What's in a CSA box?
Although we can’t always know for sure what Mother Nature has in store for our CSA farm shares, we aim to have a good variety of produce that ranges from the familiar to the unique. We're always trialing new varieties and taking a look at old standards that may have been neglected in more modern times.
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There's always a balancing act in choosing crops/varieties that offer high quality flavor, disease resistance, and productivity. At Sun One we want every CSA season to be better than the one before it. Even in the off-season we research and broaden our horizons at great educational conferences like the ones put on by CT NOFA.
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The vast majority of the seed we purchase is certified Organic, with High Mowing Seeds supplying the bulk of our seeds. Other suppliers include Johnny's, Fedco Seeds, Seed Savers Exchange, Southern Exposure, and Row 7 Seeds.
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At the end of the day, we want your CSA basket pickup to be a fun experience that you look forward to every week. Along with the veggies, each week we give folks a newsletter that features a recipe that highlights a crop or two from the basket. We're delighted when people tell us how our recipes opened their eyes to new flavors and ways of appreciating Nature's Bounty.
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Note: As we trial new varieties all the time, the following list may change. Also we cannot guarantee crop availability.
Spring-Early summer
Lettuce Heads (Butterhead, Romaine, and Batavian style). Baby Kale ('Ironman Kale Mix' from High Mowing Seeds is a great blend of different varieties). Snow Peas (Oregon Sugar Pod II and the purple Beauregarde snow pea are favorites). Swiss Chard (Fordhook Giant). Carrots (our Napoli and Yaya varieties have people exclaiming we have the best tasting carrots they've ever had). Collards (Champion). Strawberries (Allstar is a nice variety that produces big juicy fruit). Cabbage (Red Express produces nice tight red heads, while Famosa is a good savoy style producer. Broccoli (a tricky crop to get right as it's very sensitive to the weather, but we've had some success with varieties like Batavia and Belstar). Summer Squash (Zephyr, Desert, Black Beauty, Yellow Crookneck are the reliable standards for us). Radishes (Pink Beauty lives up to its name and then some). Bunching Kale (Westlander, Dazzling Blue, Redbor).
Mid-to-late summer
Cucumbers (Marketmore 76, Silver Slicer). Potatoes (Yukon Gold, Larat, French Fingerling, Tom Thumb and many more varieties). Tomatoes (Striped German, Sun Gold, Snow White, Mortgage Lifter, and so many more!), Bush Beans (Provider is a strong producing variety). Garlic (German White is a hardneck variety that does well in New England). Eggplant (we're trying different varieties, but Orient Express and Nadia have done the best so far for us). Peppers (Early Jalapeno is prolific, along with Sweet Banana).