Growing For Market

1. Growing For Market March 26, 2011 Phil Hannay and Kathy Kubal Trumpeter Swan Farm Buffalo, MN

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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)

11. 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)

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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)