Becoming a Market Gardener

Reader Contribution by Cindy Conner and Homeplace Earth
Published on February 10, 2016
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I recently spoke at the Virginia Biological Farming Conference about transitioning from being a home gardener to growing and selling produce at the markets. That talk was so well received that I thought I would pass on some of the information here.

The first thing I stressed was to feed the soil and build the ecosystem. We can’t have healthy people and healthy communities if they are being fed less than nutritious food. In order for food to be nutrient dense, the soil needs to be as healthy as possible. I advise to put your space, time, and energy into growing cover crops to feed the soil and make your compost, rather than bringing those materials in from somewhere else.

As you are working on getting your soil into shape with cover crops, you will also be building the ecosystem and attracting beneficial insects with those crops. Learn what other crops you can grow to enhance the system. Not everything will be a market crop, bringing in money. What these additional crops will bring in is balance.

Saving your own seed will help to bring in beneficial insects with their flowers. Yes, it often takes more space to grow plants out to save seed from, and space in a market garden is at a premium, but you will benefit in the long run. Feeding the soil, building the ecosystem, and saving seeds are all things you can practice in your home garden and will be the foundation of your future market garden. As for making money with your crops, there are some tips about that at Homeplace Earth.

Another thing I stressed at the conference was to have a washing station in your garden so you are not washing all your produce in your kitchen. That can be disruptive to your family. Also, unless what you pick that day is sold the same day, a packing shed is necessary to keep the mess off your porch. The packing area could be part of the outdoor washing station.

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