That's pretty much exactly how we did it. The first year, I was able to cut back my hours a bit at my regular job. It was kinda tough sometimes but we managed. The second year, I went full-time farming during the growing season while my wife worked full time off the farm. I am now doing custom woodworking during the winter. This coming year, we both plan on farming full-time during the growing season. :)
That is right on with what I am trying to do. Farming during the growing season and woodwork in the winter. I do woodworking with hand tools using mostly Paul Sellers' methods. The market garden is transitioning to what Curtis and JM do. Interesting to hear someone else is doing almost the same thing.
You keep jigging that lure to get us up off our scared asses and go for it, and it's working. First possible "blooper" I have seen and yet it was still so darn professional, very nicely done.
Thank you so much for all the great info. My wife and I are following through with this dream. I built our first hoop house this February.... it's already paid for it self in micro greens... After 6 years of gardening for ourselves we decided to go for it...transitioning our hobby into a business is becoming a reality this year and I'm hooked!
Talking about nature being a teacher, here's the lesson I learned this week. Old bricks will not hold your tarps down when the wind picks up. Be patient and wait for the box with the row bags...
Awesome video, as always. This is EXACTLY what i'm going to do this year; start building a smaller enterprise that I can work alongside my other job. With regards to keeping crops fresh if you're picking on Thurs and selling on saturday; when you're transitioning and on a tight budget, what do you recommend for keeping salads, for example, fresh?
I'd really like to see some one in TX or similar zone 8 that is doing this. I'm gathering funds and should be growing in the next 2 months. Curious how these greens grow in my warm southern climate or options for other high profit crops suitable for my area (Central TX)
Hi curtis, I was hoping given the title of this video is appropriate. I have 10 lbs of elephant garlic in the mail and have 1 or 2 quick questions I could get your opinion on garlic. Sincerely avid follower and subscriber.
Good video but I don't agree that for people starting out that a farmers market is really the "lowest barrier to entry". Several people are selling all of their crops/seeds either on Kijiji/Craigslist or online. Extremely low barrier to entry and generally works well for 9-5er's.
bob gray the houses have a certain amount they can use and he pays the excess, particularly in the summer if it goes over their quota. I believe it's in his video on how to pick a plot to farm.
Enrique Becerra I would recommend using a local source for good compost, as it is usually a cheaper and fresher product. Also many cities have composting programs and can give or sell you compost, just make sure to find out the ingredients and only use it if you feel comfortable with the contents. A local compst company i have used can also deliver to your property, if you dont have a vehicle large enough to pick up - i have also seen folks put a tarp in their car trunk and fill it up with compost. The compost at the big box stores will not scale up at an affordable price, nor will the quality be as good as trusted local compost company.
Some folk give the occasional gold nugget in their videos, this gentleman holds nothing back and gives the subscribers and viewers tons of golden nuggets. I'm going to start putting funds aside to give this a try. Liked and Shared. Many thanks Curtis!
Nice video dude! Ok, let me start that part again ..................... Hey Curtis, sweet stuff you putting out there. Subscribed some 20 videos back and loving all the different content, especially the focus videos. Well done dude!
Hey Curtis, thank you for this inspiring video. I keep reading your book (currently on page 133) and can't stop doing it even during office hours. I wish this can be possible in a country like mine (Costa Rica) where products are cheaper (but full of pesticides most of them) because we can produce the whole year so profit is low for small productions. However there should be a way to make it happen here and I will find it out. Regards!
Thank you so much Curtis , its been a dream of mine to start my own family market garden and my wife has been alittle scared of my chioce to do this and watching your Vids have helped her and also me in so many ways . we really appreciate you and wanted you to know that you are making a differents in this life . Thank you soooo much . God bless you . oh and lol 13;52 :p
I came across your video and I love it. My husband, and I have always wanted to get into farming but not sure on how to get started. We purchased our property 2 years ago. We have about 4 acres, and just this last year we planned 1 acre with strawberrys all the work we have done after work which has been challenging, but exciting. Our goal is to quit our jobs and do farming full time. I'm hoping to use the other land to plant other crops but I was never sure with what but watching your videos it has given me a lot of ideas. Thanks for all the information.
