Fresh Organic Produce Co-Op!

Necessity has brought about another project for our family- starting a Produce Co-Op.

I'd been reading up for months now on other blogs about all these great groups that get together for Food Co-Ops but here in Regional South Australia where we are do you think I could find one?? NO! is the short answer.

Anyone would think that I'd be able to find some healthy fresh and local food at a reasonable price but after checking Google to try and find a farmers market or a Co-Op I was disheartened to find NOT ONE in our area and none that were regular and less than 100KM from our home- I'd have to drive for an hour to reach any of them and there was no guarantee there would even be produce at the markets I did find.

So.. I have all this land not in use, we need to eat, other people need to eat; Food is getting more expensive and less healthy for us. So I thought.. "How do Co-Ops' start? I know! I'll start my own!"

I have our own personal veggie patch and the past summer it has grown strawberries, broccoli, spinach, cherry tomatoes, potatoes, cauliflower, rosemary and mint. But this meant I was still buying fruit and some veg like carrots. I hadn't wanted too big a patch because I don't like to be wasteful but if others were joining in and we used our home as the growing center it wouldn't really be able to get "too big" if others were interested in participating. So I called my daddy. And we chatted about it- he was in. So I began to prepare a bigger area for a larger patch figuring if others also wanted to join I'd make another plot to compensate but for now it's just our family and my parents though word is getting out and many people have asked about it now.

I got the area clear and Dad and Mum came over and we built a new patch using weed mat as the base and railway sleepers as the sides to keep the soil in. Then I filled the soil with horse manure, peat, coir block and potting mix. This plot is really big. It could easily grow all our produce. And I bought four more chickens since my elderly hens passed away a few months ago, so we will have free range/barn laid (depends on if I'm home- the foxes are rife here) eggs too. I'm also in the market for fruit trees and trying to find a local dairy who may be interested in selling or swapping small quantities of milk.

Edison and Kicky spent much of the day helping to fill the new plot. They have a child sized wheel barrow and they kept filling it and dumping it. They were filthy, exhausted and very pleased with themselves.

So that's what's going on in our lives right now. We are currently looking into canning and preserving so I can ditch the supermarket altogether except for items like toilet paper if possible. Now THAT would be great. but we shall see. even 75% independence from supermarkets is better than what we have now.

So for anyone out there also struggling to find a decent organic/local Co-Op- why not start your own? It isn't that hard to do provided you have a back yard you can do it! Get together with some friends and everyone grow something different then swap your fruit or vegetable for the others! It's a lot of fun once the initial work is complete (I don't even weed my garden beds and have never had a weed thanks to the weed mat) Just water the plants and harvest the crop. Use Google if you don't know where to start and just take it one step at a time. It is absolutely possible.