Start a profitable Gardening business

There is something almost magical about planting and tending to your own garden. The benefits of exercise at least three times a week are well documented and I can personally attest to psychological benefits as well. Endorphines are released when exercising. The well-known "runners high" is the body's way of rewarding a person for a job well done.
To be realistic you should be prepared to spend at least 30 minutes every day weeding and watering your garden. You should also be prepared to spend a few hours a week picking, cleaning and preparing your crop for sale. However, the great thing about Grow-Box gardening is the comparative ease of weed control.

The benefits of having a productive garden far outweigh the effort. Think about it logically:
A. You get exercise, which is good for your heart,waistline and soul. Try using a shovel and pick for some of your beds. A rototiller can also help if you have one available..
B. You are providing a source of healthy, naturally grown food for yourself and your family.
C. You are providing an supplemental income for yourself and your family.
D. You can help local food banks and churches assist the less fortunate with fresh, healthy and nutritious food.
E.You are planting the seeds for your children to enjoy the outdoors and healthy living.
F.You can harvest the seeds from your heirloom vegetables for use next year. If you choose to harvest seeds pick only best vegetables with the best size and show no sign of disease.
G.You are helping the planet by helping yourself and your family.
Purchase the Mittleider digital gardening books.;

For my Vegetable, Berry, Herb and Flower business I have chosen to use the cost- effective, scientific gardening technique called the Mittleider Method.

At the request of Dr. Jacob Mittleider his "Mittleider method" is now being promoted by the Food For Everyone Foundation. This Non-Profit foundation is now carrying on Dr. Mittleider's work around the world. We not only use the Foundation sustainable gardening method ourselves, but we also highly support the work that they do. The information on this page is taken in part from the Foundation's excellent digital gardening training material. Jim Kennard, President of the Foundation, is working in conjunction with us to create this Squidoo lens.

Key benefits of the Mittleider method.
1. You maximize your yields (5-10 times a traditional garden) and uses half the space.
2. Easy weeding and harvesting of your garden crops.
3. Uses half the water of a traditional gardening method
4. Totally natural - no pesticides used
5. Our Non-Profit Foundation is carrying out the method world-wide
6. No animal waste bonemeal, blodd or byproducts are used.

Climate/Location

The climate in which you live will determine what you plant,when you plant and when you harvest your fruits, vegetables and berries. We will be starting a majority of our plants indoors approximately 6-8 weeks before our last spring frost date.
By starting our plants early we should be able not only to increase our yields but also be first to market in our area.

Purchase the Mittleider digital gardening books.

One of the keys to a successful gardening business is to grow at a manageable level. If you are prepared to follow the directions for the Mittleider Method 100%, then dive right in. If you tend to try short cuts, then perhaps you should start with a smaller garden. A good idea is to try a side-by-side comparison with two smaller areas. Try one small area with your favorite foods using the Mittleider method, the other using your version of gardening. Why do I suggest this? Because of experience. Last year I did exactly that and was amazed at the difference in yields. Your garden is going to help feed you and provide for you financially. You must take this seriously as a business. By visually seeing the difference in yields you will have a clear and accurate idea of what you can grow per foot per year. This year using the Mittleider method has given me the confidence to start a separate herb and flower business. I am currently growing in a thirty long by twenty foot wide area. Next year I plan to double that area.
My Grow Beds are eighteen inches wide by thirteen feet long. There is 3.5 feet between rows and 5 feet extra space at the end of each row.

Whenever possible, you want southern exposure. This simply means that you want your beds to run north and south versus east and west. Try to make sure your beds are in an open area with no shade. Do a test and see how many trees block the sun between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. this is the hottest part of the day. Try to make sure you are in direct sunlight - but do not go crazy cutting trees down.

Plant your tallest plants such as Sunflowers on the Northern ends of your beds.

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Purchase the Mittleider digital gardening manuals and save over 40% compared to the printed versions.

100% of the income earned goes to support the Foundation.

