We went for our first ever farm tour and to learn more about their CSA produce program. You may want to call ahead for directions, as they're waaaay out in Waxhaw and my GPS couldn't find it. They also don't list their address (or directions!) on their website or Facebook page. (I seriously don't understand that logic or perhaps it's an oversight, but they should fix that ASAP!). After nearly missing the tour because we got lost, we paid $12 to park. You can apply $5 of that to any produce purchase. We paid it since we're supporting a local farmer, but $7 to park seems a bit much to me.
I expected more of a tour - walking around, checking out the greenhouses, seeing & learning about what they have planted or what they're harvesting, those types of things. Instead we listened to the owner speak for 30+ minutes about how she got into organic farming. Some of what she talked about was interesting (I want to learn more about Farm to Table options she mentioned), but her presentation bordered on lecturing about what you should eat, how you should prepare your food, how the government gets involved in farming, etc. I get it - she's passionate about this stuff. And I'm not even saying I disagree with what she said. But it seemed to me she was on a soapbox and using the captive audience to share her opinions with us. I could have done without much of that. She did take several questions while we stood there, trying to hear her speak over the children screaming on the nearby playground equipment (so it's family friendly, for those who might want to know that).
Finally we walked a short distance to the pavilion area, where one of their chefs talked about some of the produce they had available and prepared a kale, onion, turnip concoction for us. The smell was heavenly and the sample we got to taste was equally good. (We got to sit down here and would have been a much better place for the Q&A, in my opinion.)
After our taste sample, it wasn't clear that the tour was over. It just sorta ended & people started wandering away. By the time we realized it was done, we made our way back to the produce stand in hopes of buying the same ingredients the chef had just cooked with & said were in harvest. They had two guys working the stand, who seemed completely unprepared for all of us. The area was small, and the baskets of produce were pretty much empty and they were out of eggs. One of the guys was able to find us some more turnips & kale in the back, so we were at least able to use our $5 credit.
I do wonder if the produce stand is bigger and more plentiful when the season really kicks in? I believe they said it's open Wednesdays & Saturdays. What we got was really good (we used it the next day), but unless I know there's more available and plenty of it, it's unlikely I'd make the 45+ minute drive from S CLT to go back.
Don't blame me if your GPS gets you lost, but here's the address:
1619 Waxhaw Indian Trail Road South, Waxhaw, NC 28173
(704) 843-5744 read more
