I don't "insist". You did. Normally when one adds "Help!" to their title of a post it indicates a sense of urgency, a need for something specific, and an ASAP need for an answer. If one wishes to just chat about gardening, which is what this thread has turned out to be, then the "Help!" in the title is misleading. But you have properly stressed that the many variables between gardens should keep any any readers from being misled into believing they are doing something wrong if their results don't match those posted here or doing everything right if their results exceed don't match. Because of all those undefined variables one really can't compare zonal, regional, or even neighboring gardens with any degree of validity. Dave

Hi Anthony, Like Mark, my prices are based on retail, not wholesale. You are essentially a contract grower of specialty produce. If chefs want specific varieties, they must pay a premium, and truly high-end restaurants (that's my market, as well) will just pass on the cost to the guests - don't short yourself. I have worked in high-end restaurants for over 25 years, and been a supplier to them for as long. If your quality is good, don't be afraid to charge what it's worth - it is a lot of labor and a lot doesn't get sold to the best restaurants, because they only want the best, and that is expensive to create. Chefs want clean, unblemished, uniformly sized produce, because it is cheaper for them to process into an elegant presentation. Generally they prefer smaller rather than larger sizes - haricot verts instead of large green beans, slender short carrots instead of large ones - because it means less prep time in the kitchen so less labor cost. They prefer, and know how to recognize, freshness, so harvest your most perishable crops early on the morning of delivery day, and field chill if necessary. If you bring them bug-eaten leaves, crooked carrots, or 10 pounds of potatoes that weigh 1/2 oz and 2 lbs in the same bag, or anything that needs to be washed, they aren't happy. Do your first sorting right in the field into 3 categories - best quality, very good, and the rest. As an example, my purple carrots are grown in beds that are 30" wide and 20' long (50 sq. ft) where the soil is sifted 18" deep, so they all grow straight and fast. I wash them by hand, sort them by size, cut the greens at 1 1/2 inches from the top of the carrot (I sell the tops separately) and sell them 12/$5. They are ready to cut and cook when they arrive. I have a replacement guarantee for any produce that gets returned because of quality issues, or I credit the next order if they don't want a replacement. I deliver on Thursdays and Mondays only, because they are too busy on weekends and Monday they have time to spend talking about the week ahead. I expect payment within ten days, or impose a service charge. Most pay on delivery. For your first year, one restaurant may be all you should commit to, and market the surplus to the others as you have it. Tell the other restaurants that this is your first year doing this type of marketing, and you don't want to sacrifice quality, but you will keep them apprised of any surplus specialty items and they will have first pick. Chefs are very pressed for time and don't like any BS, so be upfront and direct - they'll appreciate it. It is more important to meet the expectations of volume and quality in the beginning, and create a reputation that will allow you to maintain a premium price for your produce. If it's really good, the chefs will be calling you. The only discount should be for produce that doesn't meet your highest standards, and if you can find a non-restaurant market for that, such as caterers or gourmet grocers, it will serve your reputation... chefs talk to each other all the time. I grow in Maine, and most of my markets are local, but I have sold my produce in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, D.C., and Palm Beach, and they pay air-freight shipping rates. Ask the chef you are working with how many people he serves per week (in the trade we call them "covers", i.e.; "we did 158 covers last night," which means they served 158 entrees, not people. Remember that, in most fine dining, dinner is a salad or appetizer, the main meal, dessert, and beverages. You should try to have something from your farm on every plate, even if it is garnishing material like Blue Basil flowers. Even in urban markets, restaurants are seasonal - there are way more rich people in New York in the winter than in the summer (a lot come to Maine), and your area will have seasonal variation too. The chef should be able to guide you towards when demand will slow. Remember too that you have a good market around the winter holidays, so it pays to have something to offer between Thanksgiving and New Years, and Valentines Day can be a nice winter income pop if you plan right. These days, "high-end" in the restaurant industry assumes that each guest will pay $80 or more for dinner, and often way more... some of my clients charge over $200, not including drinks, per person. The very highest-end restaurants routinely get $400 per person, and I have served tables that spent over $10,000 per person - it is a very different world for the 1% crowd. High-end restaurants have a lot of overhead, but they aren't hurting like the mid-range restaurants are. This is the market you want to shoot for, because they have a stable clientele who don't worry so much about economic fluctuations, they just want the best, and will pay for it. There were only 20 restaurants in America last year that received 5-star ratings from Mobil, considered the most stringent reviewer. There are hundreds of 3-star. You want to be selling to 4- and 5-star restaurants, because that will get you adequately funded for retirement.Your preference should always be to service the most expensive restaurants. They are buying from farms like ours. Try to get your farms' name printed on the menu in any restaurant you sell to, this will serve both you and them in that it promotes the perception that they are concerned about local organic food - a very strong selling point these days. Put their names on your own marketing, and at your stand, if the chefs agree to it. Use press releases for marketing as well - if there is a culinary benefit, or the chef is doing a special event, donate something and get it publicized. Sid Wainer is one of the largest purveyors of specialty produce in New England, his website will give you some insight on pricing of some specialty items. Professional cooking magazines will also have good references to follow up on for pricing - much of my garden planning revolves around culinary resources rather than seed catalogs. Publications aimed at the retail consumer market will be of less usefulness - Saveur being a notable exception. I use Fedco for the bulk of my seed order, they are a Maine company that has principles I respect, and carry a lot of good seeds at fair prices, with substantial volume discounts. I also use Baker Creek, Johnnys', Ornamental Edibles, Kitazawa, Seeds of Italy, and Graines-Baumaux in France, and many others. I do not sell large potatoes, "utility" onions and carrots, standard green broccoli or cabbage - the return isn't worth it, and chefs can get it cheaper elsewhere. Once you calculate your plant needs for one restaurant, at least double the number of plants. Stagger planting dates, and take advantage of micro-climates to stagger the harvest further. Explore using different growing techniques as well as unusual varieties, and invest in season-extension and crop protection technology - hoop houses, row covers, IRT mulches, drip irrigation and the like will make your life easier and your product more reliable. Buy varieties based on flavor, color, and heirloom qualities for the most part, but buy common cultivars for experimenting with growing techniques. Look for things like white celery, cornichons, treviso radicchio, sea kale, Egyptian onions, and any unusual colors - carrots are the big thing right now, but black and watermelon radishes, blue peas, orange or Romanesco caulflower, or white strawberries will appeal to chefs with "foodie" clientele. I have ways of growing radishes, carrots, and garlic that are unusual and offer a product unique to my farm, I also market a lot of unusual greens and edible flowers and micro-greens - anything that makes you stand out in the mind of the chef when he wants something unique will bring in $ and more clients. Eventually, you should be intensively working about 5 acres for specialty produce, making a good living, and not need the farm stand at all. Plan to have some of your farm dedicated to ornamental products as well - cut flowers in summer, unusual pumpkins and gourds in fall, and greens in winter can all add to the bottom line. The dining room manager or GM will give you guidance on what they might buy from you instead of a florist. Here is a link that might be useful: Manzano seed