Starting seedlings in a protected environment is a great way to extend your growing season - if you do it right. Let's review the steps required to assure your highest chance for success since it can mean that you're eating out of your garden 6-8 weeks earlier than your neighbors!

1) The planting medium must be "sterile", meaning it has never been used for growing things before. Use a mixture of sawdust, peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, and sand - in any combination you like, but with sand at 25% to 35% by volume. All of these ingredients are not necessary - even straight sawdust can be used with sand, if necessary, but three ingredients work very well.

2) In America you can buy inexpensive plastic trays or flats that measure 11" X 20" in size. In many other locations around the world people make their own flats, and we recommend 18" X 18" X 3" deep outside dimensions.
For each 11" X 20" plastic tray, add one ounce or 2 level tablespoons of Pre-Plant Mix and thoroughly mix with the planting medium. Use ½ again as much if you are using 18" X 18" trays. For all fertilizer formulas, look under Fertilizers in the Learn section of the website at www.foodforeveryone.org, or in all of Dr. Mittleider's vegetable gardening books.

3) Using a 1" X 2" board or a ¾" PVC pipe 19"-long, make 6 shallow furrows in the tray. Plant seeds evenly spaced in the furrows, with no more than 600-800 seeds per tray. Cover with 1/8"-1/4" of planting medium.

4) Cover the tray with lightweight burlap or cheesecloth and water gently with plain water. Never use fertilizer on un-sprouted seed! Water often and heavy enough to keep the soil moist, but not soaking wet.

5) Place in a dark location with soil temperatures of 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. A thermostatically controlled seed germination pad can be important to help maintain this temperature in a cool basement or garage. Warmer temperatures will help your plants sprout more quickly, so if you're in a hurry use a temperature near 80 degrees.

6) At the first signs of plants emerging from the soil, water with the Constant Feed Solution, consisting of 1 ounce Weekly Feed Mix dissolved in 3 gallons of water, then remove the covering, and place the tray under maximum light.
Remember to give your plants full light as soon as you first see any sprouts showing above the soil surface. Any delay at all and the plants will develop long, skinny, weak stems as they search for that all-important light.

Purchase the Mittleider digital gardening books.

7) A 4'-long twin-tube shop light (cord already attached), with one cool and one warm 40 watt tube, will give a decent spectrum of light. Use two shop lights for each four trays. Keep the lights only about 1" from the plants to maximize the light. Never use a light that is hot. Heat can very easily burn the tender new plants. Light should be applied for 16 hours per day.
A fixture with 6 metal 4'-long shelves can be purchased from Sam's or Costco for about $70, and two shop lights hanging above a 4'-long shelf can provide light for 4 10" X 20" plastic trays. So, with just one shelf fixture and 10 shop lights you can fill 20 flats and start 12,000+ plants! But, let's be realistic. At the first transplanting you need 10 times as many flats, so probably you should stick with starting just 2 flats, and transplanting them into the 20 flats that will fit on the shelves.

8) Water with Constant Feed Solution daily or as needed to maintain soil moisture - but do not over-water. Too much water can drown the plants, and can also lead to Damping-Off disease, which destroys the stem at the soil surface and kills the plant. Use Constant Feed Solution until plants are placed in the garden.

9) Change the plants' positions occasionally, to assure even distribution of light to all plants.

10) Maintain temperatures in the 65-75 degree Fahrenheit range for cool weather plants, and warmer for tomatoes, peppers, etc. The warmer it is, the faster your plants will grow, so to slow them down, lower the temperatures.

11. By the time plants have their second set of true leaves, you should be transplanting into pots, 6-paks, or other flats. Always mark flats, in order to space plants evenly. This assures even distribution of light, air, food, and water to all plants.
To build a marker, obtain a piece of 5/8" or ¾" plywood measuring 11" X 20". Drill 36 ½" holes in the plywood, with 4 rows of 9 holes. Cut 36 pieces of ½"doweling rod into 2 ½" lengths, and point one end of each piece. Glue doweling rod pieces into holes. Glue a ¼" piece of plywood onto back of original piece. Nail 2 - 2" X 2" pieces of wood 8" long across the back of the marker, about 12" apart. Nail a 14"-long 2" X 2" piece between the two previous pieces, in the center of the marker.

