What is Market Gardening and How Does it Differ From Regular Home Gardening?
Market gardening is a form of small scale farming that focuses on growing vegetables and other produce for sale. It differs from home gardening in that it is a more intensive form of vegetable production, which requires more knowledge, skill, and resources.
Unlike home gardening or hobby farming, market gardening involves the production of crops with the intent to sell them directly to consumers. This type of urban farming has become increasingly popular as people are looking for ways to provide fresh and locally grown produce to their communities.
Market gardeners use various techniques such as crop rotation, companion planting, cover cropping and vertical growing to maximize their yields while minimizing their environmental impact. With its potential for high returns on investment and its ability to provide fresh food in urban areas, market gardening is becoming a viable option for many aspiring farmers.
Benefits of Market Gardening for You & Your Family
Growing your own food is a great way to provide for your family while also reaping the many benefits of market gardening. From health and sustainability benefits to financial savings, there are many advantages to growing your own produce.
Less Waste, Less Cost
If you buy food in bulk, then you will be able to eat more and save money. You can also stay away from all the waste that comes with buying processed foods or those packaged in plastic containers. Simply put: if you grow your own fruits and vegetables, you’ll have less waste on your hands afterward.
More Variety, More Satisfaction
If you’re a gardener trying to be more sustainable, you know that it takes time and patience to grow your own food. With all the time and effort that goes into growing a beautiful vegetable garden, it’s important to make sure that the vegetables are of high quality.This is where variety comes in handy. The more varieties of vegetables you have on hand, the better your chances are at finding something new and delicious every time you go out to harvest some fruits or vegetables from your garden.
As a gardener, your mission is to provide the greatest variety of fruits and vegetables possible for your garden. The more varieties you have on hand, the better your chances are at finding something new and delicious every time you go out to harvest some fruits or vegetables from your garden. You can make this happen by growing a wide variety of crops in small spaces, creating a mini-garden so that each space on the property is filled with edible plants.
So Many Benefits
From improved health due to eating fresh, home-grown vegetables to increased sustainability from reducing carbon footprints and food waste, market gardening offers a variety of advantages. Additionally, you can save money by growing your own produce instead of buying it from the store. Finally, market gardening allows you to connect with nature in a meaningful way that is both rewarding and therapeutic.
How to Get Started with Market Gardening
Market gardening is a great way to start your own business and provide fresh, locally grown produce to your community, but getting started can be daunting. That’s why it’s important to learn from experienced growers who have already found success in market gardening.
One of the first steps you should take would be to determine what you would like to specialize in. For example, would you want to focus on herb gardening, flower gardening, main crop veggies, greens, etc. You can make the decision for yourself, based on your preferences. Determining your garden focus helps you to determine how and where you will market your produce.
Another key element to consider, of course, is your gardening zone and climate. Certain crops do better in certain areas and you will want to become well-versed in that subject matter. Check on the varieties of produce you want to grow to ensure that they will thrive in your zone.
You will also need to determine whether or not you are going to pursue organic gardening. That will make a difference in your methods as well as in your marketing. Once you have made all of these initial decisions and put together the best practices for preparing your soil, planting your crops, and harvesting them for sale, you will be well on your way. You might want to check out Get Your Garden Growing Great.
Marketing Your Produce
Community Supported Agriculture
Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is an arrangement with a local farm where you buy a share in the harvest of the farm’s crops at a prearranged price. It’s designed to help farmers. Consumers pay up front and farmers know how many shares they’ll need to grow. You can learn more about the inner workings of the CSA and determine if that might be a good option for you.
Farmer’s Markets
Just about every community has a seasonal Farmer’s Market. This is one of the most popular places for local market gardeners to sell their produce. The farmer must make plans to set up a booth and sell whatever is in season at the moment. This does, of course, entail a time requirement along with all of the necessary equipment and supplies for set up and sales, but it is a popular option.
Direct Sales
Some farmers opt for the direct sales route. This can mean selling directly from the farm to the customer in an on-site capacity or it could also mean products delivered directly to local groceries or restaurants from direct sales that are made.
What Tools & Supplies Do You Need for a Successful Market Garden?
Growing a successful market garden requires more than just seeds and soil. To produce a bountiful harvest, you need the right tools and supplies to help you get the job done. From hand tools to power tools, soil testing kits to seed trays, there are many essential items that every market gardener needs in order to be successful.
The first step toward a successful market garden is to prepare your soil. A healthy soil is essential for healthy plants, so it’s important that the ingredients of your soil are diverse enough to allow for maximum plant growth and nutrient absorption. We can achieve this by incorporating organic matter such as compost and straw into our land after clearing it of debris and weeds. The more diverse the mix, the better!
- Hand tools for soil prep and/or a power tiller
- Soil testing equipment
- Composting equipment for soil amendment
Seed starting is obviously a big part of growing a great garden. Some seeds are planted directly into the garden, but many require indoor germination.
- Greenhouse or even a spot inside your home that is set up for seed starting
- Seed starting supplies like soil mixtures, trays, etc
- Grow lights
When crops are transplanted out, there are two situations to stay on top off; watering and weeding!
- Watering equipment of your choice
- Cultivation tools for weeding
- Harvesting tools and equipment
This is a fairly simplified list of supplies but a beginning farming can get things going with just that. It doesn’t take combines and tractors. Sometimes the most basic tools are all you need. If market gardening is something that you aspire to, then do your research, prepare your plan, and start planting! It is a lot of work but there are so many rewards!
MORE WAYS TO CONNECT
We also, as a homesteading family, have three additional blogs that might interest you. A Life on the Farm focuses on the more personal side of the homesteading life. We discuss subjects like family, parenting, relationships, homeschooling, cooking, canning and so much more.
Farm Raised Family is basically a hub for everything under the Two Oaks Farmstead umbrella. You can learn a great deal about all parts of the farmstead there. The Farm Raised Family blog focuses on financial matters such as budgeting, saving, and more and on current events affecting families.
You can also have a more in depth look at all that we do by visiting our Two Oaks Farmstead YouTube Channel and be sure to subscribe so that you don’t miss a thing!
Farm Life and Freedom is the new podcast we are in the process of launching! It is going to be so much fun! You could also check in with our Farm Life and Family Youtube Channel.
Two Oaks Farmstead is the farm store… the one that holds the umbrella! Check us all out and join us, not only on our blogs and Farm Life and Freedom podcast but come join the fun on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter… wherever you get social!
