This is based on the produce I picked up from the booth at the Fall Creek Bend's Farmers Market…read more Plant It Forward empowers refugees by setting aside some land for each farmer to grow their own produce and partners up with markets for a place for them to sell within the community. The produce I bought had been harvested the day before. The lettuce looked delicate but didn't get damaged en route to the house in a tote bag next to a loaf of sourdough and a container of sliced broccolini. It was tastier than expected, had a leafy but not weak flavor, and was easy to clean. The broccolini was hardy and had a sweet yet earthy flavor while eaten raw. Usually I find broccolini to be more grassy but was surprised at how sweet it was. The produce was still good when I ate it all on Friday.

Plant It Forward is a non-profit company that offers outstanding local, organic produce at seasonal…read morefarm stands & through its CSA farm share program. This is grown by Congolese refugees each given a 1/2 acre plot w/in Houston, & the training necessary to farm it. The company is exceptionally good at maintaining the quality of its produce. Everything we bought over the summer, at the U St. Thomas farm stand, & received in our CSA shares in the fall & winter were unparalleled, relative to produce we've bought at farmers' markets here & in VT; from Abel & Cole grocers, in the UK; and even from Home Sweet Farm, in Brenham. Excepting a few boring mandarins, everything was gorgeous & tasty, the varieties, well-chosen, and all had been carefully picked & cleaned, ready to go directly from farm to table. But you needn't take my word re. Plant It Forward's quality--some of the most acclaimed restaurants in town use Plant It Forward's produce, too, inc. Underbelly, Uchi, Coltivare, Oxheart, Local Foods, Sparrow, Dish Society, Down House, etc. And let's face it, if it's good enough for their chefs, it's probably good enough for you & yours. If, like us, you opt to join the CSA, you'll receive at least 6-8 types of vegetables in each share, grown by a single farmer. Our share sometimes includes other local goodies, too. We've gotten honeycomb, pecan & rosemary infused honey, bread, Java Pura coffee, the mandarins, & Republic of Texas oranges. We even got a reusable Plant It Forward bag, just for being new members. This year, expected winter produce includes kale, spinach, collards, radishes, beets, carrots, turnips, Swiss chard, French sorrel, arugula, salad mixes, bok choy, cabbage, celery, cilantro, dill, fennel, & green onions. Sugar peas will be available in winter & early spring. Expected spring produce includes tomatoes, peppers, radishes, beets, eggplant, summer squash, green beans, arugula, cucumbers, collards, kale, fennel, mint, and other herbs. Expected summer produce includes winter squash, edamame, eggplant, peppers, okra, arugula, basil, cucumbers, green onions, roselle, malabar spinach, & maybe cantaloupe & watermelon. See my pics for fall produce. (More to follow.) You can pick-up farm share produce in Montrose (at Plant It Forward Farm-U St. Thomas), Greenway/UK (Urban Harvest Eastside Farmer's Market), Rice Village (Local Foods), Sunset Heights, Southwest Houston (Plant it Forward Warehouse), Meyerland (both at the JCC & ERJCC Bertha Alyce School), South Main, Greater Fondren Southwest, Westbury, Sugarland, or Pearland. Or try Plant It Forward's veg at one of their seasonal farm stands, at Urban Harvest Eastside Farmers' Market, the University of St. Thomas, Braeswood Church, or Westbury Community Garden. Presently, the full cost of a CSA share starts at $580 for a 25 week season, $1120 for a 50 week season, for those paying by check, one month before the start of the next growing season. Though, near the end of the last growing season, we received a coupon for $10 off the price of the 25 week season or $20 off that of the 50 week season. So the cost of a share currently starts at $22 per week. This is a steal, compared to the cost of a Local Box from Greenling ($35.99 per week, for a comparable amount of produce, some of which comes from Plant It Forward Farms, anyway) or a share from Home Sweet Farm ($36 per week). And as Plant it Forward's farms are located in Houston, itself, if you live in Houston, you'll be getting truly local veg, rather than produce grown up to 100 miles away. Best of all, Plant It Forward offers not just outstanding produce, but outstanding customer service too. This season, I failed to spot that pick-up times had changed--my bad. But Farm Share Program Manager, Kassy R. went above and beyond, switching us to a pick-up point & time that worked for us, then switching us again to one that works even better. *Thanks, Kassy.* So Plant It Forward's employees aren't just relying on your bleeding heart goodness. They actually want your business. Wow. The winter growing season started this week. Stop by one of Plant It Forward's farm stands to purchase their produce, or contact Kassy at Kassy@Plant-It-Forward.org to join their farm share program. In all, Plant It Forward offers truly exceptional locally-grown, organic produce at a fair price, & offers outstanding customer service too. It also helps refugees earn a good standard of living. How can you argue with all that? Plant It Forward is a great cause & a great solution. Special thanks to Gretchen P. for mentioning Plant it Forward on Talk-Houston. This is the single best business I've found using Yelp. And we weren't even looking to join a CSA farm share program. But this one was just too good to pass up.