12. Always water both the plants in your flats and the new destination-planting medium before transplanting. If planting into the soil, watering immediately prior to planting may make the beds muddy. If this is the case, planting in the dry soil is okay, so long as you water thoroughly immediately after planting.

13) Use a 6"-long "dibble (½" doweling rod with one end pointed), to loosen soil around plant roots. Carefully remove plant from the soil, holding by the leaf only, and place in a hole large and deep enough to accommodate the root ball and soil without crowding. Plant down to the crown or growing tip, but never get soil on the growing tip That will kill the plant.

14) Using the dibble, assure that soil is in contact with plant roots, but do not pack soil tightly around plant stem and roots, as this will damage the plant. Water immediately, which will settle the soil around the roots.

15) Maintain maximum light, and immediately prune overlapping leaves or transplant into larger pots, to avoid plant stems "stretching" to seek light. Stretching will produce week, spindly plants that will never be as strong and robust as those which are short and stocky.

16) Before transplanting in the garden, place plants outside for 2-3 days to "harden-off", or become accustomed to the outside climate. Bring them inside at night if frost threatens, and do not transplant in the garden until it is safe to do so, unless plants are protected with "mini-greenhouses" or other coverings, and sufficient heat is available to keep them from freezing.

Make sure you stretch your body; warm up before and after you start digging your beds. Yes, even if you use a roto- tiller. Try to set up a three day window of time the first day you dig your beds with the roto tiller, the second day you weed and level the beds and the third day you do a last check at leveling your beds. Now you are ready to plant.

One great idea is to get the whole family involved. A good way to do this is to set aside a family gardening day. Reward the participants with fresh berries and healthy natural treats. If the kids are involved you can also make this part of the tasks for their allowance. If they do a good job you might want to consider a little bonus. In this way the kids will associate the garden with a positive surprise instead of thinking of the garden only
as work.

If you are single, ask your special someone or friends and their kids to come over and help. Getting people involved with the planting is the first step in your grass roots marketing effort. Everyone likes to taste something that they planted. Be sure to give your helpers free produce, berries and flowers when you harvest. This will go along way toward spreading the word about your new homestead and gardening business.

For more information on how to setup your soil beds check out the Facts and Questions section of the Food for Everyone Foundation website.

Purchase the Mittleider digital gardening books.

Your beds themselves will be eighteen inches wide. On each side of the beds there are raised ridges which you make while leveling the 12 inch interior area of the bed. After you till your soil and mark out your beds simply pull soil from the center of your beds to make the ridges. You will plant your seedlings at the inside base of the ridges. Your total planting area is twelve inches with the ridges being three inches wide and about six inches tall on each side and the ends of each bed. This technique allows you to use half as much water as a traditional garden. There is a forty two inch space between soil beds. This allows for easy weed control and harvesting. I am following the Mittleider suggestions to the letter to maximize my space and yield.

There should be 3.5 feet between each soil bed and also at the end of each soilbed. Please do not try to save space by changing these measurements. It is critical that your plants have sufficient sunlight and airflow. If you make these measurements smaller you risk smaller yields.

Your aisles should be clear of any plant material. You do not have to level the aisles but make sure you take time to level each bed accurately. This will assure equal water and mineral distribution.

Making sure your plot is square and level.
Once your have marked out your soil beds using string and stakes make sure the garden is square.

Use the old carpenters' trick of measuring corner to corner to make sure your plot is square. Go corner-to-corner forming an X and make sure both of these measurements are the same.

Do not skimp on leveling your beds. Take the time to get them right. You should not have more than a one-inch variation within a thirty-foot bed. One easy way to assure this is by attaching a level to a straight 10-foot long 2x4. Attach your level to the two-inch side and work your way across each row ten feet at a time. If you have ever poured concrete think of this 2x4 as the "skreet" to level your soil. This technique will save you hours of time. It is helpful if you have another person to assist you. By "skreeting" this way you can see what is low and high very easily. Any excess soil can be used to build up your ridges. This is the best way to level your garden beds.

