Reviews for: Harmony Valley Farm

HVF plans to pump irrigation water from the critical Bad Axe River watershed. The Bad Axe has seen ever increasing low water levels in recent years. A critical ecosystem to the area, allowing HVF and future private entities to remove huge columns of water from the watershed would be a huge mistake. The amount of ecological benefits as well as economic benefits brought to the area by the Bad Axe far outweigh that of a private business. Allowing HVF to pump water from the Bad Axe would be a huge mistake to a local ecosystem. If this matters to you, do your research.

A friend of ours has been a member of HVF for a few years now, and we couldn't stand seeing her pictures on Facebook any longer. It looked way too good, so we made the decision to just sign up. We went back and forth between doing full or half shares, and ultimately decided to jump in the deep end with full shares of the veggies and fruit, and a monthly cheese share. I think we made a mistake. We need more cheese.

Describing the quality of the produce will never do it justice - it is simply incredible. There are some oddball things thrown in, but we get a kick out of learning about them and trying to use them in new recipes (fennel is awesome in pasta if you cook it down long enough, and ramps are our new favorite thing - ever).

Some other friends of ours went with a "cheaper" CSA and are kicking themselves after weeks of cabbage and lettuce and then seeing what we get. Better produce, better variety of produce and more of it. Pound for pound, this is the best CSA, not just in Minnesota or Wisconsin, but in the entire universe. I'm not qualified to make that statement, but I'd like to think that I'm never wrong.

God willing and the creek don't rise, we will be getting our produce from Harmony Valley for the rest of our lives. Does that convey my eternal happiness? Did I rush it? I rushed it. Darn it all. If anyone from HVF is reading this: YOUR FOOD ROCKS MY FACE OFF!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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 .

This is our 3rd year with this CSA and we love it! The produce is clean and plentiful. I like the variety we receive and love that we get fruit such as strawberries, raspberries, and melons as part of the CSA produce. The business end of it is very professional and helpful if you have any problems or concerns. Love the newsletter and how they keep us up to date with all their news and give us recipes and ideas on how to use the different items. I'd highly recommend them!

We couldn't be happier with the beautiful produce and excellent customer service. We receive the vegetable, fruit, coffee and cheese shares and enjoy every bit of it.

This is my first year as a HVF CSA member and I am more than impressed. The veggies are clean & beautiful. I chose this farm because there is an every other week delivery option, but I think that next year I will choose every week along with the fruit share! The staff at HVF do a great job communicating with members in regard to education and new ways to try the produce. My husband who wouldn't consider himself a "big fan" of veggies is sold and looks forward to seeing what's in the box!

This is my second year with Harmony Valley Farm. I love how everything comes to me clean and beautiful. There is enough of each item to meet my family's needs, and there is a wide enough variety that we have lots of different meals from each box. This year I am also getting the cheese share which is awesome! The veggie cheeses are great.

They are very accommodating - we are 3 households splitting a single share, but we all get the newsletters. Wonderful produce in excellent condition. The cheese share is amazing. The whole experience is an excellent value for the money. The automatic electronic payment option is very helpful. I would recommend them to anyone thinking of a CSA.

This year, 2008, is my second year with Harmony Valley Farm's CSA program. They do a great job of educating us not only on the different types of produce we receive, but also on political ans social issues that affect farming. I also love how long their delivery period is. With the extended share boxes in January, we only have to wait a few months before we can get more fresh produce. The quality of the produce is fantastic- to the point where I have a hard time buying asparagus, melons, strawberries, radishes, and many other items in the grocery store because the taste isn't nearly as good as what we get in the CSA.

Harmony Valley offers one of the more popular CSA subscriptions in the Upper Midwest.