Discuss your tips, tricks and experiences growing and selling vegetables, fruits, flowers, plants and herbs.
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December 21, 2009 | #16 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 2,591
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Yes, exactly. Consistancy.
It's hard in the beginning being the "newbie", but eventulally you will find your "following". One thing is to NOT try growing the same thing that everyone else does. THAT'S what really buggs most sellers about the Hmong growers around here. They ALL have exactly the same thing and at the same price. And when they see another grower doing well with something, they will try to find out what it is so they can sell it too. It has created a lot of tension between the Hmongs and "whites" here. Personally I've spent a lot of years "finding" my market and the varieties that grow well for me. I'm not about to give away all that work so they can under-cut me. They all have big families too but I have to hire labor. When I was the newbie, my unique crop was Asparagus. Hubbies family had acres planted for a canning company. We sold some of that crop when the canner dropped their price below what it cost to pick it. But after the asparagus season, it took me about 3 or 4 years to find other things that worked for me that weren't the same as everyone else. A lot of trial and error. But we also started small. It was several years before we were growing more than just about 3 acres of stuff total. If you know of any ethnic community in your area that doesn't seem to be catered to, look into finding out what vegies they might like to have. I accidentally got into growing stuff for an Arabic cliental for years. I still grow a different type of zucchini that they like and is hard to find seeds for. Anyway, glad things are looking up for your market. Carol |
December 21, 2009 | #17 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa - GrowZone 9
Posts: 595
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Good advice, Carol - thank you!
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