I put an ad on Craigslist for barter eggs for some help and I'm suddenly getting responses that people just want to BUY eggs. I got an e-mail today asking for several dozen! I don't have that many yet, but it got me thinking.
Our egg production will really pick up within the next couple of months. Yeah, we have only 10 hens now, but next week, and the week after, we'll have day-olds, and they'll be laying by mid-late summer. Then we'll have LOTS of eggs. And since I already have people asking to buy eggs, I'm sure we'll have lots of takers. Especially since our eggs will have light brown, dark brown, white, green and blue shells!
We're about a 45-60 min away from Denver, but there are people willing to drive to this area for garage sales AND fresh goat milk AND eggs AND etc ... so ...
... thinking that since I'm gonna plant a garden for us (for eating fresh and for winter use), maybe I should grow extra to sell when people come to pick up eggs! Problem is, it'll take another year or two before the goat-and-chicken-poo will amend our soil to be of much use, so most of what we'll grow will be in pots and other raised beds. And we only have about 1/10th an acre.
My question: for those of you who sell produce at farmers markets and from home, what should I plant extra of to sell from home with my eggs?
Here's what I'm growing for us (some things I haven't chosen varieties yet):
-Tomato, a big red slicer
-Tomato, yellow pear
-Tomato, red paste
-Pepper, Bell, Red and possibly Orange
-Pepper, Hot, Jalapeno? Cayenne? Habanero?
-Green beans
-Leaf lettuce
-Cucumbers, pickling
-Radish, Pink Beauty
-Parsley
-Basil
-Nasturtium (edible flower)
-Zucchini
-Yellow Squash (crookneck or straightneck???)
-Squash, Winter, Curbita Moschata, Butternut
-Squash, Winter, Curbita Maxima, Blue Hubbard OR Australian Butter
-Squash, Winter, Curbita Pepo, New England Sugar Pie Pumpkins
-Squash, Winter, Curbita Pepo, Spaghetti
-Squash, Winter, Curbita Mixta, Mexican X-Top (cushaw)
Note: I created a list last year to help me figure out winter squash and the cross-pollination problems: http://vikkisverandah.blogspot.com/2010/01/winter-squash-cross-pollination-and.html
Anyways ... also growing things like heirloom corn, giant sunflowers, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, amaranth, millet, watermelon and cantaloupe but don't have room to grow enough to sell AND eat! And I've never been good at growing onions or potatoes.
By next year, we'll have blueberries, raspberries, grapes and blackberries, and a few years from now we'll have apples, peaches and pears.
So ... for 2011, is there something else that (1) is easy to grow (2) will grow well in pots or raised beds (3) 90-day growing season and (4) sells very well to people who buy your eggs?
I'm placing my seed order by Monday, and will be starting some of the seeds as soon as I get the order.
HELP!
Our egg production will really pick up within the next couple of months. Yeah, we have only 10 hens now, but next week, and the week after, we'll have day-olds, and they'll be laying by mid-late summer. Then we'll have LOTS of eggs. And since I already have people asking to buy eggs, I'm sure we'll have lots of takers. Especially since our eggs will have light brown, dark brown, white, green and blue shells!
We're about a 45-60 min away from Denver, but there are people willing to drive to this area for garage sales AND fresh goat milk AND eggs AND etc ... so ...
... thinking that since I'm gonna plant a garden for us (for eating fresh and for winter use), maybe I should grow extra to sell when people come to pick up eggs! Problem is, it'll take another year or two before the goat-and-chicken-poo will amend our soil to be of much use, so most of what we'll grow will be in pots and other raised beds. And we only have about 1/10th an acre.
My question: for those of you who sell produce at farmers markets and from home, what should I plant extra of to sell from home with my eggs?
Here's what I'm growing for us (some things I haven't chosen varieties yet):
-Tomato, a big red slicer
-Tomato, yellow pear
-Tomato, red paste
-Pepper, Bell, Red and possibly Orange
-Pepper, Hot, Jalapeno? Cayenne? Habanero?
-Green beans
-Leaf lettuce
-Cucumbers, pickling
-Radish, Pink Beauty
-Parsley
-Basil
-Nasturtium (edible flower)
-Zucchini
-Yellow Squash (crookneck or straightneck???)
-Squash, Winter, Curbita Moschata, Butternut
-Squash, Winter, Curbita Maxima, Blue Hubbard OR Australian Butter
-Squash, Winter, Curbita Pepo, New England Sugar Pie Pumpkins
-Squash, Winter, Curbita Pepo, Spaghetti
-Squash, Winter, Curbita Mixta, Mexican X-Top (cushaw)
Note: I created a list last year to help me figure out winter squash and the cross-pollination problems: http://vikkisverandah.blogspot.com/2010/01/winter-squash-cross-pollination-and.html
Anyways ... also growing things like heirloom corn, giant sunflowers, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, amaranth, millet, watermelon and cantaloupe but don't have room to grow enough to sell AND eat! And I've never been good at growing onions or potatoes.
By next year, we'll have blueberries, raspberries, grapes and blackberries, and a few years from now we'll have apples, peaches and pears.
So ... for 2011, is there something else that (1) is easy to grow (2) will grow well in pots or raised beds (3) 90-day growing season and (4) sells very well to people who buy your eggs?
I'm placing my seed order by Monday, and will be starting some of the seeds as soon as I get the order.
HELP!
