Interesting proposition

[lakelady]

I'm looking for some advice/feedback.

My son's best friend loves tomatoes, and for a few years, I've sent him home with bags of them from time to time. Well, his dad runs 3 restaurants in the city (NY) and end of season last year, his son came to my house and said "My dad is begging you to sell him tomatoes for the restaurants, he is crazy about them". I was flattered of course, and forgot all about it. Over the holidays he came over again and said his mom wants me to have dinner at one of the restaurants so I can see the types of dishes they make because they really want to buy tomatoes from me. Okay, so my head is getting bigger now .

I don't farm, even though I always wanted to. I grow about 20 plants (usually more, but I can't have tomatoes all over the yard anymore, so I"m containing them IN the garden). I know how to grow pretty good tomatoes, as most of you do, and we all know harvest is so dependent on many factors. I spend a lot of money on preparing soil, etc., and the thought that maybe I could make a little money to recoup on some of my investments sounds great. I give away much more than we eat since my one son hates tomatoes, and there is only so much my other son and I can eat. So why not sell them instead of giving them away.

There are a lot of things popping into my head. First of all fear, I don't want to disappoint them. Now that I work for myself, I could handle a weekly drop off in the city, or pass them off in town to my son's friend's dad to bring in. How do you package them? I don't have any crates, where would I get them? How much does one charge? What else do I need to know in order to consider doing this? I wouldn't be able to grow enough to supply 3 of them, and they are all different types of foods, one is a steakhouse, the other a burger place, and I forgot what the 3rd is.

Thoughts, suggestions?

[Fred Hempel]

A typical box size is a 10-lb, 1 layer flat. In California the boxes have to be new. There are probably similar laws in NJ. The boxes can probably be bought by the pallet for about $1.25 each.

A restaurant may not make you use new boxes, but by the time you take the time to recycle them, you have probably more than used up $1.25 worth of your time and gas to scrounge mix and match boxes. Plus, you look more professional if you do use new boxes. The restaurant may help you by recycling your boxes back to you, if they are still looking good.

The going price in NY is probably somewhere between $25 and $35 a box. I would ask for the high end, to see if they are really serious about your tomatoes.

Lastly, small operations are typically doomed to lose money. The season is too short, and your harvest may be too uneven to really make it worth while monetarily.

You should do it if you have the money to spend on a very speculative venture that will likely have other rewards attached to it. If you try a "start-up" farm, assuming you will make money, you are risking disappointment.

[Sun City Linda]

How exciting!

[reddeheddefarm]

I agree with most of what Fred said. Our deliveries take place out of plastic totes as most of our customers prefer to put what we bring in their own containers. Definitely go with the high end pricing. If you don't have enough to make it worth the time of a delivery, Don't. While they may be disappointed, I find the better chefs appreciate the honesty and you looking out for their interest. Don't be afraid to fire a customer if they don't meet your standards. We fired a nationally known country club a couple years ago. Well worth it. It's a great way to get your feet wet and see if you want to peruse this further.

[dustdevil]

You probably would make as much or more just selling at a nearby farmers market with a lot less hassle. Either way, you would need more land, equipment, etc. to upscale your home garden into a small farm operation. Remember, farming is a carpshoot...you sometimes work sunrise to sunset to lose money.

[reddeheddefarm]

We quit doing farmers markets as we do better with restaurants.

[Bristolgarden]

As a business man, not a farmer this is what I would do. If he is approaching you, he has something in mind. If he runs three restaurants, he also has more than just some vague ideas, including numbers. If you don't know what you want/need just tell him to give you some numbers on what he is looking for. Who knows, he could be looking for 20# a week for some special thing he would be willing to pay $20 a pound for. He could also be thinking of getting 100# a week of premium tomatoes for $.99 a pound. Honestly small scale would most likely only be worth it if he is willing to pay premium prices for some special reason or he is willing to pay a fair price for your extras. It never hurts to ask and put the ball in his court. You never know what business people may have in their heads.

[Salsacharley]

What varieties have you given them that they love so much? If your plants can produce 1 pound of quality tomatoes per week you could sell 20 lbs (2 heirloom flats) per week without expanding your growing. If they would go for that you could make $50 - $70 per week but you might not have any tomatoes left for your own consumption. If you limited your guarantee to 10 lbs per week you could make $25 to $35 per week and keep the extras.

