Time to sign up for community supported agriculture

    The ground may be covered in snow, but now is the time gardeners begin planning for the growing season. Many people enjoy the fruits and vegetables of a garden without owning one themselves. For those who want fresh produce grown locally, they can purchase them through an arrangement called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).

    A CSA is an agreement between a gardener and a buyer whereby the gardener supplies the buyer with a basket of goods at a regular interval throughout the summer. Gerald and Mary Jo Freyenberger of rural Wayland ran a large CSA for many years.

    In the 1980s, the farming economy turned sour and many farmers sought additional sources of income. The Freyenbergers turned to their strawberry patch. They invited people onto their farm and sold them strawberries. Some people picked their own strawberries, and others picked strawberries for themselves and the Freyenbergers, too.

    Shortly thereafter, Gerald took his strawberries to the farmers market in Mt. Pleasant. He saw he had a good thing going so he expanded his garden. Mary Jo said that, before long, they were growing everything from A (asparagus) to Z (zucchini).   

    Despite the money they brought in, the strawberries were a pain to tend to. Mary Jo said caring for them was very time-consuming. Then, mother nature gave the Freyenbergers even more headaches. After one especially bad winter, the strawberries could not recover from the winter kill. The strawberry patch was never the same again. The yields were so low that the Freyenbergers could consume all the strawberries themselves. They had to turn away their former strawberry customers.

For the full story, see the March 1 edition of The Washington Evening Journal