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This year, our family decided to join a CSA for the majority of our summer produce. We chose the summer produce club at Johnson’s Corner Farm in Medford, NJ. The CSA ran from Memorial Day to Labor Day with a bonus holiday pickup in November.
Here’s what we got week by week during the growing season and our thoughts on this particular CSA.
Summer Produce Club – Week 1 (May 23)
- Strawberries
- Spinach
- Radishes
- Asparagus
- Beets
- Romaine Lettuce
We only got one week of strawberries which wasn’t nearly enough, so we ended up supplementing from various farmers’ markets. The other items were plentiful. Since we had a large share we got 4 bunches of asparagus which was an amazing treat. I’ve never belonged to a CSA that included asparagus.
Summer Produce Club – Week 2 (May 30)
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Arugula
- Kohlrabi
- Green Leaf Lettuce
My family doesn’t care for kohlrabi, so we fed it to the chickens. They seemed to love it so we don’t mind having occasional items that we don’t eat because we can turn them into chicken feed.
Summer Produce Club – Week 3 (June 6)
- Fava Beans
- Zucchini
- Romaine Lettuce
- Cabbage
- Asparagus
- Carrots
Fava beans were a new one for me. I’ve had them prepared before, but I’ve never dealt with them fresh. Early cabbage is fantastic for cole slaw and for salads as it isn’t bitter.
Summer Produce Club – Week 4 (June 13)
- Blueberries
- Yellow Squash
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Kale
- Cucumbers
We are not fans of yellow squash, but guess who is? Our chickens! They loved these treats! We used the garlic, kale, and cucumbers to make a Greek-inspired orzo salad which was a hit with my children and made for a great lunch.
Summer Produce Club – Week 5 (June 20)
- Blueberries
- Scallions
- Golden Beets
- Pickling Cucumbers
- Red Leaf Lettuce
- Spinach
We enjoyed everything this week. The beet greens went to the chickens, but everything else was used for salads during the week. We also started freezing blueberries at this point and making pickles regularly as the produce became available.
Summer Produce Club – Week 6 (June 27)
- Blackberries
- Peaches
- Hot House Tomatoes
- Blueberries
- Green Beans
- Rainbow Swiss Chard
The rainbow chard made for a colorful chicken treat. This round of green beans wasn’t so great, but Farmer Gil replaced them for me the following week. We had enough for fresh eating but not much beyond that. I was disappointed in the peaches. I spent the whole week waiting for them to be ripe enough to enjoy, only to realize they were white peaches and not those with yellow flesh. A completely different flavor profile.
Summer Produce Club – Week 7 (July 4)
- Corn
- Tomatoes
- Green Bell Peppers
- White Peaches
- Blueberries
- Onions
And here is where the madness that is sweet corn began. We were getting two dozen ears of corn a week, plus my mother doesn’t eat much corn, we we got the portion from her share too. At first, we were eating it all fresh, but soon realized we needed to be freezing this so that we weren’t completely overwhelmed.
Summer Produce Club – Week 8 (July 11)
- Corn
- Blackberries
- Tomatoes
- Blueberries
- Pickling Cucumbers
- Cabbage
With the blueberries still coming in, we are putting a lot in the freezer for baking later in the fall and winter. Time for freezing more corn and canning another batch of pickles.
Summer Produce Club – Week 9 (July 18)
- Corn
- Blueberries
- Tomatoes
- Onions
- Cantaloupes
- Green Beans
The string beans were amazing this week. We got them all cleaned and processed for the freezer in the course of an afternoon.
Summer Produce Club – Week 10 (July 25)
- Corn
- Peaches
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Cubanelle Peppers
- Micro Greens
- Tomatoes
The cherry tomatoes were really good. They were different colors and shapes, all incredibly flavorful and sweet. The microgreens were a fun addition and we enjoyed them on sandwiches.
Summer Produce Club – Week 11 (August 1)
- Corn
- Peaches
- Tomatoes
- Green Bell Peppers
- Eggplant
- Waxed Beans
Yellow beans aren’t my thing, so we gave those to my mom in exchange for her eggplant and corn. I was able to batch-cook some eggplant parmesan, using a roasted tomato marinara using this week’s tomatoes.
Summer Produce Club – Week 12 (August 8)
- Corn
- Tomatoes
- Cantaloupe
- Onions
- Spaghetti Squash
- Grape Tomatoes
Spaghetti Squash was used as chicken feed. I dehydrated most of the onions to have onion flakes for future use. We had to move our dehydrator to the back porch because the smell was too strong.
Summer Produce Club – Week 13 (August 15)
- Corn
- Tomatoes
- Cubanelle Peppers
- Eggplant
- Plums
- Bok Choy
We were excited to get the plums especially since our harvest was so small this year. We batch-cooked more eggplant parm and decided to start pressure-canning the corn.
Summer Produce Club – Week 14 (August 22)
- Corn
- Tomatoes
- Potatoes
- Peaches
- Zucchini
- Beets
This week we got yellow peaches but unfortunately, the flavor and texture left a lot to be desired. That said, when they cooked up for a jam and even peach crisp they were perfect. They just weren’t the best for fresh eating.
The potatoes were really good and got my hopes up for more potatoes, but alas, we only got them for one week.
Summer Produce Club – Week 15 (August 29)
This week is the final week of the regular season.
- Corn
- White Nectarines
- Cucumbers
- Eggplant
- Plum Tomatoes
- Long Hot Peppers
I’m still not a fan of the white nectarines and white peaches. Their pH is too low to can them safely, so they need to be eaten fresh, baked, or frozen. And the flavor is really different from their yellow-fleshed varieties. We made a mixed fruit crisp to use these up and enjoyed everything else.
Summer Produce Club – Holiday Pickup (November 8)
- Popcorn
- White Sweet Potatoes
- Cauliflower
- Apples
- Cranberries
Last year on the final pickup, my mom received a 5-10lb bag of potatoes so all along I had it in my head that we would be getting potatoes this week. Needless to say, I was disappointed when I saw that potatoes weren’t on this list. The weekly email that was sent out said “sweet potatoes”, however, once I picked up my share I found out there were white sweet potatoes, not the orange flesh variety. What is it with all-white foods when there is a perfectly good orange variety available?
I traded some of our cauliflower for my mom’s cranberries and popcorn. We plan on preserving cranberry juice and trying a fermented cranberry relish. The rest of our cauliflowers are being turned into eggs and being used as chicken treats. The popcorn has had the husks removed and is currently drying out in a nylon produce bag in our pantry.
Overall Thoughts on Johnson’s Corner Farm CSA
With the price breakdown being about $34 a week, I was grateful and excited to see that we were exceeding that value most weeks. Even when there were items I was feeding to my chickens instead of to my family, we were still enjoying most of the produce ourselves.
The one thing that bothered me was the last of the descriptions in the weekly emails. For example, we would be told we are getting peaches not specifically white peaches which makes a really big difference in what you can do with them.
Compared to other CSAs I have belonged to, the weekly box share was plentiful and the contents were familiar. There weren’t any items that I had never heard of or that I had no idea what to do with. However, I missed having fresh herbs be part of the CSA. They were something that I was used to seeing at previous CSAs we have belonged to.
It was interesting having items come from multiple farms too. It was nice knowing my share was supporting more than just one local farm.
At this time, we aren’t sure if we will stay with Johnson’s Corner Farm for next year or if we will try out a different CSA. A final decision doesn’t need to be made until late January so we have time. If we choose to switch, it isn’t because of the produce or the value of the share, because those were amazing, but rather the time commitment of traveling to Medford NJ weekly from Bucks County PA.
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