The big sturdy waxed produce boxes that hold each CSA “share” are flattened, collected, and reused over and over. Until just last week, many delicate individual produce items (lettuce, herbs, greens) were each packed in very thin plastic produce bags (tissue thin) to maintain moisture and freshness, some were packed in brown paper bags, and other study items (butternut squash, limes, firm avocados, etc.) were loose in the box. Strawberries and cherry tomatoes always were packed in recyclable plastic pint boxes (they make great germination “greenhouses” too). I often was able to reuse the plastic bags again for other uses before discarding or recycling. The system worked well to protect the contents, but both the farm and some CSA members were continually discussing ways to reduce the amount of bags without compromising the produce.

Last week our box items arrived packed a bit differently; I think it’s a good compromise. A few items still either were packed in paper bags, plastic pint boxes, or individual plastic bags for the protection they provide, but the majority of the items (heads of greens, beets, cabbage, herbs) were in one large tissue-thin plastic bag that could be later recycled or reused as a refuse bag. At first, I was tempted to rebag everything with my own bags, but of course that defeats the purpose. So I rearranged fridge contents and cleared a shelf for the huge bag. I’m finding it actually works much better this way than filling the produce drawer (now used for other items). The delicate items aren’t bruised by a full drawer opening and closing and it’s easy to find what I need when I open the big bag and reach in.

Edible packaging doesn’t appeal to me.

One interesting thing I learned gardening was to look at the latitude of different places. London is about the same latitude as Prince Edward Island, isn’t it? No more available light, but local gardens thrive. True, the climate is significantly different, but just in light availability it’s about the same! I think if pressed, Americans could do much better providing for themselves than we do. We’ve sacrificed so much at the altar of convenience.