Pickle Farming

[yanks26]

Does anyone here make their own pickles? I am looking into starting my own pickle company and was curious what all of your thoughts are. Please enlighten me! Lol.

Also, I was debating growing my own cucumbers or just buying them from a cucumber supplier (preferably not the supermarket).

 

[ams3651]

i saw a guy, i think it was on food network and I think he was in NYC, and he pickles everything. Cucumbers, green beans, peas, beets, zucchini, you name it. I would think it would be cheaper to grow pickles, not that expensive or difficult. If you want to start a business you may have to try a few different varieties. Im trying my first attempt at refrigerator pickles this year.

 

[Scrambled Egg]

Look at the nice cycle you will have..feed the chickens the tops and ends of the cucumbers, chickens poop, add the poop to the garden dirt for nitrogen, grow great cucumbers......

The chicken poop has made my pickling cucumber vines explode this year, I planted 4 and have picked 3-4 cucumbers a day for the past month (I'm not canning these, we just eat them daily!)..an entire garden full would have been enough to can for the whole neighborhood I think! Good luck!

 

[Davaroo]

My mother made them.

She didnt do it on a profitable, production scale, however. I would be as interested to hear your thoughts on equipment and all the nuances of marketing and distribution, as anything else.
Im also keen to hear what you plan to bring to the market that sets you apart from other 'pickle makers.'

 

[yanks26]

Quote:
Well for now I am going to have to keep my "niche idea" private until I actually follow through with the process. After doing a short survey with people where I live, I have come to the conclusion that my niche idea will work and that it needs to be done.

Hopefully you will see what it is eventually. It might be a year or two down the road.

 

[The Chicken People]

We moved to the country and not only do I have a flock of birds now but we have the biggest garden ever!! I planted Boston Pickling cucumbers..we have two rows and we train them to vine into each other so when we pick them its easier! We just roll them over and look under for cukes! Good luck pickling! I cant wait to try it!!

 

[Holly O]

I was at the farmers market yesterday and felt the price for pickling cucumbers was OUTRAGEOUS!

I have cucumbers planted and will just wait for those.

Depending on what kind of profit you want to make ...lol I'll assume the best profit you can! I suggest you grow your own.

BTW I love pickled Onions, Cauliflower, Carrots, Eggs, Beets ext.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Well for now I am going to have to keep my "niche idea" private until I actually follow through with the process. After doing a short survey with people where I live, I have come to the conclusion that my niche idea will work and that it needs to be done.

Hopefully you will see what it is eventually. It might be a year or two down the road.

And you can count on me to buy some! We have a member here, amigocontodos, who grows cukes for Mount Olive. That is one of the few brands I am loyal to.
I didn't mean for you to spill the beans, so to speak. A "niche fulfillment product" is fine.

I don't want to seem like an Inquisitioner, but you did ask for our toughts. Have you ever had a business of this type and what are you capitalizing for on a ratio basis? failure to fully capitalize properly is the number one reason businesses fail, you know.

Of course, the question that needs to be asked before all others is: do you have a plan? The other main reason they fail is there is either no thorough plan to go by, or failure to stick to the plan.

 

[yanks26]

Haha for now it is just a really good idea. I do not have the plan fully developed. I would still have to work on getting some financial backing first. Maybe it is an idea I could sell off to someone.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I am the "pickle dealer" for all my friends.

I make an old fashioned sweet pickle (affectionately referred to as "funeral pickles" as I got the recipe from an old lady at a funeral). They take about two weeks to make and don't need canning. I just jar them up and screw on the lids. They keep forever. Yum yum yum!