Below is a pic of my Dad who was a great help with weeding.
I am very happy with the season; it has far exceeded my expectations for my first year. I'm happy with my ability to maintain a constant supply of veggies for my csa customers, although I had one mishap where I didn't keep the succession planting of lettuce going so ran out of salad mix a couple of weeks ago. I was aware I should have been planting but with the rash of visitors and too much going on let it slip. I won't let that happen next year!
Also, the Gibsons farmer's market has been booming! This is due in part to a program sponsored by the BC Gov that gives coupons, only eligible at participating farmers' markets, and only eligible for fresh produce (no crafts or baked goods), to specific groups that apply. I gather there are two groups that were successful in the Gibsons area: a mothers and tots group and a low-income support group. This is huge for our market because we are the only place on the coast people can use their coupons (the Sechelt market is, surprisingly, not members of the Farmers Market Association). As you can imagine all us produce vendors are running out of produce each and every Saturday! For me it is a really nice boost for my first year of business. Of course, I'm kicking myself for not planting more as I could be making more money each week if I had - oh well, it is better than the alternative; having too much produce and not being able to sell it!
Here are a couple of pics of the farm taken a couple of days ago, I regularly get people stopping and telling me what a beautiful garden I have! It is a bonus in so many ways having this space but a big one is that it is so visible. All my other spaces are in backyards so nobody gets to see them.
One of the neighbours at the farm is Linda and Gabrielle who operate The Green Room. They are wonderful people who have become friends. Linda has been so supportive and helped me with great advice over the past year as I struggled to get going. Their farm is fabulous and has a big commercial greenhouse that is heavenly to walk into. Right now their greenhouse is overflowing with tomatoes, green peppers and cucumbers. Below is just one row of gorgeous tomatoes.
Below is a picture of my csa pickup station. This doesn't show everything because Paul took it while I was still setting up but gives an idea of how I operate. Everything is laid out in tubs and customers are given their produce as they arrive. I'm planning, as the membership grows, to have a similar system but there will be a chalkboard indicating what people can help themselves to each week. Other large csa programs have everything prepackaged in boxes for pickup but I really like showing the abundance of produce before it is taken away. Though, unfortunately, the people who come later in the day miss out on that which is too bad!
And here is me, dirty and sweaty from working in the garden, showing off my first crop of tomatoes! :o)
