The price of food keeps going up. Every time I go shopping, I realize I can afford less and less. We can’t stop eating, so I learned to make things that were getting too expensive to buy.

> Salad dressing #1 – A large bottle of vinaigrette dressing was about $4.25 last time I checked. Daniel gave me a recipe his mom used when he was a kid. I made it, then tweaked it to be even less expensive and more convenient.

Recipe:
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 cloves crushed garlic

Mix in a jar and refrigerate. Simple!

Tweak:
Make your salad. Drizzle olive oil on it, and stir it up. Drizzle soy sauce on it, and mix it up again. Eat. No mixing, make it on the spot, no forethought. Simple and inexpensive! A few teaspoons of olive oil and soy sauce go a long way.

> Salad dressing #2 – When cabbage and carrots were fresh in late summer, we were making Cabbage Salad (recipe forthcoming), grating carrots and slicing thin pieces of cabbage. We poured store bought poppy seed dressing on it, but this was getting expensive. I checked the ingredients on the bottle and googled for similar recipes. Cooks.com has the perfect dressing. It uses ingredients you should have right on hand, too!

2 c. sugar
2 tsp. dry mustard
3 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/4 cup white vinegar
2 1/3 cup canola oil
3 tsp. poppy seeds

You can blend this in a blender on slow, but I put it all in a one quart mason jar, shake it and put it in the fridge. It tastes the same as the store bought brand! And it’s way cheaper!

> Yogurt – A quart of organic yogurt is $3.79-4.79, depending on where you shop. We eat 2-3 quarts a week. That adds up to way too much money a month. I found a simple recipe to make yogurt in a crock pot from Stephanie O’Dea. Check the link for the whole recipe including ways to add fruit and sweeteners. Here’s my shortened version:

Take 1/2 gallon of milk, and put it in your crock pot on Low for 2.5 hours. Turn it off for 3 hours. Put 2 cups of the warm milk in a bowl, and add 1/2 cup plain vanilla yogurt as starter. Stir, then put it all back in the crock pot, cover and leave for at least 8 hours. Voila! Yogurt! Save 1/2 cup for your starter for the next batch.

I accidentally left it to sit for 9.5 hours last week, and it was thicker than the 8 hour version. I use old yogurt containers to store it in the fridge. I eat it plain with a little stevia or with granola, nuts, honey and raisins. A half gallon of milk is $3.99, roughly the price of one quart of store bought yogurt, and it makes two quarts! This has been a huge money saver for me. Thanks, Stephanie!

> Barbecue sauce – This is what I’m looking for today. My younger daughter, the picky eater, will eat a chicken breast if it is baked with bbq sauce on it. Store bought is about $4.00 a jar, and most contain high fructose corn syrup. Bad! So I’m on a mission to learn to make my own while she is away on vacation with her auntie. I’ll post this as soon as I find a good one.

There are things I have always done to save money and packaging in the kitchen. I make my own tortillas – very cheap, very organic and very fresh. I also cook beans from scratch. Canned beans are such a rip off! For $2.00 or more, you get about a cup of beans. The rest of the can is water. I buy canned beans for emergencies and last minute meals, and I buy refries. But if I need beans for chili, soup, hummus or falafels, I plan ahead and cook them for an afternoon in the crock pot.

And, needless to say, I grow a lot of my own food. Have you looked at the price of produce lately?! If you don’t have a yard big enough for a garden, you can grow in pots in sunny windows or under lights. Pots can go outside in good weather and come in for winter.

Take a look at your food budget. What can you make that would save you money? Cooking at home is better health-wise, too. It’s not always about money, but as food prices keep going up, I am more motivated to make my own so I don’t have to sacrifice my eating habits.

People always ask me why my electric bill is so low. In summer, it’s about $30.00, in winter, maybe $40. When my older daughter comes home with her electric hair straightener, blow dryer and other gadgets, it goes up, but never past $50. Friends tell me their bills are $100 or more all year round. As much as you ask me why mine is so low, I have to ask why yours is so high!

Here’s my electricity scenario.

> I have CFLs in fixtures that are on a lot. That is where they do the most good.

> I have two TVs. One is on a power strip that gets turned off when it’s not in use (and it’s not used much). The other is in my daughter’s room and is on most of the evening.

> We have two laptops that are plugged in most of the time.

> We have two cell phones that don’t need charging every day.

> I have a toaster, microwave and coffee pot that are unplugged when not in use.

> I have satellite dishes for TV and internet.

