Live Below Your Means Shared From MOTHER EARTH NEWS  Written By: Joel Salatin Nothing stimulates creativity and motivation like being poor and hungry do. Teresa and I had limited financial resources — and I’m grateful for that. We both came from frugal families who always lived a little below their means. If every generation spends a little […]

How To Get Started Frog Farming Shared From MOTHER EARTH NEWS  Written By: Pat Patera Raising bullfrogs — then — can be fun, profitable, and easy . . . if you’ve got a couple of acres to work with, have just a little bit of common sense, and are willing to let an “old-timer” in the business help […]

How to Get Accepted Into Farmers Markets Written By: Forrest Pritchard, MOTHER EARTH NEWS Blogger It seems as though everyone has at least a passing dream of selling at a farmers’ market. From backyard tomatoes, to foraged wild morels, to grandma’s incredible pound cake recipe, the possibilities often appear endless. My own journey started in […]

What You Need to Start a CSA Group Shared From MOTHER EARTH NEWS  Written By: Sarah Milstein Growing Experience First of all, you must be an accomplished grower. CSA is not for beginners! It requires experience growing 40 or more crops in a succession that will yield seven or more different items on the same day […]

Setting Wholesale Prices for Your Vegetables Shared From MOTHER EARTH NEWS  Written By: Lynn Byczynski Setting prices for restaurants and grocery stores is a tricky business. There is no open venue where you can compare prices. Other vendors and buyers usually keep pricing information a secret. And that keeps growers off-balance because they never know if they are […]

What Flowers to Grow for Profit Shared From MOTHER EARTH NEWS  Written By: Lynn Byczynski What Flowers to Grow for Profit Select flowers that grow well in your climate. Although you may love delphiniums, you probably won’t get much production from them if you live in a windy, hot area. And be sure to choose varieties […]

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, […]

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 […]