Reviews for: St. Fairsted Farm

This was my first of what I hope to be many seasons as a St. Fairsted Farm CSA basketeer. I cannot recommend participating in the St. Fairsted CSA program highly enough! This was a very rewarding experience. Every basket pickup day was almost as exciting as Christmas morning. :) Every week I looked forward to receiving my basket & seeing what goodies I'd get to try that week. The produce was always fresh, tasty, and very plentiful. The eggs were good, too! Quite honestly, I wasn't expecting to receive that much food. The baskets were always abundantly packed. The weekly newsletters were entertaining & always included recipes to try. I am overly pleased with my experience with St. Fairsted Farm and would encourage anyone to give this farm the opportunity to feed them.

I have been a part of the CSA for 2 seasons and cannot say enough about: 1. The variety of the produce including varieties I have never heard of! 2. The freshness of the produce-you can taste the dew! 3. The dedication and commitment to quality and service of Farmer Ang. Being a "basketeer" has been a very positive experience for me. The recipes Angela shares with us have all been phenomenal. Thank you Ang!!! Debbie Parks

Taking home a CSA basket from Angela is always a tasty surprise filled with a variety of fresh vegetables (sometimes fruits) The foods in the basket this year that stand out the most to me are the blueberries, the super tiny but super sweet and juicy peaches and my all time favorite the spaghetti squash. I had never ever had Spaghetti Squash before this year. I was happy I finally did. The flavor and texture of this Spaghetti squash are wonderful. I can't wait to have more of it. My kids loved it too.

This fall, I look forward to more tasty surprises from St Fairsted. I also look forward to Angela's kindness towards her basketeers. I love that she really cares if her basketeers are happy with what she puts inside the baskets or not. She�s not a take it or leave it kind of person. She loves feedback. She also loves to communicate with us about the weather, the farm, and from time to time she�ll send a recipe with the CSA newsletter.

This why I keep going back.

I read the other reviews -- they are right in both the pros and the cons.

Problems: Initial communication with the farm is difficult. I think Ang is one busy lady. Contrary to popular opinion, I believe that farming folk are NOT laid back and relaxed, but rather VERY hard working people. They are tied to their jobs 24/7, and the weather holds them ransom. So it's pretty much a surprise to us each season as to WHEN the 6 weeks starts. Don't worry, if you are a basketeer, she'll email you at least a week ahead of time.

Positives: My goodness, the fresh veggies are yummy! And Ang has introduced us to veggies we had never tried before -- turnips, collard greens, arugula -- because we had heard they had bad reputations for being bitter -- as well as veggies we have never HEARD of -- like the 8 ball squash. Well Ang has changed our mind. It's not the veggies that have the problem. It's how old they are when they are picked, or how old they are AFTER they've been picked by the time you eat them. Ang appears to know EXACTLY when to pick them so they are ripe but not bitter, and if you eat them right away, they can be downright amazing!

We've been members of this CSA for 2 seasons now, and are eager to do it again. Every week is a surprise -- we have no idea what is coming, and opening the basket is like a Christmas present. We are looking forward wth eager anticipation to the fall season, since there will be no summer season this year.

Thanks, Ang!

I've been a CSA member for several years and what Iike best is the surprise goodies Angela puts in our baskets. Like berries, eggs... Thursdays, basket delivery days, are a real treat.

I've been a member of this CSA for about a year, and it's been very worthwhile. The produce is fresh and in good condition, the variety is generally good. I usually don't even bother getting any produce at the store once the farm starts delivering! Everything tastes so good, it is sinful.

I also love getting pastured eggs in my basket - my two kids enjoy looking at the different colored shells. I'm spoiled for store bought eggs after getting these - they taste so much better, and the color of the yolks is amazing - usually a deep pumpkin color. It actually gives a golden hue to anything I bake with them as well!

Communication with the farm seems erratic at first, but Angela is very fast at returning emails and calls. I usually don't wait for a call back for more than an hour or so, and emails are returned the same day. She is also great at working with you - I forgot to pick up my basket two weeks in a row once (please don't ask where my brain was for those two weeks!) and when she found out I had simply forgotten, she arranged my previous spring-only CSA to a spring/fall membership so I could get some baskets in the fall.

All in all, it's been a good partnership with the farm.

I have been with St. Fairsted Farm for several years now and each year the produce has always been top quality. Though the weather over the last few seasons has made things difficult for any farmer, St. Fairsted Farm never gave up, fighting the elements to ensure its customers the produce they desired. I can think of no negative aspects of dealing with the farm, Ang is a honest and dedicated farmer.

This was my 3rd season with Ang's CSA program. This year was a true test of the CSA concept that basketeers ride the risk rollercoaster with their farmer. It was well worth the wait, however. She still manages to surprise us with different varieties of unusual vegetables, along with the good old standards. Quality never fails (if it's not top quality, it doesn't go in the basket!)

Since there won't be a Summer basket program at Fairsted Farm, I'll be a regular at her farm stand! If you're still on the fence about trying out the CSA program at Fairsted, I urge you to swing by the farm stand and pick up some of her produce to try out!

I have subscribed to a couple CSAs over the past couple years, and hands down this is the best experience I've had by far. Picking up the basket right at the farm door, and sometimes running into farmer Ang, makes you feel more connected and involved with the process which is great. I only wish I lived closer!

The produce is fabulous, lots of variety and always fresh and crisp - everything it should be - even despite the unpredictable heat waves and poor weather. The email updates about when baskets would be ready were very helpful, as were the newsletters with the recipes we got each week.

The only thing I would change if I could, being the wishful vegetarian that I am, would be to extend the CSA season by a couple months (or more!). No pressure, Ang! Thanks again for all your hard work this season.

