Recipes, produce information and forum for Zoe's Garden Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members. Zoe's Garden offers CSA subscriptions in the Park City, Heber, Salt Lake, Ogden & Lindon areas. Our purpose is to provide the freshest naturally grown produce possible by delivering it to our local members within a day of picking.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Winter CSA

We have word on the winter shares!  This is still up for debate / request, as it doesn't go forward if you the members aren't interested.  Please weigh in with what you'd like to see, by email if you're more comfortable with that (produce@zoegarden.com).  At the very least, let me know if you're interested so we can plan the planting scale.

Right now, David is considering
  • Meat -- cold weather means he can deliver a couple of pounds a week without worrying.  There will be a vegetarian version for those that don't want meat.
  • A single size of share, similar in volume and cost to our current Small shares (roughly 1/3-1/2 bushel a week, roughly $35/week).  We're still trying to determine costing of meat vs. non-meat.
  • October through February (roughly 20 weeks) with a weekly drop (locations dependent on interest).  There would also be a bonus holiday box (probably at Thanksgiving) with extras of all of your favorite feasty foods like potatoes, onions, salad, winter squash, and pie apples.
  • It focuses heavily on vegetables that ripen in the fall and store well (winter squash, apples, potatoes), but includes fresh tasty greens and vegetables that can extend into the fall with the use of high tunnels (spinach, tomatoes, salad greens).  All told, you're looking at over 30 different vegetables and fruits that could show up each week -- all local and in season! -- without being as dependent on the weather as the spring / summer veggies were.
Here is the projected crop list:

October and November
Meat:  Beef and Lamb
Storage crops:  potatoes, onion, beets, acorn squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, buttercup squash, turnip, cabbage, garlic, shallots
Fresh veggies:  kale, broccoli, Chinese kale, Swiss chard, mustard, tomatoes, broccoli raab, radishes, pears, apples, Asian pears, eggplant, kohlrabi, raspberries,  mixed salad greens, spinach, (possibly) summer squash and cucumbers

December, January, and February
Meat:  Beef and Lamb
Storage crops:  Yukon gold potatoes, red potatoes, onion, beet, sunchoke, acorn squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, turnip, parsnip, rutabaga, carrot, frozen berries and peaches, fruit and berry preserves
Fresh veggies:  pear, apple, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, microgreens, microbasil, spinach

8 comments:

  1. We'd be interested in the produce part (not meat).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good to know. I'm hoping for a lot of feedback so we can balance this towards what people want to see.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We will do a meat winter share - depending on pick up location- the closer the better!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for offering this! I'm a vegetarian and would only want a veggie option. I would also buy the biggest share possible since I would prefer to only eat produce from the box and not have to buy any at the grocery store. I have a medium share now and use the box easily with a little planning.

    ReplyDelete
  5. We're only offering a small at the moment, but we'll keep this comment in reserve. Some years, some veg just don't produce a lot, and that is where the larger shares benefit with a little of everything.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I would definitely be interested in a Winter share. If the meat is from local farmers and grass-fed, I would love that too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Zoe's Garden only sells things grown by Zoe's garden. The beef and lamb are grass raised by David.

    ReplyDelete
  8. We would be interested and likely sign up for a winter share. I would love the produce year round. The meat option sounds nice but we'll have to wait and compare the prices for meat and non meat share. We have a small share now.

    ReplyDelete