Hey Curtis, really loving all the content. I'm going to be starting up a farm in a few months once I move to a new property, and I can Google the information, but perhaps it would be helpful to other people as well to discuss / point to information about the business aspect of the farm. How to start an Agriculture business, some of the programs that are important to have. Obviously the legalities will be different in Canada. Also when and if you do your ramial chip walkway, please make a video on it. I'm very interested in learning more about it and how it works for you. Thanks again for the constant great content, really a huge fan.
this video is perfect timing cause I am going from 12hr shift position to a flexible agency job that allows me to keep that steady income to help us us through the transition from the medical field to like Curtis had mentioned in the video a market grower.
Beautiful Video Curt. Still Learning yet Finally Starting. Thanks for the Information. We are Here In Van City also. Would def. Love to see You around whenever your in the Area
Back on the days, school grsduates aspired to become physicians, But now more & more is revealed about the ineffecacy of this profession, Setting up a brand new organic farm , should be better choice for today's graduates, It is now, hi-tech, and not working on dirt
hi guys need some expert's advice. I have a beach house and would try to convert it into a farm. but because of salt spray I know I must build a greenhouse right? I will trying to grow some lettuce, water spinach (kangkong), spinach, lemon and lowland strawberry. and maybe 1 -2 fruit tree (not included in the greenhouse) my question is, will my crops grow well? and what can you say about the ventilation? should I add a fan inside? or I can make a window facing away from the sea? I live in the philippines so maybe rain water is also an issue I hope you can help thanks!
So on a 40 by 50ft space you can fit around 22 50ft beds with walkways and potentially make 1000 a week sign me up sign me up I’m getting my post harvest set up right now I’ve talked to so many people taking out groceries for them and restaurants and they want local food here in north alabama and there’s no one no competition at all I guess I’ll see thanks Curtis for all the information so glad Im able to put a working system into use and not have to learn all from experience I wouldn’t of been able to do this at all without this channel and the audiobook wich I’m probably gonna buy the book too
Thank God, Obama and Trump make me have health insurance. It makes it so much easier/cheaper to transition to being self-employed. Even though my current employer already paid for it, and even though it's become way more expensive for them to pay since the ACA, I'm sure that the well thought out planning and efficiency associated with bureaucracies will really help me to grow my future business. Thank goodness those politicians never took into consideration special interest groups when they drafted the legislation that affects our ability to make our own decisions. Also, thank goodness for all the taxes I pay. We all know those bombs don't pay for themselves to protect the freedoms of western democracies... Muh roads are important too.
Dear Curtis, it's obvious you just had a baby and don't have 3 of them running around, if you are a stay-at-home mom or dad, you can't get anything serious done if you have kids running around ;-)
Kids can really help a lot. Our three over here love to do different things... one likes to get dirty, another lover seeing them grow, and the other loves to "cook" with them, and will often make herb requests. (I think we have a baby chef on our hands.) Surprising personality traits are on full display, when kids are encouraged to participate. Best of luck and I hope you have already tried this.
love this info Curtis !!!!!!!!!!!!!1 we are a young family with 10 acres in north Idaho, im clearing out of pine trees to start a small family farm , we are very interesting in as much info as we can get on this, looking at microgreens and such to start, and go from there ….. thank you so much for all the info you've shared !!!!!
not sure how this farmers market idea would work in Australia, here in nsw we have them on sundays usually, they go from about 9am till 12 Noon in my town ? not long enough to sell the produce. maybe the big cities in Australia are different and the markets go longer ? anyhow liking these really in depth gardening videos. keep up the good work Curtis :)
I've been studying my local farmer's market. I've noticed many seasonal vegetable like spinach, not being purchased. People have lost the art of eating in season. How does a seller change that?
