what about a U pick it garden?

[miron28]

when i was younger i worked on a strawberry and watermelon farm in florida that was about 10 acres and people would come to pick strawberries and watermelons, it always did real good. i worked there for about 3 years until they sold it and it was made in to a subdivision. But i have been thinking about a U pick it garden. i thought about growing tomatoes, beans, carrotts, corn etc.... and just chrage per bushel or pound or what ever. what are your thoughts on it?

 

[TillinWithMyPeeps]

You would probably need to have liability insurance, and the amount of advertisement you would need to do to make it profitable could be pricey.

It's not a bad idea, but annual vegetables can be very unpredictable.

 

[injunjoe]

There are a lot of those type places around here in Florida.

I have never gone to one, they would be mad at me for taking the whole blueberry plant. Hey I picked it!

If you have the room I say not a bad idea!

On the comedy channel there was a guy that mentioned this idea.
What a great way to make money, A fantasy migrant worker outing package!

Joe

 

[miron28]

I have never gone to one, they would be mad at me for taking the whole blueberry plant. Hey I picked it!

that is funny i never thought about that i guess i would have to make some rules.

 

[Greensage45]

I remember those gardens when I was little. They seemed Huge!

We would walk out with baskets and bring them back to be weighed. It was never a price for certain things but always one price for all, so we could fill the baskets with a mixture of stuffs.

I do remember doing this with strawberries, greenbeans, and melons.

I could not imagine allowing folks to trample tomato plants. Too many broken branches that way.

Strawberries seem stronger and people resistant! :weight

Ron

 

[journey11]

We cross the river and go to Ohio every summer for all kinds of U-pick veggies and things for canning. Tomatoes and peppers mainly...you'll see enormous fields of the same thing and after the initial harvest for commercial markets they open them up to u-pickers. Selling by the bushel, usually $5-$10. U-pick blackberries and strawberries are also common. Other things, like cantelope and garlic they pick for you, but you can buy bulk for a great price. I think the cantelopes take a knowledgable person to see that they are picked ripe and not too early. It would depend on the vegetable, whether or not you could tolerate kids going through your patch or otherwise inconsiderate or not garden-respectful people. Certain crops do really well and people make a nice profit letting people glean or pick the second round.

I don't see any reason why not to try some things, if you like. Start with things you grow really well and dependably. I plan to have a roadside stand someday soon here at my home (doing the picking myself, 'cause I can't tolerate nobody tromping through my garden unawares!)

 

[digitS']

People are creatures of habit, Miron. We might even call them herd animals . . .

If your land is near where they are already in the habit of going to get produce, a pick-your-own may be an easy start-up. Otherwise, it may take a good number of seasons to gain regular customers.

I know of a number of places like this. One has the parking area between the produce stand and the field. Another has one field across the road but the other "down the road" - people use their cars to get to that one.

I'm a little grouchy this morning and probably a person of a suspicious nature, anyway. I can't help but wonder how many buckets full of produce go in a car and payment is never made. I think that the best practice would be to have the stand between the field and the parking area so that buckets need to be carried past the stand before the clients reach their cars.

Probably 2 out of 3 of the folks would never think of taking what they haven't paid for but I've even seen chain stores with the lousiest and most lax security imaginable. We are probably all tired of paying for dishonesty, thanking the cashier and smiling, after they tell us, "there you go."

good products and friendly customer service on one side / cash on the barrel head on the other . . . It seems like that's the way any market is supposed to work.

Steve

 

[vfem]

We have a strawberry farm off of state hwy 42 and they got so popular the bought another plot on the other side of the county and starting doing strawberries over there too! They bought an orchard in the mountain area and have a u-pick there... but ship a bunch here for fall. They also grow and let you do pumpkins! They keep SLAM busy, and even have added tomatoes and cabbage to the main location. They even purchased a plot of land that belonged to a company who had planned a subdivision and pulled out because of the economy.

My husband even talks about buying a few acres down the street and starting a small orchard so we could sell apples in the fall since there are no local pick your own orchards for several counties.

There is a berry farm, and its pick-your own. They charge $3.99 lb!!! Whether you pick or not. I think perennial food will get you more bang for your buck.

Berries, trees, asparagus, articokes, ect....

 

[injunjoe]

We have a strawberry farm off of state hwy 42 and they got so popular the bought another plot on the other side of the county and starting doing strawberries over there too! They bought an orchard in the mountain area and have a u-pick there... but ship a bunch here for fall. They also grow and let you do pumpkins! They keep SLAM busy, and even have added tomatoes and cabbage to the main location. They even purchased a plot of land that belonged to a company who had planned a subdivision and pulled out because of the economy.

My husband even talks about buying a few acres down the street and starting a small orchard so we could sell apples in the fall since there are no local pick your own orchards for several counties.

There is a berry farm, and its pick-your own. They charge $3.99 lb!!! Whether you pick or not. I think perennial food will get you more bang for your buck.

Berries, trees, asparagus, articokes, ect....

Smart thinking!

Joe

 

[wifezilla]

In Wisconsin there was a great Strawberry farm that was you-pick-it. Millers I think? Love that place.

There were also some places that had you pick it raspberries, beans and peas.

Out here in Colorado there are a lot of you pick it apple orchards and pumpkin patches. This page is loaded with websites for places like that.

http://www.pickyourown.org/CO.htm#listings

If you can get good traffic, it might be a really good idea.