Such high quality produce! It's been our pleasure to have been a customer for many years.read more

How often can you tour a working farm and have a fabulous dinner as well? Wood Duck Farm offers…read morejust that. Held about once every other month, Van Weldon, owner of Wood Duck Farm, opens his farm to visitors for a tour and dinner prepared by a chef. The latest dinner held was prepared by Drew Wilson (former executive chef of Benjy's). Our experience started with an informal reception, while we waited for all the guests to arrive. Once everyone was there, we proceeded with the farm tour. Van grows various types of lettuce, tomatoes, herbs, micro greens, broccoli, beets to name a few. He also raises chicken and pigs, all of which you will see during the roughly 60-minute tour. Our dinner consists of food produced by his farm or from surrounding local farms. Chef Drew did a terrific job in keeping the foods simple, allowing the freshness of the food to speak for itself. Dinner was a five-course meal, served family style. Drinks were BYOW however, they do provide water, iced tea and lemonade. If you don't feel like driving an hour away to Cleveland, you can catch Van every Saturday morning at Urban Harvest Farmer's Market in Houston. In addition to fresh produce, he also sells a variety of prepared foods like whole smoked chicken and seasonal soups to name a few.

LOAM Agronomics is a farm located in Richmond, Texas that offers weekly memberships and delivers…read moreCSA boxes at various pickup locations across Greater Houston. Dunno what CSA means? Community Supported Agriculture ...By getting a subscription, you're supporting small, local, organic farms; and you reap the benefits of getting fresh, seasonal veggies and probiotics. Local dirt is good for ya! I pick up my weekly share at Eastside Farmers Market each Saturday. An easy ritual that gets me out of bed and meal prepping for the week by Saturday afternoon (or sometimes Sunday). My sister gets her share out in Katy. Again, multiple pickup locations. About your membership: :: You can share with a friend, which is exactly what I do. At $30 week ($15/person with my buddy) we both get more than enough fresh and seasonal veggies for the week. :: The longer you subscribe, the better the discount you get. :: They let you swap out veggies for others when you pick up your box, in the case you're not feelin' a certain veggie. :: Need to skip a week due to travels or whatever life throws your way? They make it easy to skip a week (there are limits to how many times you can do that.) The farm itself is 288 acres of all sorts of seasonal veggies and herbs. before each week's pickup, members get an email with a photo and list of veggies for the week, along with storage/preservation tips and shared recipes. I've had my membership for 3+ months, and since then I've turned my kitchen into somewhat of a culinary lab. I've made carrot top pesto with my leftover carrot tops, kale chips. pickled watermelon radish, whipped kohlrabi.... I had NO idea what kohlrabi was before LOAM, and now I notice it on restaurant menus and even iin-the-know food trucks. It's amazing how much LOAM has opened me up to not only trying new vegetables, but cooking them. It's not too scary thanks to Pinterest. LOAM also has farm events for members. I wasn't a member back during Thanksgiving, but I saw on their website they had a day of green bean picking for families - what a fun way to educate the kiddos where their food comes and excite them about vegetables and cooking. Love ya, LOAM.

