Along with tender young greens and tiny red tomatoes, Karen Ehrens read the poetic reflections of the man who worked under the hot North Dakota sun to grow them for her.

The poetry was a bonus from Jay "The Farmer" Basquiat of Mandan, who sold shares to his garden last summer and will again this year. Basquiat is a local pioneer in what's called "community supported agriculture," a concept that's well entrenched in other states and showing tender shoots here.

Community supported agriculture is a long handle for a short shovel. Gardeners pre-sell shares of their produce and deliver the goods to shareholders throughout the growing season. Gardener and shareholder are partners. They share the risk of hail and the rights to the bounty.

Basquiat says he's never learned so much as he did last summer, when he struggled to consistently grow enough produce for the 25 shareholders who signed up and paid ahead of time.

This spring he'll be back in a CSA garden, but in a different location. It's one he expects will be more productive and less prone to damage from cattle and deer, and where he won't have to wage a disheartening battle against pigeon grass.

He's also shortening up the delivery season by two weeks and offering half shares to folks who want garden produce every other week, rather than weekly.

A 14-week share will cost $389, and a seven-week share will cost $195 for up to a full bushel of six to 12 varieties of produce, from spring's leafy lettuces to fall's corn and squash.

"I've gotten the kinks out of the system," he said. "I wish I had just done farmers market for the first year. A CSA is like the graduate program."

Still, he's willing to give it another go because he believes more people, rather than fewer, should produce food. He believes food should spend fewer hours in a refrigerated truck and more in native soil and sunlight.

Ehrens said she and her husband Bruce rushed to sign up because they don't have much gardening space in their yard. They were eager to support the concept and help it take root, so to speak.

She is a dietitian and her husband is a chef for St. Alexius Medical Center. To them, the food pyramid is not a crypt in Egypt.

Over the summer and into fall, Basquiat delivered 30 varieties of produce to the Ehrens and other shareholders.

Ehrens said the quantity and the variety - some new and unusual like Japanese hakurei turnips - were part of the experience. There was a memorable week when she said, "What? No more radishes?"

Seeing Basquiat's face and talking with him weekly reminded her that growing food is not as easy as going to the store and buying what's available. His struggles were hers, but so was the direct relationship from garden to table.

"Knowing the farmer reduces the unknowns," she said.

The couple will buy a half-share from Basquiat this year so that they also can support growers who bring produce to farmers markets in town, she said.

Ehrens is associated with the state Department of Agriculture's Going Local North Dakota food initiative, a relatively new program intended to enhance locally grown food for individual and commercial consumption.

Like a well-rounded plate, Ehrens speaks as a woman who prepares her own food, as one who advises others on nutrition and as an advocate for the food initiative.

"Over 90 percent of North Dakota's land is used for farming and ranching. Whether we're feeding the world or our neighbors, there's room for all kinds of agriculture here," she said.

Basquiat said he made a little money last year, living in a camper alongside his garden, gardening the old-fashioned way, without chemicals and fertilizers.

He said he needs at least 20 shareholders for this year's garden and also hopes to sell produce weekly at Urban Harvest and the Kmart lot sale.

The locally grown movement is growing in North Dakota, row by row, consumer by consumer.

"People are excited about local food," he said.

Anyone who wants more information about Basquiat's garden can visit his Web site at http://web.me.com/basketsofplenty/.