adimice
Bronze Member
Most soil in the US needs about 200 lbs of NPK per acre, for a decent crop. It would take a bunch of chickens to provide that.
Gardening for profit(and fun)?
- Thread starter DigitalCowboy
- Start date
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you should start by the marketing part. you need to live on a busy road for a farmstand to work. then pick your own pumpkins will also work. are you growing conventionally or organically? do you have time to stand around at the farmers market? you can build your soil with cover crops. there's some other threads on here that talk about this.
adimice
Bronze Member
Cover crops are great. I follow every summers crop with an over winter rye. Cover crops build soil tilth, they don,t add NPK, in fact green manure crops take NPK out of the soil to decompose them. Raw animal manure will burn most crops,and also take NPK out to break down the manure. Animal manure also contains high levels of eboli , that will break down in time, but not help that years crop.
Mickey_Fx
Veteran Member
Have read over this thread and haven't seen mentioned a method that does pretty well here in the NW. That is You Pick farms. If done right can be a win/win situation for both the farmer and consumer.
Farmer grows the crops but has very little tied up in harvesting their crops. Can charge a price that is higher than they can get from selling wholesale and cheaper than customers can buy at the grocery store. Does take a little advertising to get yourself known but once established, advertising cost can get down to little more than a few well placed signs directing customers to the farm.
Any farm operation takes thought as to crops and varieties that do well in your area. Additionally for a You Pick operation you need to give though as to how the customer gets to and from the fields and how they can harvest crops with minimal damage to the fields and crops. Most likely also need a produce stand for those that are not interested in harvesting the produce themselves.
Have an acquaintance nearby that has a You Pick operation. Now in it's 4-5 yr. They are now making a profit and business is growing. To help with traffic, they held a couple "festivals" over the summer. Couple food stands, live music, etc. Additionally had a harvest festival in the fall. Corn maze, hay rides, pumpkins, etc. Charged $5/head for the package which included a "free" pumpkin for each of the kids. That went over real well. They grow a lot of pumpkins but ran out so they had to go out and buy an additional 10k lbs to meet the need. This past yr the farmer put up a LARGE green house, basically a quonset hut frame with plastic covering. The GH was large enough where they grew several crops, in ground, like tomatoes so they would have produce earlier and later than normally possible for the area. They harvested all of this crop and got premium prices due to the out-of-season availability.
Maybe a You Pick operation might work in your location.
Farmer grows the crops but has very little tied up in harvesting their crops. Can charge a price that is higher than they can get from selling wholesale and cheaper than customers can buy at the grocery store. Does take a little advertising to get yourself known but once established, advertising cost can get down to little more than a few well placed signs directing customers to the farm.
Any farm operation takes thought as to crops and varieties that do well in your area. Additionally for a You Pick operation you need to give though as to how the customer gets to and from the fields and how they can harvest crops with minimal damage to the fields and crops. Most likely also need a produce stand for those that are not interested in harvesting the produce themselves.
Have an acquaintance nearby that has a You Pick operation. Now in it's 4-5 yr. They are now making a profit and business is growing. To help with traffic, they held a couple "festivals" over the summer. Couple food stands, live music, etc. Additionally had a harvest festival in the fall. Corn maze, hay rides, pumpkins, etc. Charged $5/head for the package which included a "free" pumpkin for each of the kids. That went over real well. They grow a lot of pumpkins but ran out so they had to go out and buy an additional 10k lbs to meet the need. This past yr the farmer put up a LARGE green house, basically a quonset hut frame with plastic covering. The GH was large enough where they grew several crops, in ground, like tomatoes so they would have produce earlier and later than normally possible for the area. They harvested all of this crop and got premium prices due to the out-of-season availability.
Maybe a You Pick operation might work in your location.
motownbrowne
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I sent you a PM. It's a lot of work, but market gardening is fun.
jveretto
Bronze Member
I work full time (teacher, off in summer) but there are not enough hours in a day for me to have a garden and market the produce I raise. Possibly I raise too much! Good luck!
bp fick
Super Member
Grew up on a market garden aka truck farm and we marketed both at the road and twice a week, in town, at the farmer's market. Started back up again 5 years ago here on our property and abandoned hope for local farmer's markets as their fee structure was completely out of line for the margins we can live with. We don't miss them anymore.
We sell out at the end of the drive, as the road bears enough traffic. We also have found two restaurants that want our produce as this is their focus. There are also market outlets with the Whole Foods movement and growers co-ops but you've got to get hooked up. It doesn't just happen, of course.
Marketing is absolutely 75% of the game. Without knowing your market destination, you'll be eating/freezing/canning and then giving the rest away to takers and you'll soon run out of even those folks and be discing it under.
We sell out at the end of the drive, as the road bears enough traffic. We also have found two restaurants that want our produce as this is their focus. There are also market outlets with the Whole Foods movement and growers co-ops but you've got to get hooked up. It doesn't just happen, of course.
Marketing is absolutely 75% of the game. Without knowing your market destination, you'll be eating/freezing/canning and then giving the rest away to takers and you'll soon run out of even those folks and be discing it under.
adimice
Bronze Member
Better make that ecoli.... ooops!
2LaneCruzer
Super Member
I sure hope so! Don't forget manure contains a lot of other little surprises like Clostridium Tetani.
/pine
Super Star Member
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I like the farmers market approach...here locally the town sponsors a farmers market and advertises it...
But if there is a state, county, or regional farmers market within reasonable distance and you have abundant quality crops you can almost always sell them to another vendor at a worthwhile price without having to rent a table/booth...and waiting around hawking your goods for the difference...!
Good Luck...
But if there is a state, county, or regional farmers market within reasonable distance and you have abundant quality crops you can almost always sell them to another vendor at a worthwhile price without having to rent a table/booth...and waiting around hawking your goods for the difference...!
Good Luck...