When we bought our home it came with three raised garden beds which of course meant I immediately envisioned summers with endless supplies of fresh herbs, vegetables and wild flowers without truly understanding the time and energy needed to achieve these results. Somehow, even with my lack of gardening skills, we did manage a couple of seasons with a good supply of herbs and wild flowers. We never managed the vegetables beyond a few tomatoes and one or two anemic bean poles.
Even with our limited success, as each new spring approaches I’m ready to dive in again but I’ve accepted that we probably won’t be feeding ourselves anytime soon. So one of my bucket list items for the year was to join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and we’re about to check this one off our list. We bought a half-share of the organic vegetable CSA from Frith Farm in Scarborough.
One item that will come in handy as we pick up our CSA shares is our Pike’s Original Maine Garden Hod which my husband received as a gift from my parents years ago. When we started growing herbs in our raised beds, we needed a way to gather and carry them to the house. This Maine made product was perfect for this task. It’s designed to go from the garden to the kitchen sink. You can gather your herbs and vegetables and then give them a quick rinse without ever taking them out of your garden hod.
Since it’s something that we’ve owned for over ten years I feel confident giving it a five-star rating. It is extremely durable and has held up well over the years. Since we’ve scaled back our gardening because we’re just not that good at it, we haven’t had much need to use the garden hod in recent years.
Even so, our garden hod still has had a prominent place in our kitchen. When not being used as a carrying basket, it hangs by our spice wall and holds extra jars and sauces. We love it, but it hasn’t seen much action recently for its intended use but that is about to change.
With our CSA vegetable share, each week we’ll be able to choose any 6 vegetables from what is in season. We can also pick herbs and flowers from the gardens at Frith Farms. It’s going to be a great chance to use our garden hod again filling it with fresh herbs, or using it to carry our vegetable shares.
I am looking forward to trying new recipes and incorporating fresh, local organic vegetables into our weekly meal planning. I’m also excited to explore their herb garden and to be using our Pike’s Garden Hod basket again. It’s a great, durable product that will be spending the summer in our car transporting vegetables and herbs from the farm to our table.
Do you enjoy gardening? Have you ever joined a CSA?
| things to know | |
|---|---|
| Company Name | Maine Garden Products | Pike’s Garden Hod |
| Address | 67 Lagrange Rd. Howland, Maine |
| Phone | (207) 613-2973 |
| Website | Pike’s Garden Hod |
| Favorite ♥ | Durability |
Weekends in Maine 
What a beautiful basket. I flower garden. There are just too many critters around here and I refuse to supply them with food I want to eat. If you read my blog during the summer I spend a lot of time griping about deer, rabbits, squirrels, groundhogs, possums, skunks, raccoons, moles, voles. OTOH, I am happy to welcome and feed hawks and coyotes.
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The first year we bought our house in Maine I planted around a hundred tulips in the front of my house. Before they ever bloomed, the deer came by to snack and snipped every one. I never saw a single flower. I’ve had better luck growing flowers in the back yard.
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That’s truly a lovely basket and I’m sure it will enjoy being used for your CSA hauls. I have a tiny garden devoted to flowers but am lucky my brother, who has a very green thumb, loves to both grow vegetables and is more than happy to share them. I also belong to a CSA, and that decision was one of the best I’ve made in a long while. It is such a delight to get a weekly treasure box of goodies – I’m always excited to see what’s available.
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I am excited to start the CSA. It will be a bit challenging as I’m a picky eater but I’m committed to trying everything we get each week.
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Something that beautiful should have a spot where it can be seen!
I did a CSA one summer, but it turned out that I didn’t eat much of what I got. There’s one nearby where you can pick and choose what you want to receive that would be a much better fit for us. That said, we’re out of town so much in the summer, a lot will go to waste no matter what. So I just make sure to frequent the farmers markets around us – very easy to do when you work less than a block away from a weekly one!
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I agree. I keep this one out by my spices which sounds like that might be a small little hideaway area, but my spices actually take up an entire wall area in my kitchen so it’s prominent.
I am a little nervous that I won’t like everything from the CSA, but I’m going to try. I think we can do a little picking and choosing with this one too which helps. Farmer’s Markets are another great way to do the summer veggies especially if you’re out of town a lot.
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What a gorgeous basket! I have a small gardening business, and I go to people’s houses and dig up their weeds, plant flowers (mostly), and prune shrubbery. It is great work and I am outside all of the time. I am looking into joining a CSA and found one that looks good for my needs. We also have a local farmers market so there are plenty of opportunities for fresh foods.
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Sounds like a fun business especially since it is something you enjoy doing.
It’s amazing how CSAs are taking off. There were a lot of options here in Maine which was exciting. I’m looking forward to my first share.
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I have done lots of gardening, and it’s always easier to imagine a bountiful garden than to actually tend a garden! I thought maybe it’d be easier in Maine but I guess you have your own difficulties up there. in Hawaii, we have warm weather and sun but many bugs and diseases that like to hurt veggies. And the weeds never stop growing. Maui Jungalow
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In Maine we have a short season and I think I tend to get a late start. I’ve had the best results when I’ve bought starter plants instead of trying to start from seeds. There’s an amazing herb farmer near me. Keeping the deer away is always a challenge too. My biggest issue is that it needs constant tending and I’m not great at that during the busy summer months.
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I absolutely LOVE the garden hod but since 1) I don’t garden and 2) I have no more room in my kitchen (or have any other use I can think of elsewhere in the house), I have to pass it by. Sigh…now if they just made a mini one…
DB McNicol | Oh, the places we will go! | Quartzsite & ???
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It does take up some space. I’m glad I’ve found the perfect “not in use” place to store it. It helps!
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I haven’t heard of CSAs and will now look this up. We have a number of fresh delivery services and farmers markets and community gardens where you can grow your own if you don’t have space, but I haven’t heard of this. I’m gonna look into it. Thanks!
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They’re fairly new but seem to really be picking up steam. I love how they help support local farmers.
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It’s a wonderful idea!
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I’ve never heard of a “hod” before but I like it’s rustic feel and useful size and shape – I bet you have multiple potential uses for it.
Leanne | cresting the hill
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It’s a great size and does have lots of fun uses.
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