I was a member of another CSA before joining this one. I wasn't happy with it for personal reasons so I contacted Angela. She is one of the nicest people I have ever exchanged emails with. Every question I have asked Angela about the basket of food or anything CSA or garden related she has answered. She isn't just nice in her emails though. She extends her love into every basket too.

My basket is always full with a variety of foods. I love that she offers veggies as well as a variety of fruits and also eggs.The poblano peppers were my favorite. It makes me happy too that she packs the baskets as eco-friendly as possible, as she noted in an email and that she would rather pick a fruit early for her members to keep it organic (with tips to make it eatable) than to use non organic methods to keep pest free.

Six weeks later my experience with the weekly CSA pickup has been lovely. The vegetables tasty and smell great. I look forward to her emails and newsletter because they are packed with care and good wishes as well as food storage tips, recipes and often a bit of humor. Is she a bit late in the very begining with communication? Yes, but she makes up for it big time the rest of the season.

I will be extending my membership for 2010.

I grew up with an avid gardener in the family and we had a huge garden plot (for suburbs) but it never failed that all the vegs were due to harvest 1)at the same time; 2)right before vacation or 3)during vacation. Also, the crop would be bigger than expected, so we were the people leaving bags of tomatoes, eggplant and zuccini on neighbors' doorsteps after dark.

I know Ang has bigger plans for us, but, not being in a position to improve on my childhood experience in my own back yard, I absolutely love being able to make a short drive once a week to pick up a basket of quality, local, organic, and often unusual produce and herbs. It's fun to get the basket back to my car, and I just have to pop it open before I leave to get a peek. And if you've never had farm fresh eggs? You haven't lived.

Ang's CSA program has revived my interest in cooking with fresh produce. I look forward to cooking now, I make time to cook and preserve, and I am eating healthier than I was before I discovered CSA.

She's actively working on improvements to the communication platform between farm and her 'basketeers'!

We are thrilled with the quality and price of the beef we purchased from St. Fairsted. The meat is lean yet moist, flavorful, and tender. It's definitely superior to anything we've bought from Whole Foods. And St. Fairsted's prices are fantastic! We can't believe that we're getting high-quality meat for such a reasonable and cost-effective rate...beef that was pasture-raised to boot. We're already dreaming of our next order!

This was our first year with St. Fairsted Farm and we loved it, loved it, loved it! We split our share with another co-worker, and there was plenty for both of us. The newsletters included with each share are informative, and the weekly recipe ideas a treat to look forward to. All of the produce is thoughtfully wrapped, and it is great to get so many varieties of things to include in your weekly meals.

Pros - Love the idea of supporting local sustainable farming and organic farming. Love the varieties of veggies and they are all just so tasty. Great to introduce some new and different veggies to the family. Nice to get mid-week fresh produce. Owners made a real effort to get all kinds of produce in the basket and offer choices (such as splitting a full summer into a summer/fall share) during a VERY dry season.

Cons - Communication in the very beginning could have been somewhat improved, as there was some confusion for us for start date; however, I know it can be hectic starting out and I have to say after that was cleared up communication has been great ever since.

This was our first year to participate and we were well pleased. Always a good variety of veggies - old favorites as well as some new varieties that always had me searching through my cookbooks. What in the world do you do with 8 ball squash?

We will continue to subscribe to this CSA and are looking forward to the fall veggies.

Our family was very pleased overall with St.Fairsted Farm CSA. This was our first involvement with the farm, and we will most certainly be putting in our application for next year.

PRO - Veggies and herbs were all thoughtfully and carefully packaged/prepared. We split our share with a co-worker and still found that we had more than enough veggies throughout the week (and my wife is vegetarian)! New and unusual varieties are always fun to try - tho I'm still not a big fan of okra. :-) My co-worker friend subscribed to the weekly flower bouquet and loved fresh flowers. We are also big supporters of family farms and organic farming techniques - proud to support St.Fairsted in their endeavors.

CON - Early communication from the farm could have used improvement - especially as we approached the estimated "opening day" and hadn't heard much about when/where/how the share would work. Sent a few e-mails to the Farm but it took a while to get answers. Once underway though, and communication was GREAT. Also, the quality of the corn was also a bit of a disappointment. I know St.Fairsted does all they can - and it was probably out of their control - but no matter how we prepared it, the corn always seemed to turn out "ho hum."

I loved receiving the weekly baskets. It was a real treat to try new vegetables such as shallots, daikon radishes, and beets. Tuesdays were the highlight of my week during CSA season. The farmers are a delight and provide a weekly newsletter with scenes from the farm, recipes and menu for next week. This year was my first year of many more to come of being a St Fairsted member.

This was my first time trying St Fairsted CSA. I was more than pleased with the quality, quantity and variety of veggies! My only suggestion to newbies like me would be find out how to blanch and freeze veggies early in on when the program begins. With kids in sports, music and school I would find myself wanting to use the veggies later than sooner. I was able to get my children to try a variety of veggies and that in itself was good enough for me.

The vegetables were plentiful and perfectly ripe. The farmers often included fresh herbs as well. The variety was great, and we even tried new things (even the fresh brussel sprouts were amazing; I couldn't believe that my young children ate them, happily!). Good reliable program with excellent quality.

My sister and her husband and I and my husband participated in the St. Fairsted Farm's CSA program for Spring-Early Summer 2008. We received a good variety of fresh vegetables grown in a sustainable fashion. Having some very familiar vegetables and also some less familiar ones was a big plus. Also having tomatoes that we could safely eat during the time when much of the country, depending on non-local produce, could not have them was very much appreciated.

Newsletters giving recipes and crop status were good. The farmers are also good communicators