Ah Spring! The season when we can finally lift our eyes from dreary salads of bagged lettuce and styrofoam tomatoes and dream of the tender greens, blushing rhubarb and sweet, all-the-way-ripe strawberries that will soon be heading our way from Washington’s farms. I’m not talking about the California-style industrial operations; I’m talking about the ‘little guys’ all around the Puget Sound region, who farm like they give a damn and go the extra mile to sell their just-harvested produce directly to you. I’m talking about the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) programs that deliver to Wallingford and nearby neighborhoods.
Since Wallyhood founder Jordan and his family are off in Europe (probably celebrating the white asparagus harvest at a local Spargelfest), I’m providing an abridged version of his annual CSA round-up. Abridged because I don’t have time to update his terrific 2014 CSA spreadsheet (which is probably still mostly accurate, and worth a look since it allows you to quickly compare the various offerings), but wanted Wallyhood readers to know that now is the time to sign up for your favorite CSA (Hurry! Some farms require subscribers to join by mid-May).
[Full disclosure: I was motivated to write this post because I’m a huge fan of Oxbow Farm’s CSA, which delivers boxes of unbelievably wonderful vegetables and fruit from their organic Carnation Valley farm (plus jams, honey, mushrooms, etc. from their local partners) to my garage roof for Wallingfordians to pick up every Friday, June-Oct.]
Why join a CSA? The deliciousness, the convenience, the adventure (even if you know what you’ll find in your weekly box, opening the lid always feels like Christmas), and a chance to get to know your farmers (FYI–Oxbow throws an awesome party for subscribers at the end of the season!). It’s also a great way to support our local food system. Check out the CSA options below; you’re sure to find a program that’s right for you. Don’t see your favorite? Leave a comment with a link, and I’ll add it to the list (note: some of these CSA programs do not source exclusively from local farms).
- Oxbow Farm
- Boistfort Valley Farm
- City Grown Seattle, which also operates a Wallingford farmstand on 41st & Eastern; opening day is Saturday May 16th, 10am-2pm
- Collins Family Orchards
- Full Circle Farm
- Helsing Junction Farm
- Growing Washington’s ‘Local Choice’ Food Box
- New Roots Organic
- Pacific Coast Harvest
- Seattle Tilth CSA
- Tiny’s Organic
Great article. Need more like this!
I find it fairly disappointing that interstate grocery delivery services such as Full Circle make the list, yet truly local outstanding producers, such as Skylight Farms, Collins Family Orchards, Boistfort and Caruso Farms are ignored. Honestly, not what I would expect from Wallyhood…
With a little more effort, that could have counted as “leave a comment with a link.” (See end of 4th paragraph.)
I use Mezza Luna Farms: http://mezzalunafarms.com
I see Collins in the article. Not sure if it was there when Aaron commented. I think I will try Collins this year also. It’s the only CSA I know of that does mostly fruit.
Collins has only fruit. It’s from Selah, just north of Yakima. The BEST tree-ripened, organic peaches, nectarines, and plum crosses of all kinds. I was never a fan of white nectarines until I tasted those in my Collins CSA box. They also have pears, apples, plums, cherries.
To be strictly accurate, Collins isn’t all organic. The web site says 16 acres are certified. I didn’t see any total size, that could be nearly the whole thing or only a tiny fraction, no idea what it means in terms of what you get. At farmers markets they don’t identify as organic certified, that I’ve noticed.
Becky from City Grown here – thanks for the shout-out, Wallyhood! Our CSA is full for the season, but as mentioned, our ultra local farmstand is opening next Saturday the 16th and will be open Saturdays all season. Even if you get a regular CSA box – (I also plug for Oxbow and Skylight Farms http://skylightfarms.com/) – you can supplement with a few neighborhood-grown items from our harvests! First few weeks will include a couple different baby greens mixes, French breakfast radishes, salad turnips, pea shoots, spinach, bok choi…. yum! Happy spring!
I live on 47th & Wallingford and I’m a depot for Jubilee Farm. This is one of the best CSAs in the city. Their 20 week summer season is 100% harvested from their biodynamic farm in Carnation, and the quality and quantity is outstanding! I have been going to the farm once a week to pick up my produce for the last eight years, and I can attest to the friendliness and dedication of the three generations of farmers who live and work there.
They are still selling shares for this summer! http://www.jubileefarm.org/
Hi I’m Sophia Mehl, the CSA manager for Collins Family Orchards. Thanks so much for putting in the good word for us, Aaron and Barbbsea! Donn, to respond to your comment, everything we grow at the orchard is grown using exclusively organic practices. It’s true – we are not fully certified yet. Organic certification is a long and expensive process that is very difficult for small farms. Because we aren’t certified we are not allowed to use the word “organic” on our website or on any promotional material. However, we follow the guidelines to a tee and carry a list of all the products we use to all of our farmers markets which you are welcome to look over and you will see – no chemical pesticides or sprays whatsoever.