Once a week, as members of Natural Roots, a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm, we get to take our cloth shopping bag and fill it with delicious, organic, fresh produce. There is nothing so delicious as eating crunchy salads, fresh beans or sliced tomatoes that were growing only mere hours before.
The farm season runs from the first of June through the end of October. I’m elated in June and you can guess how I feel at the end of October. It’s back to store bought and that doesn’t even come close to the delicious, fresh produce we enjoy all summer.
Anna and David run this horse-powered farm, along with two interns, and a smattering of volunteers. They work dawn to dusk, spring to fall, with a workload that would bury most of us. They own four Belgian workhorses, a quarter horse, pigs and a large flock of free range chickens. Their own meat and organic eggs are sold in the farm store, along with many locally produced items like bread, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, maple syrup, dressings, honey and seasonal fruit.
Pick-up time is also a community gathering time, with old and new friends chatting, catching up on the latest news, mothers holding babies and small children playing on the lawn or in the sandpile.
We’re offered free use of the farm during pick-up hours with a list of you-pick items that vary from fresh berries to green beans to sunflowers. David often has the a team of horses out working the fields and I always enjoy watching as they do their rounds. Last year, I got to ride atop the hay wagon on its way to the barn. I posted about their horse-powered hay-making here.
We are blessed to have this amazing farm right in our town and are so grateful to Anna, David and crew for providing us with this ample cornucopia of organic food.
Related article: Read a post about the community barn raising at Natural Roots.
Eliza Waters 
I respect those who are good stewards to the land. My father was a farmer. He always took good care of his land, animals, crops, and family. Mom supported him with every ounce of her strength. She had 9 kids to raise and a large garden to tend to feed us. They enjoyed life. I can still hear them laugh. They set such good example for all of us in the family.
Farmers don’t get half the respect that they deserve. Where would we be without them?
Everything looks so fresh and healthy!
It is that… organic, chemical-free, too. What a blessing!
It all looks wonderful, Eliza! As a rule, I hate grocery shopping but this kind of shopping could turn my view around.
Thanks, Kris. I LOVE going there, I’m like a kid in a candy shop. Only you can smell the healthy vitamins! To crunch these carrots and peppers – sweet, juicy and delicious!
On our recent travels we came across large signs that read: HAVE YOU ENJOYED A GOOD MEAL TODAY? NO FARMERS, NO FOOD, NO GOOD MEAL.
It’s true, isn’t it? Sad that some people forget those important folks upon whom they depend.
Oh, the vegetables look so yummy and fresh, and everything seems so cozy and peaceful and lovely!! ❤ ❤ ❤
You’re right, it is a peaceable kingdom. A lovely place to hang out and shop. 🙂
What a marvellous facility0
That it is! 🙂
A lovely tribute to all great farmers. It looks great, very appetizing!
It is, indeed. Thanks and hello to all the Fab Four.
Horse powered farm – words that make me smile and envision the beautiful and delicious veggies. 🙂
IKR? Such a gift so close by. Thanks, Judy.
Lucky you! Beautiful produce and bound to be so much fun to shop there.
It is. Thanks, Marian!
What a place! Your photos beautifully illustrate why you love this farm so much.
Thank you, Laurie. Great people, great food, what’s not to love? 🙂
It does look amazing! You’re lucky having that next door. Um… I have a bus stop and a 7-Eleven. 🙂
Thanks, Bun. Sorry about your location, but I expect that there are payoffs. Our nearest grocery store is a half-hour drive away…does that help? 😉
That’s true! Our nearest supermarket is almost next door. 🙂
I would love a CSA where we would get to pick our own produce out! When I have done them in the past, I end up with so much that I don’t like. I just rely on farmers markets now – thankfully, we have plenty around here, but a CSA like this would be great.
Long ago we had one that just doled out what they had with no choice. Needless to say, I only did it one summer for the same reason. We’ve been with this farm many years now and they feel like family.
I’m sure! I need to be on the lookout for one like this. It would be easier than my random farmers market trips!
I love that the farm is horse-powered. They must work hard to deliver such beautiful food. All that fresh produce looks so wonderful, and I have to admit to being a little envious. The farm we had our CSA share two years ago has folded. 😦 I knew we’d busy and away a lot this year so I didn’t look too hard for a new one. I’ll get on that soon since the few I found two years ago all had waiting lists.
Most of the farms here on the Eastern Shore are big ag type farms that grow corn and soybeans for the large poultry industry that is also located here.
