|
Amazing vegetable selection
By: Natalie Witt (Oct 17, 2012)
My husband and I have thoroughly enjoyed the CSA from Harmony Valley Farm for the 2012 season. It was our first experience with a CSA, and we couldn't have asked for a better one. We chose the flex plan so that we could choose which weeks we wanted delivery based on our busy summer schedule. The flex plan is a great option for those that need to have the opportunity to adjust the delivery schedule. While most of the vegetables are familiar, there are usually one or two items in the box that expand our horizons. We've had the opportunity to try new leafy greens like swiss chard and bok choy, root vegetables like beets and turnips, and also the more common veggies such as sweet corn, tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, peppers, squash, etc. The newsletters and online recipe search tool on the Harmony Valley website have been immensely helpful in giving us ideas each week on what to cook, storage tips, history and background of specific veggies, and how the farm is doing. We particularly enjoyed the farm tour this fall where we got to see the fields, pick our own veggies, and learn about the process of planting and harvesting organic. All in all, we've had an amazing experience and so much fun eating local organic produce.
| |
 Flag as Inappropriate
Comment on this Review
|
|
Very pleased - high quality, good variety
By: Kate Betene (Mar 9, 2012)
Last year was our first year with Harmony Valley's CSA (we tried to sign up the previous year but they were sold out by the time we got around to it in late spring!) and we are looking forward to another year of delicious, fresh, healthy produce. I love that their growing season is so much longer than many CSAs, so we get to enjoy it for longer. One of the things I like the best about Harmony Valley is their flexibility. My husband and I signed up for their flex box plan, where we can choose which weeks we would like to get boxes. In general, a box every 2 weeks works perfectly for us, but I love being able to plan around any summer vacations. They also have a great option to do a monthly debit so the cost of the boxes is spread out over the course of the year. This year, I am especially looking forward to the early spring veggies - last year I tasted ramps for the first time thanks to Harmony Valley and can't wait for them again this year! I also appreciated that we got to try out some new veggies that I probably wouldn't have bought in the store, but more than that, we got lots and lots of high quality staples in every box. It was fun to discover different varieties of potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and many more veggies than they typically sell in the grocery store. The newsletters that come with each box are very well done. You get a bit of news from the farm or news on the local and organic food movement in the country, as well as some tasty and simple recipes. And like someone else mentioned, it is really helpful that they provide a description of each veggie and how to store it and tips for using it so you know exactly what's in the box. We also attended Strawberry Days on the farm, which was a great time to meet the staff on the farm, see where our food comes from, and of course, eat lots of fantastic strawberries. Overall, we are very pleased and have recommended HVF to several of our friends. We are looking forward to another growing season with HVF.
| |
Flag as Inappropriate
Comment on this Review
|
|
Can't wait for spring, and new CSA boxes
By: Susan Potratz (Feb 22, 2012)
This will be our 3rd year as Harmony Valley Farm CSA members. We love the high quality produce, and the recipes and storage tips that are provided. The business end is efficient and their customer service has been top notch. I highly recommend Harmony Valley's CSA program.
| |
Flag as Inappropriate
Comment on this Review
|
|
The best CSA for my family!
By: Kathi Fischbach (Feb 18, 2012)
We have been with Harmony Valley for several years now - I'm not sure exactly, maybe 4 or 5 years and couldn't be happier. This is the third CSA we have joined and it took a couple of misses to find a good fit. The things I like about Harmony Valley are - 1. The payment plan. I like being able to pay monthly and have it taken right out of my checking account instead of a lump sum all at once. By the time we joined Harmony Valley I had switched from a full time to a part time job and it would have been difficult to come up with the full amount up front like we had to do with the others. 2. The right amount of mix of familiar veggies mixed in with some new ones to try. I never knew I liked fennel - now I look forward to finding fennel in my box. There are very few things that we don't eat out of the box. 3. The weekly newsletters that come with each box. They are very explicit and tell you exactly what you are getting and if there are two items that look similar, they describe the difference to you. No more wondering what is in the box. They also contain recipes and cooking suggestions. 4. The long season. I buy veggies year round and would rather get them from my CSA than the store. With the extended season add on, I get boxes right up through January - and the January boxes are full of root crops and winter squash that will last me a long time. 5. The opportunity to add on Fruit, Cheese and Coffee shares. We don't use Coffee and I have a dairy allergy so we have never taken advantage of those add-ons but it is nice they are there. We decided to drop our fruit share this year. While it was a great value for the fruit you get, there were too many fruits included that we just don't eat. I will miss the great fruit though. 6. The huge size of the boxes. I grow a large garden and even though we are a family of 3, we go through a lot of veggies. We rarely go out to eat so a huge box to plan my meals around is a necessity. Extras to be able to can to get us through the winter, even better. 7. The convenient locations. Here in the Twin Cities, they have a ton of drop off sites - no need to drive a great distance to get your veggies and the sites are open long hours. 8. The great communication from the farm via Facebook and their blog. When there have been floods and other disasters I have been able to *see* them through pictures on the web and I knew what to expect. There has also been some teasing about new items that may be coming - so glad to have ginger added to the box this year. Find the right CSA for you - for us, Harmony Valley is the one - I hope it is for you too.
| |
Flag as Inappropriate
Comment on this Review
|
|
HVF---an excellent CSA!
