Market Farming

[S & S Aqua Farm <snsaquasys AT townsqr.com>]

At 05:23 PM 02/10/2000, Adriana wrote:
>
>> For large quantities, we found that growing for a single harvest and
>> replanting (using 1-2 week old transplants) was the most economical.  
>Paula, I found myself thinking about that option today as I harvested my 
>basil.  It certainly would produce a beautiful, uniform product.

It does (actually a very nice self-selling product:>).  We started using
this method after weeks (months?) of fighting the cut and come again
process.  Just realized that the commercial growers surely could not be
using that method, and started paying more attention to the growth pattern.
For the wholesale market, full plants is what they buy.  The farmers market
generally will support the smaller shoots (leaves w/small stems) for a
higher price/pound, with the highest dollar coming from leaves alone,
usually pre-packaged in small containers.  It's a choice for the grower how
he/she wants to sell.  The price spread (at one time) was approximately
$6.00/lb. to the grower (pre-NAFTA - whole plants in 1# bags), $16.00/lb. to
the wholesaler (same package); and we had a grower we knew who was supplying
grocery stores with small clamshell containers that sold for $2.00 each, but
the grower actually received $1.25 for 1/2 oz. (over $40.00/lb.)!!  Just
another example of how the margin can increase if you're willing to take the
extra time and expense to support it.  

>> able to produce 15-20# in a 4'x8' grow bed on a rotational basis every
>> four-five weeks (transplant to harvest, depending on temperatures). 
>How old are your transplants when you transfer them to your beds?  What 
>type of spacing do you use?

We took the transplants at approximately 2 weeks (actually we heavily seed a
section and take the transplants from that for several weeks, but start at 2
weeks).  We used a "square-foot" type spacing (staggered) ..... I was going
to take the time to write this properly, but I'm out of it (time that is).
Here's a copy of a post I'd written over a year ago describing what we do.
If it's not clear, I'll post again later.  

----------------------------------------------------------
>I've always used "2 sq. in." as an estimate when talking to people about
planting.  I just drew it out on paper & measured.  Actually our planting
space (between irrigation grid pipes) is 10" x ~44" across the beds.  When I
plant, I place a row of 5 seedlings within the 10" spacing, then I move
across about 1-1/2" and place 4:
>
>             X       X       X       X       X      
>               
>                 X       X       X       X
>
>This continues across the 44", and I've never slowed down enough to count.
On paper tonight, it looks like 27 plants in a 6" wide planting, or ~ 54
plants per 10x12" space.  When I look back, I believe this is pretty close
to accurate - I can remember during a planting blitz counting plants as I
went (one of those times I must not have had anything serious to be thinking
about).  Approximately 200 plants per section seems right.  I believe that
calculates to about 65 plants per square foot, but correct me if I'm wrong.  
>
>I always seeded very thickly in a small portion of one of our 2' beds -
maybe 20" of space, solid with seeds.  After two weeks, I could pick the
more aggressive plants, and used them to transplant into what I considered
proper spacing.  No matter how many times we did this, there would still be
inconsistencies in the plants (somewhat like the hairs on your head, I
think).  Most plants did well - those that were slow to settle in ended up
being shaded by the larger ones.  When we cut, everything was removed from
the beds.  Most plants were usable, the majority 12" to 18" tall, with a few
8-10" plants which went into the bag also.  Only a minor portion of the
plants were discovered dead or doing so poorly that they couldn't be used.
I was not especially careful in transplanting about how deep or whether the
plant was standing straight.  All I did was make sure the roots were
comfortably covered and that the water level in the bed was consistent with
the root depth. 
---------------------------------------------------------------------


>I was talking to an aquaponic grower today who, in a former life grew basil 
>from clones which he selected to provide the shortest internodal length, 
>therefore the best yield.

We've always used Sweet Genovese Basil, and were very happy with the
quality, leaf size, flavor and overall appearance; but I'd be interested to
know if his variety is available.  Eliminating the tendency for long "empty"
spaces in the stem would be a real bonus to growers, especially those of us
growing inside.

Paula
S&S Aqua Farm, 8386 County Road 8820, West Plains, MO 65775  417-256-5124
Web page  http://www.townsqr.com/snsaqua/