Growing For Market

March 26, 2011

Phil Hannay and Kathy Kubal

Trumpeter Swan Farm

Buffalo, MN

About Us• Market Gardening since 2003

– Farmers Markets: Buffalo, Maple Grove– CSA shares last 3 years

• Fruits and Vegetables– Perennials: Asparagus, Strawberries, Raspberries– Annuals: Greens, onions, peas, beans, tomatoes, etc

• Processed Goods– Canned Goods, Baked Goods

Land: Size

• Size– You can start smaller than you may think: an

acre (200x200) can grow a lot– If limited space, eliminate expansive crops like

winter squash– If limited space, eliminate low buck crops like

corn, potatoes, storage onions, peppers

Land: Layout

• Layout– 30” rows: wide enough for a 24” tiller – 5’ rows: tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash– 10’ rows: winter squash, pumpkins– 50’ length: so you don’t lose hope while

weeding or picking

Land: Planting• Succession Plant: less than 25% at a time

– Continuous supply is important for market– Plants decline as they age– Care is more manageable: In early summer, weeds

grow like weeds– Example: 2 robust bean plants yields 1 qt of beans,

20 plants = 10’ row; 10 quarts @ $3 = $30– Every week: peas, beans, green onions– Every 2 weeks: broccoli, cucumbers, basil– Every 4 weeks: summer squash

Land: Rotation• Crop Rotation is important

– Every year you want to move your crops around, just like in a home garden

– If you have enough land, plant the same crop in two different places just in case weather or insects make trouble.

– You can hold some land fallow, planting a cover crop - or if your cover crop is weeds, just be sure to mow them a few times, and then till before they bolt to seed in the late summer.

Land: Best Use

• Bang for the Buck– Think productivity: strawberries $10,000 per

acre, non-irrigated corn $2000 per acre– Think demand: products that just aren’t the

same in the store like strawberries or tomatoes– Think labor: green beans vs. dried beans,

tomatoes vs. potatoes– Think soil: carrots in sandy soil vs. carrots in

heavy soil

Land: Weed Control

• Weed Control– Mechanical: tiller in between rows– Accept your fate: hand hoe and pull along rows– Hoe each side of row when plants first emerge;

then after plants are bigger, cultivate aisles.– Mulch is effective but takes resources– Mow and later till fallow areas– Glyphosate (Roundup) and 2-4D are fairly

benign chemicals for perennial weeds

Land: Pest Control

• Pest Control– Potato Bugs - potatoes, eggplant: scout

frequently, hand pick, spinosad is only organic spray that works

– Asparagus Beetle Larvae - Sevin or spinosad– Cabbage Worms - BT powder or spray, or just

wash well– Other Bugs - small plantings, multiple

plantings, move things around

Equipment: Starting Out

• If I had $3000...– Rear tine tiller - do not skimp ($2000)– Earthway seeder ($100) - accept no substitutes – Stirrup hoe ($10)– Backpack sprayers - 3 gal, Hudson ($50) - or two, 1

for herbicide, 1 for fertilizer/insecticide– Greenhouse ($300)– Post hole digger - for transplanting! ($250)– Push mower ($250)

Equipment: Big Time

• If I had $30,000…– Everything in previous slide - really! ($3000)– Tractor ($17,000)– Disk and Plow ($1000)– High Tunnel ($3000)– Cultivator ($2000)– Transplanter ($3000)– Tractor mower ($1000)

Plants: Selection• Selection

– Focus on market varieties, think twice about heirlooms or traditional garden varieties

– Ask fellow growers and extension folks about recommendations - go to a conference or two

• MN Fruit and Vegetable Growers - Jan 21-22, St Cloud; www.mfvga.org

• Midwest Organic - Feb 24-26, La Crosse, WI; www.mosesorganic.org

• Minnesota Organic - Jan 14-15, St Cloud; www.mda.state.mn.us/organic/conference

Plants: Perennials

• Perennials– Asparagus: good sell and long harvest, 3 yrs to first

harvest, 5 yrs to full harvest, long-lived, easy maintenance once established - “our retirement”

– Strawberries: easy sell but short harvest, 1 yr to full harvest, short-lived (4 yrs), hard to keep out weeds, do new plantings every 2 years

– Raspberries: harder sell but extended harvest, 1 yr to full harvest, long lived with moderate maintenance

