Teena’s Pride

I’ve been buying my produce from Teena’s CSA for the last 4 seasons. They have awesome produce in general, fantastic heirloom tomatoes, delicious kale, the best purple basil I’ve ever had, and so much more. With every share of produce there are new recipes and access to a bank of recipes on the website. Did I mention that Teena and her team are kind-​hearted and have a positive business style? They are! I absolutely love Teena’s pride!

Best heirloom tomatoes east of California.
Wherever you are in South Florida, it’s worth the ride!
I just wish they were open more often.

It was probably traveling there with Unilocal’s finest friend and gratuitous chaufferess — Gina that made me more fascinated with both Teena’s and the other farm’s we passed; Miami-​Dade is one gosh darn big county! Hard to believe so many rural communities and sustainable farms are ringing our western boundaries; and some with no shortages of well appointed tony homes! When it comes to agricultural organic perfection, however, I think Teena’s got many of them beat. Her farm’s adherence to environmental sustainability as well as quality over quantity make them a winner — and their ability to have them deliver to area Whole Foods where you can pick up their produce (warning, it’s not inexpensive, but so worth it if you value your health) is a real added plus. This visit with Gina was a sponsored open house where we got to see many of the things we pay for, grow, and even sample alongside a legion of little well behaved munchkins — who apparently shared our enthusiasm for the juicy tasting fresh edible greens — they have lucky childhoods to be introduced to such comestibles and their importance at such an early age.

After being introduced to TeenasPrideCSA through the generosity of my Unilocal friends Vanessa S and Tom who had to go out of town for a long weekend and hated to see their produce go to loss, whereupon I gleefully took them up on their offer of a bunch of free fresh veggies — I decided to go ahead and order my own share to be delivered weekly to the Whole Foods store closest to me.
It just so happened that this all came about at the same time as me and Roberto B had stepped up our foray into the exploration of where our food actually came from and a commitment to eating less processed food and more fresh locally grown organic foods. So we choose to order a ½ share of their weekly box to split between us, which turned out to be more than enough for us to share.
Turns out we’re like Jack Spratt and his missus. Only without the fat (which we are trying to lose). Roberto doesn’t like Aubergines or Squash so I will gladly trade more greens for him for his juicing addiction, or I will make a dish for him to try with those veggies he doesn’t like and he will juice those greens and bring to work his latest concoction. Between us both, we lick the platter clean.
Today we took the opportunity to go to the farm and visit our veggies, «in utero». Amazing experience! You know when you get your veggies in your delivery that it IS just freshly cut a day before, but to see them laid out before you, living and so lush and fresh and VITAL, full of nutrients and healing is actually quite humbling, that nature provides us with so much deliciousness and it makes you think about if we could only take some time away from the office and get back to the earth. However, it’s not an option for us all and I’m so glad that Teena and her family have dedicated themselves to creating a sustainable way of growing fresh produce for the rest of us to enjoy.
Teena’s Pride works hard at what they do, and what they do is magnificent and they should be VERY proud of their work!

If you are looking for veggies and produce from people who obviously take great pride in the quality of their product, than this is highly recommended. We’ve been here a few times, as they have frequent «open house» days that serve as a bit of a farmer’s market and give you the opportunity to try their produce. In addition, they will generally have cooking demos and farm tours.
The wife and I were particularly impressed on the farm tour, as their facility is beautifully maintained and uses forward-​thinking approaches to agriculture, including hydroponics, airponics, natural insect control with no chemicals, etc. It gives you great confidence in the farm-​to-​table experience when you take home veggies.
We’ve never done the full route of buying a «share» of produce and having a bundle of produce prepared for us weekly since we travel a lot but we go to their open house whenever possible. The shares are basically that they give you a portion of their harvest, which means items are determined by the crops, weather, harvest etc.
For those in Miami, I believe Teena’s delivers it to certain pick-​up locations for pick-​up throughout Miami. If you live in Homestead, you can pick-​up directly at the farm.

How do I love Teena’s? Let me count the ways!
Kidding! I’m not going to count the ways but I am going to list them so get ready!
Farm Tours: an amazing afternoon spent touching the soil and meeting the people that grow your food!
Farmer’s Market: once the tour has got your appetite going you can go inside and take home seedlings, produce, recipes and food for you to make at home!
Friendly people! Duh, did you have any doubt people would be awesome? I mean, they feed people, and people that feed people are typically awesome.
The best CSA experience I could ask for! Every week I go to a supermarket/​drop off site of my choice and take home a grocery bag full of freshly picked produce! Grown on the farm I visited! I love it!
If you’ve been debating whether or not to join a CSA I vote over and over for Teena’s Pride.

In spring 2013, my husband, bestie and I visited Teena’s Pride for a tour of the farm. We were absolutely amazed!
The public may only visit on one specific Saturday out of the month, only during harvest season, so be sure to check the website and confirm the dates (calendar of events — open house information). The fee is just $ 5 PER FAMILY and includes a tour of the farm, inspiring and educational overview of agriculture, cooking demonstrations/​samples, produce tastings picked right from the plants, and access to a brilliantly diverse farmer’s market which includes produce and locally made products.
Two things really stood out from our experience: PURPLE cauliflower (you listening, mamas? Get those kids eating their veggies!) and Sorrel (a vibrant, lemony, leafy green whose flavor captivated us immediately). Okay, three things actually. The TOMATOES. Yes, it’s to be expected because this fruit is their specialty. But you can in no way be prepared for the depth and diversity of the flavors yielded by Teena’s Pride tomatoes until you actually experience them. Yeah, they are THAT GOOD. Go try them for yourself and tell me differently. I dare you!
Teena’s Pride also operates a wildly successful CSA (community supported agriculture) program. Theirs is an extremely accessible CSA, offering pick up locations all throughout Miami-​Dade County and an option to join at any time during the harvest season (November — April). It’s also very reasonable at $ 22 per quarter share, which is the size my family of two will be ordering after the holidays.
Bottom Line: Highly recommended, locally owned and operated farm for fun visits and CSA programs.

I’d been wanting to be involved with a CSA for a while, but wasn’t sure if I would be able to eat all those vegetables in a week. After going to the green market at South Pointe Elementary, I was able to learn about Teena’s Pride and I’m so happy I did. There were four weeks left in the season which was perfect for me to buy and figure out if this is for me. At $ 19 a week and a very close pick-​up for me (Whole Foods on Alton), this seemed like the right fit for me.
I picked up my first week of veggies last week and my box was packed full of: radishes, turnips, eggplant, squash, apple mint, green and purple basil, sorrel, salad, arugula, celery, chives, heirloom tomatoes, medley of mixed baby tomatoes, and cucumber. WOW! When I showed some friends what I got, they said it was much better than the CSAs they belong to. Everything was so full of flavor, too. The heirloom tomatoes, however, take the cake… their taste is so, so, so good! It reminded me of picking tomatoes at my great-​grandparents’ farm and eating the tomatoes like apples. That’s how good they are… being from the midwest, I’m picky about my veggies and these were great! I’m not saying I will be able eat all these veggies each week – but I’m going to try, so some of my lucky friends my get donations. Either way, I’m totally pumped to get next week’s veggies.