My only excuse is that I was overwhelmed by exams, but fear not- I can never use that excuse again since… I’m done. Cue choirs of angels. Which means that now I can return to being a full time ninja hippie.
Since the last installment a number of green advancements have been made within the abode- not least of which was a homemade composting bin courtesy of my ever-resourceful roommates. Must admit, it’s a little hard keeping the 70/30 ratio in the sway of spring, but it will be done!
How to build a composting bin, step 1
Our new bin will come in very handy for our brand spanking new vegetable garden (yes, that took me longer than it should have) which features 4 kinds of tomatoes, summer squash, zucchini, red peppers, green peppers, strawberries and blueberries.
And while D swears that our vegetable patch could feed us for the summer, V and I aren’t convinced, so we’ve signed up for a CSA, something I’ve been meaning to do for ages. We’ll be picking up veg, fruit and eggs from Bull Run Mountain Farm all summer, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out. I’ve heard various reviews, but nothing beats personal experience. V’s been to the farm already and says that both the farm and the farmer are really top notch- I’m looking forward to the chance to venture out there myself, apparently the eggs are amazing (although some of them have this greenish tinge which is… disconcerting to say the least, but does have a certain Dr Seussian quality…) The ‘open farm’ days offer free eggs, cucumbers, asparagus and hiking trips for all visitors- what more could you want from an afternoon? Love local, love seasonal.
CSA 101: Community Supported Agriculture has become a very popular way for consumers to buy locally and seasonally directly from their local farmers. The rough gist is that farmers offer up ‘shares’ of their crops and consumers buy ‘membership’ in the stock system, giving them access to fresh boxes of seasonal vegetables weekly, available for pickup in nearby locations.
Pulled directly from ‘Local Harvest’ here’s a rundown of the advantages of CSAs:
Advantages for farmers:
- Get to spend time marketing the food early in the year, before their 16 hour days in the field begin
- Receive payment early in the season, which helps with the farm’s cash flow
- Have an opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow
Advantages for consumers:
- Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits
- Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking
- Usually get to visit the farm at least once a season
- Find that kids typically favor food from “their” farm – even veggies they’ve never been known to eat
- Develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food and learn more about how food is grown
Slots fill up quickly nowadays, so if you’re interested, make sure you know when the shares are released so you can get in there. It’s a beneficial and easy way to truly understand what grows in your area and when- you never know what you’re going to get week to week, consider it a crash course in spontaneous cooking!
