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Subject: Market Farming
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- From: "nan and stewart" <stewart AT watervalley.net>
- To: "market farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
- Subject: mesclun production by novice
- Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 14:13:48 -0000
hi folks...i am planning to start a mixed baby
salad greens business where i grow ready-to-wash n'eat salad mix, with edible
flowers/a few herbs, plus bunches of chard, kale, collards, turnip greens,
mustards and rape (ready to wash n/ stir fry) - all grown organically - for
about 15 families
each family has indicated that they will want one
pound a week of the salad greens and a bunch of the stir fry
greens.
excess produce may be marketed to a local
supermarket (small grocery store that may like the ready to wash n/eat aspect
even more than the organically grown, here in north mississippi)
though i have worked a mesclun operation before
(winter greenhouse/summer fields) for sale to farmers market and restaurant, i
was never in charge of it, and am not sure how to figure out amount of seeds =
lb. of mixed greens per week per family.
i will be growing from november to april..so slower
growing time for plants due to lower light, (by the way, i found a great organic
fertilizer especially formulated for winter greens, i.e. for greens growing in
low light, whether outdoors or greenhouse, from territorial seed company, calls
rootsplus -it is a liquid and i used it several times over the winter and plan
to use it again. evidently using fish emulsion for the nitrogen is not so
great in winter, as plants don't metabolize it as well and can lead to aphid
infestations as plant sugars get out of balance...read this in "growing for
market"newletter last winter - excellent newsletter by the way....
anyway, i had about 20 heads of loose leaf lettuces
planted last winter and i would pick out leaves every week, so the head lasted
about 2-3 months, but i was thinking of rotating different varieties and
replanting at some point in season, and never did try to figure out how many
families i could feed, since i was only marketing as a trial....
but had great success last year with trial
customers (they liked the taste, the mix, the
look of it, the convenience and the fact that it was grown organically and
incredibly fresh)
i charged $5.00/lb and sold in half and quarter lb.
sizes...i have one of marie's great scales (just arrived...what a great
deal..and those folks were so nice -thanks) so it will be easy to give small
amounts....
my labor probably isn't even covered, but i figure
i am still experimenting - last year it was on growing the lettuces, this year
on getting production/timing of transplants, etc. down pat..i have the salad
video from territorial seed company, but she grows much larger amounts, i want
to stick to my 15 families and see how that goes, then may expand, or add other
products
i will be dropping everyone's order off once a week
at a herbal shop about 12 miles away in oxford, ms (but i go there anyway on
other errands)...shop owner will store produce and families can come anytime
during that day of the week and get their order (all families are in oxford) and
check off in the log book..then bill once a month (???)...so i don't have to
stick around all day and families have convenience of coming anytime (not just
from say, 8 - 12) and not having to have change every time.....
since there is no source of any organic produce
around here at all (except occasional limp celery, tiny prewashed carrots or
expensive mixed salad greens from california at the big Kroger chain in oxford)
folks are happy to get the stuff, even at slight inconvenience....my friend will
add his free range eggs to the pickup day....i would add the goat milk but by
law must sell it on the farm......
any thoughts out there? you can tell my
summer season is ending here and the fall growing season hasn't started, so when
it is 102 degrees outside i can sit by the computer and let the buckwheat grow
and smother out the late summer weeds, but i do need to order the seeds in
september....THANKS
nan at dancing goats farm,
mississippi
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- mesclun production by novice, nan and stewart, 08/14/2000
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