Spent Sunday picking Okra $10 per person for all you can pick and fill up a burlap tote bag. Green…read moreand crimson okra. Cool weather, off and on rain, heavy mud stuck to the soles of our feet, grasshoppers and the smells of a farm here on Richmond, Texas. I believe they said it was 288 acres. It used to be prison land but was sold. It's adjacent to a prison. The prison still grows corn. Apparently the prison grew their own produce. They were going to sell some of the land for development I was told. The land wasn't able to be developed. This farm was able to get a lot of acres and farm it. This farm grows radishes, wasabina, cilantro, etc. They sell their produce at Farmers Markets in And around Houston such as the Urban Harvest (which I frequent) It was a great day picking Okra. The farm dog Nikita is about 13 years old, friendly and full of life. They offer memberships. Learn more about Loam in their own words by checking out their website. The link is below. https://www.loamagronomics.com/

Contrary to its name, Animal Farm isn't quite an animal farm. They do have two sizable chicken…read morecoups, a horse, a pony, pigs, some dogs and a few other small animals on the property, but those are mostly for cultivating purposes. Animal Farm is actually a 70+-acre property complete with a permaculture center, yoga center, extensive certified organic garden of arugula, tomatoes, legumes, summer squash, sunchokes, sweet peppers, swiss chard, tomatoes, turnips and other foods that you'll find at local (including Houston) farmers markets and on the menus at several Houston and Austin restaurants - Local Foods, Haven and Sorrel Bistro, just to name a few. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to check out Animal Farm for a tour and a seven-course farm dinner hosted along with Roots Bistro, 13 Celsius, and a few other local participants. It was a unique and educational experience in which we learned about the 20-year history of Animal Farm and its permaculture techniques directly from founders (and former Houstonians) Guita Van Woerden and husband Cas. Not only do I looked forward to attending another Animal Farm dinners (about $120 per person), but on my next visit to an Urban Harvest farmers market, I'll head straight to their booth to purchase some freshly harvested and delicious arugula and sunchokes.

Initially, I discovered Animal Farm through Urban Harvest Farmers Market (Eastside). They are…read morecertified organic and the only farm in the area that seem to be. They use permaculture principles as part of their farming practices. I admire them for what they do. Frankly, when I start my farm, I would love to utilize their techniques. I've visited the farm twice for farm-to-table dinners last year. The owners are lovely and laid-back. Both times I went, Gita offered a tour and provided a brief overview of how Animal Farm started. It was her idea and she is truly an inspiration. She had no agricultural background at all. The property is about 70 acres and only 20 acres is being used. I believe they live off the grid by using solar power. They offer a CSA program. They grow herbs and all sorts of vegetables and fruits. And also a huge variety of the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen!!! I have been buying produce from them every single time I go to Urban Harvest. Some of the vegetables are: jerusalem artichokes, cauliflower (in different colors), rainbow carrots, green onions, broccoli, arugula, romaine lettuce, beets, turnips, different radishes, bell peppers (all colors), shishito peppers, tuscano kale, dragon tongue beans, cucumbers, eggplants, all sorts of squash, etc. Some fruits: blackberries, jujubes, mulberries, a variety of tomatoes, persimmons, fijoas. I highly recommend you visit their farm in Cat Spring and check out their farm-to-table dinners. Follow them on facebook to see upcoming events. Also, you can pay them a visit at Rice University Farmers Market (every Tuesday) or Urban Harvest Eastside (every Saturday).

This is an EXCEPTIONAL place. We attended their Mornings in the Country event on a Saturday. Each…read moreevent is different so our experience may not be identical to yours. The event was from 10-2 and we were greeted and invited to roam and explore the grounds. Their farm is EXQUISITELY designed. Later, the on-site farmer, Becca, took us on a tour and we learned about organic gardening and the balance between plants and soil. It's all about the soil :) Becca was on hand to explain her farming techniques and answer our questions. We were served a delicious lunch outdoors in the large covered patio. This is a MUST SEE/VISIT place. My pics don't do it justice. Our group was a four year old and her grandparents and we all had fun!