> I don’t have a clothes dryer. I hang laundry outside in good weather and on racks inside in bad weather.

> I have a Sunfrost refrigerator. My energy audit said it ‘squeezes kilowatts until they scream’. When I put this fridge in a rental back in 1998, it cut my electricity bill in half! I’m guessing a conventional refrigerator would jack up your bill.

> I keep lights off in rooms or areas I’m not using.

> I have a lot of windows for natural light so I don’t need to turn on lights during the day. I shared an office with a woman a few years ago. She would close the blinds and turn on a lamp! It made me crazy!

> My solar hot water system has a pump to move the glycol around the panel and the hot water tank.

What’s your scenario? I’m curious to see the difference!

To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but to so love wisdom as to live according to its dictates a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity and trust. Thoreau

Pay off your credit cards. Save one for emergencies, and cancel the others.

Cut back your expenses. Don’t buy anything you don’t need. Make a list when you go shopping to avoid impulse spending.

De-clutter. It’s always time for spring cleaning. If you haven’t used something in a year, sell it, recycle it or give it away. Keep only the things you use all the time.

Conserve energy at home, work and in the car. Turn down the thermostat, turn up the air conditioner, and drive the speed limit.

Recycle everything. If anything has a second use, don’t throw it away.

Sit alone in the quiet every day. No phone, no computer, no book or magazine, just the beauty and silence around you.

Work at something you love. Turn a passion into a job, career or business. Remember to balance work and play.

Reduce stress. Sit with your feet flat on the floor and consciously breathe for a minute or two. Do this several times a day when you feel overwhelmed.

Find release. Laughing, crying and making love release you emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Spend time outside every day. Go for a walk, watch a sunrise or sunset, breathe in fresh air, and enjoy the natural world you are a part of.

Unplug. Connect with people in real time.

Be a good person, and take care of yourself. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz comes to mind:

•Be impeccable with your word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
•Don’t take anything personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
•Don’t make assumptions. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
•Always do your best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

I’ve had a long history with the Facebook Fan Page. Taos, New Mexico Green Homes was born to promote this blog, green building and my real estate practice. No longer in real estate, I closed it in the beginning of the year.

For months, I have vacillated about starting one specifically for desert verde, always thinking I will stop blogging. I guess we all ponder closing up our blogs now and then. I have decided to stick with it for a variety of reasons, too lengthy and irrelevant to bore you with here.

There are two fan pages now:

> desert verde for green building, green living, gardening, farming, climate change, the environment, ecology and so on. I’ll also post other pertinent info you might want to read and share.

> Journal Inspirations for journaling prompts, writing exercises, discussion and support. I had a journaling website for about ten years. I closed it and started desert verde. In the journaling section of this blog, I am recreating the website. The FB page will be an extension of it with more quotes and exercises.

You can like one or both on the right side of the page. Please join me! Thanks!

It’s garden season, and I’m in the kitchen. I have unlimited access to any vegetable I’m not growing, so I’m having fun and getting creative. It’s zucchini season now, too, so experimentation goes to a new level.

This is a take-off on a basic zuke/tomato side dish that was served in a restaurant I worked in when I was 19 (a million years ago). I made it that way for years, but now I’ve expanded it. It’s different every time, depending on what’s available. That’s my favorite kind of recipe – no recipe. The name comes from what I see and feel when I serve this to Daniel, the farmer – delight.

1 onion, chopped
garlic – as much as you can stand – 3-4 cloves for me, crushed
5 zucchini, sliced or cut in small pieces
1 jar marinara sauce or fresh tomatoes (paste or salad)
1 box tofu with the water squeezed out and cut in 1″ cubes
herbs of your choice – bay leaf, basil, sage, tarragon, dill weed, winter savory, cayenne, whatever – experiment!
Jack cheese
brown rice

Saute the onion in a big pot. Add the garlic when the onion is translucent. Stir so it doesn’t burn. When it smells really garlic-y, stir in the zucchini. I cover it at this point to steam the zucchini, but you have to keep stirring it to keep the garlic from burning.

When the zucchini is about half done, add the marinara sauce or tomatoes, tofu and herbs. Stir it all together gently, and cover it. Let it simmer for about 30 minutes or so, stirring it once in a while, then turn it off and let the flavors mingle. This is really good if you make it in the morning for dinner, or make it a day ahead.

Put a serving in a bowl, cover with shredded Jack cheese and put it under the broiler to melt. Yum. Heaven. If I need to stretch this, I add rice. It goes good with something crunchy, like a romaine salad or lightly steamed kale. Crusty bread could sop it up.

