HomesteadEditor

Getting Started as a Flower Farmer Shared From MOTHER EARTH NEWS  Written by:Lynn Byczynski I get up at dawn and drink a cup of coffee on the porch as the red sun inches over the hillside. Then I head down to the field, just a stone’s throw from the house, and wade into the neat rows […]

Structure Your Cottage Food Business Shared From MOTHER EARTH NEWS  – Written by: John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist Selling your story A wide range of different elements go into defining a great product, including the uniqueness of the recipe, the quality of the ingredients, the packaging, perhaps the specific small-batch production process, and even the […]

Questions to Answer Before Diving in to the Cottage Food Business Shared From MOTHER EARTH NEWS – Written by: John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist Calling all jammers, bakers and canners. You could be part of a growing movement of people starting small food businesses in their homes. No capital needed, just good recipes, enthusiasm and commitment, […]

Pick Your Markets Just as You Pick Your Friends Shared From MOTHER EARTH NEWS  Written by: Mort Mather Some people carry too far the idea of growing what is easy. I got a call one July from someone who had planted and brought to harvest an acre of zucchini. Now that they had a product, they […]

Getting to Know the Chef Shared From MOTHER EARTH NEWS  Written by: Mort Mather Chefs in northern climates love to talk to farmers in the winter. They are dying for good produce. So I drove to a natural food restaurant thirty-five miles away in Portland, Maine to talk with the chef. She told me they used […]

How 6 Tomato Plants Accidentally Grew into a Booming Business Shared From MOTHER EARTH NEWS  Written by: Mort Mather I never wanted to garden for money . . . honest. Some are born into the gardening business, others have it thrust upon them. I only intended to grow what I needed. My family had just moved to […]

Excerpted from Market Farming Success by Lynn Bycynski Record-keeping The only way to benefit from your experience is to keep records of everything you do. You may think that you will remember when you planted which variety and when you started to harvest it. And there may be a few geniuses out there who really […]

Excerpted from Sustainable Market Farming by Pam Dawling Which crops to grow Some crops require more skill or are less dependable. If your climate is marginal for okra, avoid relying on it for a large part of your summer income. Gardening When it Counts by Steve Solomon has a table of “Vegetables by level of […]

Excerpted from Sustainable Market Farming by Pam Dawling In some cases, your crop could produce both food and seed, as we do with our tomatoes and watermelon. But getting two crops from one plant does take more time, compared to simply mashing the whole tomatoes, for instance. There are other ways to have your crop […]

Excerpted from Homemade For Sale by Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko   As a small CFO, you don’t need to spin wheels and spend lots of money to figure out the value and sales viability of your product. Depending on your products, options to connect with your customers and garner actionable information may include: • Follow-up e-mails […]