If you were to plant vegetables/crops on 1 - 2 acres on a hobby farm, what would you plant?

[elkfriend]

Hi, I am planning a small farming plot for this spring, up to 1-2 acres, depending on the crop. I would like to be able to sell some, eat some, give some away.

I am looking for some good ideas what vegetables would make sense. It could be a mix of different vegetables too. However, this is my first year, so I do not want to get distracted with too many different things, I think.

So I need some ideas from this forum please! I am looking for:

1) Profitability
2) Ease of growing/Maintenance

The area is Calgary area. Not very dry, if anything the soil is reasonably moist and dark fertile humus.

The land is native grass right now, but I have a tractor, plow, cultivator and I am not shy to work.

Any ideas welcome!

[densa44]

This should be good.

Any root crop will grow, I have no idea how to make a profit.

[Dewey Cox]

Pumpkins. Sell them for Halloween.

[norwestalta]

Potatoes

[threeforthree]

strawberries

[norwestalta]

Originally Posted by threeforthree

strawberries

Good idea. A u-pick type of a deal

[brslk]

Originally Posted by norwestalta

Potatoes

Yep! Taters... I like me some taters mmhmm.,,.,

[elkfriend]

Zoning is an issue, MD is a pain to deal with and neighbors are a bit finnicky, for a U-Pick.

Keep the good ideas coming !!! Any insights are welcome!

Also, deer and bird resistance plays a role.

Carrots? Echinacea? Onions?

[norwestalta]

Ginseng

[Weedy1]

Originally Posted by elkfriend

I would like to be able to sell some, eat some, give some away.

Pot of course. Will produce many a vegetable.

[norwestalta]

If you're gonna go with potatoe ,I've been told to get tires that are turned inside out. Instead of hilling them just add dirt inside the tire. When it comes time to harvest them kick the the tire over and collect your bounty.

[sns2]

Peas.

I would be setting up ground blinds at strategic locations downwind of entrance / exit points.

To take photos of course

[qmurphy]

I dont want to sound negative, but if the land is in native prairie right now, the odds of having it ready to plant any sort of vegetable for harvest this year is slim to none. Id plan to get the soil worked up this year, get some soil tests done, figure out what you want to plant next year, and decide if/how you want to Fertlize.

I think you should give radishes, potatoes, carrots, and beats all a go in the 1st year.

[Domestique]

Beets and kale

[anthony5]

Originally Posted by elkfriend

Hi, I am planning a small farming plot for this spring, up to 1-2 acres, depending on the crop. I would like to be able to sell some, eat some, give some away.

I am looking for some good ideas what vegetables would make sense. It could be a mix of different vegetables too. However, this is my first year, so I do not want to get distracted with too many different things, I think.

So I need some ideas from this forum please! I am looking for:

1) Profitability
2) Ease of growing/Maintenance

The area is Calgary area. Not very dry, if anything the soil is reasonably moist and dark fertile humus.

The land is native grass right now, but I have a tractor, plow, cultivator and I am not shy to work.

Any ideas welcome!

Is this going to be a long term project or short term? If this ground has never been broken then the next three years may be the best producers without having to do the fertilizer, additive thing. Try a lot of different crops and see what is the least amount of work for the most gain. Early growing and early eating mixed with mid season and late season veggies. Can be a lot of fun to begin with but with 2 acres could be very labour intensive, weeding, fungus, insects, disease etc. Radish, carrots, beets, beans, lettuce, corn, potatoes, cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, peas, and if this works for you with minimal inputs and not to labour intensive then the sky is the limit as far as growing vegetables goes.

[morinj]

I would plant everything that, can be very expensive or not available, in the grocery stores. Example: Heirloom tomatoes, they are very nutritious and cost over $5.00 a pound, peppers, zucchini, strawberries, asparagus, raspberries, Rosemary, Tyme, marjoram, and many other spice. Onions can be purchased cheap at the supermarket however nothing beats the flavor when you grow your own, that goes for everything else. I've grown as much as 200lbs of tomatoes from only 28 plants. I hope you do well with your garden. Nothing beats producing for yourself!

[elkfriend]

Hi, great input! The ground has never been broken, so that will be my project in late march/early april...I was planning to just plow the grass under and then harrow it.

Keep your input coming. It will be interesting to see how this project develops...it is for the long term.

[justsomeguy]

Really long term.....hardwood trees, think maple or oak. Wait 40 years then selectively cut individual trees and custom cut for small custom wood workers (real craftsmen not a cut and glue cabinet maker....I'm talking guys who make handcrafted, heirloom items that go for $thousands). When my dad was doing that he had a guy he'd go to, order up some maple for a hope chest or something, wood alone would be $1k.

