MAKE MONEY FROM YOUR GARDEN PRODUCE

With a few simple, and not so simple steps, you could turn your gardening hobby into some cash.   In this article we explore some of the possibilities.

First, with the love of gardening, sprinkling in a desire to grow food and add the tenacity to get your “groceries” picked at their peak and you will find yourself well on your way to becoming a successful urban farmer. If you are producing a surplus of edible treats in your yard, what do you intend doing with them? Guess it’s time to step out and share the bounty beyond your family, friends, and neighbors. Go ahead, take the plunge – grow to market your garden produce.

If you have a green thumb or even a slightly green thumb, and like gardening, you may be able to turn your hobby into a money-making proposition. Even though gardening can be labor intensive, it can be very relaxing at the same time. It may be just the physical activity needed to zap stress or just get some exercise. Gardening can mean either vegetables or flowers. A lot of people is in the market for both and most would rather deal with a local farmer rather than a huge chain store. Making money gardening can be handled in different ways.

Vegetable Plants

It is possible to start vegetables from seeds, but the average person would rather prepare their garden for the season then buy starter plants rather than plant seeds. Your job, if you wish to accept, is to prepare a number of small pots with seeds during the winter and grow the starter plants. If you plant in January, plants will be ready to sell in April. Choose one type of vegetables to start or choose a few of the most popular such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, corn or string beans. When people find out you are selling vegetable plants, you may be to take orders for the next year. Be sure you grow quality name plants, if your plants do not produce, you will not have any customers the next year. If your price your plants competitively, making money gardening will be easier.

Selling Garden Produce

A roadside vegetable stand is a good way to sell the produce you grow. Unless you have a huge inventory of products, the chances of selling to a grocery store might not be feasible. Perhaps you might make a deal with another small vegetable stand to sell your product.  Your stand does not have to open every day. It may be the weekend operation so as to have fresh vegetables for sale. You can consider selling your produce at a local farmer market. You may have to pay a fee to sell but if it is a busy market you will recoup the fee ASAP. No matter how you sell your product, having a scale to weigh the vegetables in various sizes to customers to take their goodies home is commendable.

Flowers

Perhaps your green thumb is in the floral area, making money from garden produce works for flowers as well as vegetables. For vegetables, most people would rather buy plants already in the growth process or fully grown rather than plant seeds. Planting seeds during the late fall and early winter will assure you have flowers or starter flowers in the spring. Most annuals grow better in year two than year one. f If you have space, plant a field of annuals that suit your planting zone and sell them after a year or maybe two of established growth. Consider a weekend plant sale if you do not want to operate a plant stand full time.

Plenty of restaurants, health food stores, and gourmet food shops sell and use edible flowers for cooking. A rise in health-conscious home cooking means sizable market exists for selling edible yummies directly to consumers in their homes. There are one hundred different flower varieties deemed edible. Roses, violets, pansies, and nasturtiums are all popular and sale-able edible plants you could grow.

To get started, you will need the following:

• Some varieties of popular edible flowers.
• Organic pesticides and fungicides.
• A designated plot in your garden or RV
• You can buy edible plant seeds in packs of 50 -100 seeds for about $2.50 to $3.50, depending on the type of flower. You can easily get them sent to you through the post.
• Most retailers of edible flowers sell them as a punnet for around $15 – $25 each. A standard punnet is about 130mm x 170mm and can hold a few dozen small flowers and about a dozen larger ones.

Propagating Seedlings

If you have a decent greenhouse and green fingers you can make money by propagating seedlings then selling the grown plants at local car boot sales and garages.  Most people don’t have the skills to nurture seeds into life and choose to skip this stage and buy already established seedlings. Do the hard work for them and make a tidy profit.

The startup is relatively straightforward and cheap as well as the greenhouse you will need; good quality seed compost, seeds, trays, watering can and other basic garden equipment. All seedlings will need warmth, light, and water but there should be other instructions on your seed packet or on websites such as www.rvgardening.com.

You can make in the region of $500 a week by propagating seedlings with just a few hours’ works a week. However, the work is seasonal – mostly between February and October. Apart from the fact that time determines the amount you make, the space you have to grow plants also determine the amount you make. The more space you have, the more you can grow and the more money you can make.

Medicinal Plant Nursery

Just like growing edible plants in your garden, keeping a medicinal plant nursery as an income-generator requires very little comparable effort and maintenance. For a low-maintenance option, try perennials that don’t require annual planting or germination. Medicinal herbs and plants are great because they can flourish in the shade or harsh sun and require little water or attention.

The market for selling medicinal herbs is more likely to be a domestic one. Your knowledge of their use is just as important in selling the plants as the plants themselves. It’s, therefore, іmportаnt to research well beforehand into all of the medicinal plants and herbs you are interested in growing for sale and distribution.

Remember: even though these plants are generally considered safe to use as a natural homeopathic medicine, you should always evaluate their risks and benefits to certain people and their illnesses, especially when used in conjunction with other prescribed medicines. You can buy medicinal herb and plant seeds in packs of 50-500 seeds for an average price of $1 to $2. Price varies greatly for some of the rare seeds, so expect to pay at least an extra $1 for these.

A small fresh single plant from your garden can be sold with a 9cm pot for about $2-3 depending on the seed variety you’re using. A small 50g bag of cut and dried dandelion root will sell for about $1.80.

Starting an Organic Market Garden

Feel like moving a stage further up the garden path? Establish your own garden as a market garden. Staple and seasonal vegetables are a good entry point. There is an ever growing demand for locally grown, organic food. Remember to stick to the basics first before you start attempting to grow more exotic foods. Selecting produces that is in season and can easily be grown in your local conditions will be easier and require far fewer resources to grow.

Advertise locally, with flyers and business cards that you may put up in other local shops and eateries.  It’s a good idea to hold weekly or monthly markets. You don’t have to do it alone – join forces with other local productive gardens in the area and turn a profit together. Talk with neighbors and see if they are willing to grow some produce in their gardens: if they are you could hold a monthly street market.

Running a market can require a lot of time investment (as will gardening all the produce). Be mindful of how large a market you can actually handle and how much time and money you have to invest. Also, consider the size of the project. A small garden farm will likely cost you several hundred pounds to initially set-up whilst a much larger one could run you several thousand dollars.

Passion is as important as presentation, so when your customers arrive be sure to share your gardening enthusiasm with them. Explain how your produce was raised, share planting and growing advice and be sure to include your favorite recipes and cooking tips.

The first time you go to the market, it will be exciting but probably a little nerve-racking too. Just remember to take a deep breath and have fun.  I think you will find that it is a very rewarding experience and one that you will likely want to repeat in the near future.