OROVILLE >> It may not be perfect but it’s her kind of perfect said Cindy Banse about her backyard garden business, CJ’s Farm, where she grows enough summer veggies and melon for herself and others.

“People ask me all the time ‘what do you do to make your plants grow?’” said Banse. “I tell them: I dig a hole. I put the plant in the hole. I cover the roots with dirt. Then, I say ‘OK baby, it’s up to you now. Do your thing. Either you’re going to live or die, it’s your choice.”

Tucked away behind her home is what Banse calls her “little patch of heaven” where, in 10 raised beds, Banse grows about 15 different species tomatoes (50 plants in total); five different kinds of cucumbers, four different species of cantaloup, three different kinds of watermelon, honey dew melon, Asian and black beauty eggplant, okra, two different kinds of zucchini and summer squash, pole and bush green beans, black-eyed peas, pumpkins, pumpkins, four different colors of bell peppers, basil as well as jalapeños, cayenne and wax peppers.

“A lot of stuff I have never grown in my life, and I have no idea what it tastes like,” said Banse. “I don’t eat a lot of vegetables. I’m a potato, beans and peanut butter and jelly kind of gal. Luna, my Aussie shepherd, eats more vegetables than I do. I just have fun growing all of it.”

Banse started her foray into gardening indoors with houseplants, then in 2002 it ventured outside into the tiny backyard of her home in Natomas where she planted bulbs in the ground and plants in containers to “see if I could get things to grow and not kill them,” she said, surprised that what she planted “did pretty good and grew.”

Several homes and moves later, Banse and her “partner in crime,” who prefers anonymity, landed in their current home on 1-acre in East Oroville where there was room to build a raised-bed garden. And that’s when Banse kicked it up a notch packing rich soil and plants, most of which she grows from seed, into the beds and selling the surplus to neighbors, friends and Facebook customers.

“That was last summer. My first real garden year,” said Banse. “I had so much I thought why not sell some of the produce so I started CJ’s Farm.”

It didn’t take long for Banse to build a customer base hungry for garden-fresh produce. She sold everything she could pick every day and brought in about $600. With the garden just starting to produce this season, Banse has already earned $100 and “people are already clamoring for tomatoes so once they start coming in business will pick up,” she said.

“I’m not getting rich. I’ll never get rich selling vegetables. I sell everything either by the piece or for 75-cents a pound. I have tons and tons of fun growing everything and I don’t want anything to go to waste. The money I get from selling the vegetables goes right back into the garden,” said the backyard farmer who has a fulltime day job working in the accounts receivable department for Mountain F Enterprises, a PG&E tree service contractor.

Banes spends her weekends, evenings and early mornings in the garden weeding, watering, fertilizing, harvesting and finding peace.

Each morning following harvest and before she leaves for work, Banse puts a post on Facebook letting people know what’s available that day. Customers respond with their orders and she fills them on a first-come, first-served basis.

Customers who want to make a purchase and see the backyard farm in person make appointments, however, most sales are done through what Banse calls the “cooler method.”

“I bag their vegetables up and leave them in a cooler out front,” said Banes. “They come, pick up their produce and leave the money. It’s an honor system, and I’ve never had a problem.”

While she does post updates and produce availability on CJ’s Farm Facebook page, Instagram and on Next Door, Banse customer base is growing quickly through word of mouth generated by posts like one from “Teresa A. of Kelley Ridge” originally posted on Next Door and reposted by Banes on CJ’s Farm Facebook page: “I just went to CJ’s Farm and holy cow it is absolutely gorgeous and lush with veggies and herbs! Brought home some wonderful, delicious goodies and can’t wait to start cooking … please go pay them a visit. You won’t be disappointed.”

Banse appreciates posts like these and her customers.

“I love meeting new people and getting them as excited about gardening as I am,” said Banse. “I love sharing the peace gardening brings. It’s such good therapy, learning to do something that makes you smile instead of making you mad. I like sharing that with the community.”

To learn more about CJ’s Farm, purchase produce or take a tour visit the farm’s Facebook page at facebook.com/cjs.farm.2023 or call Banse at 916-804-3717.