New Year, New Goals!

This year I've decided I really want to run a small CSA out of my yard. I have more than enough produce to share, plus I have eggs and honey and herbs, and I'm excited about sharing them.

What's a CSA? It stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and it's a model where people buy a "share" at the beginning of the season, and the farmer promises a share of the produce on a preset schedule, whether weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Customers may pick up the produce at the farm, or the farmer may deliver, or they may have a predetermined delivery point for all customers. In general, CSA's charge from $16-$30 per weekly share of produce amounting to a box of various items totalling about a weekly produce allotment for a family of four. By getting the money up front, the farmer gains enough money before the season starts to help with the acquisition of seeds, plants, tools, and other items to grow the food without having to wait until harvest time. Customers share in some of the realistic risks of farming; if wet weather wipes out the tomato crop, or if scorching heat kills the lettuce crop early, there's nothing either the farmer or customer can do about it. In return for shouldering some of the risk, the customer gets absolutely fresh, flavorful local produce from a local farmer with whom they can develop a personal relationship. They also usually get more unusual produce than can be easily found at a grocery story, sometimes get a say in what's planted, and often get recipes for using the current produce. Often customers can visit the farm and see for themselves the methods used for growing their food, and be assured of their good farming practices (often organic, though not always.)

In our part of the country, CSA's are gaining popularity along with backyard poultry and eating locally. I first started hearing about them maybe 10 years ago, in the Puget Sound area. I am not much of a vegetable eater and at the time I lived alone, so I never researched it much or thought about it, but I did hear from friends who had shares and loved it. I'm still not much of a vegetable eater, but I love to grow edibles, so I want to grow and share them with others!

Towards the goal of having a CSA this year, I have signed up for a class at the local Extension office, and I'm extremely excited. It's about the economic and legal realities of farming, from small to large scale. 10 weeks, 3 hours per week, and I'm really pleased that it will be done just about in time for me to start in with my Big Plans. In fact, I should be able to have some of my legal questions answered in the first few weeks and really lay the ground work. The good news is, I know that there are not a lot of issues with selling raw, un-processed produce off my land. I know I can legally sell eggs from my home (not off my property) with no license other than a state business license, which I have. It's about the same thing with un-processed produce, but that I can even take and sell off my property! Sweet! My biggest concerns include making sure I'm jumping through all the legal hoops for the USDA or whomever else might care, and making sure that I'm covered in the unlikely event of someone deciding they need to sue me for something. (I'm pragmatic that way.)

I'm in the process of trying to figure out how many "shares" my property will support. I just learned of a woman who does a 3-share CSA off a city lot, and I know I harvest a lot more than I could off a city lot, so I'm thinking probably 5-8 shares to leave enough for me to give some to the food bank, keep some for processing myself, and give some to my family. I'm also trying to decide what's most worthwhile for planting as annual crops this year; I've decided corn is out and eggplants are in, for example. It's all a big learning process!

I'm also contemplating starting up with the local farmers' market, depending on their requirements and the fees involved. Laying in bed the other night, I was thinking idly about the things my husband and I grow or make that I could sell legally at the market (until I get a commercial kitchen, I cannot sell baked or canned goods, darn it.) Glass and metal jewelry. Aprons. Bird, bat, mason bee, bumblebee, and butterfly houses. Hummingbird, woodpecker, and small bird feeders. Bee hives! Honey and beeswax. Eggs. Ornaments made from eggs! Vegetables of all sorts. Herbs of all sorts. Blueberries, honeyberries, raspberries, boysenberries, marionberries, quince, peaches, apples, almonds, hazelnuts, and cherries all grow in our yard too, though we won't have much yield on most of the trees for a few more years yet. I could start a farm store! Which is kind of odd, since I actually live in town... Looking forward to seeing what this year brings!