Newbie w/ issues-challenges

16 years ago

I'm probably being totally impractical!

I'm starting a tiny market garden. Probably just a few heirloom tomato plants and 2 or 3 sweet pepper plant varieties, because of the challenges/problems below. I'm guessing I'll sell a few plants, and then later, some tomatoes or peppers. Maybe will grow/sell a few radishes, carrots, beans, herbs, and a very few flowers. My want-to list is WAY big! lol.

Here are the problems:

I'm starting my seed sowing late.

I have little time--to plant, or to be at the market. (a combination of 2 other jobs are "in the way".)

I live in a rent house, and we'll be moving to somewhere else at the end of May-June or July.

My garden will have to be in pots.

Someone just gave me 35-40 packets of that many different Heirloom Tomato Seeds. A good problem to have!

I need your advice on how many of the seeds to sow? Should I aim for a few 6-packs of 5-10 varieties (primarily tomatoes), or a few 18 count trays of 4" pots, or ????

Which size vegie plant sells best at a market? The 4-pack, 6-pack, 18 count tray of 4 inch, or the gallon size? I have TONS of 4 inch pots, some 6-packs, lots of gallons. I have the capacity to WAY over plant my space and time, but I need "enough" to have "something" at the market.

I'm an experienced gardener, but never a market gardener.

Thanks for any help.

susiq in NW AR.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

boulderbelt
16 years ago
I would wait until you in a more stable situation and can grow enough to make it worth your while.

Not being able to go to market will hurt you. The worst thing you can do to yourself while building your customer base is not be there regularly (i.e every week). If you consistently are a no show people will soon quit coming to your stall and than you will sell very little when you do show up. Do not think just because you grew something people want to buy it. You have to convince them they want what you have. That is called marketing and marketing is probably more important than growing in this game.

The people who make money selling vegetable starts bring in several hundred per market-at least 10 flats with a variety of things. The more you have the more you will sell. Most people want tomatoes etc., that are 6 to 10 weeks old.

Selling produce you need to have quite a bit and you have to succession plant to keep it coming. Market gardening is nothing like home gardening.

Sorry to not be more encouraging but if you do not have space, time and you are moving starting a market garden just seems to be a bad idea this year.
0
susiq
Original Author
16 years ago
boulderbelt, Thank you for writing. I DO appreciate your advice. You've probably listed very accurately why I'm hesitating.

I got the heirloom seeds a week ago, and a 72 jiffy pot seed tray* at Walmart, and I still haven't sowed one seed.

*I do have professional seed trays and the collection of seed sowing things I mentioned in my original post, I just didn't want to drag them all out. I was a one-woman flower farmer at my previous home, and never had enough to attempt a market, (or was too scared to), and the market wasn't five minutes away, either.

I'm in & new to a small town, the market is a big thing,(and literally 5 minutes away) but I don't know how well attended. I told the market manager that I'd have very little and she said to come anyway. Having to live in this rent house and not knowing what kind of house/land we're going to get has REALLY put a crimp in my growing needs & wants! Of course I also DON'T want to haul 70 jillion plant pots to whatever new house we get.

I think I could go to the Friday morning market, but not Tuesday or Saturday. Stillllll. The hesitation is stunning, and so is the "want"! Lucky me!

One of my ideas earlier this spring/late winter was to just sell directly to my friends, instead of attempting the market. Maybe I should revisit that idea.

Need to run to work, will ponder there instead of here on the computer.

Thanks for your reply. I really appreciate the #'s you gave me. If I do the market this year or better, next or beyond, those #'s will be very helpful in my planning.