Purchase the Mittleider digital gardening manuals and save over 40% compared to the printed versions. 

100% of the income earned goes to support the Foundation.
Once your beds have been all setup you are ready to plant.

Watering when and how much.

I water daily (when it doesn't rain, of course). You might think this will cost you a lot in water but in actuality because of the design of the soil beds you will use only half as much water as with traditional beds.

My current Mittleider garden takes ten gallons of water per thirteen foot bed per day.

Soil maintenance

This is the beauty of the Mittleider method. Once a week I spread one tablespoon per bed foot of the weekly feed. That is it. My total cost for the whole season is less then $20.00. This includes the cost of the 20-20-20 and the Mittleider Micro Nutrients plus six pounds of Epsom salt. This is less then 20% of any of the competition. The bottom line is that the method works because it is based on the science of what plants need to grow.

Weeding is important.

Take fifteen minutes a day and clean out your grow beds of any weeds. With the design of our garden this will be an easy task. We prepared our beds correctly so that we will be able to easily identify and pull any weeds which might pop up.

What should you grow and why?

For year one only grow what you will eat. That is rule number one.

Look for niche vegetables for your area.

What do the local chefs buy? What are the most expensive produce, herb and berries at the farmers market? Find the products that are missing and fill that need. You must be original and create a unique selling position.

Seed selection.
Seed selection is critical to the success of your garden and business. My first try at small scale production of garden was a dismal failure because I tried to take the cheap way out. I went to a local big box retailer and got a lot of the .25 per package older seeds.

This was foolish. . In total I wasted over 150 hours over the growing season because I tried to save a few dollars.

If there is one thing you must do to be successful, buying quality seeds is it. There are many companies who sell mail order. However, I have had the best luck with Burpee.com seeds.
Due to a very good packaging design Gardeningdirect seeds stay fresh for a long time. Highly recommended here is a look at their Vegetable and flower seed selections.

This can be a very tricky question. On one hand you do not want to price yourself out of the market and on the other hand you are producing a higher quality natural no-pesticides- used product, which should command more money then a store bought vegetable.

One way to gauge the competition is by observing the prices of your local veggie stand competition. You can also go to your local farmers markets. People are willing to pay for quality and naturally grown vegetables. However, you must make people aware of your product

Should I sell flowers also?
Yes absolutely, flowers can be an excellent supplemental income source. They can also be used to make great gifts.
Flowers can also be used to market your vegetables. How about a poster or sign that says the following:
Buy five of anything or mix and match and get a free flower or veggie.
Or
Grab a bouquet for that special someone.

Should I grow and sell herbs?

Yes herbs can add a nice supplemental income.
I would suggest that in your first year you focus 70% of your efforts on growing vegetables, 15% on flowers and 15% on herbs. In the coming years you can increase this by 5% each year. Contact the local upscale restaurants in your area to sell your herbs. Always ask to talk to the chef whenever possible, they will see the value in your herbs. Owners sometimes look at the bottom line first so see if you can get a price offer from the chef first. As with all your products make sure you check out the farmers markets and local coops to get an idea of what you should charge.
If you go very low on your pricing year one you can hurt year two and onward. Do your homework. Shop your competition. Is there a nursery and or homestead in your area? If so visit, be open with the owners and tell them your plans. Who knows, they might be your first customers!
Above all make sure your produce is Fresh if in doubt use it for a stew or soup for yourself or throw it out.

Purchase the Mittleider digital gardening manuals and save over 40% compared to the printed versions. 

100% of the income earned goes to support the Foundation.

Check out the markets this year. Is there a unique produce, berry, or herb you can sell? Use this first year to scout your competition.
Perhaps even take some pictures of the way the vendors set up their stands. Which stand do you remember the best? Use this as a basis for your stand.