Your pictures are gorgeous. 🙂
Thank you so much, Robin. It is a wonderful farm and we feel so fortunate to be members. Hope you can find one nearby!
This is a wonderful time of year for fresh produce. November is a sad time indeed. Thankfully, those squash and apples keep for a long time 🙂
Beautiful produce photos, by the way!
Thank you kindly, Heather. The farm offers winter storage veggies for sale at the end of the season. I usually get carrots, beets and kale to freeze.
Wow, this looks like an amazing place – the produce looks wonderful and is so artistically laid out.
It is! Anna does a beautiful job with the presentation. Food that LOOKS as delicious as it tastes!
No winter crops? 😦 …. In spite of what Big Ag tries to sell people, small-scale farming like this does, and could, feed everyone.
There are farms nearby that offer winter CSA shares, but not this one.
I agree with you, Eliza. This farm is such a blessing.
Thanks, Kim. 🙂
What a wonderful farm. Everything looks so fresh. I bet it’s as tasty as it looks!
Thanks, Belinda, it is the greatest!
My mouth is watering! I love salad and vegetables! And fruit too but especially vegetables! I was thinking when I start reading your post, how blessed you are then saw that you said that exact thing! I would love to have access to a place like this! It’s so unfortunate that at the end of this month it has to close up for the year but maybe that makes it all the more thrilling when it opens up again! 😀 Community gathering time sounds amazing! It must be so fun to come together and laugh and chat all while picking out delicious food! Thank you for sharing! It’s so uplifting and cheerful to read! And those are beautiful photos! That’s great that your friends are so hardworking and dedicated! It sounds like fun work but I’m not cut out for all those long hard hours! lol It’s great to have people who are! Great post! ❤
Thank you, Kim. I wish everyone could have access to fresh food like this. Some day perhaps they will have farms on city rooftops!
You are indeed lucky to have such a wonderful treasure near you. All the produce looks delicious.
We are quite fortunate, true. Their produce is tops.
Great series of photos and the depictions of the added ‘quality’ that goes into the small farms and their produce. You are lucky to have this as part of your life ~ when I return to my hometown, produce from right outside the door, it puts me in a different and stronger state-of-mind. Respect.
Thank you, Randall. It is a wonderful farm run by lovely people. They keep us healthy!
Oh, this post made me so happy. I so admire the young folks here in Maine who are making a go of it farming. But Natural Root’s horsepower makes it really special. I love draft horses–what a treat to have them nearby. And their produce looks gorgeous. Lucky you!
Glad to hear it, Brenda. I admire them tremendously and certainly appreciate the fruits of their labor!
Hi Eliza, what a wonderful uplifting initiative, I clicked on your link and wish we had something like this here. This sounds an idyllic way to choose your vegetables each week, I’m very envious!
Thanks, Julie. We’re lucky to have them nearby.
I shop the farmers’ markets, a step removed from purchasing produce directly at the farm. And thankfully, miles away from Safeway! I love the community feel of outdoor markets. Shopping becomes a social event, not just a chore to get through.
You’ve captured the beauty of the farm in your photos. You are indeed blessed.
Thank you, Diane. Nothing compares to farm fresh!
What a wonderful place to have on your doorstep.
It is, indeed. Thank you, Brian.
Oh wow Eliza! I am so impressed with this farm! I used to say I wanted a farm until I visited an organic farm here in the Islands and saw first hand how much labor it is – definitely a labor of love. I decided then and there that I just wanted a garden. It is good, good, blessed work, though. I can feel the incredible good energy through your photos. And imagine what that good energy in the fruits of their labors does for your body!
I really believe in the bio-connection of local food, both energetically and physicially, ie. enzymes, good bacillus, etc. Plants are living things, we are connected to what we consume. There is always an adjustment when I change to the 3000-mile salad. I notice the difference.
Yes, you say it so much more eloquently than I ha ha!
Eliza that looks a great place and the produce looks fab
It is indeed. Thanks, Dorris.
Vegetables look delicious!
Oh, they are the very best I have ever had – simply wonderful!
The vegetables are just beautiful.
Aren’t they? I just love going there.
Everything looks so fresh and healthy. Next time, please take me with you (even though it’s impossible). *sighs dramatically* Thank you for this post. ❤
Thank you, I would if I could. Are there CSA farms or farmer’s markets near where you live?
My pleasure. 🙂
Unfortunately, there aren’t any established farmer markets in my city. But, your post cheered me up. *beams at you*
Thank you very much. ❤