What it means to me is a 1/2 hour ride out east once a week to pick up freshly picked organic produce. We start with lettuces and other green leafy items, move onto things like cucumbers, carrots, beans, zucchini, etc, then go to things like potatoes - red, white, blue and sweet. You can't forget about tomatoes and ground cherries and fresh herbs and flowers. Best of all freshly dried garlic in so many varieties. (I should tell you every CSA is different in what they offer.)
I found Phil Barbados and his farm Biophilia last year online at www.localharvest.org/csa. What got me curious about CSA farms was a post on my favorite parenting site, http://www.babycenter.com/.
I found Phil Barbados and his farm Biophilia last year online at www.localharvest.org/csa. What got me curious about CSA farms was a post on my favorite parenting site, http://www.babycenter.com/.
While I whole-heartedly disagreed with this particular mom's views on vaccinations, her commentary on her lifestyle led me to wonder what our local farms on Long Island had to offer. I Googled CSA and found Local Harvest. Their site is impressive and easy to use, but best of all, it led me to Phil.
We started with Phil last summer not sure what to expect and he quickly rocked our world. What he produces is phenomenal both in quality and variety. Phil's passion for farming is only surpassed by the love he has for his family. That shines through in everything he does. I almost cried at the end of last season at the idea of my weekly treks to the farm over for 6 months, leaving me to rely on grocery store produce.
The best thing about Biophilia and Phil, aside from the wonderful produce, is the way he makes his farm feel like home. He is a very warm and inviting person, always willing to talk shop. Membership to his CSA isn't just about a weekly pick-up, it's a summer-long experience with tastings, picking days and potlucks. He takes tremendous pride in what he does, even fretting last year that he was responsible feeding so many local families.
In the weekly e-mail newsletter he keeps us up to date with goings on - what's being planted, transplanted, harvested, when his dad visits, problems with local wildlife and so on. He also adds recipes to help us use what he has given us that week. As an added bonus, he keeps us up to date with other adventures in organic farming that go on over the summer. The extra time and effort it takes to create and send an update is just more proof of how very dedicated he is.
On top of stopping at Biophilia every week, the girls and I enjoy popping into any one of the multitude of farm stands on Rt. 25. It's our weekly excursion together and this year, since they're older, I hope to make more of our weekly journey. This year, they understand what I mean when I tell them we're going to the farm.
We started with Phil last summer not sure what to expect and he quickly rocked our world. What he produces is phenomenal both in quality and variety. Phil's passion for farming is only surpassed by the love he has for his family. That shines through in everything he does. I almost cried at the end of last season at the idea of my weekly treks to the farm over for 6 months, leaving me to rely on grocery store produce.
The best thing about Biophilia and Phil, aside from the wonderful produce, is the way he makes his farm feel like home. He is a very warm and inviting person, always willing to talk shop. Membership to his CSA isn't just about a weekly pick-up, it's a summer-long experience with tastings, picking days and potlucks. He takes tremendous pride in what he does, even fretting last year that he was responsible feeding so many local families.
In the weekly e-mail newsletter he keeps us up to date with goings on - what's being planted, transplanted, harvested, when his dad visits, problems with local wildlife and so on. He also adds recipes to help us use what he has given us that week. As an added bonus, he keeps us up to date with other adventures in organic farming that go on over the summer. The extra time and effort it takes to create and send an update is just more proof of how very dedicated he is.
On top of stopping at Biophilia every week, the girls and I enjoy popping into any one of the multitude of farm stands on Rt. 25. It's our weekly excursion together and this year, since they're older, I hope to make more of our weekly journey. This year, they understand what I mean when I tell them we're going to the farm.
At the end of our journey the best thing of all for them is that the ride home usually involves munching on fruits or fresh baked goodies that we've picked up on our way.
