Last Organic Box

Here is this weeks produce box from Boston Organics:

What we got/where it's from:

1.5 lbs Bananas (Ecuador)
2 Bosc Pears (Argentina)
2 Pink Lady Apples (WA)
1 Red Grapefruit (CA)
2 Valencia Oranges (CA)
2 Yellow Peaches (CA) (not really, the website says CA but the labels on the peaches said Mexico)
1 bunch Asparagus (NY)
1 Cucumbers (GA)
1 Green Bell Peppers (CA)
1 lbs Peeled Carrots (CA)
1 Salad Tomatoes (FL)
0.75 lbs Zucchini (GA)

Gail and I have decided to stop the every other week delivery from Boston Organics in order to make a serious effort to get our produce from local farmers markets & farms, and hopefully provide some produce from our own garden. There are farmers markets within walking distance of both of our offices 4 days a week, and Allandale farm is just a short distance from our apartment. I will certainly miss regular deliveries of Oranges from the west coast and Bananas from South America, but I know I can substitute other fruits and veggies and still get my vitamin C and Potassium.

I know we won't get EVERYTHING from farmers markets and farms but I am certainly going to make an effort to get as much as possible from local sources. I think making the serious effort to acquire local produce and locally sourced meats is something worth pursuing .

Look for more updates regarding farmers markets and farms as the season continues!

Seeds, Seedlings, and What I Hope to Grow

A few readers, friends, and fellow community gardeners have asked me what I'm planning to grow now that I have a plot so I thought I would give a break down of the seeds I've acquired and seedlings which will be picked up soon.
1)From Fenway Community Gardeners & The Fenway Gardens Spring Meeting:
Leeks (transplants gifted to us from a fellow gardener), Chive Seeds & Spinach Seeds - The Fenway Garden Society was nice enough to provide some seeds for their spring meeting, I got Chives & Spinach!
2)From the down:2:earth expo Gail and I attended in early April:
Mesclun Mix(planted last week!), Scarlet Nantes Carrots(planted last week!), and Dill seeds were all given out from the different garden & landscaping companies at the expo. Coincidentally all 3 seed packets were from High Mowing Organic Seeds.We also picked up packets of Basil & Sage seeds at the expo, but these come from the farmers of the Cabot Creamery Dairy Cooperative! Gail and I are huge fans of their cheese's and I think their business model is fantastic. They do not seal their seeds, they were giving them out as a gift. I am a proud supporter of their cheese products and will be proud to grow their herbs in my garden.
3)From fellow bloggers:
Daphne over at Daphne's Dandelions was kind enough to send me some delicious looking Ottawa Cranberry Beans(seen here). While Ottawa Gardener at The Veggie Patch Re-imagined provided me with Garlic Chive seeds, some of which were successfully grown indoors over winter, while the rest are ready to be planted in the plot soon!
4) Hometown Seeds:
The kind people at Hometown Seeds saw my blog months ago, long before I had a plot and were nice enough to send me their Survival Seeds package to try out. The Survival Seeds package contains 16 non-hybrid 100% GMO free seeds which are meant to have a shelf life of at least 5 years. The seeds were not in individual packets, but in 5 0z, 5 gram, & 10 gram packages, more then enough for my small plot. From the Survival Seeds package we will be planting Golden Acre Cabbage(planted last week!), Long Green Cucumber, Utah Yellow Sweet Spanish Onions (planted last week!), Detroit Dark Red Beets (planted last week!), Black Beauty Zucchini, Parris Island Cos Romaine Lettuce (planted last week!), & Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans.
5) Natick Community Organic Farm:
The Natick Community Organic Farm is a non-profit certified organic farm just west of Boston. Their mission is to provide farm products, hands on education for all ages, and to foster community goodwill through love of the land. I have visited the farm numerous times since I was a child and am honored to support them in their spring seedling sale. Next week Gail & I will be picking up the following organic seedlings for our plot:
Yankee Bell & Hungarian Wax Peppers. Peacevine, Early Girl & Striped Roman Tomatoes. Diplomat Broccoli and Cilantro.
Along with the above vegetables we will also be adding Morning Glory, Autumn Beauty & Mammoth Sunflowers, and a mix of Nasturtium's
6) Wood Prairie Farm
The prospect of having a garden of my own made me think of Potatoes. I absolutely love them. Wood Prairie Farm has a reputation as one of the best sources of certified organic seed potatoes. Not wanting to limit myself to 1 variety of potato and taking into account the limited space I will have for potatoes I decided to order the Experimenter's Special which allows you to choose 4 different varieties of potato. Each package contains 3 potatoes of each variety for a total of 12 hills. I picked All Blue, Cranberry Red, Russian Banana Fingerling, and Yukon Gold for a nice variety of color, size, and taste. Potatoes were ordered last weekend and shipped out on Monday. They should be here before the end of the week!