When I made this over the weekend, I had about 1/2 cup of fresh shelled peas in the fridge. I tossed them in. I frequently add broccoli florets and the inside of the stalks. I’ve grated beets and carrots into it. It’s like soup – the proportions are never crucial, and the ingredients vary with what’s on hand or in season. You can serve it over pasta or with other grains, and the tofu absorbs all the flavors. The variations are endless, which is really handy when the garden is at peak production!

According to the EPA, buildings use 1/3 of all the energy in the US. Your home is obviously a great place to conserve energy and upgrade for efficiency. Aside from saving energy, you will save money, lower your carbon footprint and conserve our precious natural resources.

> Replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). According to Energy Star, CFLs use 75% less energy and last 10 times longer for energy savings of $30 over the life of one bulb. They also produce less heat, which will reduce your cooling costs in summer. They are most effective in rooms that are used often, such as kitchen and living areas, or where lights are on more than 15 minutes at a time. Call your electric company for possible rebates or reduced prices on CFLs. Some communities are banning incandescent bulbs, so now’s the time to get used to the change!

> Buy energy efficient appliances when it’s time to replace them. Do NOT go out and buy green appliances (or anything, for that matter!) just to be eco-conscious. That is unnecessary energy use and waste, and it’s the opposite of what you want to accomplish. Wait until something needs replacing, then research the most efficient and eco-friendly according to your needs.

Energy Star appliances typically use 10-15% less energy and water. An Energy Star washing machine can cut your energy bill by 1/3 and your water use by half. Refrigerators have historically been energy hogs, but they now use half the energy they did in 1993. An Energy Star refrigerator uses 20% less energy than required by federal standards and 40% less than a 2001 model. Check the Energy Star website for details.

> Landscape with native plants or drought-tolerant adaptable plants. Native plants need no extra care, since they are in their natural environment. Adaptable plants tolerate local conditions well, even though they are native to another region. Install a drip irrigation system to save water. Sprinklers waste water, because they soak outside the targeted area. Water is also lost to evaporation. If you are building new, save as many native trees as possible, and disturb as little of your lot as possible.

> Collect rainwater from your roof. This can be an elaborate system of catchment and filtering for indoor use, or as simple as 5-gallon buckets for watering outside. For domestic water, install gutters along the edge of the roof, and place downspouts on the corners. They lead to an underground cistern, then a pump sends the water through a filtering system in the house. This water needs to be tested regularly for human consumption. I have friends with this set-up, and their water is fine to cooking and drinking.

For outdoor irrigating, run downspouts into 55-gallon drums with spigots at the bottom where you will attach a hose. Several drums can be connected to catch overflow. I have 5-gallon buckets lined up in the flower gardens under the roofline, and I carry them to the garden or just scoop water out for specific needs. Sometimes I just dump them out right there to water the flowers! Your hair and your plants love the pH of rainwater!

> Insulate your ceiling. Heat rises, and the first place it will leave your house is through the ceiling and roof, increasing your heating costs. It is estimated that 45% of your heat can be lost through a ceiling with no insulation. Summer sun beating on the roof can heat up your house increasing your cooling bills. Ceiling insulation will keep you comfortable and keep your energy bills low year round. Consider using cellulose insulation, which is shredded newspaper that is blown in. This is a great way to recycle!

> Window coverings keep heat indoors in winter and outside in summer. You can get insulated shades in custom sizes, or put up drapes or heavy curtains. The point is to create an air space between your room and the window. Even energy efficient windows need to be covered at night.

Speaking of windows… replace old windows with low-e windows. Whether you are remodeling or building new, place new windows where they will receive enough natural daylight to cut down on the need for daytime lighting. Place them in a south-facing wall for passive solar gain and free daytime heating. If you have objectionable views to the south, consider a trombe wall for radiant heat or a clerestory window.

> Replace water-wasting toilets with low-flush or dual flush. When I remodeled, I bought low-flush toilets at Lowe’s for $44. Not a lot of money to cut your water use by half! A dual-flush toilet has two ways to flush, depending on how much water you need. If you insist on flushing pee, you can save water doing so with a dual-flush toilet.

> Add a solar thermal system for domestic hot water and/or radiant floor or baseboard heat. My domestic system cut my gas bill from $1000/yr to $200/yr. It will pay for itself in about 6 years and last about 20 or more. A solar thermal system preheats the water in your hot water heater, reducing the need for gas or electric to heat the water, so your fossil fuel water heater becomes your back-up.

