you’re looking for a local farm with a CSA program, here is a great search engine.