was the 'happy box' worth it?

Do you remember reading about the Happy Box we subscribed to in 2012? The Happy Box season ended in December. At that time, we asked ourselves the following questions and reevaluated if we should again re-subscribe for 2013.

Should we again subscribe? We contemplated planting more vegetables this year and “live off our own crops.” We stopped in the midst of planning the raised bed gardens – we were reminded of our busy schedules and many established flower gardens that require up-keep. We will continue to grow herbs, raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb, tomatoes and onions. We tried potatoes last year and plan on doing so again, along with lettuces.

Did we truly use all the produce that was delivered each week? Confession: there were times we didn’t – we would share with friends and neighbors. Other times, unfortunately, we did throw some away. A friend, who transformed her backyard into an organic garden, did reassure me of the trials of having abundant produce on hand.

Is it worth it?

• Financially: We will get a small reduction in price this year for re-subscribing. It is totally convenient to have wonderful fresh produce delivered to your front door!
• Lessons learned in our home: These started when we opened our box and must figure out what was in it (sometimes, we had to pull out the Ipad and research!). We worked together, learning HOW to cook/prepare/store our fresh fruits and veggies. And, as we ate well over the week, we were reminded of the seasonal produce and WHY it was good for us.

The decision: We WILL subscribe for 2013! We plan on continuing to grow some of our own fruits and vegetables but, will continue to reap the benefits of our community supported agriculture program!

Can you believe all we received in our inaugural March 6, 2013 delivery?? Celery, radishes, tomatoes, green peppers, mango, apples, orange, bananas, sunchokes and lettuce (since the CSA does not have enough food at this time, they do supplement with organic produce)

Recipe to try: Roasted Sunchokes

Stay tuned for more seasonal produce recipes as Spring arrives!