The Power of Signage
HerbLady49
16 years ago
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muddydogs
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoEmbothrium
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
anyone ever tried selling/making herb vinegars??
Comments (8)I just got out a book from the library the other day called "Making and Selling Herbal Crafts" by Alyce Nadeau. I had a lot of good ideas in it and some good recipes too. Some of the recipes were for Sage Blossom Vinegar, ideas for a culinary gift basket, Lavender Cookie Recipe, Tea bags, Tea blend (with peppermint, spearmint and lemon grass), and Herbal Bath Refresher. There were lots of other things too those were just some that caught my eye. The author also mentions baking breads with herbs, which really got me thinking. Last year I sold Zucchini Bread and Pear Nut Bread and both did very well almost sold out every time. So this year I wanted to make some more different types of bread. Looks like I will have to see if I can find some recipes for herb breads. I know what you mean about wanting to do it all. Right now I am starting to feel a little overwhelmed by all the new plans I have made for myself this year. I am thinking some will have to wait for next year, but how to choose? While I was searching for information about luffa gourds I came across a tread that included this recipe for luffa soap: "Hi, in order to make loofa soap, your loofa should be fully dried. You may need to purchase dried loofa from your local craft store if loofa is not dried in time. Loofa Soap Recipe: Cut the loofa into slices depending on the size of your mold and the desired effect you wish to have. Round, Rectangle...using whole slices, shreds or chunks of loofa etc. Carefully melt glycerin chunks in a glass measuring cup in your microwave ( or low heat on the stovetop in a coated pan ), approx. 40-60 seconds depending on the amount you are melting. Be sure to add a few drop of fragrance if you choose when melting. Once melted, pour soap into molds and let cool. Loofa will sometime pop up, I use something small to keep it down and then correct the cosmetic flaw once it has cool. This is usually not noticed as it is the bottom of the soap. Once cool, pop out of mold, add a ribbon or two, place in a decorative basket and prepare for the ohh's and ahh's your son will receive as he hands these out to relatives for Christmas." It seems pretty simple and if you were to had herbs in the soap then you would have two ingredients that you grew. Below I also linked the full thread if you were interested. Here is a link that might be useful: Thread about Luffas...See MoreMarket newbie looking for advice
Comments (25)sorry I didn't mean to make you mad or be a jerk or rain on your parade.... I don't want anyone not to try. But please don't think it's going to be easy.Twelve years ago, I thought I wanted to have my own greenhouse business because I like to grow plants. I thought i wanted to be a market gardener so I'd have work all year long...well it's been a learning curve anyway! so if you like to learn a lot every year, it's a great job for you...and if you think you have it figured out, think again, something will happen for sure...and every time someone comes in the greenhouse or market and says "you have my dream job!" I just groan on the inside. One lady told me she wanted to do this when she retires in a couple of years because it would be easier than her job where she has to stand on her feet for 8 hours. I thought to myself "only 8 hours, where do you work?and "you get to retire? they're actually going to give you money when you do?" She has it made... I never work less than 12 hours all summer from February to November.Broiling in the sun and freezing in the rain because you have to get things picked for market. and the rest of the year I'm cleaning the greenhouses and beds and ordering supplies and going into debt for next year. or cleaning my house that didn't get cleaned all summer or fall or spring especially. And worrying that the wind will take down all your work, or grasshoppers, or thrips, or aphids.I've had the opportunity to learn about bugs and diseases I didn't even know existed when I was just home gardening. A lot of times when you don't see something at the market, it's because it doesn't sell enough to be worth the effort. That's been my experience.I've grown several things I didn't see at the market, it turns out it's because people don't really want it, at least enough to put their cash into action. Purple basil has always been a hard sell for me. I sell plants in the spring, well actually all year long. Purple basil is beautiful, tasty, and you have to beg people to buy it pretty much! heirloom tomatoes is another thing I've had a hard time with. Yes, they taste better and they are probably better in every way. But most customers around here would rather eat a pretty tomato with worse taste than a very tasty one that has a crack or doesn't look quite so appealing.And it's a lot harder to get them to market in good shape. to sell plants in most states, you need to have either a dealers license to resell or a growers license to grow and in our state if you want to grow and sell you need both. I have both. that's extra money and they come and inspect in the spring when you're just so busy you really don't need another hassle! LOL If you don't need to make money at this, then just have fun with it. but please, don't be the person at the market practically giving things away to get people to try it, or if you do have the same things as someone else, don't undercut them much just because you don't have to make a lot of money. value your time and effort. I am just also currently in a bad mood over people who want to do this part time because there are some people who are pretty much ruining our market by having lots and lots of stuff really cheap because they "planted too much" and "we have other jobs anyway". they are selling things so cheap that I wouldn't even haul them to market for that price. It's hard to make money marketing anyway, but especially when you're against that kind of thing!...See MoreCommerical Signage Near Home
Comments (2)Make good pellet gun targets! Well lighted at night!! No muzzle flash!!! HMMM??? Or, you could go talk to them, explain how nice you have been, not complaining about the little bit of noise you hear sometimes, how they have been good neighbors-all of that--then kindly ask them if they could tone down the brightness at night, or just light the sign with a low power lamp! Explain how it shines in yer bedroom window at night, keeping you awake! While rubbing yer sleepy eyes! Might work better than the pellet gun! Rustyj...See MorePlexiglas over painted drywall for backsplash color: PMS376
Comments (8)live wire oak: Thanks for your reply! Yeah, I always get the two plastics mixed up! I think the deal is acrylic (Plexiglas) vs. polycarbonate (Lexan). I know that one is less susceptible to scratching, but more prone to yellowing, and the other is the reverse. Here, I've found a bullet list comparing the two--I'm going to quote it here for my own reference: Key characteristics/differences, acrylic (Plexiglas) compared to polycarbonate (Lexan): More likely to chip, less impact resistance then polycarbonate. (still 10-24 times more resistant than glass) Less likely to scratch. More of a consumer (household) level and is easier to find at hardware stores. Does NOT yellow after time. Better clarity and can be restored to optical clarity. Key characteristics/differences, polycarbonate (Lexan) compared to acrylic (Plexiglas): Impact/chip resistance is much higher with polycarbonate. (about 30 times more resistant than glass) More likely to scratch. Substantially more expensive. (roughly 2 to 3 times) Used for more industry applications. Bulletproof when thick enough. More bendable. More formable. Yellows over time due to ultraviolet rays Easier to work with (cut, less likely to break) Poorer clarity, diffuses light, can lighten (could be positive). --from hemineko.net The somewhat awkward semantics (what compared to what?) makes this summary a bit confusing, but it was one of the first summaries I could easily Google. trixieinthegarden: Interesting stuff! Great ideas! Thank you for the information! fran1523: Thanks for commenting! How has it held up?...See Moremuddydogs
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agowyobluesky
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoEmbothrium
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoHerbLady49
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agoEmbothrium
16 years agolast modified: 9 years agodnedd1 zone7 LI NY
3 years ago
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