trsinc:

You speak for thousands of Americans. No wonder so many people have a rought time accepting organic produce -- it seems as if organic growers want us to believe that there's something magical about "organic" and a few worms shouldn't bother us.

Well, they bother me, too. And I KNOW that there's NO need for it. I teach organic gardening to homegardeners and "growing for farmers markets" to professional growers.

There's a gazillion ways to prevent pests and plenty of natural and safe ways to resolve pest and disease issues should they occur. It's the lazy farmers and the ones who think there's something earthy-spiritual about growing this way that end up with the kind of produce you have.

I'd complain and not accept some "organic" pat answer. There should be NO worms. If they say otherwise, have them call me!

Joe

I get a weekly delivery of CSA produce in Los Angeles, and every now and then there's a critter in the mix. It's hardly going to poison me, and I don't think twice about pulling it off and getting on with my life. $30 a week sounds like a bargain to me.

My deliveries aren't anything a food stylish would pick, but the taste is great, and I like the mixture of produce I get.

Are you guys really that freaked out by worms?

I'd be upset too. Especially if you can grow your own produce organically without it being bug infested. Everyone understands a critter or two. That even happens with grocery store produce. As Joe points out, substandard produce should not be considered the trade off when buying organic produce. There's no reason it can't be good quality.

I tried a local CSA farm this summer and was disappointed. I was taking a break from gardening because of a bad back. The produce wasn't as great as I had anticipated. For example, all the squash was allowed to get too overgrown, so if I really wanted some tasty squash, I'd have to buy some at the farmer's markets. The tomatoes were small & scarce, so, again, I supplemented with farmer's market purchases. Also the CSA supplied some produce I wouldn't have normally purchased, stuff neither I nor my husband cared for. All in all, I had better luck at the farmer's markets than the CSA.

I have been a member of an organic CSA for 9 years now. There are not lots of worms on the broccoli but I have found it is beneficial to soak it before cutting and cooking. The produce is all wonderful in taste, although sometimes there are small holes/dark spots in the carrots, turnips etc.

In the beginning we received produce I would not buy. However that just forced me to learn how to cook them. Now we even buy them in the store. Our farm also has pick your ow crops so my boys really understand where their food comes from. Our CSA is a huge part of our summer as we spend so much time socializing at our pick ups.

-Robin

I'm on my third week of trying one out. I've noticed aphids but no worms. Now I'm thinking I probably should have washed the broccoli better. We're mostly doing it to force us to eat more and stranger vegetables. I don't know how long we'll keep doing it, but for now it's fun. And now we've eaten 3 kinds of kale. No, two. I had to toss one bunch. I mean there's a limit to how much kale you can handle in a week ya know?

I don't mind caterpillars as long as there isn't too much frass.

Thanks everybody. I'm disappointed but I'm glad I only subscribed for four pick ups. I won't be renewing. There's a big farmer's market about an hour away every Saturday. I'll try there and see if anyone is selling organic stuff. That's a long way to go, though.

I found caterpillar poop in a bunch of lettuce at a non-organic farm market, so there ya go.

Some CSA's sell their top of the line stuff at city markets and the share owners get the seconds.

Bugs don't bother me in some things. I used to hack up wormy apples that grew around my house to make applesauce--could only use about 1/2 the apple parts that were good.

Buginess can vary from season to season, crop to crop. How I felt about it would depend on how frequent the problems were.

As Laurie mentioned, bugginess can vary from season to season and crop to crop.

I have my own big organic garden but I find that I cannot stay ahead of potato bugs (although they'll leave the potatoes for eggplant), and those worms on broccoli. I stopped growing broccoli because I couldn't find a good organic alternative to sprays. I paid the kids a penny a bug to pick the potato bugs off for me, but that didn't work for those little worms.

Still, there are organic remedies and there's no excuse for really substandard produce. Organic isn't perfect, it can be misshapen or have a few insect "bites" and marks, it's probably not as big as commercially grown varieties. Frankly, though, the bugs bother me much less than all the carp they spray on commercial stuff to kill the bugs.

I just wash everything well and figure a bug or two is free protein, LOL.

Annie

I guess I should have made clear that the flavor and general quality of the veggies from my CSA have not been good at all. It's not only a bugginess problem.

Also, with the broccoli, it was full of webs and cocoons plus the tiny wiggling worms. I was diligently trying to remove all the webs and cocoons when I discovered the moving stuff and that was just too much for me to bear. Like I said, I grow far better stuff in my tiny little garden. It's just not enough for us to eat without supplementing from another source. For 2-4 pounds (I don't think I've even had 4 pounds) of veggies to cost 30.00 and be substandard it's just not worth it to me.

fori, I always soak my broccoli in water with salt and vinegar. That will kill most little beasties and also draws out sand or dirt that is trapped in the florets. I've never had a bug from grocery store broccoli but I've had plenty of grit come out of them.

I hit "submit" a minute too soon. I'm sitting here with some raw cauliflower. Not organic and not from the local farmer's market either, and guess what I found? Yup, those little white worms,they must be everywhere this year.

I think I'll roast this batch, both cauliflower and any worms I missed!

Annie

Oh, Annie, yuk! I guess they are 'everywhere' since you're in Michigan (right?) and I'm in Texas. Just for the record, the little worms in my broccoli were the same color green as the broccoli stalk. They were about as wide as a needle and less than an inch long.

Whatever, I don't care, it's gross. I don't think I'll ever look at broccoli or cauliflower the same again! LOL

Yuk, yuk, yuk... and yuk.

It sure doesn't sound like you're getting your money's worth for a few pounds of veggies, worms or no worms! And webs and cocoons? That's really not worth the hassle. Ew.

And I think I'll wash my broccoli better now--thanks for the technique!