There are ways and means to make a living with the One Acre Market Garden Strategy that commercial growers really would prefer you did not know. Got your attention yet? If you are an entrepreneur and want to have your own produce stand or want to sell to stores and restaurants, you need to read on to learn how you can make your dream come true.
What if you could make an income year around that not only supported your family, but feeds them as well? If this is what you are looking for, you are in the right place. The strategy teaches you how to create an income from what you grow on as little as one acre of ground. Your income will depend on what you grow, if you are an adaptive farmer that gives plenty of time to the plants as they grow. Another important trait that you need to have is the ability to market your goods in a manner that is cost effective and successful. You have to be adept at the financial end of this endeavor as well and may need the assistance of a CPA for tax matters. There is nothing wrong with outsourcing the things you do not have time for or may not understand. You can cost yourself thousands of dollars if you do not fully understand the tax structure for this area of commerce. Now that you have heard about the tough stuff, let’s get on with what you need to know for your product.
Before a seed is planted there are some factors that have to be considered. The income of what your one acre will produce is determined by what you decided to grow. You will need to carefully think about the size of your family, what your standard of living is and the amount of the bills this garden is expected to cover. Is this going to be the only income? Will there be another source of income so that the garden does not have to cover all the bills? If it does, then the planning will be focused on the highest profit margin produce, if the garden does not have to cover all the bills, it can be somewhat diverse in the produce grown.
Location
Warm climates will require lots of water and shade at the hottest times, while cold climates require more greenhouse production and the covering of garden crops in cooler weather to extend the growing season. You will improve your garden’s production in any locality or type of weather using the One Acre Market Garden Strategy
Commitment
One more cautionary here, you must be totally committed to this endeavor, day in and day out in order for this to succeed. There is something that needs to be done with these plants EVERY day. No time off during the growing season. This is a seven days a week endeavor and if frost is headed in unexpectedly, you will be up through the night lighting smudge pots and covering your plants to protect them. These market crops are prima donnas’ and they do have to be babysat.
Technology
A century ago, most growers used dung, and it was a fairly level playing field between the family gardener and the market farmer. Technology took us out of the cow pasture and barns into high tech chemistry. The competition is tough, they have a lot more resources than you do, but you can make a good living with this method of growing produce. Organic produce when done by huge commercial growers’ ends up tasteless and sometimes watery because of the hydroponics, your produce will beat theirs any time.
You can beat the competition by growing your produce organically. By growing more, bigger, fresher, tastier, and healthier produce than others, you will develop a loyal customer base, and then you can adjust your prices as needed. Your customers care about quality and the fact that your produce does not contain artificial coloring, pesticides or fertilizer chemicals that are not naturals.
Choosing What to Grow
When deciding what you are going to grow you have some considerations to make. The ease of growing is one important factor to the success of your market garden. If a plant requires more care than you can give it and it is super sensitive to climate, then most likely this plant is not a good one for you unless nature has provided the environment the plant will need. Artificial environments do take time but you don’t want to have to sustain them for the whole growing period of the plant. The exception to this rule would be orchids.
You next consideration is going to be the cost and risk of loss. You will want to choose to grow plants that have natural resistance to bugs,. Another consideration you can include in your natural pesticide plan is to plant marigolds around your beds to ward of many insects and attract the good insects, the pollen bearers.
Estimated Yields and Income across-the-board of a single crop from a One Acre Market Garden of 250 -30-foot-long by 18 inch-wide soil beds
Pole Beans:
150 plants per bed at $.60 per pound = $33,750
Cabbage:
61 plants/bed at $.20/# = $12,200
Corn:
92 plants at $.20/ear = $6,900
Cucumbers:
46 plants/bed, at $.35/lb = $32,200
Potatoes:
92 plants/bed, at $.20/lb = $11,500
Tomatoes:
41 plants/bed, at $.50/lb = $51,250
In a good year you will be able to outperform the chart, but in a dry, hot year you may not realize as much as the chart shows. This is a factor no one has control over. The other variables in this business are the economy, retail vs. wholesale markets, and again, the plants you chose to grow.
Use the One Acre Market Garden Strategy and see profits come rolling in. Good luck and good gardening.