i am planing on growing sweet potatoes, sweet corrn, and watermelons to sell as fresh produce looking for any advice and littiture i can find. i am wanting to plant an acre of sweet potatoes acre an half sweet corn. bout half acre watermelons. i live in ky
sweet potatoes, sweet corn and watermelons
- Thread starter trin
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iowahawkeyes
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What made you come up with those dimensions? 1/2 acre of sweet corn isn't really that much. But the thing to remember with corn and probably wm to some extent, is that you should be first or last to sell that's when the market is highest. Our family has sold the first sweet corn of the year for over thirty years, people always know we are first.
mnmtranching
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On the sweet corn, plant as early as possible. Plant a good bi-colored Hy brid. Don't use the real early varieties, [ears to small and not as tasty] 75-80 day works well. Up here first corn is 6-8 $ dozen later goes down to 2-3 $.
mnmtranching
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trin":eyf4tb3f said:
When the kids were home we planted about 2 acres. It was Northrup King "Peaches and Cream" 78 day.
We planted about 8-10 pounds to the acre, fertilized with the planter. 1 acre would produce about 1200 dozen ears, the kids would sell 4-5 thousand $ per Summer. But it was an awful lot of work. :shock:
Susie David
Well-known member
How much competition do you have at the market? Try to grow varities that four other vendors are selling at the same market. Weather permitting plant your corn in plots two weeks apart to insure that you have a good supply of fresh product over a longer period.
We had bad weather for corn last year (frost in June then a moose in the field) but managed to get our third palnting to come in well late in the season...took a few sacks to grill and give to my beef customers as a customer appreciation...one guy asked if I took donations I said sure then he walked around the market munching on a ear and I sold $50.00 worth of corn that I planned on giving away.
As for watermelons...my advise is to grow a variety that is new to the market customers. Up here the yellow ice box variety sells well, and remember......samples sell product, plan on having plenty available for the folks to try.
IMO, avoid the groceries that every backyard gardener grows...we grow pumpkins for the family and sell some of the pie varieties...the rest go to the hens.
Good luck to you...Dave mc
We had bad weather for corn last year (frost in June then a moose in the field) but managed to get our third palnting to come in well late in the season...took a few sacks to grill and give to my beef customers as a customer appreciation...one guy asked if I took donations I said sure then he walked around the market munching on a ear and I sold $50.00 worth of corn that I planned on giving away.
As for watermelons...my advise is to grow a variety that is new to the market customers. Up here the yellow ice box variety sells well, and remember......samples sell product, plan on having plenty available for the folks to try.
IMO, avoid the groceries that every backyard gardener grows...we grow pumpkins for the family and sell some of the pie varieties...the rest go to the hens.
Good luck to you...Dave mc
