Are you familiar with the concept of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)? This allows a farmer to contract with local families, selling "shares" of produce, eggs, meat - whatever that particular farmer has - for weekly delivery. There are probably as many variations on the idea as there are farmers, but that's the gist of it. Through no planning on our part - definitley divine intervention - we may be in the beginning stages of our very own CSA!
When I realized that the Farmers' Market was not going to open on June 5th, as I'd imagined, I began to go into survival mode - how to keep Big John from killing me for convincing him to expand the garden exponentially. Of course, I'd need to sell the extra, but how? When I emailed all those who'd shown interest in the market, to let them know it was still in progress, but moving more slowly than I'd expected, I got so many replies from people wanting to buy our surplus. As we worked out details and began to discuss the particulars, a couple of these customers brought up the concept of contracting with us and receiving weekly deliveries. Some had prior experience with CSAs in other locations, some had just heard of them and were interested. We now have 4 individuals/families in line, and 3 others interested. Big John and I are devouring all the information we can get. The current garden may become a dedicated herb garden - or test garden - or greenhouse. The main garden may go out front of the house. A new well is now more likely than not, which will allow us to irrigate a garden, as well as grass we've been waiting to plant - waiting on a 100% chance of rain! The new grass will enable me to feed calves, a dream I've had for many years. Big things are happening on the farm - or at least in our imaginations! The possibilities are endless - Carancahua Creek CSA. Who would've thunk it?
Want to know more about CSAs? Check out http://www.localharvest.org/ and http://www.homesweetfarm.com/. There may be a CSA near you! Eat fresh, eat local.
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