How To Make Your Garden Profitable
Did you know that your little home garden could be profitable? Yes, it can be! Especially if it's an organic garden!
You will be saving your hard earned cash by not purchasing GMO/pesticide ridden products at the grocery store. It's sweat equity in your pocket and good nutrition in your belly.
Ever wonder what the most profitable crops are in your garden? Well, I ran across this little list on Pinterest awhile back [scroll to bottom of post to view list], thought it was very interesting - Cilantro was a big surprise! That's the most profitable crop you could grow. Imagine!
I also ran across this little guide called FOOD 4 WEALTH which walks you through making a thriving garden with as - wait for it - LITTLE WORK AS POSSIBLE! That seems like an oxymoron for gardens! I know that Square Foot Gardening,Lasagna Gardening, and Container Gardening are all the rage and this guy has it down to perfection!
The step-by-step Food 4 Wealth program is laid out in a 60 page e-book and a series of 14 video tutorials
which take you through the process of selecting your garden plot
location, laying out the plot and setting up the beds, plant selection
for year round crop succession, plant layout in the garden, and
maintaining your garden. All of this can be done with very little
work. CHECK OUT THE FOOD 4 WEALTH WEBSITE.
What I like about this system:
- It's based on sound gardening principles of growing your soil to grow your plants.
- ANYONE can do this! Whether you live in an apartment or on a farm.
- Low Maintenance (no tilling!)
- Little to no wedding, basically you're looking at lasagna gardening, no room for weeds to grow!
- Year round food production - grow plants over the winter!!!
- Seed collection. Buy starting with non-GMO non-hybrid seeds, you don't ever need to buy seeds again, just harvest them from your garden crop. Savings!!
What is lacking?
- Pest control information. Because pests vary from one region to the next, there isn't information on how to control pests naturally - including fungus and slugs, beetles, etc.
You can find out more about the Food 4 Wealth system by clicking below.
Now back to the most produce value per square foot - many of the leafy green vegetables/herbs (cilantro, lettuce, chives, dill, Swiss chard) next comes many of the larger vine plants (tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, peas) with many of the root plants taking up the rear. Now much of this makes sense where many of the vine plants grow on trellises and are allowed to spread, which I guess is sort of cheating the square foot rule but I will let it slide. Compared to the root plants whose production is entirely dependent on the space allowed in square footage they have to grow as well as these are normally inexpensive produce items to begin with.
| Vegetable | USD Value/SF |
| Cilantro | $ 21.20 |
| Arugula-Roquette | $ 20.92 |
| Green Salad Mix | $ 17.55 |
| Chives | $ 16.40 |
| Dill | $ 16.40 |
| Lettuce | $ 16.20 |
| Tomato, Cherry, small & medium | $ 15.57 |
| Turnip | $ 9.90 |
| Tomato, large | $ 9.50 |
| Squash, Winter | $ 8.40 |
| Tomatillo | $ 8.00 |
| Cucumber | $ 7.74 |
| Basil | $ 6.63 |
| Radish, Red | $ 6.22 |
| Pumpkin | $ 6.20 |
| Chard, Swiss | $ 6.14 |
| Celery | $ 6.00 |
| Squash, Summer | $ 5.96 |
| Choi | $ 5.70 |
| Peas, Snow | $ 4.50 |
| Pepper, Jalapeno | $ 4.50 |
| Squash, Summer, Zucchini | $ 4.17 |
| Onion, Bunching | $ 4.14 |
| Pepper, Bell | $ 3.60 |
| Brussels Sprouts | $ 3.59 |
| Carrots | $ 3.56 |
| Rhubarb | $ 3.25 |
| Squash, Winter, Butternut | $ 3.20 |
| Kale | $ 3.07 |
| Grass, Lemon | $ 3.00 |
| Peas, English | $ 3.00 |
| Onion, Bulb | $ 2.63 |
| Radish, White | $ 2.60 |
| Bean, Bush | $ 2.51 |
| Peas, Edible Pod | $ 2.50 |
| Artichoke, Globe | $ 2.40 |
| Cabbage, Chinese Napa | $ 2.24 |
| Squash, Winter, Delicata | $ 2.10 |
| Spinach, Spring/Fall | $ 1.80 |
| Leeks | $ 1.75 |
| Potatoes | $ 1.50 |
| Parsnips | $ 1.50 |
| Garlic | $ 1.37 |
| Squash, Summer, Yellow | $ 1.34 |
| Parsley | $ 1.31 |
| Corn | $ 1.25 |
| Squash, Winter, Acorn | $ 1.20 |
| Squash, Winter, Hubbard | $ 1.20 |
| Eggplant | $ 1.10 |
| Greens, Mustard | $ 1.10 |
| Rutabaga | $ 1.00 |
| Beet | $ 0.89 |
| Cabbage, Savoy | $ 0.80 |
| Broccoli | $ 0.80 |
| Kohlrabi | $ 0.75 |
| Cauliflower | $ 0.60 |
| Broccoli, Chinese | $ 0.60 |
| Cabbage | $ 0.50 |
