This is the LAST WEEK of the Spring Share. A big thank you to all our Spring members! We love being a CSA farm. Sure, there are downsides – it is stressful to have vegetables sold before they are even in the ground, what with the zillions of things that could go wrong. And we have to deliver our produce every Wednesday and Saturday even if we are having a lousy week or horrible weather and we’d really rather just skip it and sleep in for once. But for us, the benefits of the CSA are much greater than the challenges. We love feeling connected to and supported by the people eating our food, and getting paid in advance takes a lot of financial stress off of our shoulders. So thank you for making it possible! We hope you think that sacrificing an element of choice and eating your less-favorite vegetables along with your favorites is worth the benefits of being part of a CSA as well!
Now that the weather is warm, people have started asking for tomatoes at the farmers market. A farmer friend was even asked if she had watermelons! I would guess that watermelons are a good two months away. Of course there are tomatoes and melons in our local grocery story this week (and every week), so I shouldn’t be too hard on shoppers for not stopping to think about how a watermelon seed turns into a watermelon fruit. Not everyone has grown a garden, but everyone can dip their toes into eating with the seasons.
Two weeks ago I was driving home from the farmers market and impulsively stopped at a roadside stand to buy a whole flat of strawberries. I was going to make jam but in the end we just went on a strawberry binge and ate 12 pints in one week. This is what eating with the seasons is all about: going to excess. If you aren’t sick of lettuce by the time lettuce season is over at the end of June then you didn’t eat enough. It will help you get through the long, hot, lettuce-less months when you just really want a green leafy salad. Anticipation is a wonderful thing. Research has shown the boost in happiness from planning a vacation lasts longer than the happiness from the actual vacation. So start thinking about that killer tomato dish now! My mouth is literally watering just thinking about tomato sandwiches.
I don’t have the science to back it up, but my intuition tells me that having to wait 
is good for you. Patience is a virtue after all. For a control freak like me, waiting for things that are beyond my control (like tomato growth rates) is a healing activity. Cultivating patience reduces stress. This spring we planted fruit and asparagus – which means we will be waiting years to reap the benefits. The benefits to my emotional and psychological health are no doubt saving us hundreds of dollars in therapy.
I hope you find eating with the seasons to be a rewarding experience that heightens your enjoyment, cultivates your patience, and prolongs your happiness. For now, I suggest you get a flat of strawberries.
