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JerseySmarts.com

A Big Day At The CSA Farm

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We had a big day at our community supported agriculture farm in Farmingdale, Monmouth County, New Jersey today. Not only did we come back with a bunch of pears (two types) and apples, but there are finally greens again. We took some escarole and some bok choy – neither of which I’ll eat – and a bunch of squash. I have to find a recipe for squash because the ones that we found look pretty good.

In the coming weeks we’re supposed to get some pumpkins, some more lettuce, some cabbage, and some more pears among other items (including the ones already listed above).

At this point, I think that we’re pretty close to having gotten our money’s worth for the entire season. We paid something like $380 or $390 for the half share for the season – we’re pretty close to having received that amount of food from the farm. Plus, it’s nice to be able to go to the farm on a Saturday morning and spend some time in the field picking out the week’s vegetables.

If you’re living somewhere in New Jersey and you’re not sure if you have a CSA farm near you, take a look at this list and see if anything is close by!

A Beautiful Day at the Jersey Shore

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Come on down! If you’re reading this from somewhere in North Jersey or Central Jersey (not near the Jersey Shore), you should come on over to the Long Branch, Asbury Park, or Ocean Grove beaches. It’s a beautiful day on the Jersey Shore – one of the best that we’ve had all summer!

This morning, I went to the Merrick Farm and picked up my half share of the week’s bounty. I picked up a bunch of interesting looking produce – some of which I know what to do with, some of which I have no idea. I’m going to take some time this morning and make a gigantic salad out of our existing produce from the farm. The new stuff I’m just going to “bank” at the bottom of the fridge in the crisper. Then I’ll be spending a portion of today down in Belmar at a friend’s barbecue.

My goal is to spend this evening relaxing. I’ve had pretty active, hectic weekends for the last few weeks and next weekend I’ll be in Nashville so relaxing will be a nice change of pace!

In the mean time, come on down to the shore!

Pictures of The First Harvest From The CSA Farm

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Three months ago or so I uploaded an entry talking about how I was joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm for the summer season. One of my roommates and I joined the Merrick Farm in Farmingdale, Monmouth County, New Jersey (which, by the way, I can’t say enough good things about). A few weeks ago one of my roommates and I picked up our unofficial first gathering from the CSA in the form of strawberries and asparagus – both of which tasted great!

Below, though, are pictures of our first “real” take from the farm. As you’ll see, it’s enough greens to last two or three people a good week…which is great because that’s when we’re going back again! Click on the thumbnails below for bigger versions of the pictures.

     

     

If you have a CSA farm in your area, I recommend calling them to see if you can still get a share this season or if you can sign up early for next season!