I would like to start a small agriculture experiment on organic vegetables. Can you give me a suggestion?
Image by oceandesetoiles
We stopped at the L.T. Organic Farm and Restaurant in Waukee, Iowa, on the way back from Colorado.
The full story about the farm can be read on my blog.
Question by Concerned citizen: I would like to start a small agriculture experiment on organic vegetables. Can you give me a suggestion?
I have a limited budget of about $ 2k, have a small land@ 2acres, would like to help the community and share
the fruits I harvest. What can I start with with the little I have?
Add your own answer in the comments!
7 Responses to I would like to start a small agriculture experiment on organic vegetables. Can you give me a suggestion?
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Try grapes.
Heli12345
October 5, 2011 at 10:58 am
Maybe strawberries, or tomatoes.
Vicky
October 5, 2011 at 11:56 am
Check out information from Rodale in Emmaus PA. Rhis their specialty.
Captain
October 5, 2011 at 11:59 am
Start a permaculture forrest garden. look up Robert Hart on youtube. Thats a good start
Lenny
October 5, 2011 at 12:24 pm
CSA or community garden
You also might contact VISTA, or another non-profit, for labor.
Jerry Lee
October 5, 2011 at 12:58 pm
Where you are would have helped a lot.
If you’re in a rural setting, I’d go with Bee farming in this day and age? You may be weary about the sound of it at first, but I assure you, once you get in, you’ll never want to stop. Plus, 2 grand is enough to really get started right, (in a small way) and if you do it right, you can harvest and sell queen bees, starter hives (nucs) for other people to buy, beeswax, or beeswax candles and products you or wife make with it, and of course, honey products. You can buy or make specialty gift components that you put into the hive, the bees fill them up with honey comb and honey, and you pull them out and sell or give them as gifts. As they say eating homegrown honeycomb and honey is like eating candy from Heaven. You might even get into making hive components of your own. Once you have the proper suit, (the best one is about 80 bucks) all the “issues” and “fears” of working with bees go away, and you’ll start to love to “bee” around them.
The nice thing about it is, they don’t “need” your land, and therefore, once you get them established, you can go back to the idea of planting something? Look for what is lacking in this nation if you want to recoup monies spent? Such as chestnuts, (if you’re in the right area?) Pistachios (both are big money crops with massive shortages in our nation.)
Else, you can always do the same ol’ stuff. If you go with bees, they love a good nearby corn crop and having them right there will assure a great double, sometimes triple eared stock. (with correct planting and nutrition.)
As you can see, I submitted you what is considered “odd ball” crops. Because, thanks to our government either dictating what is grown, or because of terrible agriculture policies (designed to line the pockets of Monsanto) our nation is suffering many ailments, and having to import these kinds of things. Not to mention, all those items I mentioned, especially the bees, are in shortage thanks to Monsanto thinking they can make better food then God did, and arrogantly believing they can control nature’s way of “being nature.” We need small time farmers like you to get in the game and bring these things back before there is nothing left to save.
Consider it, look around, there’s all sorts of great free resources on bees, nuts and natural foods. One where I get my bee stuff is called Dadant. Rossman Apiaries makes a nice cypress hive if you want the best. (Both online) You’ll find everything you need to know on their sites or many others. You shouldn’t pay a nickel for bee info. It is an unwritten edict for each beekeeper to help others get started and show them anything they know.
Have fun, hope you give something like that a try….
Bernard
October 5, 2011 at 1:26 pm
There are still some variables that you havent included. Is the land cleared and workable (organic?)?
Do you have acess to machinery or tools to create vegetable gardens?
Manpower to operate a few arces of vegetable garden?
As far as seed money goes you have plenty to get started on 1-2 acres. I would buy in transplants unless you have acess to greenhouses. (where is this property located? Growing zone?)
I would grow something easy, with the least amount of labor involved. If you intend on being organic, tomatoes/potatoes, squash family vegetables are usually not good ones to start with. Tomatoe/potatoe suffer from various forms of blight, and squash have a hard time with squash borers and other insect problems.
Brassicas (broccoli, ect.) are usually pretty easy, along with eggplant (asian is my suggestion).
In order to sell under the organic label you must be certified organic, and if you sell anything as such, without certification there are fines and usually bad PR.
Working the land might be your biggest problem, 2 acres of vegetable garder is a huge undertaking for one person, and should be carefully thought out prior to starting.
Dan S
October 5, 2011 at 1:59 pm