We're starting the race to the end of the year. There are 6 weeks left in the CSA season, and like last year, I don't have a clear idea of when we'll start back up in 2021.
Here are the factors I'm juggling:
I've run up against the physical limits of what I can do in a given day, week, month and year. It'll take everything I have to get the new strawberry space off the ground. So I know that next year, with the exception of strawberries and possibly garlic, anything in the CSA won't be grown personally by me.
I do have a great group of people, and they've expressed interest in starting their own growing spaces under my mentorship. So if we can find enough space, I'll probably be able to have satellite locations that grow using no-spray methodologies feeding into the CSA. I've got the quarter acre or so in Austell, I'm talking with someone about a location in Buckhead, and I'm still looking for a space out towards Loganville.
Any satellite location will have to start up from scratch in the spring, so if the CSA comes back before April, it'll be with other farmers. And that's the key piece of information I'm still missing. Out of the farmers I partner with, only Local Lands is going to be growing through the winter. I'm nervous to only have one source, so I need to sit down and have a long conversation with Asa and EliYahu to figure out whether it makes sense to work with them for a February or March CSA start.
Regardless, I'm planning to come back with the farm stand in February, so you'll have access to winter produce. There may not be as much selection, but I'll be there!
