Wood Duck Farm

I’m a new subscriber to the CSA and am so pleased! I was part of a CSA in DC and was hoping I could find something in Houston. After some research, I settled on Wood Duck Farms. I’m a single gal so it was nice to have the option to get a box for just 1 person. The price was great, and the quality and quantity is what really seals the deal. Van is readily available and very helpful. I’m so pleased with the amount of items I’m getting. Even with the «little bitty share,» I can’t get through all my veggies, and have a few to give away. I also added a bi-​weekly egg share onto my plan and have really enjoyed that as well. Excited to sign up again next season!

Love it. We get the weekly CSA out of Clear Lake. The full share of produce is a bit too much for 2 people who cook daily and have guests, but most of it keeps longer in the fridge than store bought produce and can be frozen if need be. Quality is top-​notch. Flavor wonderful. My only complaints are that we sometimes fail to get the full variety of produce that they say will be distributed (ex. we didn’t receive any spring onions when they were harvested) and I think the restaurants are given priority over the CSA members, so in peak periods we get more of the «less desirable» food (tons of squash) and only a single serving of the more desirable foods (fresh spring mix). There are CSA’s with better variety out there.

Also a fan of their CSA program. It was a bit more expensive than the one I did in the past before I moved here, but you also get way more food, so definitely a good value. I just need food for myself, and when looking for CSAs in the Houston area, this is one of the smaller and cheaper options I found. You can get a partial share for $ 24 a week, and it’s a good size for 2 – 3 people. Like Megan did, I also blanched and prepared some of the vegetables I couldn’t eat right away. This is great site for learning how to do such things:
I had signed up for a winter box, and got plenty of greens: microgreens, mixed green, lettuce, chard, kale… also received Brussels sprouts, beets, cauliflower, broccoli, radishes, and other goodies. I really like their sign-​up system — just go online, and pick which weeks you would like, and where you want to pick up your box. So easy! Picking up my share each week was also very easy.
For those new to CSAs, here some of my favorite things about these programs:
*Knowing you’re going to get another box of veggies in a week really helps you eat (or store) the current ones before they go bad!
*You usually get to try some produce you’ve never had before
*It’s sort of like a vegetable present — what will be in the box this week?!
*It supports local farming
*It’s extra-​fresh and in-​season since it’s local — usually lasts longer and tastes better than long-​transported items at the grocery
What’s not to like?

This review is for the weekly CSA — I haven’t been to the booth at urban harvest or farm dinner. I was introduced to concept of a CSA from my aunt that lives in Wisconsin. After researching the options in the Houston area, I settled in Wood Duck Farm and I am so glad I did.
I am mid-​way through my second term in Wood Duck Farm’s CSA and I still love it as much as the first day. I opted for the partial share as there are just two of us and I still often end up giving things away to friends/​family/​coworkers. So far we’ve had great variety, but a few mainstays. There were a lot of greens, broccoli and cauliflower in the winter boxes. However, I was able to blanch and freeze what we didn’t or couldn’t eat. These even taste so much better than your grocery frozen veggies. Then we started getting strawberries. I’ve never been a big fan of berries in general, but these strawberries taste sooo good and lasted almost two weeks (didn’t get fuzzy, but more mushy which might be due to all the rain we had at that time) in fridge as opposed to days for those in the grocery store. We’ve also gotten several radishes (wish there were more but such is farming), lettuce (several varieties), micro greens, zucchini, squash, potatoes, onions (super flavorful), green beans (can’t wait for more!), Brussels sprouts, snap peas, carrots, cabbage, collard greens, mustard greens, kale, turnips, beets. In the coming weeks Van said we can look forward to peaches (!!!), corn, blueberries and much much more! All for the low low price of $ 24−33/ Week. Seriously, the food to cost ratio is insane. You’d spend a lot more at the store for sub-​par food.
Initially, I felt like there was a lot more communication and recipes. But as harvest picked up, there are far fewer emails which is okay with me. I’ve modified my schedule to start planning meals through tuesday/​wednesday when I find out what’s in the box. However, whenever there’s an issue that affects delivery time (rare and not much later), I’ve been contacted via email and VM.
I’ve also purchased several of the add-​ons and haven’t been disappointed yet. This includes farm fresh eggs (though at $ 6/​pop I’ve only done it once, my previously mentioned aunt started selling eggs and it’s only $ 3 for hers!), local cheddar cheese, the naked chicken salad (I’m addicted) and a pot pie. All yummy!
In Summary: Wood Duck Farm rocks!

How often can you tour a working farm and have a fabulous dinner as well? Wood Duck Farm offers just 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.