I keep thinking that once the fruit trees and asparagus are in full production I'd like to offer a mini-CSA to people at work. I work in a hospital, and egg sales are great. I think that if I approached folks with a nice flyer (I plan on being very selective!) I could get all the business I could handle. I wouldn't get rich, but it could pay for seed, etc.. Then the other voice in my head says "Are you crazy, you can't keep up as it is!!" I could always take extra produce in and give it away, or even sell sweet corn by the dozen, or blueberries, I suppose. Have any of you tried anything like this? (I live alone and work full-time, plus OT when I have to, so I don't see any help with this). Love to hear your thoughts.
Interesting question HilltopDaisy. I've been dealing with similar issues. DW and I discussed possibly doing a CSA or selling to one but are focusing on items which have longer shelve lives and allow us flexibility (both of us work full time). We are doing well with our honey business and are starting to experiment with making lip balm and other added value products. We are also looking at garlic (I want to do holiday wreaths out of braided garlic.....should be an interesting gift) as well as wreaths out of broom corn. We have plantings of both for 2004 that are large enough to experiment and do some sales but won't strain us if things don't work out. For the output of our fruit trees we sell word of mouth and will probably put a sign out like we did for honey this year. Mike
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. I'll give you a condensed explaination: a farmer sells "shares" of his yet-to-be-planted produce. Maybe a share goes for $100. Each week, the person recieves a bag of fresh produce. In spring, it may contain lettuce, asparagus, peas, or whatever the grower harvests in the spring months. Later it may be broccoli, squash, tomatoes, corn, peppers, etc.. A family may wish to buy 3 or 4 shares. You might get eggs or apples or blueberries, it depends on what is available. If you know ahead of time that you've sold 20 shares, you can figure out how much to plant. Again, this is just to give you a very general idea of what a CSA is. People will pay for FRESH, local produce, and it sure helps local growers.
