Bee Heaven Farm – Pikarco

Excellent quality & kind service. We need to protect our bees & this is one way.
Thanks for doing so

We joined the Bee Heaven Farm CSA and got our first share today, and we are definitely impressed!!! I cook/​prepare all of our meals at home and we do the lunchbox/​tupperwear thing for work/​school. We eat mainly fruits and vegetables, and I would love to go all organic, but unfortunately with the prices are so high, so when I found out about this CSA online I was very excited. We signed up for the family share (they say it feeds 4 people in their FAQ, but honestly with our lifestyle and diet, this is just right for 2 people, we might even finish everything within the next 4 days, lol) and today picked it up. For me it’s like Christmas, i don’t view it as a negative that you can’t choose what you want, I was so excited to find out what was inside the box. And I was not disappointed! Oyster mushrooms, sweet radishes, scallions, organic oranges, grape tomatoes, bok choy, and much more. I’m eating a salad with most of the things we got now :) Not being able to choose what we can get actually makes us healthier because we don’t get our same old favorites, and we are getting more variety in our diet, plus I can’t wait to get creative cooking all these items. Everything is delicious and locally grown in south florida, which really means something, it has not traveled from another country and is not days old already when you get it (like the supermarkets). MUCH HEALTHIER. It costs $ 33 per week for a family share, which is a very good deal, the same produce in whole foods would cost $ 50+ and would not be locally grown in south florida or picked the day before. The veggies you get are huge (for example the scallions I got today were so big, I’ve never seen them this big in any supermarket). They also offer on their website for you to buy extra items to pick up with your share. I got some zucchini because I want to use them in one of my favorite dishes. pretty convenient so I love that option! I also signed up for an egg share. This cost me 6.50/week, which is slightly higher than what the greenwise organic eggs I have gotten before at publix, but it’s worth it to me to know that the hens are treated humanely and fed the right diet and come from a farm in miami. Plus it’s convenient to pick it up with our family share of veggys. I will not get into how badly the hens who lay the non-​organic eggs you see in the supermarkets are treated :*(Another thing I love about this CSA is that they are very organized with the email distribution list, good customer service, and all orders are done online. The only thing I wish the online system had was a way to save my credit card #, that would be convenient for the weekly add on options. In terms of the pick up locations, there are multiple, but may not be convenient for everyone. I noticed that they don’t have a west kendall drop off, and a lot of people live there (closest in kendall is dadeland). I currently live in cutler ridge, so I signed up to pick it up in the redlands at the farm (there was also a location in palmetto bay, but i thought the farm would be the same distance and we could avoid the $ 3 delivery fee… well actually I learned today that palmetto bay is much closer, but oh well lol). Everything was kept in a walk in refrigerator (not sure if the other pick up locations would have this), so I was happy for that. They also offer a box of «extras» where you can take something else not in the shares or put something back you don’t want. They didn’t have one this week but I’m certainly excited for that! Well, what are the negatives? I don’t really see any from my perspective, but some other people might not like pre-​paying for the 20 weeks (they use that money to actually grow the produce), if you go out of town you have to try and give or sell your share to someone else, and if for some reason the crop does not grow well, you lose out (I don’t really see this happening since it’s from like 6+ different florida farms, plus with their customer service I’m sure they would do something to make up for it). Some CSAs expect the members to actually do some of the work, but not this one. Also I can imagine that some people don’t like not being able to choose what they get, but for me that’s a plus :) I’m so glad to have found this CSA! I will update again once the season goes on.
update ¹⁄₆ — we have been getting food from the CSA for six weeks now and still love it! the food is amazing, always fresh and delicious, the eggs are the best tasting ever. the owner is also very friendly and flexible and will give out free advice on gardening

The love and dedication by this family and all whom are involved with Bee Heaven is alive and well. How lucky for South Florida to have what they offer and inspire through their ongoing smart doings with the Farm in Redland FL.

For most members of the public, their only encounter with Bee Heaven will be at farmer’s markets in Miami-​Dade County. For a lucky few (and I’m one!), membership in the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group will get them a box of organic fruits and vegetables from South Florida organic sources during the November-​April growing season. Egg and honey shares are available too. One box I received this year had Florida sea salt! (who knew?) The CSA shares can either be picked up at the farm, or at various delivery sites in Miami-​Dade, Broward and the Keys.
During the summer, weekly emails list what summer fruits are available for purchase at the farm. Just sign up on the web site for notifications. This week I picked up two varieties of carambola (starfruit), passionfruit, longans (like small leechees) and tropical fruit honey. There are almost always avacados available in the summer.
Keep in mind that this is not a tourist attraction. It is a working farm, with the associated dirt roads, mud, bugs, etc. Don’t wear your dancing shoes.

bee heaven farm & redland organics teamed up to offer south florida’s only CSA (to my knowledge). what is a CSA you might be wondering… well CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.
«This is in essence a partnership between the farm and a community of supporting members. CSA members make a commitment up front to support the farm throughout the season. Their fees help pay for the costs of running the farm and growing the food. In return, the farm provides a direct supply of seasonal fresh produce.»
20 weeks of fresh, tasty, locally grown, completely organic fruits and veggies… seriously, what more can you want??? and even though the farm is located in the redlands, they have convenient pick-​ups all over miami.
last week we got in our box…
green beans
cabbage
romaine lettuce
scallions
acorn squash
hamlin oranges
hon tsai tai
grape tomatoes
lula avocados
tatsoi
this is has been one of the greatest discoveries for us. i waited awhile to write the review and i’m confident they deserve 5 stars. i was worried at first about the veggies i’ve never heard of, and to be honest, it’s forced me to try things i wouldn’t necessarily buy… and the most surprising thing, i love it all. everything is so fresh and tasty. you really can taste the difference.
they even provide a egg and honey service, as well as a newsletter every week with pictures of the items and recipes.