Make Money from an Organic Garden

Sell Fresh Produce through Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA

Jan 26, 2009

Organic gardeners who harvest more than they can eat may earn an income by starting a CSA program. CSA members share both the bounty and risks of the small farm.

Organic gardeners familiar with community supported agriculture, or CSA programs, may envision a large-scale operation that serves hundreds or even thousands of families in a community. In fact, one can define “community” in several ways, and the community served might only be as large as a neighborhood or group of friends. Any organic gardener with a continuous overabundance of fresh produce can consider starting a CSA to make a profit from his harvest.

Developing a Customer Base

Sharing homegrown produce with a community is exciting, and gardeners eager to get the word out may become victims of their own exuberance. Start up CSA programs are most successful when they grow slowly, and a trial year with fewer than 10 participating families or members is advisable. This prevents the harried gardener from rushing to the farmer’s market to supplement a paltry harvest of two carrots per member during a week when nothing else was ripe. Allow the CSA membership to expand in subsequent years via word of mouth, as time and growing space allows.

Setting a Price for Organic Produce

Gardeners who have sold produce at a farmer’s market or even given away their excess garden produce in the past must adopt a new mindset when beginning a CSA program. Unlike the traditional farmer’s market, where consumers pay one time for the goods they purchase, the community supported agriculture concept demands upfront payment for the promise of goods throughout the season.

The CSA philosophy is based on commitment: the grower commits to providing fresh, organic produce throughout the growing season, and the consumer commits to sharing the risks all farmers face. This commitment nurtures the grower when he faces crop failure due to weather, pests, or other acts of nature.

Gardeners may price their produce by the pound, or by the box. Growers shouldn’t undervalue their product, even though the customer base may be mostly friends and families. Prices can vary according to region, and the local grocery store provides a good pricing gauge.

Choosing Vegetable Varieties for the CSA Program

Deciding what to grow is one of the most fun aspects of running a CSA program. Most seasoned gardeners already have a feel for what grows well in their region, and these choices will surely have a place in the planting schedule. Gardeners may also add some prolific, easy-to-grow vegetables, even if they aren’t personal favorites.

Fresh herbs are so easy to grow, yet expensive in traditional supermarkets, so add some annual varieties like basil, dill, and parsley to the planting schedule. Gardeners can also harvest herbs throughout the season, so they make good fillers when other crops are sparse.

Always include some unusual heirloom vegetables in the plot. Tomatoes like ‘Brandywine’ or ‘Besser’ cherry are obvious choices, but customers may not realize the myriad of eggplant or melon varieties one can enjoy from a home garden. Many of these delicacies are too fragile to ship, so the only way the customer will ever learn the subtle difference between a ‘Noir des Carmes’ melon and an ‘Emerald Gem’ melon is to acquire them through a CSA program, or to grow them at home.

The copyright of the article Make Money from an Organic Garden in Organic Farming is owned by Jamie McIntosh. Permission to republish Make Money from an Organic Garden in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.