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A friend has a piece of land that would be perfect for growing a BIG


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garden. She's pondering starting a food co-op for veggies, fruits, fresh flowers, and herbs next summer. She wanted me to ask you ladies if you've ever heard of anyone doing this. She has two wells on the land and as long as they don't go dry, she's got water access. How do you figure out what to charge people? Or should she just rent out spaces for people to grow their own gardens? You know there are many people living in the city today and don't have land for growing gardens (I'm one of them, our land is terrible and small.) Your thoughts, ideas, advice are welcome.

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garden. She's pondering starting a food co-op for veggies, fruits, fresh flowers, and herbs next summer. She wanted me to ask you ladies if you've ever heard of anyone doing this. She has two wells on the land and as long as they don't go dry, she's got water access. How do you figure out what to charge people? Or should she just rent out spaces for people to grow their own gardens? You know there are many people living in the city today and don't have land for growing gardens (I'm one of them, our land is terrible and small.) Your thoughts, ideas, advice are welcome.

 

 

CSA = Community Supported Agriculture

 

Farms that operate as CSAs do exactly what your friend is thinking of doing. But, I have to offer fair warning: What she's talking about is a full time proposition. You can't just "whip out" a whole season's worth of crops from a piece of land, regardless of how perfect it might be, without a whole lot of WORK (I know this, trust me). And, if she doesn't actually live on the property, then the work just got even more complicated. I'm not saying it's not possible. What I am saying is that farming seems pretty no-brainer until you do it for a season or several, and you realize just how complicated it really is to get a bounty of produce out of the soil.

 

So, if she's still ready to dive in, suggest that she start small, with only a few subscribers and a handful of folks who will work in exchange for their "share". Build up slowly, and it just might work. There are some very successful CSAs in the country, and they are a wonderful gift for their communities.

 

As for the rented land/community garden idea -- again, possible -- maybe even more realistic than the CSA concept. But, getting people to pay money for a piece of land that they don't own which they then have to DRIVE to get to in order to tend their plot...well, there are so many variables, but I'd say mostly it would depend on just how urban the surrounding areas are, and just how far a drive you're talking about. Growing produce "off site" is tricky, imo.

 

I don't mean to sound pessimistic. I think having an available piece of land is a terrific thing, and wanting to share that somehow in her community is equally grand. I just know there are some real hurdles to making what seem to be simple, helpful concepts actually fly in today's culture where the grocery store is always such a fierce siren.

 

HTH and doesn't dampen your/her enthusiasm entirely. Just trying to be realistic for you.:001_unsure:

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