susiq
0
Related Discussions
Newbie w/question about Mirro pressure canner.
Q
Comments (20)
Ok, so let's set the record straight here; yes, the instructions in the new Mirro 22 qt pressure canner do explicitly tell you to put the weight on before heating the canner for the first use/dry run. And yes, it also says in the "canning" section, that the canner should be heated until it steams, left for ten minutes and then the rocker should be placed. Ok, we got that. I think we can all agree that Bodhimama did read her instructions so let's stop beating that dead horse. For the record, as well, the instructions available online at Mirro-T-Fal are NOT the same as the ones that came with mine. Mine look like an "updated" version of the older online instructions which applied to a larger breadth of models. Now, that being said, the instructions were poorly updated and the language is very unclear. Important elements, such as what laura.botright said, ("Mine isn't hissing OR jiggling. It either just sits there until it builds up so much that it lifts up and lots of steam escapes for a few seconds, or it just sits...") are simply left unaddressed. I think there are several versions of the instructions none of which are really complete. Bodhimama, your instructions sound different from mine because mine address the pin issue that concerned you back in 2008. In my instruction manual, it says that that pin is the pressure indicator. It locks the handle AND indicates to you that the canner is under pressure. You likely know this now because you posted this in 2008... Sooooooo, hopefully somebody can answer my question now, after having figured this stuff out. My questions is similar to Laura's. My instructions tell me to wait until the rocker rocks. My rocker doesn't rock. It stands stalk still until steam explodes out of it and it spins dramatically shooting steam everywhere- then back to dead stillness. Is this what they mean by "rocking?" When I turn down the heat, what do I look for to know it is maintaining the right amount of pressure? Should I be keeping it on high until it spins 4-5 times a minute, like this guy in the comment section on this YouTube video says? It doesn't seem to matter how long I leave it on high heat, it only seems to do this about 1 time per minute. The instructions say : "When the operating valve begins to rock strongly, lower the temperature such that the operating valve continues to rock lightly." No can do, instructions, it's either spinning like crazy or totally still. Nobody's rocking around here. Here is a link that might be useful: Mirro rocker spin
...See More
Garden Challenge: west-facing, small space, dog-friendly, newbie
Q
Comments (9)
Do you know what sort of soil you have? The type of soil you have, how well it drains (or doesn't drain, as the case may be) and your annual average rainfall (20"? 30"? 40"? more than that?" all are factors that would help us recommend what would grow well for you. As for plants that can be grown safely around dogs, that's gonna be a huge challenge. First, you'll need to start out with a list of what you want to plant, and then you'll have to Google and do your research and try to figure out if the plants you want are known to harm dogs if eaten or chewed. The ASPCA maintains lists of plants that are known to be dangerous to dogs, but it is not an all-inclusive list. It merely is a list of plants that have been reported to them as being dangerous. Still, it is a good starting point. I've always gardened with dogs, but for the safety of our dogs, they have an enclosed dog yard that is fenced off from the rest of the yard and nothing grows inside their dog yard that would be considered harmful to them. If we are out in the yard, I occasionally let them out of the dog yard to roam the larger yard, but only because I am out there with them and can keep an eye on them. Some dogs are diggers and will dig up anything and everything you plant. Other dogs could care less and never dig. Some dogs chew. Some dogs try to chew but what they end up doing is pulling up everything you planted so they then can chew on it. At times, when I planted stuff in our yard before we had built the fenced-in dog yard, I would put cages of woven wire fencing around newly planted shrubs and trees to prevent the dogs from digging them up. Did I think it looked really lovely? No, of course not. What it did, though, was allow new trees and shrubs to become firmly rooted into the ground before the dogs could dig them up. After the first year, I removed the cages and the dogs never dug up any of those plants. Our dogs were pretty big-time into digging in their younger years, particularly from the puppy stage until they were 4 or 5 years old. Now that they're older and calmer, they don't dig as much as they used to. We had one dog, Mrs. Jeeves, who made it her personal mission to rip into and scatter every bag of anything (peat moss, pine bark fines, cow manure, mushroom compost, soil-less planting mix, etc.) she could find but she didn't bother plants. So, if your dogs are older and more settled down, they might not bother your plants much at all. Be advised that if you use organic fertilizers like blood meal and bone meal, your dogs will smell them and will dig up everything in sight looking for the source of that smell. I noticed that a lot of the plants on your list flower at various stages in their lives. I think you might want to consider vitex agnus-castus which blooms in summer and has lovely blue flowers. It is very drought tolerant and will grow in almost any soil, as will crape myrtles. If you have well-drained sandy or sandy loam soil, I think that everything on your list would grow well for you, but I haven't compared the plants you listed to lists of plants known to harm dogs. Lavender needs really well drained soil, so keep that in mind if you have soil that has a lot of clay in it. I'll link the ASPCA dog problem plant list. When you click on the link and go to that page, you'll notice you can ask for a 'toxic' list or a 'non-toxic' list, or you can search for individual plants using their search feature. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: ASPCA Toxic and Non-toxic Plants For Dogs
...See More
Help newby w/steam shower
Q
Comments (1)
OK--wrong place! I told you I'm a newby--I'll cut and paste. . .
...See More
Challenge: anyone w/ induction exp who'd go back to gas?
Q
Comments (117)
The perspective of a pro chef, for what itï¿½s worth (long post): Induction vs. Gas SPEED: Advantage to INDUCTION: It heats up faster and doesnï¿½t waste time on conduction to grates. RESPONSIVENESS: Slight advantage to INDUCTION. For mcst cooking, the two are basically a push. Both can be adjusted with near-instant responsiveness. However, induction burners can be set at lower settings, where gas flames would just die out. For example you can melt chocolate on induction without a bain marie. Also, gas cooking transfers heat to the grates, so there is a definite lag in responsiveness especially when lowering the heat (one reason why cooking "off the burner" is sometimes necessary). CONTROL: Basically a push. With gas, you can see the flame. With induction, you see the number. After learning the levels on induction, thereï¿½s no difference in this category. VERSATILITY: Advantage to GAS. Gas can be used for wok cooking, roasting peppers, flambï¿½ing. The induction equivalent requires a flat-bottomed wok, and a butane torch from the hardware store (not the dinky ones at kitchen stores). CLEANUP: Huge advantage to INDUCTION. Cleanup on induction is a breeze. Since the cooktop itself isnï¿½t hot, thereï¿½s no cool-down time before wiping, and no caked on/burnt food & liquids. Or just cook on top of newspaper and throw it out afterwards. Cleanup for pots & pans is easier too - No more scorched exteriors to scrub. COOKWARE: Huge advantage to GAS. Gas being low-tech, you can use pots/pans of any material and size. With induction, you need ferrous pots/pans (cast iron or stainless). MAINTENANCE: Advantage to GAS. Gas stoves are generally low-tech, meaning fewer repairs and lower expected cost per repair. I would expect a quality gas range to outlast a quality induction cooktop. Also glass cooktops are at risk of cracking under abuseï¿½ Thereï¿½s not really anything you can "break" with gas. PRICE: Advantage to GAS (assuming an existing gas line). Mid-range induction cooktops run about 50% more than their gas counterparts. ENERGY COST: Slight advantage to Induction. While induction in 90% efficient vs. 50% for gas (plus ambient cooling), natural gas is so cheap in North America right now that you wonï¿½t see a noticeable difference in your bills, if at all. Of course that could change down the roadï¿½ And with the ambient cooling costs incurred with gas, induction still has a slight advantage in this category. SAFETY: Advantage to Induction. No risks associated with open flames, hot grates, or combustion fumes. SELECTION: Advantage to Gas. Thereï¿½s just a huge selection of gas cooktops out there, in all sizes and ventilation options. There is no downdraft induction cooktop (not that downdraft is really effective anyway). There is currently no 36" induction range/oven combo (Viking makes a 30"). RESALE VALUE: Advantage to Gas. Most people in American are just not informed about induction. They will walk in and assume you have radiant electric, which could be a deal breaker. And even if induction is explained to them, they may still be wary. This forum is a prime example of the mentality out there. Some people are just staunch advocates of gas, and no amount of information can change that view. OVERVIEW: How you weigh these pros and cons will depend on the individual. For me, the clean-up with induction was a major factor, as I'm fed up with scrubbing caked on crud and grease from hot grates every day. Regarding the argument of what pros use... Yes, restaurants use gas. They are cheap, sturdy, easy to repair, and take a lot of abuse (banging & clanging). You can use crap pans, and no staff training is necessary. Most people (including my fellow chefs) have never cooked on induction, and feel no reason to explore it. There is NO TRUE PERFORMANCE ADVANTAGE to gas. Decide what features are important to you and don't listen to all the nutjobs out there!
...See More
Related Professionals
Graham Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · La Marque Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · New Mexico Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Garden City Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Aurora Landscape Contractors · Arden-Arcade Landscape Contractors · Berkeley Heights Landscape Contractors · Biloxi Landscape Contractors · Cincinnati Landscape Contractors · Fuquay-Varina Landscape Contractors · Lehigh Acres Landscape Contractors · West Palm Beach Landscape Contractors · Wickliffe Landscape Contractors · Downers Grove Solar Energy Systems · Palm Springs Solar Energy Systems
Belgianpup
16 years ago
Why don't you scope out the farmer's market this year (on a regular basis), scope out the place you're looking for, get moved, do your research, and get all your ducks lined up for next year?

