Boston Organics: Excellent!

[cambridgejen]

I got my third Boston Organics shipment today and I'm really pleased with the content. It's still early enough in the season that a lot of the produce is non-local, but the quality is great and the variety was really nice this time. In the small box, 50/50 mix:
1 Romaine Lettuce
1 Avocado
1 Carton Strawberries
4 Bananas
2 Ears Corn
1 Mango
1 Bag Snowpeas
3 Tangerines
3 Oranges
3 Kiwi
2 Potatoes
3 Pears
3 Summer Squash

[pang]

I was wondering about getting produce delivered... I live in a crappy apartment in a busy neighborhood. I am pretty sure my veggies won't be there when I get home. If given a key, will they deliver to your door?

[lisa13]

look here: http://www.bostonorganics.com/faq.htm...

[gini]

I think Boston Organics is a great idea. I tried it for two months this winter, but had to quit because I couldn't actually eat all of the produce in 2 weeks before it went rotten. They'll also deliver teas, nut butters and breads to your house.

[maillard]

That's the problem I had with it as well. It was like produce triage the entire time: "Quick! the spinach is going! We've got to eat that! Okay, now the chard! Hurry, it's going to rot! Someone eat that broccoli! Oh no, the fruit! the fruit!"

Tasty, but too stressful for me! Maybe once I'm done with grad school (3 more weeks!) and have more time to cook I'll try it again...

[Chris VR]

We're getting off topic here, but check out this thread for some tips on prolonging the life of your produce: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/388845

[BeanTown]

I got the same delivery yesterday- it was one of the better boxes I have received. I am glad to hear that the strawberries were good. I have never had any issues receiving any of the items on my do-not-send list.

[DowntownChick]

Wow. I never knew about Boston Organics! Thanks so much for the heads-up. I am really interested in doing it, but have a question about delivery - Does someone need to be home to buzz them in? I live in a building without a doorman and am not home during the day. Does anyone else have this problem?

[kittychow]

I was never home when it was delivered and no one brought it in for me and I never had a problem. They deliver the stuff in a pretty nondescript green plastic box. When it gets hot in the summer they put a little cooling thing in the box so things don't wilt.

[DowntownChick]

Thank you so much for the info. I think I am going to give it a try!

[kittychow]

Very good variety. Maybe I should give this a try again. I didn't have a great time with it last year. I only had one item on my do-not-send list and it turned up again and again regardless of email follow-ups. I also got the 50/50 small box and found that it was heavy on greens - chard, kale, cabbage, collards, etc. I love them all but it's tough to eat them all within a week.

[cambridgejen]

So far they've been great about respecting my do not send list. I do the every-other-week option and it's just the right amount of product without becoming overwhelming/challenging to consume. I'm sure the winter months are tough for getting decent variety but I've been really pleased with what they've sent me thus far.

[psora]

Same here, even when I've made late additions to it (Mon for Thurs delivery). Is it possible there was some confusion about what was being excluded, because there are some similar listings. My one complaint is that I can't pull up my never deliver list online to confirm what's there.

As to the all greens, it's more of a problem in the winter IMO, likely so that they can use some of the sturdy winter greens to add volume to the delivery to offset the limitations on other things based on prices from having to import them.

I do the every other week too, 2/3 veggies. Nice to get oranges pretty regularly with the fruit portion so that I have orange peels I don't worry about cooking with (included some in a pot of black beans yesterday, with broccoli, orange peel, hot peppers and hoisin on the menu for tonight.

[poho]

Is it too late to sign up for deliveries? does anyone have other favorite organic produce cooperatives? I can't reliably get out of work to pick up the weekly boxes at some of the places I've checked out (Drumlin Farms, a few others).
Alternatively, who has favorite farmer's markets in the Boston area?
Thanks in advance!

[cambridgejen]

You can sign up anytime at bostonorganics.com. They are a distributor rather than a CSA so there isn't any specific window for joining.

[BostonZest]

Yes, another great week.

Those strawberries were wonderful. We has them for dessert the same evening. Mine smelled like June and were ripe all the way through. Excellent!

[cambridgejen]

I'm saving mine for strawberry shortcake. I planned to make it tonight, but after a dinner of steak, corn on the cob, sugar snap peas (the last remnants of the last box), and those heavenly potatoes, we were too full for dessert.