Around Maryland

Still, I’ve always tried to live a pretty eco-friendly life, including the requisite commitment to recycling, use of those funky, twisty light bulbs, eschewing of chemical-laden cleaning and personal-care products, etc. But earlier this year, I took the plunge—along with Maryland Life’s associate editor, Shannon Morgan—and greened up my crunchy street cred even more: I joined a CSA.

If you haven’t heard of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), chances are it’ll be coming to a locale near you soon enough. (The one we joined is called Seed of Life CSA. It’s based in Middletown, in Frederick County, and is run by a friendly, enthusiastic couple.)

The concept is simple: Each winter or spring, you buy a “share” in a farm or farmers’ cooperative (Shannon and I split a share). In exchange for your money, you’re promised a supply of fresh produce (and sometimes eggs, milk, or other goodies) each week throughout the growing season.

But be warned: Although it’s the essence of “buy local,” owning a CSA share is also a weekly reminder that you can’t rush Mother Nature. Nor can you request that she go lighter on the beets.

“Wow, that’s a lot of lettuce,” my husband, Ben, said when I brought home a recent share.

And it was: Two huge heads of the stuff, along with two big baggies of peas, a bunch of green beans, a handful of scallions, two zucchini, and the aforementioned beets. But that’s what the earth offered up that week, and that’s what we got.

Alas, figuring out how to serve it all—and how to get my four kids to eat it—proved tricky, and I wasn’t completely successful. Let’s just say my compost bin has never eaten better.

Still, I love the idea of the CSA, and it’s exciting picking up my share each week. And although I’ve been lukewarm about some of the offerings so far—oh, man, turnips again?—I know that corn, tomatoes, and blueberries will begin ripening soon.

And when they’re ready? I’ll know exactly what to do with them.