Ready for Summer? A Guide to D.C.-Area CSAs

Photo by Nikoo's Photos

By DCist contributor Emily Fisher

February is the local food doldrums. The farmers’ markets are pretty bleak unless you love turnips and bitter greens, which are fine and all, but can’t compare to a juicy heirloom tomato or a pint of local blackberries. This month is also the time when all you D.C. food nerds start dreaming of the peaches and corn that you’ll carry home from your summer CSAs. It’s time to sign up, and here’s how it works:

What is a CSA?

A CSA, or community supported agriculture, is a program whereby you pay a membership fee to get a box of fresh produce each week from a nearby farmer. Most CSAs run from mid-May to mid-November, and plenty offer different perks -- one could produce honey, another could allow you to press your own cider once apple season hits. Cost-wise, it depends on the farm and the size of your share, but you can plan on paying between $400 and $600 for a season.

Where can I get one?

>> Clagett Farm: Located in Upper Marlboro and connected to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Clagett Farm has been in the CSA business for a while -- and as a consequence it takes a mix of persistence and chance to score a membership. If you don't get one, they offer a workshare, where you show up at the farm and pick what you take home.

>> Earth Spring Farm: In addition to produce, CSA members can add fruit as well as meat, eggs and cheeses. (Bonus: they also offer different lacto-fermented pickled vegetables throughout the year. And if you sign up before March 15 you get a free box of produce.)

>> Bull Run Mountain Farm: One of the oldest continually operating CSAs in the D.C. area. All-organic and located in the Bull Run Mountains near Haymarket, Virginia, the farm even invites members to visit and do some of their own picking. (Bonus: their website has a ton of recipes for newbies.)

>> Evensong Farm: For the bird lovers, this CSA provides just eggs and chickens. (Bonus, according to their site: “Studies show that pasture-raised eggs are higher in beta carotene, folic acid, vitamin B-12 and Omega 3s, and much, much lower in fat and cholesterol than those from conventionally confined birds. And, our ladies are happier too.”)

>> Smucker Farms of Lancaster Co.: This new retail spot on 14th Street is also offering a CSA. Participants will receive a half-bushel of produce from the cooperative of farmers known as Oasis at Bird-in-Hand.

>> North Mountain Pastures: Not so much a mesclun eater as a meat eater? Choose between shares of chicken, pork, beef and lamb. (Bonus: Um, bacon.)

This is but a small sampling of what's available -- Local Harvest has a comprehensive list that's worth perusing. Metrocurean also listed its favorites here, and the Post has its list here.

Why should you do it?

>> You get fresh, local produce, meat and dairy, plus the opportunity to get to know and support the people growing your food.

>> If you’re really busy on the weekends, it means you don’t have to throw elbows at the farmers’ market in order to get the good stuff.

>> You get to feel that twinge of superiority during your dinner parties because, yes, “This entire meal came from my CSA.”

Why should you maybe not do it?

>> Not to stress you out, but this will require some work. You typically get enough produce to feed a family of four, so either be ready to cook most nights or split your membership with a friend or two. Some farms also offer half-shares.

>> You won’t get avocadoes. Or citrus, or anything else that doesn’t grow around here. And sometimes the tomatoes get late blight or the bears get to the cherries before the farmers. So just roll with the produce punches, guys, and maybe you’ll learn how to cook a rutabaga for once in your life.

>> As a corollary, you'll get lots of a few things, depending on the season. Hate bitter greens? Tough luck. Most early-season deliveries include enough kale to overwhelm even the most fervent lover of the bitter green, and at some point during the summer you'll be overrun with peaches. The upside is that you're forced to become more creative with your cooking.

>> If you’re supremely broke and/or prefer to buy your produce at Giant.

If you're interested, get on it, because shares sell out fast. And if you’re already a member of a CSA, which one? Let us know in the comments.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@dcist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Martin Austermuhle in Food on February 7, 2012 10:30 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

Mary Carter Haskins

I was really surprised with the small list of CSA's you offered. There are a great deal more. Our farm has been offering a meat share for 4 years and entering our 5th. Here is the larger list from the Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/... if you are interested in a meat share and want to check us out: haskinsfamilyfarm.com

BadAtPickingNicknames

I receive deliveries from Door to Door Organics East which I love. The fruits and veggies are really tasty, I get citrus and I fill out a list of fruits and veggies I do not want to receive. Plus you can pick the size of the box and how often you want to receive them.
https://eastdoortodoororganics...

SarahNera

I did two seasons with Bull Run and was not impressed with the quality of their produce, especially compared with other area CSAs. Produce variety is influenced by weather and insect factors, and I accept that. But the wilted, barely-usable greens week after week were too much to bear. I'm now getting my veggies from friends of mine who farm in Baltimore County (Simmer Rock Farm), and the CSA drops off at the Bethesda Farmer's Market on the weekends. Not the MOST convenient, but they're friends, and the produce is incredible. They wash and bag their baby greens and keep everything cool and refrigerated for maximum freshness. And the bagged greens keep for a week at least.

My advice to CSA-ers is to really ask around for the best quality produce... don't accept "it's organic, so it's brown." It doesn't have to be that way. Localharvest.org is a good resource to find area CSAs as well.

HeatherD

Not a CSA, but a farm club... basic membership fees per month, and you get to choose what is delivered (to your door) and how often.
You can get crates of local or local&natural random produce. Or order individual produce by the pound/piece. Lots of local DMV farm products such as meats, seafood, cheeses, grains, eggs.. and even wine. I've had membership with them for over a year now.
You can order online, and depending on where you live, there's a Thursday or Sunday choice of delivery. http://arganica.com/

Angela8713

Looks freshly great! Well, I'd love to have those native way of planting. Having it grows without using any synthetic fertilizers.

