Is this a "good" business for someone who is a go-getter but lacks experience? Ans: It could be, depending on if it turns out to be fun for you..

Could I make a handsome living off this type of business? Ans: Probably not. But determine this for yourself - make a few calculations on what you would sell and how much you would make.

It's not from Texas but it will get you started with some ideas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing Small Farms

the previous owner of my house planted 2 acres worth of garden. he used the proceeds from it to pay his property taxes each year, a whopping 450.00 a year!

many folks around here sell veggies on road side stands to make a living. not a single of them makes a GOOD living at it, they are all retired and use it for supplemental income.

you could go commercial in size, and sell to local stores, but trying to sell it enough to live off of would be doubtful.

Well I would say first consider the different kinds of businesses you could have. Even with the typical vegetable stand, there is the issue of whether to sell organic or not, depending on the market. Also, you could supply vegetables to other farmstands. And then there's fruit you could grow. I myself would maybe (just maybe) like to try a "gourmet" farm - there are a lot of vegetables and fruits out there that people don't yet know about but apparently taste good, like salsify, and asparagus peas, and pawpaws, and maypops.

Also consider that you could start a nursery of some kind, and your knowledge of vegetable gardening could be very useful to your customers.

And apparently you can make some money producing rare/unusual/heirloom seed for some companies.

Or you could just become gardener-for-hire or start a little landscaping company.

Also consider staying in the rat race AND using your land and knowledge from profit. If you're married you could teach your significant other gardening if he/she is willing so he/she can run whatever business. Otherwise, you could hire someone, or find a partner to do your business with... or get married, lol.

If you want to do the ones I suggested that aren't simple farming, you'll have to look up the laws in your township that say what you can do with your land. All the local laws nowadays with zoning and other stuff is nuts and can make things costly if not impossible.

What would the business be? Installing vegetable gardens? Maintaining them? Site advise and recommendations?

Firstly, I would think the more experience you have, the better. Most people wouldn't consider hiring you if they didn't think you were very knowledgeable and experienced.
Secondly, being a hard-working, "go-getter" would be a 100% prerequisite. This goes for starting up just about any business.
Thirdly, you're considering starting a business doing what alot of people do for recreation. That's tough, most people interested in veg gardening are interested in the do-it-yourself aspect. This could be your biggest obstacle.

However, alot of people aren't prepared to do the hard labor involved in installing a veg garden. Getting started is a big deal.
Also, alot of people need advise on veg garden design, content and general growing.

In my uninformed opinion, your best bet would be in veg garden installation and consultation.
There is already an established profession out there doing this. They are gardeners, landscapers and consultants.

Biggest decision is how to sell the produce, by the number i.e. 3/$5 or by weight 3lb/$5, weight is more profitable, but you have to deal with scales, which are not cheap, and also certfication of those scales for accuracy.

OMG, did I write this thread?? I have been wanting to do the exact same thing for the past 8 years!! Good luck! Let me know how it turns out. When my wife and I move in a few years, you can be sure we're getting a house w. a lot of land!

Hmmm... I thought you were thinking of a vegetable gardening service of some sort. Is that it, or are you trying to become a vegetable farmer?

The type of busines I am interested in is growing vegetables in my backyard and selling them. Some of you think it's not profitable enough to make a full-time living of it. I have the same concerns. However, I am reading success stories of people who are making a handsome living off growing veggies in their backyards and selling them to neighbors, friends, church, business, etc. I am looking to grow organic veggies. My next step is to speak with the Small Business Administration. Please give me pros/cons to this idea because starting a home-based business is scary especially when you are making a really nice salary on your job.

Over in the tomato forum awhile back I read about a successful backyard tomato business. It was a fascinating read. You need to read down through many posts and much of the story will unfold. You will see how the person took $400 and 0.5 acres and built a thriving business. Perhaps it will give you some ideas. Marketing, specializing, employees, etc. are mentioned. Bkyleh's March 22 post takes you back to the very beginning.

