Growing isn't enough

I started my farm because I loved growing vegetables and sharing them with people. However, it soon became apparent that if I wanted to keep doing this, and pay people to help me, I would need to make some money. This was a steep learning curve. Many people start a small business without knowing much about marketing their product or service. They are good at cutting hair, or tutoring kids, or gardening, but don't know much about selling. This was definitely the case for me. 

So how do we sell our veg?

I decided that I didn't want to sell to restaurants as I wanted to grow food for everyday consumption, not specialised food for special occasions that many people couldn't afford. I also didn't want to do farmer's markets as I have kids and wanted to spend time with them on the weekends. I didn't want to take veggies to market and then bring them home again unsold, wilted and only fit for the compost bin. A CSA (community supported agriculture) seemed just the thing for me. Veg is ordered and paid for before it is harvested, and mostly before it is even grown. There is no waste as the box size can be adjusted from one week to the next to meet the current harvest, and the excess can still be sold to local retailers or through one-off orders, but doesn't have to be if there is no excess that week. 

Still to come

Next time I will talk about my favourite and least favourite crops to grow on the farm. 

This week's recipe links

Vegetable Pasta Bake from BBC Food. 

Pickled Red Onions from Love & Lemons. 

Tzatziki from Cookie & Kate. 

Quick & Easy Refrigerator Pickles from Once Upon a Chef. 

More info

To read more about what's happening on our local organic farm this week as we grow and care for veggies for our box delivery, check out this week's newsletter here.