Gabriola Island’s Cut Flower CSA for 2021

Welcome to Just Another Weed Patch Farm’s Cut Flower Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscription program on Gabriola Island! We are the first farmer-florists on the island to offer a CSA program to our subscribers and we’re proud of it! WE ARE SOLD OUT FOR 2021! Please contact us in January 2022 to sign up for next years’ subscription!

We are dedicated to growing vibrant, pesticide free cut flowers and filling our CSA buckets with gorgeous stems of blooms and foliage for you to enjoy in your home, place of work or as a gift to someone special. We want to change the way you think about cut flowers, and offer alternatives to the chemical laden, lifeless and imported blooms found in our local retail outlets or conventional florist shops.

Just Another Weed Patch Farm specializes in beautiful, fragrant blooms that express the cycle of our coastal growing season. Our flowers are field grown using sustainable farming practices. We select heritage annuals, biennials and perennials that are rich sources of food for our honeybees and native pollinators.

In 2021 our CSA subscription program will run from April through until the end of September. Subscriptions cost $90 for 4 buckets. Orders are picked up from our farm on Wednesday or Fridays by request. Prepayment is required by February 28, 2021 – etransfer to weedpatch@telus.net as spaces to our CSA are very limited!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Q: What is CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)?

A: CSA is a model that has been implemented by many small farms as a mutually beneficial partnership between the grower and the consumer. The consumer purchases a share of the coming season’s harvest. Typically, the share is paid for well in advance of the season. Consumers receive a good value for fresh, local produce or flowers and an enhanced relationship with their local farm. The farm receives income in the winter months when the seed, plant and supply bills are piling up and other farm income is minimal or non-existent. CSA also provides the farm an important avenue to supply product directly to.

Q: Can I get flowers every other week or once a month?

A: In 2021 we offer a minimum four bucket subscription that you control the frequency of – monthly or weekly! If we have extra flowers available during the week for non subscribers, each returnable bucket costs $25. Members pick up their bucket of blooms from our farm’s driveway flower stand on their preferred dates with a minimum of 48 hours notice by phone or email. Your order will include a bucket brimming with the finest blooms and foliage we have available that week. Take the flowers home, recut the stems and arrange the flowers into one large or several smaller bouquets, for you or someone you love! Contact us for order details weedpatch@telus.net

Q: What do I do if I am going out of town and have to cancel a pick up with less than 24 hrs notice?

A: We can always find a home for lonely flowers! However with enough advance notice (min 24hrs) we will do our best to accommodate your rescheduling of your pick up.

Q: Can’t I just buy your flowers occasionally at the farmer’s market or from your farm stand?

A: YES this year you can check in with us weekly to see if we have extra flowers and each bucket costs $25. We do not retail our flowers or arrangements at the Gabriola Farmer’s Market or from our farm stand for pay-as-you-go customers. We really enjoy getting to know who we are growing for and fostering a strong relationship with our clients, some of which have been with us since the very first year of our business in 2013!

Q: Will there be weeds in my bouquets? What types of blooms will I be getting?

A: Ah! Don’t let the name of our farm fool you. Having said that, you may find whimsical and attractive flora and foliage that you would never find in a grocery store bought bouquet. We do grow luscious seasonal favourites such as unique tulips, luscious peonies, fragrant lilacs and dahlias, as well as over 50 varieties of annuals and perennials such as cosmos, snapdragon, rudbeckia, sunflower, zinnia, anemone, phlox and delphiniums.

Q: Can I come to the farm to see where my flowers are grown?

A: Our busy little farm is home to three generations of ‘weed patchers’ and as such we are not open to the public. However private farm tours and special event photo opportunities can be accommodated by request as time and COVID restrictions permit. Please call or email us for details.

THANK YOU for supporting local flower farmers and we look forward to growing for you!