Plants: Perennial Sources

• Perennial sources– Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers

Association: group buy strawberries and raspberries, www.mfvga.org

– Ag Resources, Detroit Lakes, David Birky, (800) 288-6650

– Daisy Farms, www.daisyfarms.net

Plants: Earliest Annuals

• Annuals - Earliest– Greens: high demand, labor intensive– Radish, Turnip: fast and easy– Green Onions: easy, but low demand– Broccoli yes, Cauliflower no– Row Covers: help a lot, but labor intensive– High Tunnel: helps even more, but costly

Plants: Early Annuals

• Annuals - Early– Peas: Sugar Snap (edible pod) great seller,

Snow Peas and Shell Peas sell okay as well– Summer Squash: Zucchini is fastest, 30 days

after transplant– Green Beans: transplanting will work as well– Succession planted Broccoli

Plants: Mid-Season Annuals

• Annuals - Mid Season (August)– Tomatoes: always in demand, careful not to

start too early– Sweet Corn: unreliable if not irrigated– Succession green beans and summer squash -

steady sellers– Cucumbers: sell picklers by the quart, more

money than by the peck– Melons are tricky, but sell well

Plants: Late Season Annuals• Annuals - Late Season

– Winter squash, brussel sprouts, storage onions, potatoes, turnips, beets

– Some produce if close to mature holds well on plant in the cold, and if covered in frost: green beans, zucchini, peppers

– Push the envelope: our last plantings of beans and zucchini are in early August, plant extra

– Forget peas: August heat, mildew, and people don’t expect them

Plants: Annual Sources

• Annual Sources - some we like– Rupp: good variety, value, small and large

quantities; minimal catalog, helpful sales reps; www.ruppseeds.com

– Johnny’s: regular and organic, reasonable prices; great catalog; www.johnnyseeds.com

– Stokes: good variety, more expensive, great informative catalog

– Jordan: local (Woodbury), professional, good reputation and value; www.jordanseeds.com

Plants: More Annual Sources

• Annual Sources - some more we like– Dixondale: onion plants, they really price it to get

you to buy a case (30 bunches) - that’s a lot to plant by hand (1800) - see if you can share with someone; www,dixondalefarms.com

– Menards or Walmart: watch for sale on onion sets (bulbs), seed packets are cheaper than mail order.

– Cub Foods: seed potatoes and onion sets (bulbs). We get better price on potatoes from Cub than mail order - as long as you are fine with their varieties

Planning and Records: Plan• Planting Plan

– Spreadsheet - helps with date calculations (succession planting), sort by plant type for data entry, sort by planting date for “this week’s work”

– Estimate harvest date -- later, over years, you can fine tune that estimate

– Add actual planting date and other comments as you plant the plan

– Keep a copy each year, it’s a great resource

Planning and Records: Map• Field Map

– Start with blank outlines of your field(s)– Write in what you plant with rows and planting date -

you will know what's coming up where– When you first harvest from a row, write a harvest date

(I circle the date to indicate “harvest date”) - good info for next year’s plan

– I also like to write a synopsis of the weather and growing conditions each half month

– Keep a copy each year, great resource

Planning and Records: Sales

• Sales Book– Record what you sell, when you sell, and how

much it sold for– We use a spiral bound notebook– One page for each market day– One page for “home” sales, plus balance,

reconciliation and bank deposits– Much better than relying on memory of what sold

well or when, or what prices were last year

Parting Thoughts

• Don’t quit your day job just yet– There are tax advantages when starting the farm

(deductible losses)– Resist the temptation to buy equipment - keep it

simple, stuff you still could use if you decide not to farm

– Its takes awhile to make even a “half living” off the farm

– It’s a lot of work

Parting Thoughts• CSA or Wholesale is your future

– Do Farmer’s Market first - see if you are cut out to farm, sell week after week, and run your own business

– CSA or Wholesale sales provide a more steady income and customer base - after a few years of Farmer’s market, move into one or the other or both.

– CSA is “retail, people oriented”, Wholesale is not: some farmers can do only one or the other

Parting Thoughts

• Keep it Simple– Lots of resources on the internet - MN Dept

Agriculture (sales guidelines), MN Dept of State (business guides), MN Dept of Revenue (taxes)

– You can do your own taxes (use a PC tax program) and you can hire people (including your children) but make sure you research both MN and Federal regulations and processes

Questions

• Phil Hannay, Trumpeter Swan Farm– 3612 40th St NE, Buffalo, MN 55313– cell 612-308-2664– www.trumpeterswanfarm.com(for copies of

this presentation and others, go to the “Community” tab)