We are passionate about purchasing locally grown foods because we get the opportunity to learn how the food was grown. This was one of the reasons why we joined a CSA. The other reason is that the food is full of flavor and tastes better than anything that has traveled thousands of miles. No kidding! We get to eat produce when it’s at the peak of ripeness.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a strategy that sees the farmer and local community members mutually benefit from the arrangement. Farmers don’t have a cash flow problem and community members have a weekly supply of fresh food. Through a CSA, producers can secure upfront costs such as equipment, seeds, and growing expenses without having to incur high-interest debt. Many programs provide customers with the option to pay in installments over the course of the season. As a result, CSAs offer farmers a reliable income source and a steady customer base, and help sustain small-scale agricultural operations.
If you’re in the Weaverville area and you’d like to join a CSA, here are a few farms you should consider.
Second Flora Microgreens
Delivery: Monday (between 7 am -7 pm)
It’s a small urban farm that runs all year round. They grow all their produce using sustainable, organic, and eco-friendly practices. Microgreens are a powerhouse of nutrition in a tiny package. Not only are they full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals, but they also have a low caloric content and boast anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-microbial, and anti-diabetic properties. In a study conducted by the University of Maryland, it was found that microgreens have up to forty times more nutrients than mature vegetables.
Their CSA runs for 10 weeks and you’ll get a weekly supply of salad blends, micro-herbs, and microgreens at your doorstep.
Products
Baby greens
Shoot blends: pea shoots, buckwheat, sunflower
Salad blends: amaranth, swiss chard, beets, purple radish
Microgreens: broccoli, arugula, kale, cabbage, tatsoi, kohlrabi
Blazing Star Flowers
Pick up: Olivette CSA & Farm Store (Wednesdays 4-7 pm), SAHC Community Farm in Alexander (Thursdays 3-6 pm), Honey & the Hive in Weaverville (Thursdays 3-5:30 pm), River Arts District,
(Thursdays 3:30-7:30 pm), Karen Donatelli’s (Thursdays 3-5 pm).
This is a sustainable cut-flower farm and floral design studio providing beautiful blooms for customers in the Asheville area. Their services include CSA Flower Shares for a month or the season, custom designs for elopements, weddings, and special events, as well as on-farm workshops in floral design and gardening. You can also find flowers at farmer’s markets in the area.
Visit their website to order online or learn more about other products. Signing up for their CSA Flower Share is a wonderful way to bring a cheerful atmosphere to your home or office with seasonal bouquets. They also make a great gift for flower aficionados. Additionally, members of the CSA are invited to the farm to meet and explore where their flowers are grown.
Products
Dried, fresh, and edible flowers.
Fresh herbs
Christmas and floral wreaths, decorative, and plants
The Culinary Gardener
Pick up: At the farm or Cucina 24 downtown Asheville
The main purpose of this farm is to grow high-quality crops for local chefs and a small CSA. The owner, Evan, is able to concentrate his entire operation on producing the vegetables, fruits, herbs, and edible flowers that chefs need and can’t find elsewhere. As he grows, harvests, and processes his crops, he always keeps in mind that they will eventually be presented on a restaurant plate. His aim is to cultivate the highest quality crops in terms of flavor, texture, appearance, and vitality throughout the year. This starts with creating a healthy soil full of biology. He also plants green manures, adds compost and organic soil amendments, and carefully cultivates the soil. After harvesting, the crops must be treated with care and precision to guarantee they arrive in pristine condition.
Products
Fruits: strawberries and melons
Vegetables: arugula, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celeriac, celery, chiles, cucumber, eggplant, fava beans, garlic, green beans, green onions, hot peppers, kohlrabi, lettuce, onions, peas, pole beans, potatoes, radish, rutabagas, shallots, shell beans, spinach, summer squash, sunchokes, sweet peppers, tomatoes, turnips, winter squash
Grassroot Farm & Dairy
Pick up: Saturday- At the farm and at North Asheville Tailgate Market. Tuesday – West Asheville Tailgate Market.
At this small-scale, family-owned sheep dairy in Madison County, they focus on grazing-intensive farming and supplement with local, non-GMO feeds. They milk about 40 ewes seasonally and offer Grade A sheep milk yogurt, feta, labneh, brebis, pastured lamb, sheepskins, wool bedding, wool sponges, and wool dryer balls. Their raw sheep milk is available through the NC Herdshare Program. In addition, they sell spring lambs and dairy sheep breeding stock all year long.
Products
Wool, sheepskin, corn shocks
Lamb meat
Dairy: milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs
Fiddler’s Green Farm
Pick up: Roadside Stand at Fiddlers Green on Fridays (from 3 pm).
Ryan Clark, his partner, Julie, and seasonal employees manage Fiddler’s Green Farm, which is situated on the land of East Cherokee (Tsalaguwetiyi). Across the 29 acres, 4.5 hectares are used for growing organic fruits and vegetables, herbs, and pasture-raised chickens. To maintain the soil health, they implement sustainable and regenerative practices that help put nutrients back into the soil. Customers can purchase CSA shares, attend plant identification walks, or buy from wholesalers and restaurants.
Products:
Eggs
Strawberries
Grits and teas
Fresh and dried herbs
Chicken
Specialty products: Seeds, soaps, medicinal herbs, salves
Vegetables: arugula, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celeriac, celery, chiles, cucumber, eggplant, fava beans, garlic, green beans, green onions, hot peppers, kohlrabi, lettuce, onions, peas, pole beans, potatoes, radish, rutabagas, shallots, shell beans, spinach, summer squash, sunchokes, sweet peppers, tomatoes, turnips, winter squash
Ivy Creek Family Farm
Started 12 years ago, the farm is located 25 minutes north of Asheville, on a 38-acre piece of land. Anna and Paul and their four employees are dedicated to organic and ecologically sound farming on eight of those acres. They grow vegetables, flowers, fruit, and shiitake mushrooms for sale to restaurants, at two tailgate markets, to CSA members, and at the on-site farmstand. During the peak of the season, they work six days a week to ensure the plants are healthy and flourishing.
Thanks to the hard work of their numerous apprentices and staff, Ivy Creek has become a major part of the Barnardsville community and a favorite among Asheville’s food enthusiasts. Periodically, chefs come for tours to gather ideas from the tomatoes in the hoop houses, the herbs in bloom, and the baby turnips. The farmstand is restocked daily, while neighbors claim they don’t plan their meals until they check the farm’s refrigerator for the freshest food. Additionally, Ivy Creek donates hundreds of pounds of produce to those in need each year, and all scrap goes to the farm animals, as well as those of their neighbors. Nothing is ever wasted.
Products
Fresh flowers
Dried and fresh herbs
Medicinal herbs and plants
Blueberries and strawberries
Vegetables: arugula, Asian greens, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collards, cucumber, daikon, dry beans, edamame, eggplant, green beans, green onions, kale, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, okra, onions, peas, pole beans, potatoes, radish, rutabagas, salad greens, salad mix, spinach, summer squash, sweet corn, sweet peppers, sweet potato, swiss chard, tomatoes, turnips, winter squash
If you are local and care about diverting waste from our landfills, we would love to have you join our mission to make WNC a greener place to live.
Become a member today! https://compostavl.com/join