So I was intrigued by this claim the first time I heard it and thought about the 21 days and huge profit and "Feed the World" possibilities. So I tried it a few times with several varieties and solutions. 3 weeks is extremely short for lettuce and I even felt that 5 weeks would be absolutely amazing. I have since settled down and realized that with lettuce production, it is profitable regardless of the length of the cycle. Fact is the 21 days could easily be applied to the transplanted seedlings as others on here have suggested. I can and have gotten transplanted Romaine seedlings to market quality and size in 14 days. The problem I have is the seed to transplant size, which I have only been able to cut to 5 weeks. (If I am lucky.) Good news is that the plants are small when they are in this stage so the real estate they occupy is much smaller. So being a lover of round numbers I have constructed my current garden and all designs for the future green houses around a total 10 week cycle. 7 weeks in the seedling stage and 3 in the transplanted stage. I get that we all want to utilize every possible inch for maximum production on the shortest most predictable schedule. I hope to gain at least the 3 weeks I cushioned back as I become more automated and the formulation is honed. Reducing the total time to 7 weeks would be ideal and I believe that 5 weeks may be possible if I add C02 emitters but believe that this would add significantly to the cost per head and do not think that I will develop a business case for this addition for several years because my production is still aimed at the hundreds of heads per week rather than the 10's of thousands of heads per week. I am just too small currently.

@gardenbeet: yes, i am indeed torturing them in a hardcore way,and thats on purpose. Theres no point of using a cheaper solution if it needs replacing twice a year :-p. the first ones i bought have been through 2 winters already, this is their 3rd one, and they are holding great :) the stitching never gave away, even on model with the thinner material ( the light brown/beige ones). The textile ripped completely but the stitches are like new! Wally pockets have certain benefits for sure, snce they are specially designed for growing, but are not economically viable and i suspect they wont last much longer than those shoe organizers which cost a fraction of the price :) The material in those shoe organizers had no drainage holes but the material itself drains. They do dry out very quickly due to the small size of the pockets ans the fact that they are not contiguous. The best 2 improvements that could be made to this system is drip irrigation and using a white material to keep things cooler. Otherwise, they are a godsend :) And my name is Khaled, but my nick here is MisterK Khaled :)

Gardengirl12 - I am 48 and expanding my garden so don't hesitate to move forward. We all have our good days and better days. The only bad days are those days on which we allow ourselves to second guess our dreams, our plans and our ability to carry those out! I come from many generations of market gardeners (different styles, different relatives) so it is definitely in my blood lol. My parents are currently aged 72 and 74 and they continue to successfully operate a CSA and market garden, subsidized with specialty jams, jellies and baked goods. Figuring out what specifically are good sellers in your area is very vital, however; this takes time and so just plan for that. Keep your expectations low enough that you won't be discouraged and can maintain a positive view as your business grows. Write down achievable goals for each of the next 3 seasons. Keep DETAILED notes on both successes and failures so that you can build from them each year. Every gardener is unique in their technique, needs, abilities and market area so having a bunch of folks looking over a business plan which is developed specifically for you is not worth bothering with. Only you truly know what you are capable of doing physically, mentally and emotionally to bring your dreams to reality. Most populated areas have some sort of farmers market already established. If you have not already done so, take the time to visit EVERY TIME it is open to study what others are successfully selling. Make notes on what types sell the best, what seems to just sit there and get tossed out at the end of the day. Also take note if the majority of the sellers seem to carry "value added" products such as soaps, jams, wool, eggs etc to make up a portion of their sales. If there is a well established specialty vendor such as "Tomato Lady", I would plan to grow and sell something different as my main source of income. You can always introduce a specialty item similar down the road but focus on developing your own following and avoid disappointment from trying to directly compete with someone who is already well established. As you are developing your sales plan, keep in mind that the majority of your first customers are going to be those whom you already know. Just putting yourself and your product out there is not enough to sell the amount you will need to earn a profit. I am not a big believer in local chambers etc and I refuse to pay dues to be a "part of the community business network" in which I live. Consider ways to effectively advertise for yourself at either no cost or low cost. Keep in mind that ANY cost is going to effect your bottom line even if it is only a penny for the ink that printed you those 50 copies on your home computer. Stay detail oriented so that in the future you can truly see where things can be changed to be better financially as you grow the business. Don't try to be everything to everyone! EVER! You will ALWAYS have someone asking for something that you don't have. Don't fall into the trap of trying to provide it all because the time and product it takes you to grow "just 2" of something special, is time and product which is taken away from what you have developed well already. If you continuously receive requests by more than a dozen customers for a new item, then consider it a possibility for a "limited time only" product. EG - I don't grow zucchini because every Grandma and her neighbor does. However; IF I kept getting requests from more than a dozen of my REGULAR customers, I would consider growing enough just to serve them. I don't see that happening anytime soon though as my market really supports the "unusual" versus the "ordinary". I could go on and on lol yet I have winter sowing to get done. I hope you do well with your adventure and I truly mean that... it IS an adventure!

Now is a good time to think about next year's plans because it's early November here in NH and while I have some Asian greens, I haven't been cooking with them like I thought I would so that's wasted space. I should have fresh carrots but had a germination problem this year, possibly because I didn't keep things watered. I need to check the date I planted bulls blood beets because I don't think there has been much beet development. Leeks were planted late so they aren't very big. Lettuce is still good shows some frost damage. Kale self seeded and is overwhelming the space in the high tunnel. I don't have parsnips or Gilfeather turnips this year. Why not! Doing bed cleanup to plant hardneck garlic, I discovered two overlooked zucchinis and they were covered with squash bugs. Yikes! Broccoli in the high tunnel is slowly developing but I'm not sure the heads will get any bigger. I need to check the planting date on these, too. A couple of weeks can make a big difference. Although my Great Aleppo Pepper Adventure was mostly a flop (lots of pepper but not the flavor I wanted), I ended up discovering a whole new world of peppers. Buran bell peppers were big winners, very productive plus great flavor. Urfa biber are slightly hot which is just hot enough for us. Zolotisty yellow bells have a fabulous flavor. No more Ace peppers for me. I also got peppers mixed up during harvest so I'm not sure if it was Carmen that turned a beautiful dark red with a wonderful sweet flavor but I've been growing it for several years and will continue to have one or two plants. Yesterday I weeded the two new asparagus beds. The beds themselves are good but I have Creeping Jenny in our weedy lawn that was creeping into the bed.