I'm having a hard time putting down the fork long enough to write this column.

The harvest has started to come in and I am in summer food heaven.Corn on the cob, heirloom tomatoes, sweet peas, creamy new potatoes, fresh berries. I have grown up with a vegetable garden and for the past few years, the Wonderful Husband has done an amazing job of growing our own veggies, but when we sat down to plan things out for this year, we both realized that we didn't have it in us to garden this year. We made a halfhearted stab at a few porch tomato plants and after forgetting to water them for a week, that ended that.Even though we both pass several farm stands on our commutes, we have yet to coordinate that effort well, ending up with two dozen ears of corn one night and none another night. So, this year, we tried something new to sustain our vegetable cravings. We joined a CSA.If you are not familiar with a CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, you should be! It is better than Christmas in July and it comes every week!When you join a CSA, you are buying a share of a local farm's produce for the year. In my book, this is winning all around, because you know you are getting local, fresh produce, and you are also supporting your local farmer.In case you haven't seen the bumper sticker, farms equal food. Buying into a CSA is a fantastic way to "think globally and act locally."I first heard about CSAs from some of my more suburban friends, as they posted pictures of exotic squashes on Facebook and asked if anyone knew what it was and how to cook it.I was surprised to find out that we have several options locally. We purchased our share through Liz Leiby, who continues operating a farm that has been in her family for generations. The Leiby family farm is located in the Lewistown Valley, and we've been patrons of Leiby's farm stand for years, but buying the share of the CSA upfront and scheduling a veggie pickup weekly seemed like a more reliable way to get our veggie fix.The magic of the CSA happens when you pick up your weekly share. It is just like Christmas morning. I have no idea from week to week what goodies are going to show up. I mean, I do have some idea, since we had our own garden, of what's coming into season, but it all depends on what she's harvesting this week. The kids have started to share in the excitement, hoping for their favorite things and excited to try new ones.It has been a great educational tool for them, as well. For one thing, if a food is not a family favorite, we tend not to plant a lot of it in our own garden. Additionally, it usually takes me a year or two to figure out how new crops respond to our soil and weather, so the first few harvests of something new are usually not that great.However, when a giant bunch of kale and some red beets showed up in the box, we had to figure out a way to use them. We tried our hand at kale chips, which two out of three children approved of (No. 3 likened it to eating salty paper), and we are going to be throwing a batch of red beet cupcakes into the oven tonight! Regardless of how they turn out, everyone has pledged to at least try them.What's in the box has also triggered a discussion of the weather. Recently, we were notified that the peaches in our box were supplemented by another farm, because of cold weather crop damage earlier in the year. The kids are suddenly paying a lot more attention to how much rain we're getting and wondering how the extreme heat of late will affect what comes in the box.We've managed to start converting self-proclaimed "meat-a-tarian" G into more of an omnivore. He was a little dismayed to discover that the bread he was scarfing down was loaded with zucchini, but has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of more so we can try a chocolate cake recipe he found. The whole family has pronounced zucchini fritters "dessert" instead of dinner.The generous amounts and the variety of veggies challenge me to do more than just slice them up or steam them before serving, although we do our fair share of that as well. It's been a fun way to gather recipes and review them with the kids, who almost always want to take the dessert option, if there is one. We've created some fun challenges, like can we make an entire meal out of what's in the box alone.The one thing I do miss about our garden is getting the kids involved in the whole process. I think it's a lot harder to refuse to eat that helping of peas when they've planted them, weeded them, picked them, and shelled them themselves. But until we are ready to dig back into the dirt in our own garden, the CSA is definitely the next best thing.Liz Pinkey is a contributing writer to the Times News. Her column appears weekly in our Saturday feature section.