1. How much gardening experience do you have?
2. What is your location?
3. What type of soil do you have?
4. Can you work the garden full time, or just part time?
1.) I have been doing a personal garden for the last 15 years
2.) I'm in Northern California with a 9A hardness zone
3.) Soil isn't bad but I don't have a breakdown via a test but I have been able to raise everything from corn to tomatoes. (maybe ill have a soil test done)
4.) it would be just part time starting out
I do have about 17 acres that can be used for garden/orchard space but I don't want to start out that big.
Currently I only plant about .10 of acre right behind my house but I have been tossing around the idea of doing a farmers market.
I sell citrus at our local farmer's market, and I've seen the farms of several who sell veggies.
One lady has about half a dozen large 6'x20' raised beds in her yard. She has a couple of the plastic/fabric green houses to grow winter vegetables. I think she only sells at two markets.
Another grower sells at four markets and has about ten acres in a field with LOVELY soil.
One grower has a shipping container with climate control inside and sells mushrooms that he grows year round. He is ramping up his operation with a new building this year because he can't keep up with demand. He sells at two markets, one meat market, and to several local restaurants.
It is a HUGE time commitment. Preparations the day before and the day of the market is pretty intense. That doesn't include the regular time a garden requires.
Our markets in this area require that you have a 10'x10' tent cover for your "booth." Most folks have a couple of tables under that, and they bring their product in ice chests and crates. You are required to have signage, either on the table, or a banner.
Prices for booth space vary by location. $20 for the one I sell at, but $40 at another just 10 miles away.
It really depends on how much you can reasonably maintain. Ours is about 1/3 of an acre and we will probably increase to 1/2 acre next season. Weeding, planting, harvesting, prepping/packaging for market all take time so you have to determine how much you can manage. We both have off-farm jobs so 1/2 acre is the largest we can possible maintain.
I think it all depends on lots of factors. If you want to grow a variety of items to sell, you'll need a bigger garden. If you want to focus on specific things, you need less usually. I tried the whole market garden with lots of variety and found it too much work and stress when harvesting. I ended up specializing in Garlic and herbs. Easy-peasy to grow, harvest, and sell.
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