farmster

Last week, I caught up with my law school friend Ben Mayson here at Anita’s Garden.  Ben is married to Vicki, another lawyer in my cohort.  They live in Waterview, Auckland with their three children.  Ben and his family recently returned home after living in Singapore for four years.  Ben recently started a business called Farmster, which caught my eye because as you all know, I’m absolutely crazy about gardening.  I wanted to write a blog post about Ben’s start up because I think it’s a wonderful idea and I’m keen for others to learn about it, too.

The way that it works is that people can sign up to receive a box of fresh, homegrown veggies each week for just $25 per week.  People can also sign up to essentially “lease” their backyard to Farmster, who will convert lawn into a veggie garden.  Ben plants a garden and tends to the plants, harvesting them when they are ready for his deliveries.  These people receive a $10 discount, reducing the price of a veggie box from $25 to just $15 per week. The idea is to continually supply subscribers with homegrown veggies, from their garden and also from other people’s when veggies in their own plot might not yet be ready.

At the moment, Farmster is restricted to Waterview, Ben’s neighbourhood and surrounding suburbs.  He has been absolutely overwhelmed by the response, so much so that he’s had to stop accepting both deliveries and land/garden conversions while he catches up!
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I think Farmster is a brilliant idea, as it better connects individuals with their land and enables the use of land which might not otherwise be occupied by a garden as a lot of people are simply too busy on weekends or don’t have the inclination to care for a garden.  As you all know, I launched Anita’s Garden as a business in October last year and am currently taking a hiatus while winter approaches. In the future, Ben and I may even collaborate, as our businesses are in the same sector and we share the same values and beliefs about gardening.  Watch this space!