I got them transplanted today - not all of them, I ran out of room, but 66. The germination rate, if no more actually come up, was 65 percent. The plants were somewhat root bound, but not completely. I need to pick up some more seeds and try the 128-cell tray. Transplanting was not difficult, even though I did not have a hoe handy to make a furrow. I would have to keep moving but if I get the moisture content of the potting mix right and the roots are larger, I think I could plant 200-300 per hour. It would still be a 2-6 hour day, depending on how close and quickly I plant them. These had to be about 4" as the space was only about 10 feet. Now the challenge is going to be keeping the temps down, at least during the afternoon. It's 48 outside and the sun is low on the horizon, but it is 87 inside. But, it was over 100 before I got the blanket off so maybe the temps would not be that high. Plus, I have a fan I can use to move air. Mike

Pulpo, I did not keep as close track of all harvests that I probably should have but I believe the book to be accurate in some things and off in others....another thing to keep in mind is the book assumes 100% germination. Read your seed packets, I find most will have listed germination rates of only 85-95%. Lettuce Book says 4 per sq. ft. Depending on the kind of lettuce this is possible, however my experience with butterhead types is that it is simply to close. I did not grow crisphead (often what is called iceberg) types so I cannot speak for that, however I assume it would be close for that also. Romaine seems to do ok planted this close. I needed to transplant in order to get 4 per sq especially when the weather started to warm up. In warmer weather lettuce simply does not germinate well. BTW....Mel's suggestion of starting seeds in a container of vermiculite in water works very well. We started our lettuce in 72 cell cell packs filled with vermiculite. We took the humidity domes, turned them upside down and filled them with water, then set the cell packs into them. Worked very well with almost 100% germination. Cherry Books says 6 lbs. I did not weigh my harvest of tomatoes per plant, however I believe this would be less what we experienced. This might be a good average number depending on variety. Cucumbers We had lots, however per plant I would not know. The only cukes we plan on plating next year is Mexican Sour Gherkins. They are great on salads and most people have never seen them, creates quite a conversation piece. "Normal" cukes only get used in small amounts in most restaurants it seems (orders would be for about a dozen a week) Swiss Chard Did not grow. Radishes Book says 16, for us yields ran about 8. I believe my nitrogen was a little to high which makes a nice top but not much radish. Hope to improve that a little till next year, but I would not expect to ever get 16. Again that assumes 100% germination and 100% harvest. Snap Beans Book says 2 lbs which is very close to what we experienced. Our beds are 4' wide and 32' feet long. We planted some at 9 to a square like the book says and others simply three rows per bed. Yields were about the same and the three row beds were easier to harvest. The 9 per sq. beds were quite a tangle! Tomatoes Books says 9. We planted many varieties and found yields to vary quite a bit. I did not keep track of total yield in lbs, however I do know commercial green house growers in the area expect about 16lbs per plant using similar methods of growing, pruning etc. Carrots Books says 16. For us the germination rates were poor for carrots, however the ones that did come up produced very nicely. I would say we probably ran about 8 per sq.ft total harvest. Peppers I did not keep track of yields in lbs, however I would say the book is a little high on this one, maybe not in TX though with your longer growing season. Eggplant Did not grow, hope to till next year however Corn Did not grow. Overall I would say to expect about 90% germination of your seeds and about 80% of that would be number 1 quality harvest. Good luck!