Make sure when you start your stand you always have business cards and brochures on hand. Whenever you sell an item include a business card in the bag. Take the time to get to know your customers.

Above all have fun, grow what you like to eat and make sure to give some product to people who are less fortunate.

Obtain a license. This varies by location. Make sure you take the time to contact your local agriculture office or cooperative extension. They can assist you with licenses and also give you some tips on farmers markets.

The easiest way to set up a place to sell from is to buy a tent or portable gazebo. For example I purchased a 10 X 10 (100 square feet) party tent for only $25.00 dollars at the local dollar store. The model I bought also included sides. This is helpful for protection against the sun and other elements as well as providing additional area for advertising.
This is often a better alternative to building a structure and most certainly will be more cost effective. Make sure you practice setting it up and tearing it down in your backyard a few times prior to opening your stand for the season.

In a word YES.
Do not try to short change the IRS. No one likes to pay taxes. One of the best things you can do is to contact the SBDIC and SCORE chapters in your area. Additionally you should check out the email question and answer service at SCORE.

Earn 40% Selling Mittleider Gardening Books - NO cost and NO inventory!

Do you have a website, a Blog, a Squidoo lens? Are you on Myspace or Youtube? Or do you have an email list of friends and family??

Join over 100,000 other people selling digital products online using Clickbank and earn 40% while helping the Non-Profit Food for Everyone Foundation teach family gardening around the world!

Step 1 - Sign up for a Free Clickbank account using this link

When you sign up you will create a nickname/id

Step 2 - Looking at Example 1 and 2 below -
Replace the word "Steveffeo" with your Clickbank id/nickname.

Step 3 - Add this code to your Website, Blog, Squidoo lens, Myspace, Youtube, or send it to your email list and earn 40% of every sale.

The process is 100% automated by Clickbank. They handle all payments to you directly!

It is literally that easy! Just replace Steveffeo with your CB id and you are making money.

You can use the code on a website, Squidoo lens, blog or via email to your friends, family or email list.

If you want to use the link in an email use option 1 for proper formatting..

Example 1
http://steveffeo.mittleider.hop.clickbank.net/

Example 2
Click Here!

You can replace "Click here" with any marketing tag lines. We will be providing options in the very near future. For the time being we suggest using "Buy the Food for Everyone Foundation Gardening books - click here"

To see an example of both please check out our main Squidoo lens.
If you look at the bottom of the description (the first block of text) you will see examples of both.
http://www.squidoo.com/foodforeveryonefoundation/

To dress up your pages, and make them look like ours, you can use any of the images on either of our websites. Simply mention where it came from.
http://www.Foodforeveryone.org
http://www.Howtoorganicgarden.com

But what if I do not have a web page?
Great news! You can create a Squidoo lens free of charge and earn money, AND help the Foundation at the same time.

To create a FREE Squidoo lens and earn 40% please use the link below. This will automatically join you to the main Foundation group. I will approve all lenses that have five sections or more. Squidoo will not publish an empty lens, so please have fun with building a lens.

Tell the world about your gardening success and your opinions about the Foundation's method of gardening.

http://www.squidoo.com/group/create_lens/Foodforeveryone?forward=true

Best of success! We look forward to having you join us.

Jim Kennard, President
Food For Everyone Foundation
www.foodforeveryone.org

1. The program teaches truly sustainable methods for raising a wealth of food crops in virtually any soil, in almost any climate or season, and at practically any elevation-in other words, under almost any conditions.

2. The program uses scientific principles and procedures, has been tested and proven in many countries over the course of 40+ years, and is not a passing fad. It carefully teaches and demonstrates the best known agricultural procedures.

3. The program is simple in that almost anyone can learn it and carry it out, either in home gardens or on large acreages. And the basics can be learned well enough to grow highly productive gardens even by people who cannot read or write.

