Making hay while the sun shines….

This summer has been flying by, I can hardly believe its already August.  With my schedule these days I hardly have time to think, I guess its like my dad says….“you gotta make hay while the sun shines”.  Well I’ve had my head down and hands in the dirt making as much hay as possible.

Here is a breakdown of my weekly schedule the last month and this is what it will be through October when I end the CSA.  Monday is CSA day where I am harvesting from 6am - 2 getting the 20 shares ready for my members that come by the farm at 3pm (I have consistently been paying a guy to help with harvest on Mondays).  Tuesday is a field day where I tackle as much fieldwork as possible because Wednesday through Friday I am off chasing markets.  Wednesday morning is another big harvest where I try to cut and pick as much as possible for the 3 markets (also have been getting paid help this day).  Thursday morning I harvest more produce for market, depending on how much I sold on Wednesday, and take care of any pending fieldwork.  Friday morning is another market and then Friday afternoon I rest and or play.  Saturday and Sunday mornings I harvest early then set up an on farm honor system stand that runs from 10am-6pm both days.  The stand is great because I can get it set up then either take care of work that needs to be done, or, if I’m lucky, get a little more rest or playtime in. Monday it all starts over.

Part of the commitment to this blog was breaking down my financials each month so here we go:

Farm Expense: rent: $400, water: $150, labor: $400, gas: $200, miscellaneous: $400 (this varies a lot) = $1,550

Personal Living Expense: food, rent, utilities, phone, health insurance etc.. = $2,500

Income: CSA: $2000, Farmers Markets: $2000 (averaging 150-200 per market) Honor stand: 400 (average $50 each day) = $4,400

The last two months I’ve actually had my bank account increase a little which is a really good feeling….

Here are some shots the produce, my farmers market booth, and the last couple weeks of CSA shares….enjoy.

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