Looking back at this massive list of vegetables and herbs I realize successfully growing all of these varieties will be extremely daunting. I don't expect every crop to be a smashing success so I am growing a large variety in smaller quantities in the hopes that the success's will outweigh the failures. My hope is that smaller plantings will allow Gail and I to slowly ease our way into the challenge of caring for all of these(hopefully) delicious edibles.

With research, hard work, and some luck hopefully the season will be full of gardening success and delicious vegetables!

The usual note: I do not grow the produce pictured, it is courtesy ofBoston Organics. Their mission is to deliver organic produce, focusing on convenience, variety and value. Whenever possible they support local & regional farms by providing as much produce as possible from the region. When they cannot provide local produce they receive produce from a variety of farms along the eastern seaboard, northern california, the pacific northwest, & tropical fruit from equal exchange organic farms in central america. My girlfriend and I receive a $29 dollar 1/2 fruit 1/2 vegetable box every other week.

The Rundown-

From around here:

1 lb Empire Apples (VT)

1 lb Carrots (MA)

1.5 lbs Red Potatoes (Prince Edward Island)

1 Green Cabbage (NY)

From Beyond:

1 White Grapefruit (FL)

1 Green Bell Pepper (FL)

2 Anjou Pears (WA)

2 Blood Oranges (CA)

6 Satsuma Mandarins (CA)

1 head Romaine Lettuce (CA) (the head of lettuce is HUGE)

From Even Further Beyond:

1 Bunch Broccoli (Mexico)

1.5 lbs Bananas (Ecuador)

I am really pleased with the quality of all the items in our box this week. Some sort of slaw looks to be in my future. The broccoli & green pepper will most likely be stir fried with a butternut squash which was received in a previous box.

If any readers have tips for what to do with some of the produce feel free to share!

This Weeks Organic Produce.

The usual note: I do not grow the produce pictured, it is courtesy ofBoston Organics. Their mission is to deliver organic produce, focusing on convenience, variety and value. Whenever possible they support local & regional farms by providing as much produce as possible from the region. When they cannot provide local produce they receive produce from a variety of farms along the eastern seaboard, northern california, the pacific northwest, & tropical fruit from equal exchange organic farms in central america. My girlfriend and I have been receiving a $29 dollar 1/2 fruit 1/2 vegetable box every other week for the last 18 months. We don't pick what comes in the box (though they do have a 'no list') and have been really impressed with their customer service. The few times we had a problem with certain produce they responded promptly and provided us with additional items at our next delivery-free of charge!

The rundown-

From around here:

1.5 lbs of purple fingerling potatoes (VT)

1 lb of Carrots (MA)

1 Rutabaga (NH)

1 lb Empire Apples (VT)

From beyond:

2 Bosc Pears (WA)

1 bunch Broccoli (CA)

1 bunch Green Leaf Lettuce (FL)

1 Green Pepper (FL)

2 Honey Mandarins (FL)

2 Hamlin Oranges (FL)

2 Sunburst Tangerines (FL)

From even further beyond:

1.5 lbs Bananas (Ecuador)

Now that the holidays have passed, we are back to our usual every other thursday delivery schedule. The lettuce is crisp and the fingerling potatoes and broccoli look exceptionally good. The mandarin was bursting with juice and the empire apples are crispy, juicy and full of flavor. I am very pleased with this box & the taste/quality of its contents.

I was also informed that a friend of mine who lives a few streets away has signed up for a weekly delivery from Boston Organics. Instead of 1/2 fruit & 1/2 vegetable like myself she is getting a 'dogma box' each week. The dogma box consists of fruits and vegetables which are sourced as closed to Boston as possible. No 'no lists' or substitutes. In the 6-7 months they have offered the Dogma box items have come from New England, upstate NY and Quebec. In the winter root veggies, storage crops, & storage apples make up the box. In the spring/summer/early fall it is chock full of variety.

I've considered switching to the dogma box and am interested in seeing what her experience is.

This weeks Organic Produce!

I did not post a photo of this weeks produce box when it arrived this past tuesday for 3 reasons:

1) I've had a busy work week. 2) The local black heirloom cranberries we added on did not arrive as they were out of them and 3) the rest of the box was relatively small and left me wanting more.

