Re: I think I am finding my "niche"

[bookwormom]

you are familiar with Helen and Scott Nearing aren't you? (Helen and Scott have been my heroes since way back when).
They had a couple of acres of blueberries on their Maine Farm that provided the money they needed.
Herbs sounds good to me. I am working on an herb garden but it is hard to find herbs. what were you thinking in the way of herbs? Of course you are just a tad too far from me.

[CarolAnn]

Deberosa,
There's a book called Growing for Market that you might like. Mine is old, but I think you could find it at a used book store or on line at www.Amazon.com or www.Abebooks.com.

Here's a link for herb plants - LOTS of suppliers of both culinary and medicinal herbs: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-129.html

I haven't grown anything for market, but I did grow enough lavender plants from seed one year to barter with a local herb nursery for things I couldn't grow from seed.

When I had a bumper crop of herbs, I tied bunches to string, making a half-hitch loop about every 10" down the string and hung them from the rafters to dry. This is a lot more efficient than doing one bunch at a time. They dry in just a couple of days in warm weather.

I also made some good cash one year from making "over the door garlands" from herbs - longest stems out, wrapped in wire and hot-gluing in the shorter stuff to make a pretty design. With a ribbon in the center, I sold all I could make at a craft sale. While there, I put a spray bottle of water with a few drops of mint oil in the water - and sprayed the air every few minutes. People loved the smell - and it made them stop to examine my stuff (and buy!)

[DM]

*You said a mouthful when you said veggies are a huge amount of work!

*Folks tell me it's too much work "mulching" my gardens the way i do, but that's a once a year job! *It's NOT nearly as much work as takeing care of the weeding/watering and feeding i'd have to do if i didn't much heavily after planting.

*Sounds like your on the right track to me, see what's needed in your area, and supply it!

*DM

[Shamrock1121]

Deberosa - There's a local Mexican restaurant that buys all the tomatoes a friend of ours can sell to them each summer. I think he grows roma tomatoes, and they use them for fresh salsa and toppings. That might be something you could do with all those tomatoes besides chicken feed. :D -Karen