can any of you market gardeners suggest the best money making crops to sell versus labor. we live in zone 5. we live 25 mi.from a city of 40,000 pop. were there is a 10-15% spanish pop. thanks, tim

-- tim gruber (herbs@computer-concepts.com), February 02, 2002

Answers

best money maker,, would depend on what sells in your area

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), February 02, 2002.

You might try running an ad or putting out flyers, offering some type of co-op gardening set up, where you get paid a flat fee for the land use. Seems that this would be a good way to start up a market with the least out of pocket costs to you. Get paid up front for the land use and so much water and etc., as they use these.

Seems like a good way to learn what the people in your area want and are willing to buy. You could also, set up your own garden to mimic what they are planting, so that extra produce would be availble for sale. Might offer to do a bulk seed buy and lower that cost to your co-op members.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), February 02, 2002.

I went to the local grocery store and planted anything that was more than seventy-five cents apiece store price in BISF fashion to produce a low maintenance/high yield crop, then sold at the farmers market in quantities of three to five for a dollar.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), February 02, 2002.

They say that the best money maker is selling flowers. But as for vegetables I would think it would have to be something that reproduces a lot of, such as green beans, okra, squash. Something that when picked another will grow back. I would stay away from things like brocoli, cauliflower, cabbage, or anything that takes a while to grow and just get one picking. Tomatos are easy to grow and produce a lot of, but it is also something that virtually everybody grows. To me, sweet corn doesn't take a whole lot of labor, but you may have to compete with big corn growers in your area. This is a question that I have often asked myself with no avail.

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), February 02, 2002.

r.h. mentioned okra, and that is something I've noticed is never cheap in the grocery store, but yet grows like a weed here in the South! So okra ought to be a good one. (Although Ive never uncerstood how people eat it, but to each his own...)

-- Elizabeth in E TX (kimprice@peoplescom.net), February 02, 2002.

Perhaps yard plants. Look at this site for ideas. http://freeplants.com/ I found it in the archives. Take a look there for ideas.

-- ed (edfrhes@aol.com), February 03, 2002.

In the January 2002 issue of American Small Farm (www.smallfarm.com) there is an article on Selling to ethnic groups. It includes an interview with Steve Salts, author of Around the World at Farmers' Market: A Handbook for Small-Scale Grower-Markets of Ethnic and Heirloom Vegetables, Fruits and Herbs. Doesn't give an ordering address for it; however, the end of the article says, "Excerpted with permission from "The New Farmers Market: Farm-Fresh Ideas for Producers, Managers & Communities," by Vance Corum, Marcie Rosenzweig and Eric Gibson. To order send $24.95 + $4.95 shipping for: "QP Distribution," 22260 "C" St., Winfield, KS 67156. Credit card orders call 888-281-5170. California residents add $1.75 tax. 8 X 10. 272 pages."

In the article Salts noted in most cultures other than the U.S. firm prices are not used. Haggling is the norm. What he does is to set his prices higher and then allows himself to be haggled down to the price he wanted anyway. He says to grow what people were use to in their nature country. That might be fuzzy tomatoes, red okra, guinea beans for whatever. He also noted it helps greatly to be able to speak at least a bit of their language.

While he only does vegetables and herbs, there is also the opportunity to take orders for lamb or goat for their holiday meals.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 03, 2002.

Check out the webside www.growingformarket.com

-- Lisa Ryan (lryan@awf.com), February 08, 2002.