Expensive crops?

[Curtis]

Hi everybody,

I have a large enclosed garden, I would say 2,000 sq/ft +/- or so out here in the Nevada desert. Its all fenced in, with a shade cloth roof to keep temp down in the heat of summer, but also to keep birds out and keep crops protected.

This was our first year with it, we grew many many things out there to get a feel for it, and see ways in which we could make the garden better. Come Spring time, I want to concentrate on 4 or 5 crops that I can grow in bulk to provide to the five area Whole Foods stores.

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on specialty crops that generally are sold at a higher dollar than your general type crop of tomatoes, corn, etc.

This garden is commercial only, where we'll have a small personal garden with your typical garden goodies aswell.

[mommagoose_99]

2,000 sq feet is not all that big for a commercial enterprise. I have 120000 square feet in my main garden and I run out of room. I go by the $10,000 rule . If you can't make $10,000 on an acre of a product , it is not worth growing. I do not grow a whole acre of any one thing but I do extrapolate the sales of a type of product from feet of row to an approximate acre figure.
My best sales item is probably tomatoes , followed by eggplant , then cucumbers, onions, okra, peppers etc etc. A lot of what sells best for me would not work all that well in a desert but I live in New York. Most of my items grow better in cool conditions and take a lot of water. I think you need to talk to Rowena, she lives in the desert too.
Linda

[Curtis]

Originally Posted by mommagoose_99

2,000 sq feet is not all that big for a commercial enterprise. I have 120000 square feet in my main garden and I run out of room. I go by the $10,000 rule . If you can't make $10,000 on an acre of a product , it is not worth growing. I do not grow a whole acre of any one thing but I do extrapolate the sales of a type of product from feet of row to an approximate acre figure.
My best sales item is probably tomatoes , followed by eggplant , then cucumbers, onions, okra, peppers etc etc. A lot of what sells best for me would not work all that well in a desert but I live in New York. Most of my items grow better in cool conditions and take a lot of water. I think you need to talk to Rowena, she lives in the desert too.
Linda

I really have no idea the size of the garden, I was just guessing the square footage. Before, it had 20 16X4ft garden beds with about two feet of space between them. They were sunken in wooden boxes, but we eliminated the boxes to almost double the growing space, along with eliminating the large walkways and i'm making it so there is just enough room to get in and harvest and do basic garden tasks. I want to utilize the entire space.

I will provide some photos tomorrow.

Thanks for the tips.

[ChristieAcres]

I would contact the five area Whole Food stores to find out what their most expensive best selling local produce (or fresh Herbs) items were (Produce Dept Mgrs should know...). Then, you should be able to derive your answer (by figuring out how much space for each crop is required, how much produce will result, and how much you will net from each...). On your estimate? 2,000 sq feet was pretty close.

If it were me, I would opt for growing Herbs (legal ones, LOL) that are popular locally.

[Gabriel]

Curtis, one thing to consider is not just the sale cost of the item, but what it cost to produce it. Also, how much work is it to maintain? This is going to be a sideline right? 2,000 sq ft is not much at all, I have a hard time seeing how you can grow anything (legal) that would support you in that space. You're planning to provide 5 stores with produce...?

My best sellers: tomatoes, peas, green beans, (baby) summer squash, cucumbers.

[MaineFarmMom]

You've put the cart before the horse. Before you get too far into this you should be looking at the business side of this venture.

[Earthbound]

Specialty salad mix on a strict rotation would bring in good cash for that size area. I make over $5oo dollars a week from an area 25x100 including perimeter plantings of edible flowers. Also heirloom varieties bring in better dollar, at least in my neck of the woods. Specialty items like purple carrots, white cucumbers or baby baby squash do well. Like mentioned, you should try to cement the market before going crazy, talk with the managers and ask them what they'd need or want, also ask them if there is anything they have been unable to get their hands on and see if you can fill that gap.
I meet with my chefs and stores every december, so i can figure out what I need to plant for the next year. i have it set up that everything is spoken for before it planted in the ground, takes the pressure off.
corry

[ChristieAcres]

Here, I'd sell out of as much Garlic as I could possibly plant! As for calculating "how much you will NET" means taking into consideration ALL factors (including cost). I'll be providing Roma Tomatoes to a local restaurant next year. I was asked by a number of people if I would set up a private CSA for them (they asked me to sell my fruit/produce to them). I sold out of any veggie/herb starts I had and have been requested to grow a LOT more next year.

On December 2, just two days ago, I gave a short presentation on Raised Bed Gardening at a local Tribal meeting (done with Powerpoint). It was well received & I was invited back to present at a larger meeting in a few months. If chosen, I'll be paid via stipend through their Grant to do consulting for them (Community Garden and/or Private Gardens). This year, I did Gardening Consulting (mostly beginner start-up & a few consults were for improving current veggie gardens OR meeting their challenges). Turns out there is a local need for this service!

