Start Market Gardening Right - Right Away! by Scott Kelland

Are you a gardener? Have you ever dreamed of getting paid for it? More and more people are looking for fresh organic produce from someone they can trust. The Slow Food movement and the 100 Mile Diet have made local food a mainstream idea. There has never been a better time to start market gardening!

But success in market gardening depends on starting out the right way i.e. with a proven approach. Fortunately there is a way to launch a market garden business:

- without a lot of money
- without a lot of land
- and without a lot of expensive equipment

It can be done, but you need to start with the right information and the right model. What is the right model? I will let you in on a little 'secret' about an incredibly powerful method to start-up a market garden

- Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).

What is Community Supported Agriculture? In this model of a small farm or market garden, customers subscribe to the farm, paying in advance to receive a share of vegetables each week throughout the growing season.

Why is this a great model? Here's are some of the advantages:

- Since customers pay in advance for the season, the market gardener gets a guaranteed cash flow to help pay for start-up costs e.g. seed, supplies, equipment;

- Customers are 'locked in' for the season - once they sign up with your CSA, no other marketing required;

- This 'captive market' may also buy other products that you can provide;

- No price competition - it doesn't matter what your neighbouring gardener is selling his produce for - yours is already sold (in advance!)

This is an incredibly powerful approach to launching a market gardening business. The advance cash you receive from customers could allow you to bootstrap your business, with no money out of your pocket (except for the costs of finding those customers in the first place.)

What do you need to do to start a bootstrap market garden? Here are a few steps you should follow (before you throw some seed in the ground!)

- Plan your business - set targets for number of customers you want to have, your desired income, and estimate your start-up and operating expenses;

- Plan your garden - how much of each crop will you have to grow to satisfy your customers? How big will the garden have to be?

- Market your garden - find a likely pool of prospective customers, and get your message out;

- Manage your garden - put in place the tools, methods and labour to grow and harvest your crops;

- Manage your business - set up a system to keep good records, track income and expenses, and garden production. This will help with planning for next year.

If this is your first attempt at market gardening, its a good idea to 'start small'. Perhaps just approach a few friends and neighbours, and ask them if they would like to receive a basket of farm-fresh veggies from you every week. Then follow the steps above to start up your own bootstrap market garden!

About the Author

Scott Kelland is the owner of New Terra Farm and winner of the Premier's Award for Agri-food Innovation. For more valuable market gardening tips, subscribe to Bootstrap Market Gardening Secrets a free e-course.