Nonetheless here it is:

The usual note: I do not grow the produce pictured, it is courtesy of Boston Organics. Their mission is to deliver organic produce, focusing on convenience, variety and value. Whenever possible they support local & regional farms by providing as much produce as possible from the region. When they cannot provide local produce they receive produce from a variety of farms along the eastern seaboard, northern california, the pacific northwest, & tropical fruit from equal exchange organic farms in central america. My girlfriend and I have been receiving a $29 dollar 1/2 fruit 1/2 vegetable box every other week for the last 18 months. We don't pick what comes in the box (though they do have a 'no list') and have been really impressed with their customer service. The few times we had a problem with certain produce they responded promptly and provided us with additional items at our next delivery-free of charge!

I've lost the list of exact locations of the produce but based on past experiences my guess is:

From New England:

The Apples, Carrots, Butternut Squash, and Spring Greens (which are sold in the local whole foods and supermarkets as well).

Most likely from Florida or California:

Tangelos, Satsuma Mandarins, Hamlin Oranges, Green Pepper, Broccoli, & Chives

From Washing State:

Bosc Pears

From Ecuador:

Bananas

Of Unknown Origin:

The 2 heads of garlic which were an add-in we had requested.

The box is not terrible, fresh organic produce is always a good thing, though in comparison to our box from 2 weeks ago it seemed so small. I think the real disappointment was due to the lack of cranberries. As usual the response from the warehouse people at Boston Organics was great. They had run-out and made-sure our account was credited for the cost of 2 bags of cranberries.

This Weeks Organic Produce!

please note: there was some confusion when I posted my delivery a few weeks ago. I do not grow the produce pictured, it is courtesy of Boston Organics. Their mission is to deliver organic produce, focusing on convenience, variety and value. Whenever possible they support local & regional farms by providing as much produce as possible from the region. When they cannot provide local produce they receive produce from a variety of farms along the eastern seaboard, northern california, the pacific northwest, & tropical fruit from equal exchange organic farms in central america. My girlfriend and I have been receiving a $29 dollar 1/2 fruit 1/2 vegetable box every other week for the last 18 months. We don't pick what comes in the box (though they do have a 'no list') and have been really impressed with their customer service. The few times we had a problem with certain produce they responded promptly and provided us with additional items at our next delivery-free of charge!

On to the details:

Regional produce included:

1 lbs Empire Apples (VT),

8oz Bagged Baby Spinach (VT)

1 lbs Carrots (MA)
1 lbs Purple Top Turnips (MA)

1.5 lbs Yukon Potatoes (MA)

1 Green Cabbage (MA)

Beyond our region:

2 Bosc Pears (CA)
2 Cara Cara Oranges (FL)
2 Orlando Tangelos (FL)
2 Satsuma Mandarins (CA)
1 bunch Broccoli (CA)
1 head Red Leaf Lettuce (CA)

1.5 lbs Fair Trade Bananas (Ecuador)

.25lb Yellow Ginger (location unknown)

The cabbage and yellow ginger were not on the original delivery list, but we had a problem with the sweet potatoes we received thanksgiving week. Their warehouse manager said he would provide a little something extra with our next delivery and he did!

I'm posting what we get in our deliveries for 2 reasons: (1) Though this is primarily a gardening blog, I also like to cook- supporting organic farms whether through a CSA or program such as this is a good idea and (2) its a good way for me to keep track of what we get and where it comes from.

One thing I really like is that much of the produce that does come from Massachusetts is coming from the same farms I support when I visit our local farmers markets in the spring/summer/fall. (Enterprise Farm & Atlas Farm are 2 of my favorites).

I did make a 'regional' dinner which I will share a photo/write-up of tomorrow.

This Weeks Organic Produce.

Our Boston Organics box comes early this week due to Thanksgiving (thursday is our usual delivery day):

From this region:

1 lbs Empire Apples (VT)

1 Gala Apples (ME)

1 lbs Carrots (MA)

1.5 lbs Delicata Squash (MA)

1 head Red Leaf Lettuce (MA)

1 lbs Red Onions (MA)

1.5 lbs Sweet Potatoes (MA)

From beyond:

1.5 lbs Fair Trade Bananas (Ecuador)

2 Bosc Pears (CA)

1 Red Anjou Pears (CA)

2 Satsuma Mandarins (CA)

1 bunch Broccoli (CA)

2 Hamlin Oranges (FL)

No suprise that the citrus and Bananas are coming from further away but pears from storage and fall broccoli could be found in new england this time of year. It was nice during the summer when nearly the entire box (aside from bananas and an occasional orange) was coming from new england. note: the Red Anjou Pear was spectacular!

This is our 3rd box in a row (we get a box every 2 weeks) with delicata squash. Good thing I love me some squash! I've been trying to find fun ways to cook these little guys aside from the traditional baking methods. I've also managed to save quite a few Delicata seeds.