Grow your potted tomatoes (etc) for yourself and friends, maybe give some samples to neighbors (advance advertising), and just keep learning until you feel like you're on firmer footing for next year.

If you put too many irons in the fire this year, you may get so stressed out that you won't want to start next year.

Just some thoughts.

Sue
0
susiq
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks Sue.

I forgot I'd posted over here til just a few minutes ago. Thanks for writing, and your helpful words.

I had a "farming" disaster the other day. My carefully sowed and labeled 72 jiffy pot tray was ready for it's outdoor adventure. My DH & I put the plastic covering over my "baker's rack" sized greenhouse, put the plant tray in, zipped her up and went back inside. Storms hit, blew my little greenhouse down, and oh MY!!!! Salvaged most of the baby transplants, but ALL the labeling is undone! ANGST! Of course, the greenhouse withstood all kinds of storms sitting out there by it's lonesome, no plastic covering on it or plants inside, until we changed that dynamic! lol!

Not only have I never grown (or tasted) heirlooms before, I won't be able to tell which red is which! I should be able to tell the yellow or green ones okay, I'd think, but deciphering the reds will be interesting! lol!

Thanks for your help & response.

susiq
0

Newbie w/ issues-challenges

Comments (4)

boulderbelt

susiq
Original Author

Related Discussions

Related Professionals

Belgianpup

susiq
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Newbie w/ issues-challenges

Comments (4)

boulderbelt

susiqOriginal Author

Related Discussions

Related Professionals

Belgianpup

susiqOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

susiq
Original Author

susiq
Original Author