By: Marla & Kevin Withey (Feb 18, 2012)
We are starting our fourth year as members of HVF's CSA and we could not be happier with the produce/products that we have received. We receive the vegetable, fruit and coffee shares and purchase the extended season, with the last pick-up being in late January. We feel that everything at HVF is top-notch and the customer service is excellent! How blessed we are to have such an exceptional CSA in our area!
| |
Flag as Inappropriate
Comment on this Review
|
|
Excellent veggies
By: Linda Galang (Feb 18, 2012)
We have been members of HVF for 5 years. We love the wide variety of vegetables and the long season. Veggies usually start in May and go through mid-December. I enjoy the challenge of making meals around veggies that you can't find in a grocery store. Where else but a CSA would you learn that carrot tops can be used in place of parsley for pesto. The HVF boxes come each week with a newsletter filled with farm news, vegetable features, and selected recipes. We get 1 box every other week, which is just the right size four two adults and two teens. The veggies are clean and fresh, and last through most of the two weeks. (the newsletters usually indicate storage conditions, so we can eat up in order of longevity). I would highly recommend HVF as a CSA.
| |
Flag as Inappropriate
Comment on this Review
|
|
Harmony Valley is wonderful!
By: Anna Zeide (Feb 18, 2012)
We've been CSA members with Harmony Valley for three years now, and are so happy with our choice. The variety, professional communication, informative newsletters, delicious produce, and beautiful farm (definitely visit if you can!) all make this a real winner. We recommend it to all our friends. And although I was first hesitant about the fruit share (because it's understandably not local fruit in the middle of winter), it has since become one of the shining spots in an otherwise dark winter. Thanks, Harmony Valley!
| |
Flag as Inappropriate
Comment on this Review
|
|
Switched
By: Danielle Wood (Apr 11, 2011)
We had Harmony Valley as our CSA and switched because we got large boxes of mysterious items (I mean, I CAN cook burdock, but a person only wants to eat so much of it), yet when I went to the farmer's market they were selling the 'good' stuff there. They may have since changed this behavior, but we really liked the CSA we had after that....they were excellent. We knew they would be, because we were comparing boxes every week prior to our switch (our neighbor is the drop for the other CSA). My observation....HV don't seem to operate like the ideal model of a CSA .
| |
Flag as Inappropriate
Comment on this Review
|
|
Comments on this Review:
Richard DeWilde says: (Feb 23, 2012)
Our farm has found success through growing for three distinct markets: CSA, Wholesale & Farmer's Market. Our CSA is our first priority and growing for other markets allows us to reduce the risks usually associated with a CSA membership. For example, we don't grow just enough garlic for our CSA membership, we grow enough to sell at market as well. Therefore, if there is a problem in the field, we can shuffle that garlic originally intended for market to our CSA members & they don't miss out.
With our CSA, you'll receive a mix of kitchen staples & familiar produce along with some items for the adventurous cook. We try to get you out of your comfort zone and try new things; we'll send produce that you might not have considered buying at the store or even be able to find anywhere else! Every year we try a new crop such as cardoon or nettles (a recent favorite that we've added to our spring repertoire), as well as "unusual" items like burdock, ramps, fennel, garlic scapes, sunchokes, amaranth & other greens, different varieties of eggplant and kale and more. Burdock is mainly a wholesale and farmer's market item, but due to CSA member requests, we do send it in one or two early season spring boxes (at the most) or as a Choice item during the season. (The Choice boxes are extra items we send to our CSA sites on some weeks so CSA members can supplement that week's box, if they choose. We have sent eggplant, fennel, basil and more as the Choice item.)
In our 20 years of CSA deliveries, we have included burdock in less than half of those years, generally as a Choice item and never in more than two boxes per season. Many CSA members get boxes Every other Week so we remain mindful of box contents on those alternating weeks throughout the season; we don't want our "brown" week customers thinking they missed out or that the "green"weeks are somehow better. We try to be as equal as possible without getting too repetitious for our Weekly box members!
Our Farmer's Market stand in Madison is a good place to see what is coming up in season; those first 25 heads of broccoli go to market since that quantity is not enough for all of our CSA boxes. After you see that first appearance of broccoli, you'll know that the rest of the crop isn't far behind & it will soon show up in your CSA box (,Mother Nature willing! The Farmer's Market stand (Saturdays on Mifflin Street, look for our green awning) is a great outlet for those small amounts, trial plantings, or extras harvested above and beyond what was packed in CSA boxes as well as a great place for us to meet present and future customers. But this weekly sale is such a small percentage of our production it in no way detracts from our commitment to our CSA members.
We do detailed comparisons and are confident that we offer our CSA members (and all the other people we feed) the very best variety, quality, value and cooking information of any CSA in at least the Midwest. And we have thousands of customers who support that fact.
Donald Propsom says: (Apr 12, 2012)
The variety, quality and quantity of vegetables from HVF is unsurpassed in my experience. Yes, they do put in vegetables that I have not been familiar with, but there is always ample amounts of the old favorites. The newsletter that comes with every box lists everything that is in it and also provides information and recipes for the more unfamiliar items. Some, such as ramps, have become favorites which I look forward to every year. Richard De Wilde does a good job of explaining HVF's philosophy. I have never felt that HVF has ever put their CSA shareholders in anything other than first place in their farming decisions. That is why I am still a member going into my 16th year. The hardest part of each year is when the CSA boxes stop coming.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average Review:
15 reviews
|
|
view basket