> Add a solar PV system to produce electricity. Net metering is the cleanest method of solar electricity. The home is tied to the electric company’s grid. The system creates electricity during the day and sends it to the grid, reducing the need for coal-generated electricity. At night, the home draws from the grid for power. There is no need for batteries to store electricity, making net-metering a cleaner power source.

Never feel like you are not doing enough. If you replace one incandescent bulb with a CFL, you can save ½ ton of CO2 from going into the atmosphere. You don’t need to do a lot, but please do something.

The letter started with ‘My Dear Friend’. I love getting mail from my friends, especially when they call me ‘dear’, but this was no friend. It wasn’t even an acquaintance. I dare say it is a non-profit I abhor. I don’t like hypocrites, cowards and liars, and The Nature Conservancy is all of that and more.

My Dear Friend,

I would like to invite you to join The Nature Conservancy…

I stopped right there and rifled through the rest of the envelope, where I found my new membership card, an offer for a canvas shopping bag, and a stamped, self-addressed envelope in which to return my money. I couldn’t resist. I grabbed an old red Sharpie pen started writing on the piece you send back to them.

Too bad I ran out of room. I am sending that to the ‘Membership Processing Center’, and I’m sure some underpaid employee with no benefits will open it and look for a check. I hope they will read the red writing and learn something. If I can affect one person, I’ll consider myself a success.

I have to say I did donate to The Nature Conservancy about 25 years ago. I got the canvas shopping bag with a cute baby heron on it. This is the same design they are still offering. Timeless? I don’t know, but I don’t use my bag. I’m ashamed to. It hangs in my kitchen stuffed full of plastic produce bags that get washed and reused.

I was so angry when I got a donation request in the mail that I finally did something I’ve been wanting to do ever since I found out The Nature Conservancy takes millions in donations from the MOST anti-nature corporations in the world.

If you get this offensive piece of mail, please let The Nature Conservancy know you will not give them any money until they stop being liars, hypocrites and cowards. Maybe as an activist, you can change ONE perspective, ONE life, and who knows how far that will reach.

The check is not in the mail, and I don’t love you.

UPDATE 6.8.11 – Here is a shot of my stats page this morning. So Big Brother-ish. What do you suppose they are saying? Will they sabotage my plane? Oh, right, I don’t fly. Click the image for the larger version.

I was in the supermarket the other day to buy dog food. I spontaneously bought a large bag of Santitas corn chips to make nachos at home.

As I grated cheese and munched on chips, it dawned on me that these could be made from GMO corn. I looked at the bag, and the ingredients were corn, oil and salt. Well, at least it didn’t have a long list of words no one can pronounce. I was relieved with that.

I looked at the manufacturer – Frito Lay. Ugh, I thought. This must be GMO. A friend said he thought Frito Lay was GMO free, so I went to their website. The only info about GMOs was that their certified organic blue corn Tostitos® are pesticide and GMO free. Of course, if a food is certified organic, it cannot be GMO. The page about Santitas chips said they are free of trans-fats, casein, additives, gluten, lactose, MSG, onion and porcine, and that they are kosher. The corn is ‘premium quality, stone-ground’, but I still didn’t know if it was GMO or not.

GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are foods that are genetically engineered (GE) or genetically modified (GM) in the lab to supposedly produce better results in the field. Disease resistance, faster growth, larger product (since these foods are sold by the pound) – it all boils down to the bottom line: making more money in a shorter period of time.

The side effects of GMOs are no secret, but agribusiness does not care about our health. Or their own, for that matter! Money overrides all sensible decision making.

Common GMO foods are:

> corn
> soy
> canola
> cottonseed oil (this is a pesticide nightmare, too – stay away from it!)

The short list of effects on your health:

> infertility
> reduced immunity
> allergies
> gastrointestinal problems
> eczema
> fatigue
> headaches

How to Avoid GMOs

Put pressure on your Representatives and Senators to get GMOs labeled. Until we can be sure of what we are eating, all we can do is avoid them.

> Buy Certified Organic food. For a food to be labeled ‘Certified Organic’, it can contain no genetically engineered products.

> Look for labels that say ‘non-GMO’. They may have other wording like ‘Not made with GMOs’, or you may see a label from the Non GMO Project. Go to their site for a list of products they have verified as GMO free.

> Avoid the list of GMO products above. Corn is in everything – corn syrup, corn starch, sweeteners, and so on.

> Buy grass-fed meat. Grains and alfalfa in commercial meats are most assuredly GMO. Again, look for the ‘Certified Organic’ label.

