Posts Tagged ‘compost tea’

Worms and CSA

The last couple of weeks I have been spending lots of time marketing for my initial CSA season which starts the first week in May and runs through October (6 months, 26 weeks).  I made a brochure with pictures and all the information that I have been handing out to anyone that is interested as well as just talking about it as much as possible and explaining the idea to everybody I know.  I am looking for about 20 members and so far I only have 5 signed up so I’m really pushing to get more members on board.   I had a marketing booth this last Saturday at the Goleta Earthday festival and will be at the Santa Barbara downtown Earthday festival this coming Saturday as well.

As far as logistics go for the CSA here is what I’ve decided on, members are required to pay upfront for at least 4 weeks at a time. If they pay 3 months upfront they get 5% off and if all 6 months are paid upfront they get a 10% discount.  The cost is $25 per week for on farm Monday evening pick up or $30 per week and I will deliver to your house on Fridays.  It is a good value as long as you enjoy eating fresh seasonal vegetables.  I know there are plenty of potential customers in the area it is just a matter of finding these people and getting them to understand the benefits of CSA membership.  I’m really encouraging all members to visit the farm, walk the fields, talk with myself, and see where and how their food is grown.  Since this is a relatively small and new farm I feel that a big benefit of being a part of my CSA as opposed to others in the area is that it will offer a very personal experience where members actually have the opportunity to get to know their farmer and be a part of the food growing process.  I know this is not for everyone but hopefully I can find enough people that will value this type of experience.

Other than that I have been spending lots of time in the field getting summer crops planted and taking care of everything else I got going on.  Its been and will be a lot of work but I am enjoying every step so far and am really excited about the coming season.

One more thing I wanted to mention was the  vermiculture operation that I began to set up at the farm last week.  I’ve had a worm bin at my house for the last two years that I use to turn food scraps into a rich worm casting compost that I feed plants with.  I make tea out of the castings (worm poop) then foliar feed and soak the roots of any and all plants.  After experimenting with this stuff the last couple years in my backyard on the small scale I have been convinced time and time again that this stuff is miraculous and I recommend any gardener or farmer to set up a system of their own.  Their is all sorts of information online and in books, I recommend Dr. Elaine Ingham’s the Compost Tea Brewing Manual.  The basic idea is to set up a bin where worms can thrive and multiple and have plenty of food to eat which they will turn into a rich dark casting that you then harvest and brew into a liquid tea for feeding plants.

Example CSA share and farm shot:

Worm bin Set-up:[nggallery id=164]

Spring Rain