Gauteng Smallholder December 2015-January 2016 | Page 38

VEGETABLES
From page 35

CSA, you also need to
understand why your
potential customers would
want to pay up front for an
entire season's worth of
produce. These are the
advantages that you can use
to encourage their buy-in:
K Ultra-fresh, locally grown
produce: This is by far the
leading reason for participating in CSA. Smallholders give
their members the very best
of their produce, and many
even offer flowers, honey,
eggs, and more.
Unique varieties are often
given to CSA members before
others, as well as test types of
produce that the grower is
thinking of growing for a
larger market. In short, CSA
members get the best of the
best that a smallholding has to
offer.
K Learn about new vegetables and fruits: Members
never know what might show
up in their box. Well, with
most growers they have a

K Relationship with the
growers: CSA membership
involves some relationship to
a small farm that one often
didn't have before. Knowing a
person and their specific
situation can be a real eyeopener, especially if your
"relationship to a farmer" has
been limited to that of singing
"Old MacDonald Had a
Farm."
K Access to special buys:
Smallholders can offer
seasonal deals to their CSA
It's a connection to the land and the
members. Boxes of tomatoes
to can, a neighbour farmer's
seasons that is rare for urban
grass-fed beef, are perks of
dwellers, and immensely satisfying
CSA.
fairly good idea because they seasons ~ and the weather
K Invitations to memberskeep the members informed. of each particular season ~ in only u-picks at the plot:
Still, CSAs have a way of
your area. Many CSA boxes
Smallholdings can hold
getting people to try new
come with newsletters, which members-only pick-your-own
things simply because they
often explain field conditions, events for high-demand
are presented with them in
why the smallholder is
produce in peak season.
the box.
harvesting something early or \