Organic gardening takes root

Community-supported agriculture is gaining ground as a way to buy organically grown produce reasonably

By MIRIAM KRESH
A farmer with wild mallow.521 (photo credit: Courtesy Chubeza)
A farmer with wild mallow.521
(photo credit: Courtesy Chubeza)
If you love morning-fresh vegetables and rejoice in natural, sustainably grown produce, you might enjoy subscribing to one of the country’s community-supported agriculture (CSA) farms.
Every week, subscribers open their doors to a box of colorful organic vegetables delivered straight from the farm. Often the box will contain vegetables that conventional markets don’t carry, like kale, daikon radish or broccoli leaves (which are edible and delicious).
Other reasons people join CSA farms? It’s a way to support ecologically maintained agricultural areas. The farmer’s income is protected by a system in which clients are subscribed members. And it’s important that there be eco-friendly farms whose fields aren’t sprayed with pesticides.
The customer gets best value when buying directly from the farmer.
And for some, the almost personal relationship with the farm that grows their food is another attraction.
Ten years ago, organically minded eaters had few choices in the markets. Although there have been farms practicing organic agriculture in Israel for over 40 years, most of the produce was exported. Prices for local organic vegetables were notoriously high, as farmers sought to cover losses from unsold produce.
In 2003, Bat-Ami Sorek returned from California after managing part of a CSA farm. She had a vision of such a farm in Israel, calling it Chubeza, after the edible wild mallow that grows everywhere in the country during springtime. But she met resistance at the office of Agrior, the country’s organic agriculture association. Officials doubted that the idea was viable.
“They said that CSA boxes are ‘surprise boxes,’” says Sorek in retrospect. “Each delivery brings different vegetables; they said that Israelis won’t like it.”
In addition, Agrior had no experience regulating CSAs, which are managed in a broad and complex system unlike conventional agriculture’s. Conventional farmers learn in-depth methods of growing cucumbers, for example: when to plant, their irrigation and fertilization schedules, and when to harvest. By contrast, a CSA farm grows a wide variety of vegetables, and the routine changes from week to week.
“They didn’t even know what to do with us,” recalls Sorek. “They called us a ‘vegetable garden.’ It’s very difficult to regulate and certify an organic farm. We grow over 100 varieties in a year, and harvest and market all the time.”
Perseverance and optimism eventually paid off, as Chubeza went on to thrive and expand. Today the pioneer CSA farm has over 850 subscribed members. Four or five years after Chubeza was established, other organic farmers in the country realized that the CSA model worked.
Some began new farms, while some simply started farming organically on existing land. Today there are about 15 CSAs in Israel, serving different areas of the country.
And today, Agrior provides guides that deal specifically with CSAs, holding workshops for new farmers and giving marketing advice.
Chubeza’s first delivery boxes were ready about six months after the farm began operations. About 15 people signed up the first week, and the numbers grew steadily, with occasional bursts of new customers after exposure from the press. Chubeza is now debating whether to continue expanding, or to maintain the number of customers it has.
Luckily there are many more CSA farms serving the country now, and Sorek promotes them eagerly. She notes that her farm’s website, chubeza.com – which has a mirror page in English – includes a list of links to other CSA farms in Israel.
“I want to encourage people to buy from them.
We’re almost at capacity ourselves,” she explains.
There doesn’t seem to be much competition among the different CSA farms.
“That’s because there is no competition,” she says firmly. “We have a common goal: to provide fresh organic vegetables to people. There are more customers than farms. The CSAs that started after us are growing beautifully.
In California, farms worked cooperatively, no competitive feeling.
Veterans helped new farmers, lending them tractors and equipment. I saw that cooperation only helps to expand the field, and it’s true in Israel as well.”
Before organic food became popular, farmers couldn’t count on selling all they grew. The policy at the time was to charge between 50 percent and 400% more than conventional vegetables cost. Chubeza kept prices only slightly higher than the regular market, to attract and keep a faithful customer base. Seeing its success, other farms followed suit. Because of the country’s CSA farms, organic produce prices are far more reasonable now.
The Jewish relationship with the soil and agricultural cycles has well-defined, biblical parameters. How does the Israeli CSA fit into them? “I’m not religious myself, but I grew up in a religious home,” Sorek says. “It was clear to me from the start that to get connected to the soil and Eretz Yisrael, you must connect to the agricultural halachot and traditions.”
For example, American farmers sow a mixture of legumes as a cover crop – sown to cut down when green, then turned back into the soil as green compost. To avoid kilayim (the prohibition against mixing plant species), Chubeza uses only one crop, usually fenugreek.
The farm’s produce is also tithed according to the laws of ma’aser.
Observant people interested in any particular CSA should ask specifically how the farm handles halachic issues.
CSA farms depend on paid labor, but many also welcome volunteers.
Chubeza has Israeli, Thai and Palestinian workers who are responsible for planting, weeding, irrigating, fertilizing with organic materials, and operating equipment.
“We started with only Israelis because we weren’t big enough to be allocated foreign workers,” says Sorek. “Israelis are hard to work with because they don’t see farming as a career. They’re young. They stay for three to six months, have the agricultural experience, and then return to their usual lives. I understand this, but it’s really hard for us, because it’s something you need to learn how to do well, and just as they’ve adapted, they leave. Palestinians, by contrast, are older and still see agriculture as a life’s work.”
As so many Israelis live in apartments, what advice does Sorek have for the balcony farmer? “Plants growing in pots are more vulnerable than those rooted in the ground. Watering is crucial – not too much, not too little. It’s easy to check, just stick a finger into the dirt and make sure it’s moist, not wet. Cultivate the soil to aerate it often. Balcony or windowbox plants need a little breeze, and for that reason, shouldn’t be overcrowded. Warm compost is the best fertilizer for plants.”
To keep fungi and aphids away, there are several kinds of organic pesticides in garden supply stores. However, the home gardener can use a few drops of regular dish detergent mixed into water and sprayed on his or her plants. Sorek mentions another spray for leafy plants using one part milk to three parts water, which is news to this reporter.
But for those Israelis who don’t have the space, or the time, to tend a vegetable garden, a local CSA can be a refreshing alternative. •