Small Scale Vegetable Transplants...•Continual production from February to September. •Fits in...
Transcript of Small Scale Vegetable Transplants...•Continual production from February to September. •Fits in...
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Small Scale Production of Vegetable Transplants for Market
Growers Using Organic Techniques
Denise Sharp
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What we do
• Produce custom grown veggie and herb transplants for market gardeners and commercial growers
• Produce custom grown veggies and herbs for community gardens and some to garden centers.
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Who we are
• Sharp’s at Waterford Farm
• 2 Howard County Farms: 780 acres
• Howard County family farm for over 100 years
• The greenhouses are part of our operation of growing vegetables in the field to supply restaurants, organic markets and our pumpkin tour business.
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What we do now
• Historically we were commercial veggie growers and needed the greenhouses for production of our own transplants
• Now what?
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So what’s next:
We started to grow veggie transplants for others due to our
strong background and understanding in commercial
vegetable production.
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What’s the Focus?
• Market gardeners and small commercial growers
• Plug production for the field
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Then?
• Market gardeners and commercial growers
• Added herbs and flower gardens
• Started selling veggie and herb plants in the markets on their farm.
• Now added hi tunnels
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Then we added:
• The products they wanted.
• Kept the diversity and the ability to custom grow odds and ends.
• Kept the tight order and delivery time.
• Kept detailed knowledge of their product.
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Our Size?
• We’re very, very small. Nano sized.
• 2 greenhouses: 30 by 100 and 30 by 60
• With cold frames, and a hardening tunnel
• A high tunnel
• We harden all our plants before shipping on farm wagons or outside benches, average 5 to 8 wagons depending on the time of year.
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Our Season
• We start germination in February with the prime shipping of cool weather veggies in early April and warm weather in mid May.
• Commercial growers plant later.
• We ship from March until the end of September.
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Our Season
• Summer Season:
• We start our fall veggies in late June and continue multiple plantings
• Final shipments of fall veggies are in the end of September.
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Why?
• Very effective use of a very small space.
• Continual production from February to September.
• Fits in well with the whole operation of the farm: planting of pumpkins, sweet corn, field crops and animal production.
• Mixes well with the tour business.
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Plugs Sizes
• Larger sizes ready to transplant to the field
•128 to 50 cell size
•Turn around 4 weeks to 8 weeks
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Sizes
• We’ve noted an increase in the plug size going to commercial growers. This is primarily due to the change in the type of grower we serve.
• More small scale growers
• More high tunnels
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Media and Mixes
• Use of commercial organic mixes or
• Composted bark with peat and perlite.
• Bark has been composted 4 plus years with addition of rock phosphate and greensand and lime. Soil tested 2 years before use and adjusted. Expensive on our small scale.
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Fertilizers
• Seaweed
• Fish emulsion
• And additives: Worm Castings
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Germination
• Germination Trays
• Direct into plugs by hand or by vacuum seeder.
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Thinning? Or not to?
• For Commercial Growers: Absolutely
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Organic Challenges
• Fertilization has not been a problems. Use of EC readings and close observations. Using larger cell size plugs and quick crops helps.
• Insects and diseases are more challenging. Especially important: Sanitation, use of zero-tol. Disease control, fans and ventilation plus actinovate, regalia and rootshield. Insects, a total release program.
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Hardening Plants
• Knowing when, how and not too much
• Commercial and Market Garden Plants
• An Absolute Must before they take delivery.
• Very time consuming
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Marketing I0I for Us
• We’re small so word of mouth works.
• Develop a list of plants we can grow.
• 4 lists: herbs, veggies, cutting garden and cool weather veggies.
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Marketing 101 for Us
• Post our plant list on our website
• www.Sharpfarm.com
• Contact all our customers by email and let them know it’s up on the web.
• Follow up phone calls
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Commercial Growers
• Most commercial growers now have high tunnels. These are generated due to the
• funding through NRCS programs.
• The high tunnels provide a new marketing opportunity for greenhouse growers.
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Market Gardeners
• Smaller scale• Have added high tunnels to
their production.
•Not planned for the entire season
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Community Gardens
• Often have new “volunteers” each year.
• Need the most support in ordering and in the planning of their sales and orders.
• Generally use small pot sizes and place orders in March. Late for our purposes.
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What these changes mean!Longer shipping season for veggies.
More cool weather veggies in the production cycle.
Smaller growers wanting unique odd varieties.
More grafted tomatoes
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What new varieties to add to your production.
• For commercial growers ~ we prefer they provide the seed.
• For market growers and community gardeners ~ we provide the seed and often direct the mix of what they will plant.
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Tomatoes
• Iron Lady ~ Hi Mowing has organic seed
• Defiant from Johnny ~organic seed available
• Late blight resistance
• Sungolds and Sunsugars~ for flavor and has the best quality in hi tunnels
• Brandyboy ~ heirloom flavor, works well in tunnels
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More on the tomatoes
• Grafted tomatoes ~ ship in 50 cells to commercial growers
• Ship in 4” pots to community gardens
• I expect the demand to remain strong for hi tunnels but to reduce for field production.
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Still more on Tomatoes
• Heirlooms: Challenges and misconceptions
• Commercial tomatoes in the home garden
• Primo Red, Scarlet Red and Crista
• BHN-871 orange determinate
• BHN-968 cherry Mariana roma
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Peppers
• Johnny lunchbox or Yolo Wonder
• Small snacking peppers
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Peppers Really Hot!
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Lettuces
• The Salanovas from Johnny.
• Primed seed. Excellent!
•
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More Salanova!
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Tatsoi and Kales
• Winterbor, Starbor and Ripbor
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Napa and Pak Choy
• Increased Market for Asian Greens
• Pak Choy and Napa the largest increase
• Mizuna sales are rising.
• Kitazawaseeds.com ~ our best source
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Declining Greens
• Collards
• Mustard Greens
• Still strong but Brussels sprouts sales dropped
• Swiss Chard just holding its own
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Herbs
• Basil ~ Genovese and Sweet Italian
• Parsley ~ increase in flat leaf
• Rosemary ~ hardy types with Hill Hardy
• Cilantro but price concerns (Rani or Calypso)
• Chives, Thyme, Oregano
• Newer Basils: Richter Herbs
• Thai 2nd best seller
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Just because you need something different
• Nasturtiums ~ restaurants, small market gardeners.
• Sweet potato plants
• Container plants
• Leeks, and onions in pots
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More of something different
• Beets, carrots in market packs
• Hot and spicy oregano
• Goldie Husk Cherry
• Tomatillo
• Beira Kale ~ specific for Portuguese kale soup
• Padron Peppers ~ Tapas
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Who is the New Market?
• August 2013 article in Produce Grower
• “The time is right to consider getting in on the home gardening transplant trend”
• ????????????????????????????????????????
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Reality of the Market
• National Gardening Statistics
• Average homeowner food garden 70 sq. feet.
• Average homeowner considering themselves a food production garden 600 square feet.
• Average purchase $70.00 annually.
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Order Sizes
• Small Market Gardener: Average order
• Spring ~ $200 to $500
• Summer ~ $200
• Our Average U-Pick Farm Orders
• Continual shipments usually 10 per season
• $1000 or so per shipment
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The Excess
•Tours
•Our fields
•Donations
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Questions Before Breaking New Ground?
•Denise Sharp
• www.Sharpfarm.com
•410-489-2572