4. For large field-crop operations, the program tests and balances the soil regularly and applies natural mineral nutrients as needed for it to produce almost any kind of crops, even many crops traditionally considered unsuitable for growing in a particular climate. In home gardens, a complete, balanced natural mineral nutrient mix is used, which requires no soil test and feeds plants properly.

5. The program uses any available organic materials that are disease, insect, and weed-free, including freshly harvested crop residue, green-manure, and cover crops; but this program is different than some that are commonly referred to as complete organic gardening methods. Additional natural mineral nutrient fertilizers are used to build up a complete balance in the soil - in other words, to restore the soil to its original Edenic composition as far as possible. It is often referred to as "the best of organic gardening".

6. Weeds are taboo in Foundation garden beds, aisles, and perimeters. They are simply not permitted anywhere in the Foundation's gardens or fields.

7. Practically every foot of space is made productive. This makes for a very economical and efficient gardening operation, as it requires no more effort or expense to create and maintain such gardens than traditionally cultivated areas. Even small garden plots can thus produce very large yields.

8. To produce healthy, fast-growing, disease and pest-free (in other words almost perfect) plants, Foundation-trained growers grow seedlings of many varieties in a greenhouse that is kept free of insects, weeds, and diseases.

9. The program produces commercial-quality plants of uniform size, color, and quality in all stages of growth; with very low mortality rates.

10. Each plant is given individual attention as needed, even to surrounding it with an insecticidal ring of sawdust in extreme situations, such as if cutworms are present in the garden. Also, if garden soils carry disease, healthy greenhouse transplants are protected by a liquid fungicidal shield. And in all cases a starter natural mineral nutrient minimizes transplant shock and assists the plant until normal growth takes over.

11. Where no soil is available, "custom" soil is manufactured with a combination of as much as 75% of any combination of sawdust, rice hulls, coffee hulls, peat moss, ground-up bark, or even ground-up coconut husks or pine needles and the balance of sand, or if necessary other available clean, disease-free soil.

12. On very rare occasions where necessary, the entire garden may be sterilized of insect life, diseases, and noxious weeds. This process has previously been accomplished by fumigating the area under plastic covers with methyl bromide gas. Recently this has become largely unavailable, and steam or flame is used if possible.

13. The program makes drastic changes in primitive farming methods encountered so many places around the world by introducing scientific agricultural methods, modern equipment, and all the natural mineral fertilizers called for by accurate soil testing, often increasing yields by ten times.

14. This new program consistently produces fantastically abundant crops that are neatly uniform in quality, size, and color.

15. Foundation-inspired gardens are a financial success, with yields typically increased five to ten times. They are actually saving millions of people in over 30 countries from slow starvation, and have raised educational and hospital institutions from failure and threatened closure to financial security.

16. Gardens are organized and laid out uniformly and symmetrically, and all crops are planted in straight lines or pleasing curves, resulting in gardens and fields of park-like beauty.

17. Whenever a plant shows discoloration, wilting, leaf damage, or other signs of stress, Program graduates note the symptoms and often know the cause, whether it's disease, bug infestation, or nutrient deficiency. If nutrients are found to be deficient they prescribe a corrective treatment and spoon-feed the affected plant or plants with the necessary plant nutrients. If it is a matter of disease or bug infestation, they act as doctors, observing symptoms to diagnose and prescribe the corrective treatment as far as possible.

18. Every gardening operation is carefully budgeted and plans are made for making maximum use of the harvest, including sharing or marketing any surpluses.

19. Gardening or farming using the efficient Foundation methods is actually a highly enjoyable experience. We know from wide experience that with the use of these scientific methods greatly increased yields can consistently be obtained.

20. Although Jim Kennard is an expert gardener, he is first of all an inspiring teacher. He has caught the spirit of true education, and seeks to arouse in his students the desire to glean "from men and books and laboratories, from field and forest and whispering wind", and more. He teaches that every truth is worth learning; that harnessing our appetites and directing our energies toward good ends produce rewards far greater than garden crops. And he teaches and demonstrates that true education is the harmonious development of the individual's physical, mental, and spiritual powers.