Vegetable Farmers?

[ProxyRetired]

Anyone here a Hobby Farmer wit ha vegetable based business? We have the opportunity to begin the process of moving towards a homestead, with plenty of good healthy dirt/open land. We've been toying with growing our green thumbs. We know it won't bring us great amounts of cash, it'll be lots of work, but we love working in the dirt, and love feeding our friends and families.

[PhoenixHeat]

Might not bring lots of cash but should definitely bring an increase in life satisfaction!

Sounds like you have a great opportunity to do something you love!

[sbryant31]

My Cousin is a vegetable farmer outside of Vancouver. There is a law where if you sell a certain amount of produce you can get a farm property tax exemption. She's growing microgreens, hops, and a few other choice greens. It doesn't take much land to grow profitable greens. It's all about advertising I think.

So perhaps look into microgreens and check your local tax incentives for farming :)

[everyredpenny]

How about a U-Pick?  You can plant several different kinds of berries and have fruit available all summer long.  Customers pick and you don't have to pay someone to harvest.  Add a gift shop and sell merchandise & other produce.

[nara]

We have a small hobby farm on 5 acres that we are developing over the next few years to be a business venture after FIRE. We did a lot of research on other farms in our area and are focusing on specialized crops such as elephant garlic, heirloom tomatoes, microgreens, and lavendar. I think having a niche crop is important. There are some market gardeners out there who make six figure incomes on land our size...so it's definitly possible but depends on how much work you want to put into it and how much you want to invest. 

[india dark ale]

I grow veggies on a quarter of an acre. I don’t use pesticide or fertilizer. It’s not easy. Keeping the weeds out is the toughest part. You should plan for 3-4 hours a day just for pulling weeds and tilling between the rows. Then there’s watering and pruning. It’s tough to do as a side job. I have a full time job and by the end of summer, my garden is full of weeds. But I do get a pretty good crop. I don’t sell. It’s a hobby and we donate to poor people and give to neighbors and friends. We also can and freeze.

[Rightflyer]

We did it for a few years (as a true "hobby farm", meaning as a sideline).

Only ever broke even... but it did pay for the bills and equipment maintenance.
The tax breaks are good but if you aren't making a lot of profit, it doesn't really matter.

It is good for you (mental and physical health) as long as you don't need the money.

[toganet]

We've considered doing something similar, as we have a half-acre lot that goes unused.  Our idea is not vegetables, but herbs & certain flowers (calendula) that can be harvested and sold for use in cottage industries like homemade cosmetics, candlemaking, etc.  The soil as it is now is a better fit for these crops, as well, and they are naturally pest-resistant to a great degree.

[DebtFreeinPhilly]

Check out Curtis Stone on YouTube. He has probably the best set up for market gardening on small plots. It is a lot of work but can be profitable.

If I were in your shoes, I would determine if I need to money to live or not. If I don't need it, then I would grow whatever I wanted and sell the excess as its available. If I did need the money, I would only grow those vegetables I could turn for a profit. Microgreens tend to yield the highest profit margin and so do agri-tourism items (pumpkin patch, u-pick fruit operation, etc.). Also, marketing is a big portion that farmers tend to forget about. If no one knows you sell the rarest breed of the most sought after vegetable, you don't make a dime.

[BCB]

I closed my 1 acre heirloom veggie farm (market garden) at the end of last season after a 5 year run. Its a lot of work for a small return. I got burned out, tired of weeding, animals eating my crops and I had a shortage of time. I think if I was farming my own property instead of leasing it in a town half hour away I'd still be at it in some capacity. Probably raising hair sheep and pigs for the freezer.

Best advice I can give you is to not borrow money for equipment. There's a ton of old equipment on CL. Machines are your friends, use them and ignore the luddites.