I have approx 4 acres of farm land that I am looking for some unique (profitable) ideas of what to grow to supplement my income with. A quick google search and I see herbs, bamboo, garlic, gourmet mushrooms, lavender, etc. anyone have any experience with any of these or any other ideas? Located in lower Michigan. Good well drained soil.
You aren't far from me actually.
I'm a custom harvester of forage products and I have a big garden too. I sell my produce to a local outlet. I grow for myself and him. I grow whats popular with my palate andwhats popular with the locals. I do well with zuchini, green peppers, corn and potatoes, lots of potatoes, plus Brussels Sprouts.. I've spent the last 10 years perfecting my own variety and they are real popular sellers. I only fo organic farming, no addition of fertilizer other than manure and lots of people like that. Organically grown vegetables are a big hit.
I also have a couple acres adjacent to the house that I grow alfalfa hay on and sell that at a premium price, why not, I have all the harvesting equipment at hand, all the time. I share crop on hay and sell hay throughout the winter months and make quite a bit. The trick, if you will, is being able to store the hay until the snow flies and then market it. I have a old hip roof barn that has a loft capable of handling 2000 bales as well as a Clearspan truss arch building that I keep ag equipment in that also serves as hay storage as well.
Get yoursel an inexpensive greenhouse. I bought a Harbor Freight one for under 300 bucks and it's aluminum framed. I built it on 3 sheets of 3/4" treated CDX with beams underneath and a pull ring so I can move it around to take advantage of the best winter location. I grow herbs like chives and basil in the greenhouse plus I start my garden plants in it for spring planting. A small propane heater (and a 100 pound cylinder heats it in the winter).
Chives are stupid expensive here in Michigan in the winter. So is basil, radishes and leaf lettuce, all easily grown in a hot house and all really marketable in the winter. What you need to do is devel,op a relationship with a local retail outlet, in my case, I developed a relationship with a local outlet and he takes all the wintertime and summer vegetables I can give him. People want locally grown, pesticide/herbicide free vegetables.
I typically sell fresh cut chives and dehydrated chives for a couple bucks a pound and they propogate thermselces. I use the wife's dehydrator to dry them.
I dig my spuds (soon) and store them in mesh laundry bags hung in the basement, usually 10-15 bags (at least 1000 pounds or more) full and sell them in the winter. I also ferment cabbage for sauerkraut for us and can it for later. Home grown, not irradiated potatoes are a big hit. My little ones, I put in sealed cardboard boxes in the cellar, thats my starter spuds for the next year. Potatoes like well drained sandy loam and there is nothing better than harvesting the tubers from the ground. I enjoy it every year.
You can do real well with vegetables so long as you develop an outlet. Forget attempting to sell them direct. Roadside stands are neat but lots of work. Better to market through an established business.
Local resturants also like fresh grown produce so thats and avenue worth exploring if you have trouble finding an outlet but as a rule a resutrant will want them cheaper than a market.
I never got into mushrooms (other than harvesting Morrels) because it room and labor intensive and you have to have a controlled atmosphere (hot house) and it takes lots of room and finally, there are good ones to eat and ones that will kill you. I own property up north so I go there and pick morrels, they grown in the woods, wild. We eat them. Maybe I'm too cautious but I have issues with selling 'shrooms.
Considering our Michigan winters, a greenhouse is a worthwhile investment, just stay away from the fancy (and pricey ones). You can get the basic, polycarbonate paned hothouse for way less than 500 bucks. 500 bucks total with supplementary heat and portability so long as you are hanfy builfing things. You don't need a big one, just utilize the space inside efficiently. I use the moulded plastic shelves that Menards sells, with discarded plastic growing trays and recyclable peat pots. You can find discarded plastic growing trays by doing some 'dumpster diving' at your local big box stores. It's amazing what they toss.
As an example, I got a nice Troy-Bilt tiller in a dumpster that was tossed becaue the engine was junk. Went to HF, bought a cheapie Predator engine and got a perfectly good rear tine tiller for the cost of the engine (125 bucks). I sold it this spring for 500 to a guy who wanted a rear time tiller.
Along those lines, you don't need to invest thousands in a garden tiller to grow produce. Lots of people do custom tilling and once the sod is broken up, it's a simple matter to till with a cheap front time tiller. I just happen to own a rear time (not a Troybilt like I sold) but I use it rarely. I prefer my Sears front tine actually and it was 200 bucks new, 10 years ago.
Thje ground will stay loose if, in the fall, you mulch with fallen leaves plus the leaves make good compost. Avoid grass clippings in the garden. Grass clippings rob the soil of Nitrogen as they decompose plus they stink and you get weeds.
Thats what I do. It may work for you, it may not. Key is developing the outlet and then proceeding to grow what you can sell and keep some for yourself roo. No point in growing items that won't sell because then you are stuck with them.
You must be a good business person and like the Field of Dreams movie, build it (grow it) and they will come. Don't happen overnight either. relationships and trust take time. It's taken me 10 years to develop a reliable outlet.
Good luck....
I was real hesitant about a greenhouse but after some shopping and finding the HF one, my fears abated.
You can do extremely well with hay if you have the equipment of course and storage room, both of which I already have.