Market Farming

[Alex McGregor <waldenfarm AT sprintmail.com>]

Adriana,

I too sell arugula to restaurants and a local store. What they had been 
getting is yellow
and wilted. What do you charge for yours? I charge a very good customer who 
buys herbs
and peppers from me $10/lb. The others that just want arugula- $12/lb.

I have a niche market with lettuce varieties that don't ship well- mostly 
Batavians. I
grow them all season. They're too tender for shipping. I also grow Bronze 
Arrow oak leaf
(from Bountiful Gardens) and some red leaf. One restaurant buys only red leaf 
to add to
the cheap iceburg to make the salads look better. Another restaurant buys 
Romaine for
their Caesar salads for Sunday brunch.

I get $1.25/lb. for the lettuces- wholesale. I get this because I show them 
that if they
trim the crap and core out of the commercial lettuce and weigh it, they find 
that mine is
about the same price for what they get- because the cores in mine are small 
and I trim it
up so they can use all the leaves.

The fresh herbs are also a niche- because they're fresh and I don't use N 
fertilizer
(chemical or "organic") to force rapid growth. They therefore have a higher 
aromatic oil
content. One chef passed bags of my basil and mint around to some of his 
regulars saying,
"This is why the food tastes so good- his herbs."

Keep on nicheing,
Alex McGregor
Walden Farm
Walden Ridge, TN

Adriana Gutierrez wrote:

> Have any of you identified any interesting market niches that you're
> willing to share with the group?  I'll share mine if you'll share
> yours:>)...