Bull Run Mountain Farm

By: Erica Hanna (Jan 6, 2010)
I am surprised by the negative comments, so I also wanted to write a review to share my very positive experiences with this CSA. I have been a member for 3 years and plan to sign up again this year. I have friends who belonged to other CSAs who were getting much smaller shares at the same time as I was during the 2009 season, so it probably just depends on who you talk to and when. The early shares often have a lot of purslane which is one of my favorite vegetables!

I don't want my CSA share to be packaged into disposable bags just to make things convenient. I like that we line up with our large totes and supply any smaller bags that we might like. I use cotton bags for greens and just throw the rest all in the big tote. I like getting to look through what is available and pick out my own items. Other people might prefer a box with each item picked out and placed in there for them, and there is nothing wrong with that. It is just a matter of knowing what you want and making sure that is what will be provided.

One exception is that I liked that this year Leigh went to picking out the tomatoes for us. I think that helped to cut down on the squished ones, and I think that I got more tomatoes than ever in 2009. I think the tomatoes that I get in my CSA are far superior to the ones that I get in the store, so I don't mind that I have to be careful with them.

I got the fruit share one year (2008) and was overwhelmed with the number of apples and peaches, so I didn't get it again. I have only a small under-the-counter fridge, so I couldn't just make a bunch of applesauce, peach sauce, or peach salsa to eat later. If I had a larger fridge, I would love being able to make the summer's fruit into something delicious to eat all winter. There definitely wasn't a lack of fruit that year!

Not every CSA is right for every person, but I think it is important to research first so that your expectations are calibrated to what the farmer plans to provide, both vegetable and experience-wise.

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