But then thats real long term, like in setting your kids up not you.

[KWO]

Beets, pumpkins. Saskatoons for future u-pick business.

[^v^Tinda wolf^v^]

You could grow pot on one acre and coca plants on the other......wait that one I can't see in the foreseeable future...how about ephedra plants and then make a u-pick. You might have some sketchy looking dudes there but your wallet would be fat seriously though I'd say tators, couple strips of peas, lettuce, radishes, parsnips, corn, cucumbers and some sunflowers so you got a chew when your digging spuds.

[Redfrog]

Whatever you grow, be sure you have a plan to harvest it. Some things are very labour intensive and pickers are hard to come by.

[CanuckShooter]

One thing to consider might be herbs.....people I know told me they sold a lot to restaurants..for premium $.

[Unregistered user]

Tobacco. Asparagus never goes on sale, not sure how well it grows here.

[Kim473]

Originally Posted by qmurphy

I dont want to sound negative, but if the land is in native prairie right now, the odds of having it ready to plant any sort of vegetable for harvest this year is slim to none. Id plan to get the soil worked up this year, get some soil tests done, figure out what you want to plant next year, and decide if/how you want to Fertlize.

Pick the easy to grow and harvest vegies.

Example:

Potatoes are easy to grow but how about the hilling, digging and cleaning of them to harvest. With a propper type of plow kind of tool then easy to harvest but if you have to dig a couple hundred plants by hand ???

[cover]

Research , research . There are a myriad of things to consider. Firstly I would look at a passive solar greenhouse and a rocket mass heater. Many advantages ; the weeds can take over a traditional row garden if you are not on top of it everyday, control of pests/ predators , protection from hail storms and frost , much longer growing season , early spring and well into winter for cool season vegetables. Second, look at a below ground greenhouse. Likely less expensive to build than a passive solar greenhouse because you are taking advantage of the earths insulating properties. Thirdly investigate aquaponics . They have been doing research adapting this system for cold weather climates in Lethbridge and Brooks for a long time , look up Dr. Nick Savidov.
And finally research the advantages of raised beds vs traditional row gardens. The beauty of enclosed space gardening is you can still enjoy outdoor raised beds /row gardens , just on a less intensive scale. (Think flowers and bees) I can pass along many of the links of have researched if you are interested.

[winged1]

How far out of calgary? Maybe divide it up into rentable garden plots. Rent plots and provide service and products for 'urban' gardeners.

I'd grow potatoes, turnip, tuber type stuff for first year until you got the weeds under control, and you figure a plan. The other option for long term is trees,shrubs. unless you invest in equipment to either extend the season or target specific crops, you can only grow what every one else can. Profits then aren't in the grow, but possibly getting it onto the consumers plate. Don't underestimate harvest and delivery expenses.

[Red Bullets]

A high value crop being grown in Alberta is Rhodiola Rosea. Even in the north country. Started being commercialized in 2004. It takes 4 or 5 years to mature and it is a commodity with the Assoc. buying it from you. They will sell you the stock to get started too.
http://arrgo.ca/

5,220 lb. per acre in five-year-old plants have been realized in central Alberta.

1 hectare of root has the same value as 250 hectares of canola. Powdered root sells for as much as 28 dollars per pound.

Read up on it here.

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex13054

[From The Hip]

Christmas trees....will take 5-6 years to grow but when you harvest and sell them for $50 each you will be laughing all the way to the bank.Also they need nearly no effort and you dont have to worry about them getting eaten.

FTH

[Red Bullets]

Another tree to look into...beaked hazelnut. Hazelnuts grows in different areas of Alberta.

As nursery stock for landscaping they sell for 175.00 each at Holes greenhouses.

1 acre can produce up to 800 pounds of nuts too. Hazelnuts are 8 to 10 bucks a pound.

When I had my farm I was considering growing a few acres. I could get a 10 dollar permit that allowed me to get nursery stock from the wild. (when I looked into it) The nearest nut farms are in the Frazer valley in BC.

[elkfriend]

wow- that is just awesome! Great ideas, thank you! The property is just 5 min south of the calgary city limits, close to a potential customer base. I have about 5 acres to play with, but I think starting out with 1-2 acres is plenty to learn the ropes!

I had looked at ginseng and shiitake mushrooms too, but both need shade, I do not have trees yet.

But keep the ideas coming, there is some really good stuff coming out that I had not thought about at all.