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How do I Become a Vegetable Grower?

G. Wiesen
G. Wiesen

Anyone looking to become a vegetable grower should begin by looking into local supermarkets and cooperative markets (co-ops) for what people in his or her area are looking to buy. A person who wants to get into vegetable growing for profit should find out what is in high supply and what is in high demand in the local region, so that he or she might fill a need that is otherwise not being met. Then the person who wants to become a vegetable grower should begin to get the necessary supplies and materials needed to actually begin growing the vegetables.

Someone who is working to become a vegetable grower should be sure to find the space to grow all the desired vegetables. This may be a field purchased or rented for use, or land on his or her property. The potential grower may wish to raise only organic vegetables and so should try to find a region where there may be fewer insects and other animals that will try to eat the burgeoning crops. While there are organic pesticides that can be used and still keep foods safe, the less need for such measures the easier it will be for the grower.

Vegetables.
Vegetables.

The person looking to become a vegetable grower should also figure out what vegetables and herbs can be most readily grown when the grower is ready to start working. Not all vegetables can successfully be grown at all times of year in all climates, so the grower needs to be sure that he or she gets the proper seeds to start growing as soon as possible. Local nurseries, major hardware stores with a garden department, and other large wholesale stores with garden departments are all great sources for the gardening tools, watering systems, and other supplies needed to become a vegetable grower.

Cucumbers growing on the vine.
Cucumbers growing on the vine.

Along with water, soil is one of the most important things for growing plants. If the local soil is not particularly rich with nutrients, a new grower might consider buying a number of bags of soil to mix in with the ground soil. This will usually give the growing plants a better chance of producing larger and more appealing vegetables.

Anyone working to become a vegetable grower should find out about the growth times and cycles of the planted seeds and be sure to take proper care of the growing vegetables. Co-ops or local markets should also be approached before the plants are out of the ground to start building a relationship and contacts with the people there. The new vegetable grower would then typically be in a better place to move his or her vegetables once they are out of the ground and ready for sale.

Discussion Comments

pleonasm

@umbra21 - The other option for people with limited space is to try growing a very niche product, like organic vegetables or heirloom plants or something like that.

I know a few people in my area also make use of their space with greenhouses where they grow seedlings for selling to other gardeners.

umbra21

@Mor - The first thing people need to do is figure out whether they are only interested in growing vegetables, or whether they want to sell a product. If you love the garden and you're not interested in the kitchen, you're probably going to be better off growing a crop and selling it onto someone who will get it to the public. In that case you're probably going to have to grow quite a lot of one or two types of vegetables (depending on how much land you have to work with, of course).

If you want to interact with the public or be more innovative, you might prefer to grow something and package it yourself, or process it in some way. Instead of selling cucumbers, you'll get more money if you sell pickles, but you'll spend more time making the pickles as well.

If you only have limited land for vegetable plants, though, it might make more business sense to grow a vegetable for processing at home.

Mor

Take a look around and see if there are any local farmers markets in your area. That's a really good way of getting to know the people nearby who are trying to grow vegetables for a living, or for a hobby. They will probably be very supportive of anything you want to do, because it actually helps the whole market for new growers to start selling there.

You can see what is popular and what will grow well in the conditions that you have available. The trick is to grow something that is unique enough that you can stand out without being so unique that people will only see it as a novelty rather than a staple.

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    • Vegetables.
      By: Ovidiu Iordachi
      Vegetables.
    • Cucumbers growing on the vine.
      By: Natalya Korolevskaya
      Cucumbers growing on the vine.
    • Soil is very important for growing plants.
      By: ilposeidone
      Soil is very important for growing plants.
    • Vegetable growers may decide to grow corn.
      By: smereka
      Vegetable growers may decide to grow corn.
    • New vegetable growers should look into their local food co-op.
      By: adisa
      New vegetable growers should look into their local food co-op.
    • Farmers who grow organic vegetables often sell their produce to specialty markets and health food stores.
      By: Art Allianz
      Farmers who grow organic vegetables often sell their produce to specialty markets and health food stores.