> Support your local organic farmer. I wrote about the benefits of CSAs a couple weeks ago. To buy from a local farmer, you know the source of your food, which is fresh and nutritious, and you support local industry. You also avoid GMOs.

> Grow your own food. Unless you can farm full time, it’s almost impossible to grow all your food. Grow what you can from certified organic seed and other sources, and supplement the rest from a local organic grower.

> Talk to your grocer. Ask questions about where their foods comes from, what is organic, what is GMO. They may not know the GMOs in their store, so you may be enlightening them. Tell them you want GMO-free foods. They are in business to serve you and make money. If there is enough demand, they will change their offerings.

> Know the code. This is directly from Rodale, ever-reliable and ultra-knowledgeable about organic food. Most of the attention focused on GMOs deals with commodity crops commonly used in processed foods (corn, soy, cottonseed oil, and canola). But biotech scientists have genetically engineered a bunch of other crops that are still sold in stores, though in smaller quantities, that don’t get quite as much attention: zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, sweet corn, and Hawaiian papayas. In other parts of the world, GM sweet peppers, potatoes, and rice are under development. One way to know if your sweet corn is of the frankenfood variety is to look at the little stickers attached to produce. According to international PLU-code guidelines, GMO foods contain the number ’8′ before the four-digit code printed on the produce sticker. Organic foods contain the number ’9′. I checked the organic apples in my fridge, and both varieties have the 9 on them. I was unaware of this, but I’ll be checking labels when I go to the store today.

I’ll also be working hard to get GMOs labeled! I want to know what I am eating!

More resources:

Non-GMO Shopping Guide

USDA

Center for Food Safety

I started hanging my laundry outside in 1977 when I lived in upstate New York on a 200 acre revamped estate. We didn’t have a dryer, but we had two large maple trees to support a clothesline. In summer, clothes dried quickly. In winter, they would freeze solid when they first got on the line, but when they were flapping in the breeze, they were dry.

I still hang my laundry year round. In New Mexico, successive sunny, dry days are common. In winter, I hang clothes and leave them out for a couple of days. I take them down in the middle of the day to be sure they are dry. They do have frost on them in the morning, so that has to dry before bringing them in.

In a southwest summer, the sun is so strong and the air so dry, I can hang two or three loads in a day. Sometimes it is dry by the time I am done hanging it! I leave it, though, so the clothes can get that fresh air smell that only hanging offers. It’s also very colorful and fun to look at!

It takes a little planning to use a clothesline. You have to be aware of the weather forecast. I had a neighbor back east who would hang laundry once in a great while, and each time, it poured! If the weather is bad in winter, I hang my clothes on racks inside. You can’t need an item right away to do this! It takes at least a full day or more to dry. I put a rack by the woodstove overnight if I need something soon, but I’m not usually that desperate for clean clothes. I find it easier to plan ahead.

Line drying has other benefits besides that yummy fresh air smell it gives your clothes, towels and sheets:

> The sun is a natural bleach and disinfectant. UV rays bleach out stains and bacteria, creating that fresh air smell I love. The less bleach that needs to be manufactured, the better, too.
> The sun will not damage your clothes the way a dryer can. If you leave them outside for more than a day or two, they will start to fade and deteriorate, though. Clothes last longer when not dried in a dryer. The sun does not shrink your clothes, either!
> You save natural resources by not running a dryer on fossil fuels – electric/coal or natural gas. This will also reduce your carbon footprint. Isn’t that what you want to do by living in an eco-friendly fashion?
> Your utility bill will be lower. Any time you save natural resources, you are surely saving money.
>Quiet time outdoors doing the repetitive task of hanging clothes is the biggest benefit for me. Mundane tasks allows my mind to sift through all the information that’s gone into it and come out with something worthwhile. I used to write a column of essays called From the Clothesline, because my mind could wander while I was doing this chore. I’d always come up with something interesting about the world – politics, personal stuff, nature, and so on. Hanging laundry produced an endless supply of topics!

Types of Clotheslines

> A clothesline can be a piece of rope from the hardware store strung between two sturdy posts, T-bars or a couple of trees. Don’t buy what they actually call ‘clothesline’, because it is coated in plastic, and clothespins slip on it. If you have cotton rope, which is textured, clothespins stay put. We had a large space when my younger daughter was still in cloth diapers, and we strung enough line to hang three or four loads at a time, including sheets.

