It’s not too late to sign up for a share of a local CSA (community supported agriculture). But if you want a weekly basket of freshly picked fruits and veggies to satisfy your seasonal cravings for tomato sandwiches and tricolor salads, you’d better act fast. A few farms in the area are still taking memberships for this year’s season, which typically starts in late May or early June.
The concept of a CSA is pretty simple: Members sign up for a share of a farm’s crops, and every week they receive a basket full of freshly harvested produce. Mechanics vary from farm to farm; some are large enough to allow members to pick and choose what they want in each share, while others stick with the more traditional model of picking whatever’s fresh that morning and filling each basket with the same items. Cost ranges from about $250-350 for a partial share to $500-650 for a full share.
“I like to say a CSA is like having a neighbor do the gardening for you,” said Evie Woods, co-owner of Liberty Mills Farm, which is embarking on its fifth year as an operational farm and CSA.
We checked in with several local farmers to chat about the start of the season.
Liberty Mills Farm
Located northeast of Charlottesville in Somerset, Liberty Mills is one of the smaller farms in the area, with a CSA that follows the original model. Woods and her husband David pick whatever’s fresh each week and deliver a basket of vegetables that are “widely eaten” in an effort to make sure everyone’s happy with her share.
Woods described Liberty Mills as a farm that is “between no-spray and low-spray.” They spray their crops minimally, she said, and only when they have to.
Members have the option of signing up for a full share, which Woods said typically feeds a family of four to six, or a half share, which feeds two to three. Crops that show up in shares include “the best tasting sweet corn you ever had,” strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, peas and squash.
Liberty Mills is still accepting members for this year’s season. For more information visit www.libertymillsfarm.com.
Radical Roots Community Farm
A certified organic farm, Radical Roots has been around since 2005, and the CSA is a little more free-form than some of the smaller, newer ones. Each week owners Lee and David O’Neill set up the freshly harvested produce market-style at Albemarle Baking Company and allow members to select what they want. It’s not a total free-for-all, but members can weigh out their own tomatoes, Lee O’Neill said, or select between kale or Swiss chard.
Radical Roots specializes in heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and salad greens. Each share usually includes both a cooking green and a salad green, O’Neill said, plus fruits like raspberries weaved in when they’re available.
“We have a variety of things, but there’s no kohlrabi or turnips or things that not everyone’s going to like,” O’Neill said.
Radical Roots also has a spot at the Saturday morning City Market, which O’Neill said can be a better option for some.
“Some people are better at shopping at the market because they can get exactly what they want,” she said. “The CSA is for someone who can open up their fridge and say ‘This is what I have, and this is what I’m gonna make.’”
For more information or to sign up for this season’s CSA, visit www.radicalroots farm.com.
Little Hat Creek Farm
New to the CSA game is Little Hat Creek Farm, which is entering its second season. Members don’t get to choose what fruits and veggies go into their baskets from Little Hat Creek, but what they do get is a loaf of freshly baked sourdough bread each week.
Ben Stowe and Heather Coiner moved onto the Nelson County property in the fall of 2013 to start the ecological vegetable farm, and with Coiner’s experience as a baker, they figured they’d throw some artisan bread in the mix to set themselves apart from the other CSAs.
In addition to bread, every box is packed with a minimum of six different items each week, according to Stowe, and as many as nine or 10 at the peak of the season. Members can either pick up their box—which may include items like salad greens, berries and squash—at the farm or at 215 Fifth St. NW in the city.
“I think people enjoy meeting their farmers, and also just the freshness and quality of the food that you can get through a CSA or at a farmers’ market,” Stowe said, adding that members receive their produce within 24 hours of it being picked. “When you buy something at a grocery store, it’s already been sitting in the refrigerator for a week.”
For more information or to sign up for this season, visit www.littlehatcreek.com.
Other CSAs that serve the Charlottesville area include those at Bellair Farm, which utilizes a market-style pickup and is full for the 2015 season, and New Branch Farm, which features three smaller seasonal offerings (spring, fall and winter) as opposed to the more standard 20-week summer and fall season. There’s also Horse & Buggy Produce, a delivery service that works with more than 100 Central Virginia farms and allows members to buy on a weekly basis rather than committing to an entire season.
