Cubits

A little profile snippit: Cubit's is your online source of high quality organic, rare and heirloom seeds. We believe that everyone can grow their own delicious organic produce. We have a special interest in urban gardening and local food.

Sadly, my vegetable intake is limited to the corn in tortilla chips, but after reviewing this outstanding shop, I am going to get me a topsy-turvy and grow some tomatoes. I wonder what kind of salsa her purple tomatoes would make? I’m sure if it’s on a chip, I’ll like it. Oh, and there are real carrots in carrot cake. It’s all about balance, people!

There is so much wonderful information here that I’m just going to let the rest of this article write itself.

Watching your video on  youtube, I couldn’t help but notice your camera. What model is it and how much did you pay for it? (Your pictures are terrific, by the way.)

My husband Ryan and I met in film class. We both have art degrees from The Ontario College of Art and Design. Before selling seeds, I sold art. That said, we tend to have a nice camera and equipment.

I shoot with a Nikon D300S. It cost us about 2000 bucks. Although I don’t think you need a pricey camera to sell on Etsy, I do think you need to have stellar product photography. The little cliché of "write a description like there is no photo and use photos that don’t need a description" comes to mind every time I post a new listing. Really, no matter what you are selling on Etsy, you are sort of selling images first.

In the video I think I was using the Nikon 18-200mmVR DX, which is a zoom lens and good for the farmer’s market. Lately I’ve been using a prime 35mm DX, which does some nice close-ups, both for veggies and babies.

Being a stay-at-home mom myself, I sometimes finding myself giving my business my attention when I should really be preparing dinner or holding my diva. Have you gotten yourself on a schedule or do you find that the same thing happens in your business/home?

Working at home with a toddler certainly has its challenges, especially right now during our busy spring season. There are simply not enough hours in the day. Although its far from a perfect system, I do have a rough schedule of my Cubit’s jobs, that I try to follow, although if Rebecca decides its time to paint or have a dance party that tend to trump most things. I have certain days for certain things, for example making treasuries, blog posts, or going to the post office. I’d love to ship everything the next day, but it’s just not realistic.

Then I have a list of morning tasks: answering convos, commenting on treasuries, printing yesterday’s orders, updating social media. Afternoon nap time is filled with what ever is most pressing (new listings and the light is best for shooting photos), and the evenings with what ever tasks are best with two people (picking and packing orders, packing seeds, printing and designing).

I also keep huge lists and lots of notes, all posted on the wall so everyone can see what’s going on.

Truly beautiful produce! Was a love for homegrown produce instilled in you as a child or did you have to break free from an unhealthy diet?

Growing up we always ate well. As children, my brothers and I certainly had our fair share of pickiness but we ate a varied diet of home cooked whole foods. We also grew veggies and herbs, not to the scale I do now, but there was always a tomato or two and an herb garden.

With my own little family we do things much the same.   The best statements I can think of to describe our family’s eating habits are "Good nutrition means eating a well-balanced and varied diet of foods in as close to their natural state as possible." Which is one of La Leche League’s basic philosophies and also that "kids who grow carrots eat carrots". It is as simple as that. A satisfying relationship with our food begins with knowing the origins of our food and a general understanding of the world around us.

Do you have a favorite salad mix that you put together out of your rare, heirloom produce?

We have a gorgeous blend of greens for salads. It’s a combination of Freckles lettuce, Black seeded Simpson, Red salad bowl, and Astro arugula. I like to just throw it in a terra cotta pot and leave it on the sunny patio table all season. If you plant a few times a few days or weeks apart, you’ll have lettuce all summer. If you eat it all, just start again.

Have you tried the topsy-turvy grower for your tomatoes or other viney produce, since you work from a small section of property?

I have not tried the topsy-turvy but have friends who have had great success with it. I used to grow hanging baskets of strawberries, and now that I think of it, I should do that this year. I do a combination of planting both directly in the garden and into containers, including a giant cast iron bathtub that is currently full of kale but also is great for growing carrots and potatoes. (This is some kale in the tub.)

This year we are hoping to grow radishes and lettuces in eves through along the side of the house. Check it out here.

Last year we tore up the front lawn and replaced it with veggies. What’s grass for anyway?

And if you took notice, topsyturvy.com is running a two-fer!  Have an experience this year and grow your own tomatoes!  From Cubits, of course.

Check out Wood Elements (featured yesterday) gardening supplies while you're at.  This has the potential of a winning combo for Mother's Day.