Go Earthbound! You have done exactly what I have seen done locally by some very successful people- determine your market (like I already posted) and grow what is in demand. CSA's here are VERY profitable if they are ran correctly. However, there is more money in providing to restaurants/specialty stores as you pointed out. Anything that takes pressure off is a VERY GOOD THING!

Filling a niche is the way to go right now. DH found out he would land a contract that would be very profitable if he either purchased or built a steel rolling machine (already has a good bender). Since cost is a factor, DH is going to build one. Turns out this company has contracted out their custom gate work to an outfit about an hour away, but are chomping at the bit to deal with someone locally.

[mommagoose_99]

Growing in the desert is a lot different from the way most people grow in the country. Contact your local Extension Agent. They will have a better idea about what you will be able to grow and what the local citizens would like to purchase. It is their job to help you. The area you are planning to grow in is actually smaller than one of my four greenhouses. I plant 3 1/2 acres of field crops and I now have a total of 9920 square feet in my greenhouses. You are right to be planning this right now. Try googling growing in desert for useful information.
LInda

[mommagoose_99]

Earthbound, you and I are living in high moisture areas. They may not have as much access to irrigation as we do so our crops may not work for them. I think Rowena could make some suggestion since she grows in High Desert and is successful with her market garden. Gee where is Rowena? I saw her on the Hightunnel listserve last night and asked her to help these people.
Linda

[ChristieAcres]

I am a believer in "where there is a will, there is a way..." In a short time, I sold over $1,000 in starts/plants both online and locally (in a little over a month and very little work involved). Here is the shocker- IT TOOK NO LAND OR GREENHOUSE AT ALL! I started them indoors and just used my window sills... I also met a man, locally, who makes a few thousand a year, selling Tomato plants without a garden or greenhouse! He starts them indoors and uses grow lights. Everyone comes to him and he doesn't need to leave his home to sell them.

Here is an example: I can sell a Purple Artichoke plant, started from seed, in a free plastic pot (get them from friends/family...) for over $5.00 easily. The reason? It is a "Purple" variety rather than the Green Globe. When I mentioned I was growing multiple Garlic varieties (all Heirloom)? People line up to be customers. Anything I grow that is unique nets more money than your run of the mill stuff. It is also less work.

We are on 6.68 acres, have a 2,500 sq foot "Raised Bed" Garden and an Orchard of 19 or 20 fruit trees. I didn't have to utilize my beds for anything I sold this year. Now, we harvested enough to keep us in veggies all Winter & into the Spring (blanched/sealed/froze & also dehydrated). We also grew enough for daily consumption, enough to give away to friends/family, too. IN order to utilize Garden space for sales, I won't need more than 1,000 sq feet more of planting space. I am hoping for 5,000 sq feet total this upcoming Spring, then have my Greenhouse built (small one is all I need to start out with), and the Garden Cabin will be utilized in Spring, too.

Find that niche and fill it I found out what was hard to find locally and checked the internet requests on the varieties I was researching, then grew them, and SOLD OUT. This wasn't a serious effort that I made, so next year it WILL BE.

Great advice MommaGoose_99!

[Curtis]

Lots of good advice here. I guess I should of been more clear.

The garden isn't my main source of income, rather some extra income in between fruit harvests.

Pomegranates, Figs, Apricots, Pecans, etc are my main source of income.

I'll do some more reading up, and find out what exactly these stores would like, or need a local producer of. It may be that I will decide on only two or three crops, instead of four or five like I had previous mentioned and grow only those in the garden.

We will see.

Thanks for the tips everyone.

[mommagoose_99]

I forgot shallots . I sold shalotts for $8 a pound last year. That's pretty good money. I am going to try to grow some from seed in one of greenhouses. They are very easy to grow but they do need an inch of water every week.
Linda

[Curtis]

Water is not a problem. We irrigate the orchard very heavy, its the only way we can get things to grow out here in the desert, haha. Just had about 45 hours of water this week...

I'll look into Shallots and see how they grow here, thanks for the suggestion!

[rowan57]

Watermelons, Sweetpotato, Beetroot? We grow in a similar climate, but (i think you have winter?) with no winter, so we get 3-4 crops a year give or take. Beetroot is easy, doesn't have too many issues, and the same for sweetpotato.

[rowan57]

By the way, I would look at doing 2 crops on a weekly / biweekly basis - most shops want supplying in bulk, on a regular basis, which it doesn't sound like you have the space to do for 5 crops.

Rule of thumb: Growing Space (G) / Av. No. Crop Weeks (C) = Area to Plant Per Week

In my case, I have about 5,000 meters of 1m beds. 5,000 (G) / 15 (C) = 330m / Week

If you want to plant every 2 weeks, every 3 weeks, etc, you just divide C by that number before putting it into the above equation.

E.g. 5,000 (G) / (15 / 3) (C / 3) = 1,000m / Week.

Hope that helps.
Rowan