[Market-farming] Cost to start plants

cjmaness at juno.com cjmaness at juno.com
Tue Jan 8 13:04:53 EST 2008


I'll be starting the Cole crops next week, around the 15Th. We used to try and set out the transplants of those early things around Feb. 15Th, but we never really gained anything. So, now we shoot for March 1st. We do broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts and lettuce. If we can get stuff in the ground by March 1st, we can be harvesting the early broccoli by May 1st.
About Feb. 15th I start peppers and eggplant. 
March 1st I get the tomatoes started.
About April 1st I start the squash, cukes, cantaloupes, okra and watermelons. 
We added cut flowers about 2 years ago to our veggies and they all get started at various times. They are not as easy as the veggies. Some need 8-10 weeks in the greenhouse, others just 2 weeks. Some need light to germinate, others don't. 
Our market opens April 1st, and we have struggled every year to be there on opening day with something! We have about 1/2 acre of asparagus. Last year was the first real pick on the asparagus. 
We do the Cole crops again in the fall. I start most of those around the 1st part of June, and try and transplant by the 1st week or so of July.
Brussel Sprouts were a big hit at our market. We cut the whole stalk, stripped off the leaves and sold them like that. Our customers had no idea that was how brussel sprouts grew! Last year was our first year to try those. We put out about 200 transplants and could easily have sold triple that amount. As for broccoli, we have increased the amount we grow every year, and still haven't reached the point of bringing any home. We are the only ones who grow any kind of Cole crop at our market though.
Last year we put out 1800 broccoli plants. We cut the main head, and then we keep going back and cutting the side shoots until we are just sick of doing it! I think we could probably double production this year and sell all of it. 
Carla
  
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