Original post title: tomato house by bkyleh 7/AR on March 16, 2008 (currently on page 9 of the forums...this one is a great read)

Follow up post which does not include info about the 'early days': tomato house update (pics) by byleh on March 30, 2008 (currrently on page 8 of the forums)

Here is a link that might be useful: tomato house business

I'm adding a link to a website. I think this is what you're talking about. I think you should spend a couple of years gaining experience. Do the best you can in your yard and use it as a showcase for potential customers. Use your friends' yards if you can. Don't take on more than you can do at a time. Each year up to a certain point you'll learn ways to work more efficiently so that you can add more clients. Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Your Backyard Farmer

NATUREGIRL. That link was impressive. almost make me want to build a tomato house and quit my normal day job. :)

What do you mean by handsome living and how soon would you need it? Growing for income is a completely different activity than growing for fun. Meeting with the SBA is a good move and they'll probably have you develop a business plan. That process will answer many of the questions you have. Some colleges have departments that help people who want to start businesses. Of course some of their biggest successes are talking some people out of the idea. Although most are very busy this time of year you could see if some local growers will show you around their operations. They may not discuss income but they will let you know what work you will be shouldering. My wife did what you are talking about and it took 4 or 5 years to get her net income up to $20K. So if you are looking for a change I say go for it but with your eyes wide open. Good luck. Tom

no-more..its like any other business....location...location...location...but add...weather....weather...weather. I have a medium size garden and grow more than we use so I give it away to friends and family. I just do not want to sell anything from my garden. So you would have to compete with the likes of me. Around the corner from me a man grows a garden and sells his excess. He lives on the main highway....location. Once your reputation gets around as a good provider your business could grow. Good luck. DT

I just recently purchased a home with lots of backyard space

Simply put, I want to start my own vegetable garden business from my backyard, but I am a novice

i would seriously hold off on trying to start a business out of gardening right now. continue your current job and aquire the skilles you currently lack over a couple years before you attempt to live off what you can grow. plus, it takes a couple months before you can sell ANYTHING, and those are also the months when you have the biggest expenditures for equipment and supplies, so with a new house i would try to get all that out of the way and get htings settled before i quit my day job.

it is something about getting a lot of land makes us all see this. when we bought our house i swore i was going to grow a huge garden and sell veggies for extra money. that was almost 4 years ago and i have yet to sell anything. i usually keep most of what i grow and give the rest away as i don't have enough extra to make it worth selling!

I plan on doing this for supplemental income in retirement in a few years. I'm thinking of the market gardening type thing where you sell at farmers markets that are set up around town. They only operate around here about 6-8 months out of the year. You have to get a licence to sell produce and a background check and such. I think I found it would cost about $200 per year to stay legal. The farmers markets around here are pretty lame. If you live in or near a city that has a good farmers market, like Austin, you could probably do pretty well. Another good market is selling Heirloom veggies to chefs in upscale restaurants. For that you will need to have consistent quantity and quality. But those types of restaurants will pay good money for good product because they are going to mark it up substantially. As was mentioned above, I wouldn't quit my day job until I felt comfortable with the market garden income.

Find the nearest weekly Farmer's Market to you and join their association. From them you can get a good deal of info on local demand crops, prices, health dept. and organic certification requirements, as well as meet others in the same business. They are always a friendly, helpful bunch and most are willing to discuss costs, sales tax issues, and profit margins with you.

Good luck.

Dave

PS: and if you don't already have working knowledge of it, learn bookkeeping. ;) Or invest in a good software program - one that includes the ability to make long term projections and monitor them for you. ;)

Forgot - Also check out the Market Gardener forum here if you haven't already. It will be picking up the pace there shortly but there are many great past discussions you'll want to review.

Dave

I would advise getting a subscription to AcresUSA, a magazine for sustainable agriculture (large and small). They offer a sample of their excellent magazine, and with it comes a catalog of the books they sell, which has MANY books on just this subject.

Personally, if you want to try it, I would go for the high-value crops: berries, asparagus, fancy lettuce, etc.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Acres U.S.A. magazine

no-more,
There was an article in yesterdays Wall Street Journal covering that paticular subject. If you can get a copy it makes for an intresting read. You might be able to go to WSJ.com to review it. But the jist of the article says if you do it right you can make between 10 and 20k per year. But i do suggest you read the article.