Frequently Asked Questions:
- What is a CSA?
- What is Permaculture?
- What is the role of permaculture in our garden plan?
- Can I participate if I do not have a backyard?
- Can I still work in my garden?
- What is an "Owner Member " Installation?
- How do you distribute the produce?
- How will you water the garden?
- Do you test for toxins in my back yard to make sure growing is safe?
- Will you manage our compost pile?
- What is sustainable food production?
- What materials do you use for pathways?
- Lots of leaves fall into our garden. Is this OK?
- We would like to have a garden but do not like pulling weeds. Is this OK?
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) consists of a group of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation. Members share in the abundance of what is produced. It is a good model for building community and connecting people with the food they eat and the people who grow that food. We are unique in that we grow food in your back yard and other yards throughout the city.
Permaculture is a set of sustainable design principles stressing the harmonious interrelationship of humans, plants, animals and the earth. Permaculture in your backyard looks like: organic techniques, heirloom vegetables, seed saving, water conservation, native plants, a model for the 21st century.
What is the role of permaculture in our garden plan?Permaculture looks at the interrelationships in your garden. It helps to create a garden that mimics a natural ecosystem. In such a system the needs of one part of the garden are satisfied by the outputs of another part of the garden. For example, a compost pile needs water and gives off warmth. Germinating seeds need warmth and drip off excess water. By placing a germination table over the compost pile the pile can warm the seeds and the seeds can water the compost.
Can I participate if I do not have a backyard?
Yes. If you do not have a yard you can receive a CSA style box of fresh local vegetables each week. We ask what vegetables you like and grow them just for you. Your vegetables will be grown in a backyard garden near your home. You will also share in the abundance grown in other gardens.
Can I still work in my garden?
Yes. You are welcome to work in your garden as much or as little as you please. We will be working in your garden once a week. While we are there you can help, watch and ask questions to learn what we are doing.
What is an "Owner Member " Installation?
Owner Member Installations are for people who are interested in us growing enough vegetables for themselves and other neighbors. Owner members get discounted membership depending on the size of their garden.
How do you distribute the produce?
Most of your produce will come from your backyard garden (talk about the local food movement). Your farmer may bring produce from other gardens in your immediate area to add to your basket. If you are an Owner Member and we produce a second basket of vegetables from your garden we will arrange a pick up spot, ideally your doorstep. If you do not have a garden you will pick up your CSA box from a nearby farm in your neighborhood.
How will you water the garden?
We install drip irrigation systems that automatically water the vegetables. Drip irrigation is good because it saves water in many ways; there is little evaporation loss because the water goes directly into the soil near the plants. Drip irrigation also prevents plant leaves from getting wet which can cause health problems for some vegetable crops.
Do you test for toxins in my back yard to make sure growing is safe?
Absolutely! Before installing a backyard vegetable garden we perform a thorough soil test and share the results with you. The soil test results give us the following information: pH, buffer pH, extractable nutrients, extractable heavy metals (e.g. lead), cation exchange capacity, and percent base saturation. We use this information to determine whether the soil in your garden is safe to grow in and also to determine what nutrient and pH adjustments need to be made. If there are toxicity issues in the soil we can work with you to fix them. We will not install a vegetable garden until the soil is safe.
Will you manage our compost pile?
Yes. Managing your compost is included in our service and is an important part of what we do to help make farming sustainable. Currently, most green waste is trucked far away where it is turned into finished compost using industrial machinery. The finished compost is then trucked to organic farms where tractors plow it into the soil. Next, the vegetables are trucked back into the city. It is a system that uses a lot of energy. We do this same process right in your back yard. We manage green waste in a compost system, turning it into rich dark finished compost. We use this to amend your vegetable beds and grow delicious vegetables. When the vegetables are ready for harvest they are carried across your garden to your house in the arms of a caring farmer.
What is sustainable food production?
Sustainable food production requires no inputs and no outputs. Think of a forest. In the fall, leaves from the trees fall and litter the ground. The leaves break down on the forest floor and release nutrients into the soil. Trees use these nutrients in the soil to grow. The forest does not need fertilizer trucked in or leaves trucked out. Like a forest, a sustainable food system is efficient, it requires few inputs or outputs.
What materials do you use for pathways?
We use whatever material you feel is most appropriate. We like using woodchips for many reasons. They are clean, look nice, suppress weeds, and the underneath layer will break down into nice rich compost to amend you garden beds. We use woodchips from local treetrimmers and divert them from going into the waste stream.
Lots of leaves fall into our garden. Is this OK?
Yes. Leaves make good mulch, keep moisture in the soil, provide nutrients, and inhibit weed growth.
We would like to have a garden but do not like pulling weeds. Is this OK?
Yes. You are not required to work in the garden. We weed and tend the garden each week so you don't have to.
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