My daughter loved Blackwood Nature Camp for five summers. It was the one place she felt she could…read moretruly be herself. She dreamed of becoming a counselor. Even after she was interviewed and selected to their Counselor-in-Training program, this year she was removed from the training based on a year‑old accusation we were never told about, never shown documentation for, and never given a chance to discuss. She was confronted alone as a minor, her belongings were searched without her knowledge, and she was later told not to ever speak about the incident. Even after multiple attempts to discuss the incident with Camp leadership, including their Board members, I never received a response. The way this was handled has caused her significant emotional distress and destroyed her trust in the adults running the camp. I hope Blackwood reevaluates how it treats children under their care. I cannot recommend Blackwood Nature Camp. This review reflects my personal experience and opinions as a parent.

Simply the best!! Wonderful service and price are very much…read morecompetitive. We used to get honey from Reed Honey when they had a booth at the farmers market in Houston. they had wonderful honey. After they closed their booth their honey was sold at A Moveable Feast we searched for local honey that we could trust which was more competitively priced. We came upon Moore Honey and I remembered them when we toured their establishment ( I kept bees for a very, very brief time). We ordered and they sent our two gallons very well packed and promptly. We could not be happier!

When I was a child my favorite sandwich was PB&J. As I grew and explored, my taste changed. I went…read morefrom liking PB&J to loving PB&H (honey). I literally could eat one every day and love it for a quick snack. Well, recently I was introduced to Bee-Nut Butter made locally in Kountze, Texas at Moore's Honey farm, owned and operated by Chris and Anita Moore. They are real Texas beekeepers producing real Texas Honey. Just one bite and I was hooked. I am a connoisseur of good peanut butter and this is without a doubt the absolute best. It is the caviar of peanut butter. The taste is nutty and sweet. Neither ingredient overpowers the other. There are very, very small bits of peanut, but they are so small I could not call this PB chunky. It spread easily on the bread. I added extra honey for a little more sweetness. One sandwich was not enough, I had to have another. There is no comparison to this Bee-Nut and the store brand. This Bee-Nut is the BEST, along with their honey. Highly recommended and as soon as they replenish their stock I want some more. If you like a great pb&h sandwich, this one will "stick." Chris and Anita Moore are fine people and they sell some great honey. Check out their FB page. I will leave a link. This Bee-Nut and their Honey is Best Bites approved. You won't regret it. #supportinglocals #healthyhoney #keepingmymoneylocal #bestbitesbest

I enjoyed stopping by and walking through all the stalls on a Saturday last month! A friend and I…read morewanted to see what all the buzz was at the parking lot after driving by. It was not a particularly busy day for the farmers market but we had a nice time strolling along and seeing the variety of produce, handmade pasta, baked goods, and other items for sale! We stopped by one booth for a sample which had packaged Indian curries that can be easily boiled as a meal for one. At $10 we found them rather steep, but quite tasty! There was also a dumpling booth that seemed quite popular. This is a nice farmers market perfect for a relaxed stroll on a Saturday! Very family-friendly and a nice mix of local Houston finds.

One of Houston's best farmers markets! Urban Harvest runs every Saturday from 8am-12pm in a parking…read morelot near St. Luke's United Methodist church and Randall field. There's tons of free parking just around the corner in the large onsite parking garage. The market itself is well attended by farmers, bakers, butchers, artisans, plant enthusiasts, and the community. I've been to this market several times now and am constantly impressed with the wide variety of options. Some local favorites include the fresh farmer's produce, sourdough bread vendors, fresh flower vendors, vegan options (shout out to Prophecy Foods with amazing vegan cheeses), and the ready to eat bites like Dumpling Haus. All of the vendors take credit cards which is convenient in case you forgot to bring cash. There's often live music and a few small tables to sit and sample your bounty and just enjoy the fresh air. While you are not going to find the cheapest bargain here, it feels good to help support small businesses, take part in a community activity, and score some healthy foods for you and your family. Definitely worth a visit!