> I had a portable, retractable clothesline for a long time. It is a rope that coils up into a small metal container when not in use, and the end has a hook on it. You can attach it to a wall, say in your laundry room, take it camping or string it up outside on good weather days. I love the portability and flexibility of these.

> My mother had an umbrella clothesline that many 50s suburban housewives had. It was a pole in the ground with a system of line strung through four cross-members on top. It didn’t take up much space, and the wind would catch the clothes and spin it around for quicker drying.

> For indoor hanging, get a couple of racks. These are wood or stainless steel, fold up out of the way when not in use, and are a great investment. I’ve had mine about 14 years, and they are still doing their job. I got them when my kids were little, so they are large capacity. I can hang a load on each one!

Start hanging laundry, reduce your carbon footprint, get tuned into your weather patterns, enjoy some quiet time in the sun, and get ready to stick your face in your clean clothes and sniff them as they come off the line! I do this every time…..

In 1997, our family lived in a house that had an empty 1/2 acre of irrigated land behind it. We filled that land with herbs and vegetables, more than we could eat with two young daughters. At the time, we were selling beads at the flea market in Santa Fe, so I would take extra produce there to sell to the vendors. What I noticed right away was that the same people were buying every week, and they always asked what I would have the following week.

I’d worked on farms before and sold at farmer’s markets, but you never knew who was coming and what they would buy. It was a crap shoot, and never mind the unpredictability of the weather! Having regular customers like I did in Santa Fe got me thinking and researching, and I came across Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Committed customers pay in advance for a season’s worth of produce and farm products. This money up front helps the farm get started in spring, a time when most farmers are short of funds. I thought it was a brilliant idea, because I’d seen my previous farm bosses struggle to get the money together in spring, then struggle again to pay off loans all season.

I had taken requests for produce throughout the summer and fall, and planned to sell CSA shares for the following season. Unfortunately, we ended up moving from that house and fertile land before I could order a single seed or sell one share.

There are over 4,000 CSA farms listed in the Local Harvest database today. If you’ve never heard of Local Harvest, this is from their site: ‘LocalHarvest is America’s #1 organic and local food website. We maintain a definitive and reliable “living” public nationwide directory of small farms, farmers markets, and other local food sources.’

Benefits for Farmers

> CSA subscriptions help with spring finances.
> There is a guaranteed market and less waste.
> Farmers can concentrate on farming in the height of the season instead of marketing.
> A farmer gets to build relationships with customers. S/he knows who buys, eats and cooks the farm produce. Those customers might even work on the farm or help distribute food as volunteers. It’s not called Community for nothing!

Benefits for Customers

> Buy fresh, local and (most likely) organic produce directly from the farmer.
> Support local business, which helps the community.
> Try new vegetables and fruits that they may not purchase otherwise.
> Adults and children can learn about farming, where food comes from and how it’s grown.
> Eat seasonally, which is better for your health.

A couple weeks ago, I ran into my friend, Daniel Carmona. He is one of the first people I met when I moved to Taos in 1988. We worked on a seed farm together, and he is still farming in a big way.

Daniel now owns Cerro Vista Farm in Cerro, New Mexico, about 30 minutes north of Taos. He sells produce at the farmer’s market, stores and restaurants, and he sells CSA shares. When I saw him, I asked about buying a share of his CSA. I’ve heard the price of food is going to spike this year. My garden space is so small, it would help to have another source of produce. I’d also be able to plan my garden around what I would get from him.

I think Daniel is the best vegetable grower in the county, and I’m sure others would agree. He has about 200 CSA customers and eight pick-up locations around Taos. Customers can also pick up at the Taos Farmer’s Market or right at the farm. He makes it easy to buy his produce! (photo: Daniel’s delicious carrots!)

When You Are Looking For a CSA

> Be realistic about how much food you need. Ask if there are Half Shares if a Full Share seems too much or find a friend to split one with you.
> Find out what they offer. Some only have vegetables, but other farm products are eggs, honey, meat, cheese, flowers and fruit.
> If you would like enough produce to put up for winter, ask about that. Daniel has a Fall Storage Share to put in your root cellar – beets, carrots, potatoes, winter squash, garlic, cabbage and onions.
> Find out if you choose your produce or if it comes already packed. Some farms box it for you, and you know what you are getting. Others let you choose a certain numbers of items, no matter what they are.
> Research farms in your area on Local Harvest. This is the best source of information. Interview several farmers, if you have that option. Ask for references, and find out how long they have been farming and doing CSAs.

Daniel’s farm is just one. Each is different! Find one that will work for you and your family’s needs. Eat fresh organic food, and support local agriculture!