The Owl had the call for CSA-ing (it’s a word) on her posting list for quite some time but just hasn’t gotten to it and now some are already sold out! Yikes!

If you don’t know about Community-Supported Agriculture, I surmise you don’t actually live in Weston. CSAs are often offered from local farms, some as large as Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, and some much smaller, such as the newly-arrived Hannan or Lindentree in Lincoln. CSAs allow you to get the freshest vegetables, fruit and herbs according to what’s being picked at the farm that week. And with no trucks and airplanes flying stuff in for you, it’s about as green as you can get without having your own huge vegetable garden in the backyard, subject to the whims of your giant resident woodchuck.

For these local farms, having the CSA funding up-front for the summer allows them to buy seed, spend less time on marketing and more on growing food, and share their risk of production with the members. You can read more about CSAs at: https://growingsmallfarms.ces.ncsu.edu/growingsmallfarms-csaguide/

With full disclosure, the Owl family signed up for Hannan’s CSA a while ago so we’re all set–this is our first summer with Hannan, having been long-term CSA members at Drumlin Farm. We are going even local-er as Hannan is less than one mile away from us–shopping hyper local! Most of the CSAs I have listed are northside, but I understand there are a number of options in Dover and Sherborn as well our very own Land’s Sake in Weston (central-side).

Some of the following CSA options require a membership and the rules around days/times and locations for pick-up vary. Please double check on individual websites.

Drumlin Farm/MassAudubon Lincoln: Ah, Drumlin. To me, the best of the CSAs for newbies. Absolutely loved the variety and quantities (though maybe not the 36 pounds of tomatoes per week late summer 3 years ago. We would have done it again if we hadn’t wanted to support a new farmer in his first CSA year. Many add-on options of flowers, fruit and pick-your-own. More information in this link.

The Food Project, Lincoln. This is a fantastic organization, located near Baker Bridge, with all pesticide-free produce, and much of it harvested by a youth crew of 120 teenagers on 70 acres of urban and suburban farmland across eastern Massachusetts. They grow 200,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables and work to increase access to fresh, healthy food for all. They focus this work in Boston’s Dudley neighborhood and the City of Lynn. They also have the best zinnia seedlings on the planet (not available yet). More information here: https://thefoodproject.org/csa/.

Hannan Healthy Farms Lincoln: The Owl loves this farm, as you will see in this prior post. This is the first year Mohammed is offering a CSA, and we could not resist signing up–he offers many veggies that are not normally on the list at these other CSAs and we love trying new stuff. The farm is located on the former Blue Heron farm fields in Lincoln, 270 South Great Road. https://www.hannanagrofarms.com/summer-shares

Land’s Sake Weston: Again, you can’t be from Weston and not know about this community farm which is raising up a barn today. Apparently Tuesday and Thursday shares are sold out but you can still get on the Saturday list if you act now. I do not actually know if there is a difference between weekday and weekend vegetables but someone does. Right here in the middle of Weston. Check it out: https://landssake.org/from-the-land/csa-options-and-pricing/

Natick Community Organic Farm, Natick. The Owl has a soft spot for this one–a huge fire burned up their 1815-era barn on March 17, 2021 (yes, one-year anniversary tomorrow) and they are fundraising to re-build it. You can read the story of the farm dog who alerted the family. The large vegetable share is sold out as are the large flowers, but you can get in on the smaller shares–I am thinking some flower bouquets. Support these guys–they have 7-year old boy twins and let me tell you from experience, these folks work hard. 117 Eliot Street in Natick. https://www.natickfarm.org/farm-products/csa/

Walden Woods Project, Concord: The Walden Woods Project Farm is a small, organic vegetable farm located on Route 2 eastbound in Concord. The farm supports The Walden Woods Project’s commitment to preserving local agriculture and reducing our carbon footprint through organic farming. Funds from CSA memberships support conservation of the public lands and trails they steward in Walden Woods, located in Concord and Lincoln. This is only their second year of offering a CSA, and they offer full and partial shares, and delivery to Lincoln and Concord residents. More information here: http://www.walden.org/csa/

Waltham Community Farms, Waltham: Waltham Fields Community Farm “cultivates sustainable and equitable relationships between people, their food supply, and the land from which it grows.” CSA is sold out for summer 2022 except for subsidized shares. Fall 2022 shares are available. Farm located at 240 Beaver Street in Waltham. https://communityfarms.org/csa/csa-overview.

Support local agriculture! We are incredibly lucky here in Weston to have so many options.