ADedd3

If you live in Capitol Hill and are interested in a CSA you ought to take a look at 1acrefarm.com, There pick up is just south of Lincoln park and I have been a member for two years now, and I love it. Great variety and the farmer Michael is a great guy who will let you come out to the farm and answer any questions you have.

Nikki Beane

Washington's Green Grocer isn't a CSA but I really like their system cause you can pay by the week, cancel deliveries weeks you don't need, and make subsitutions. They do fruit and veg and also have nice pickles and eggs and things.

Lauren Higgins

Bull Run Farms was an utter disappointment. There are only so many garlic scapes you can be creative with before you just want some real veggies. We stopped picking up our share about 2/3 of the way through last year and I seriously doubt it improved much after we stopped going.

Lampredotto

That's like pulling a cake out of the oven halfway through the cooking time and declaring it a failure. The harvest only improves as the season progresses. That's the basic idea of a harvest.

We got a share with Bull Run Farms. Yes, it's a lot of garlic scapes and bok choi very early in the season, but that's what's available in mid-June. Later in the summer is when things are at their peak.

Lauren Higgins

For something like $400 I expect to enjoy more than 1/3 of the season. I agree we probably missed out on some of the best weeks, but at that point we were so fed up it wasn't worth it. I stand by my advice: go elsewhere for a CSA.

Lisa Iannarino

I've done two seasons with Bull Run and we are signed up for a third. A few too many hot peppers last year, but overall a good experience.

JC

"And our ladies are happier too?" What does that Evensong farm statement mean? Are free range eggs nature's viagra?

Shiba Fussa

So CSA doesn't stand for Confederate States of America in this case

mdrohan

Also, fyi, if you're a member of one that doesn't deliver (so, most of them) they may kick you out if you don't actually come and pick up your food every weekend. Happened to a friend of mine.

BrandName

I support the globalization of my produce dept. I will not be foregoing tomatillas for rutabegas.

Greg McE

I'm a fan of Potomac Vegetable Farm -- especially since non-first-timers are given the option of the "farmer's market" pick-up, where instead of just getting a set box you go into an area and get to pick X number of items for the week. It's a great way to avoid getting tons of one item that you hate, and even better for people who split a share...

poopieface

There is no such thing as having too many peaches.

Joan Arkham

This. I never get around to actually trying any recipes because I'm all nom, nom, nom...

Guest

All my commercial goods are delivered by S.S. Pierce.

monkeyrotica

The upside is that you're forced to become more creative with your cooking.

Or you could learn to do what people have done for thousands of years when they've had a surplus crop: learn to pickle, salt, can, dehydrate, and make preserves . But this would require half a brain and Google. And why do that when you can blow $50 on a plate of artisinal rat charcuterie and a piquant merlot?

ADrauglis

We can pickle that!

Kittyliteral

Don't forget the easiest: freeze.

poopieface

Or throw in a big pot with some water and make veggie soup.

monkeyrotica

You need to think "outside of the pot." Wrestling midgets in an inflatable wading pool filled with excess tomatoes is far more cost effective and healthier than heavily processed pudding. And ladies from all walks of life have been using cucumbers as an effective subsitute for men. They're cleaner, don't talk back, and when you're done with them, they don't roll over and snore.

JC

You mean they don't roll over and snore BEFORE you're done with them.

DCUnionGuy

Do most of these place deliver to your home or do you have to pick up on the weekends?

dafnea

Many of the pick-ups are during the week, not on weekends. And some (e.g. Bull Run Farms) offer some flexibility so some weeks you can collect on a different day (and therefore location) if you've got a conflict or are having a friend collect your share that week.

DCTransplant

This is a fantastic list, thanks Martin.

Joan Arkham

So do you pay one set price, even if you have to skip a week here or there? That's the one thing that's been keeping me from trying it...we travel so much during the summer.

Pete_eats

Star Hollow Farms is the ish. You pay 300 up front and then deduct whatever you want each week from the available produce (year round). Good variety as it's a co-op of several farms in Southern PA. If you're gone a week- no prob. Pick up at 18th and Columbia on Saturday. Randy is the best.

Amy Rosenthal

I agree. It's fantastic to have access to Star Hollow Farm's online farmer's market, and the community of CSA members is wonderful. It's easy to pick up in Adams Morgan on Saturday (especially with some delicious brunch options nearby). And, being able to select what I want in addition to a harvest box means that I can be creative and cook what I want -- all year round! I trust that Randy's farm is sustainable, organic, humane, and hard-working. It's a joy being part of this CSA!

ADrauglis

If you travel a lot over the summer then it probably is not for you. There are a handful of winter CSAs. If you start looking in early autumn you might find one which will work for you.

Joan Arkham

Yeah, I guess I'll stick with our local farm stand. I'm so intrigued at the thought of mystery produce though!

Martin Austermuhle

Most places charged a fixed price. If you travel a lot it can be tough, but that's why going in with other folks works.

rorojo

Currently in Bending Bridge: Pay per season and you get to pick what is in your box with some flexibility.

Past: Spiral Path veggies only. Good Prices per box.

dgraveline

I've been subscribing to Fresh & Local CSA in Shepherdstown, WV, for several years (on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/... and love their biodynamically grown vegetable shares, fresh eggs, flower shares and meats (chicken, beef, lamb, pork). Farmer Allan Balliett delivers at different sites in the metro DC/MD/VA area, some of which are just a short walk from Metro. He also offers holiday turkeys and other special offers throughout the year.