If Digging In The Dirt Isn't Your Jam

From the fantastic Savannah, GA store Kitchens on the Square

Gardening is the focus of my posts here these days, but I realize it's not for everyone.

For several years Scott and I lived in rental houses and skipped around so often that it wasn't worth it to garden. It's requires advance planning and it's physically demanding -- just like work --  and we know some people have an aversion to that sort of thing. Maybe your yard isn't set up for optimal sunlight or your knees just won't let you bend low to grab stuff off the vines. And perhaps it comes down to time -- there's never enough of it, right?

So if you love fresh produce but gardening isn't going to happen, you have some options.

• Consider joining a CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture program. It's like a subscription for fruits and vegetables.
  
  The Charlotte Observer's Kathleen Purvis recently wrote about CSAs, and the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association just shared a video and local CSA search engines in their recent e-newsletter.
  
  
• Hit the farmers' markets. I recently downloaded the Farmstand app which gives handy lists and contact info for markets while on the go. The USDA has this directory of markets around the nation, and LocalHarvest.org does the same.
  
  A few weekends ago Scott and I stopped by the NoDa Farmers Market, temporarily housed in the Neighborhood Theatre until the weather warms up. We scored some Fishing Creek Creamery Spiderbite chevre and marinated feta from Orrman's Cheese Shop and two kinds of mushrooms from Urban Gourmet Farms.
  
  
• Make friends with someone who gardens. Trust me, when mid-July rolls around and we're rolling deep in extra squash, okra, cukes and tomatoes, you will want to be our BFF. We can deal in trade, but we also might just gift you with some tasty heirloom vegetables because we're nice like that.  

How do you get your fresh fruits and veggie fix? Tell all in the comments below.