The problem is that 3 restaurants probably want way more than that, but if they'll take whatever you offer them you have solved your personal overproduction problem, funded your own gardening and perhaps have some money left over.

Good problem to have!

[lakelady]

This is good. I had no idea the type of questions I need to ask him o r potential concerns. Now I'm getting the idea so thanks. I have no illusions that I'm going to get rich on this but I like variety so I can't seem to grow only a few plants.

I was trying to remember what I sent them last year.....I'm sure Earl's Faux, chocolate stripes, Dr wyche's yellow and pierce's pride and Cherokee purple were in the mix. Dr. wyche doesn't produce much so I'd probably swap that for a better yellow. Purple haze went crazy last year and I got those seeds in a swap...so far, three years running they have been stable for me even though I understand they are a cross that hasn't been stabilized. So I would have to ask what they would use them for in order to know what to grow I guess. I'm asking now because it's time to plan the garden and if I need a more colorful mix I will swap some in or out.

[Redbaron]

Just always remember, you can't loose 3,000 dollars if you don't spend 3,000 dollars. You need to think about a low input, low cost, low labor system that produces good in relation to inputs. That means finding land you can rent free or cheap and a method that uses biology for fertility and pest control instead of expensive inputs. I started a similar thing 2 years ago on a tenth an acre and managed 1,000 return. Poor soil, little to no inputs, and low labor. Used that to grow to an acre last year. So that's how you manage profits. PS Tell him you would need 3 dollars a pound. You could negotiate down a bit from that, but start there. You'll soon find out if he really wants "backyard" tasting homegrown tomatoes, or simply wishes commercial red tennis balls tasted better.

[TomatoDon]

If I read this correctly, she's not trying to get into the tomato market. She has some friends with some restaurants that like her tomatoes and want to buy some for there. Sure, sell them all they want. Look on line and find a source for tomato packing boxes. Ask your friends how many pounds they will need a week. Without spending a lot of money, try to grow as many as you can to fill that need. For something like a restaurant I think I'd use 20 pound boxes. If they are getting $25 - $35 for the ten pound boxes, then sounds like you can make a good bit more with the 20 pound boxes.
Good luck and keep us posted.
DS

[kurt]

I started as a hobby then some of my wifes friends received some cherry maters and one happened to be a chef at a high end restuarant on South Beach here in Miami Dade County.He was begging for maters every season so after the wifes prodding I agreed to put some up for his restaurant.Under some conditions.

1.He comes and picks them fresh off the vine in rows that I mark for picking.
2.He pays for all the maters he picks(including the dropped ones on the ground)by the same going rate for premium cherrys at the local Whole Foods.
3.Maters are weighed as he leaves the house and a credit receipt to us is given at time of picking.
4.I can redeem credit reciept for cash once a month.
5.He gets to pick only on Friday or Saturday mornings (his busy days for his restaurant).


So far for the last 4 seasons it has paid off to recoup some expenses for garden costs(about 90%).
He is happy and only picks what he needs,my rows(segregated)are untouched.
I also have some varietys of super hots that I make some cash from which he is incorporating into his menu.

[4season]

We have a chef or two buy at our growers market, but have always declined when asked for weekly deliveries. If I could always guarantee all they wanted it would be OK. They understand produce ripens in its own time but I wouldn't feel right if it wasn't ready.

[Darren Abbey]

Originally Posted by kurt

1.He comes and picks them fresh off the vine in rows that I mark for picking.
2.He pays for all the maters he picks(including the dropped ones on the ground)by the same going rate for premium cherrys at the local Whole Foods.
3.Maters are weighed as he leaves the house and a credit receipt to us is given at time of picking.
4.I can redeem credit reciept for cash once a month.
5.He gets to pick only on Friday or Saturday mornings (his busy days for his restaurant).

I really like these rules. They minimize your input and the chef is still getting fresher produce than his money can buy anywhere else. As well, the chef gets some insight into the production process and the real limits of availability.

[guruofgardens]

I'm with kurt and Darren Abbey. Designate a couple of rows for your friend, make him pick his needs during the times you choose.

Gardening stops being enjoyable when you have deadlines and requirements.