Market Gardening: What Is a Market Garden?

A market garden is a small-scale farming business of fruit and vegetable crops usually sold directly to consumers through on-farm stands, local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture subscriptions (CSAs), wholesale markets, and occasionally independent grocery stores and restaurants. Market gardening, also known as market farming, typically focuses on vegetable production in a small area.

Aside from providing a fun, profitable outdoor adventure, the advantages of growing for market include:

1. 1. Low barrier to entry: Though market gardening requires an initial start-up investment, the small-scale nature of the business allows anyone with a piece of land and a work ethic to try their hand at growing fresh produce. “You know, it’s real simple,” Ron Finley, the self-proclaimed gangster gardener, says. “You got some sun. You got some soil. You got water. And you got a seed. Now, where do you want your beauty to grow from?”
2. 2. Encourages experimentation: The tight business plans of large-scale industrial farms mean farmers produce the same crops over and over with little variety. As a small-scale market garden grower, you can grow exciting heirloom varieties of fruits and veggies and try them post-harvest with little loss if they don’t work out.
3. 3. Environmentally friendly: Small-scale market gardens allow you to grow food and flowers sustainably using permaculture techniques like crop rotation, cover crops, and seed-saving. It also provides consumers the opportunity to eat local food, reducing the environmental impact of transportation.
4. 4. Fewer labor costs: Because of the DIY nature and small size of market gardens, you won’t need to hire many full-time employees to take care of crops at harvest time.
5. 5. Higher profit margins: Small-scale market gardens mean less money spent on equipment, labor, and large plots of land. When you sell to wholesale markets, you only get to keep ten to twenty percent of the retail price, but when you sell direct to the consumer, you keep everything you earn.

Though you’ll find market gardening a fun and profitable way to make use of your land, keep these possible disadvantages in mind before you begin:

1. 1. Certification hurdles: Though you may practice pesticide-free, organic market gardening techniques, you may not be able to certify your small farm as organic. Organic farming certification often takes lots of time, detailed record keeping, and money most market gardeners don’t have. Instead of certification, talk to your clients about your sustainable agriculture practices and invite them to visit your farm.
2. 2. Fast turnover required for profitability: Since market gardens tend to be small, you’ll need to find a way to produce crops regularly if you want to make a sizable profit. If your region has a short growing season, you may want to choose fast-growing crops you can harvest regularly.
3. 3. Fun turns into business: You may find over time that the pressures of market gardening transform a fun hobby or passion for growing produce into work.
4. 4. Limited space: The amount of fruit, vegetables, or flowers you produce depends on the size of your market garden. Most market gardeners must limit the amount they can grow based on small garden size.

It may feel daunting to start your market garden, but these tips will help you on your journey:

1. 1. Spend some time doing market research. Before deciding what to plant, visit farmers’ markets and explore popular items. Perhaps you’ll find the market overwhelmed by salad mix but lacking in radishes. Find a balance between what sells well and filling a market niche.
2. 2. Choose what you enjoy. Starting your own market garden requires a lot of work, so grow items that excite you. Perhaps you want to grow a rare heirloom tomato variety or love cut flowers. After doing your research, choose for pleasure as well as practicality.
3. 3. Start easy. You may want to start with crops known to grow quickly. You’ll find lavender, wild ginseng, and microgreens affordable and easy to grow. You may wish to initially grow in raised beds where you can easily control the soil environment.
4. 4. Plan your crops. Once you know what you’d like to grow, plan your crops. Include production goals, planning row spacing, and creating a production schedule for harvesting and replanting, depending on the plant’s growth cycles. You may want to use succession planting to have a constant ripe crop every week.
5. 5. Continue to learn and make improvements. The longer you maintain a market garden, the more you will learn. Consider adding row cover to protect your crops from cold weather, insects, and birds or adding mulch to keep your soil fertile and reduce weed growth. Learn as much as you can and make changes as you see fit.
6. 6. Make friends with the locals. Securing customers through in-person, direct marketing helps you find sales outlets. Apply to sell at local farmers’ markets, create your own on-farm stand, and visit restaurants and local grocery stores.
7. 7. Consider improving your storage. A walk-in cooler increases the lifespan of your produce and flowers and may prove a profitable investment over the long term.

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