Thank you, Curtis for all the great info you share with us. it is very close to my plan that is semi-triggered for the moment :) one question: at which point would it make sense to register a business? after or right before I start selling anything, before applying to farmer's market, or before I begin collecting all the equipment (that's where I am right now - collected about one third of everything I gonna need for the first year, and practicing to grow a little batches of produce)
wow, im super excited i stumbled across your channel. when you said kelowna I almost fell off my chair. Im gonna try and make it to one of your work shops :)
what happens if I land a restaurant selling greans but don't have season extension what will the restaurant do to buy there greans and how will they think of me going forward will they return?
Really great videos! I grew up on a farm, and I know how hard the work is, but I'd like to start a small scale organic operation. I'm getting close to retirement age, 57, so after watching many of your video today I also purchased your book on Kindle and Audible. Now the challenge is going to be finding the land to farm on. I'm currently in Baltimore, MD, but thinking of moving to southern PA. Thanks so much for these videos. They've helped convince me that this will be an awesome part time job in retirement, and something I love doing as well.
Well depending where on either hemisphere helps loads, example Malaga in Spain has the longest daylight hours anywhere in Europe even during the winter which helps for the winter Sun here climate wise.
Good stuff Curtis! I'm currently in the process of beginning my urban farm. I'm married and have a daughter. Hopefully another child will be on the way soon. You're a true inspiration. It'll be interesting to hear what it's like for you once you become a dad.
Hi sir i'm from kerala and i'm doing seed distribution and to me now its a risky situation that i lost my father a few days back i thinks if you help me i should continue my distribution through sir from kerala
If I start a mesclun mix directly seeded in a low tunnel in March in a 5a area is there anything else to consider for good growth and germination? I guess I can use a row cover for extra warmth at night. And a faster release fertilizer sparingly.
Depends whether you want to market your goods as organic. If you want to be able to market them as organic, you've got to have some form of certification to do so (in Australia, with our strong consumer protections. ymmv). If you want to market them as 'practically organic' or something similar, you can probably get away with that
Unfortunately, this doesn't work in condos where the majority of lazy owners could care less sbout being able to go out to the courtyard and enjoying herbs, vegies. etc. let alone helping to get the work done. Alas, I tried.
+Sol Man right. There is no one solution that will work for everyone in every situation. I do the best I can to showcase example that I've seen. That's the best I can do.
My current job (not unlike farming), is mostly seasonal based, up to 14 hours a day in the summertime! I Would love a list of blue collar jobs that would work with this transitional model. Thank you in advance for the ideas!
kind of a random question. as to working outside on a farm. dud to my schedule do u think its possible to be able to work a farm from late afternoon to dark as opposed to when it's dark early morning to mid morning? seemingly the hours of light are the same just light to dark as opposed to dark to light. ps I farm wetlands so my field requires almost no watering
Such a great video. doing this in a country that does not have socialized medicine makes this so much more complicated (at least from my angle). But where there's a will there is a way.
Before Obamacare -aka- The Affordable Care Act millions of U.S. citizens didn't have health insurance because they could not afford it or because they were not qualified to have it. Hundreds of Thousands (probably millions if we are being rational) have "preexisting medical conditions" where no health insurance companies would sell them an insurance plan. A preexisting condition is a medical condition that started before a person's health insurance went into effect, or if you have a lapse in coverage -for example if you are between jobs. Loads of people across the country, but mostly in the poorest areas -which are the states that mostly vote republican/ have republican leaders, were in a tough place where if their employer closed, or they got fired, or they wanted to leave their job, they would lose their health insurance, and/or not be able to pay for it anymore. Many were trapped at jobs they wanted to quit be couldn't because if they did, the "pre-exisiting condition" rules would kick in and every single insurance company would deny them coverage (there are only a few insurance companies to choose from in the U.S. , and in some states there is only one choice). So when they lost their insurance they would not be able to get health insurance again because they have a "preexisting condition" Well that was all before the Affordable care Act aka -"Obamacare". Luckily with Obamacare health insurers can no longer charge more or deny you coverage to you or your child because of a pre-existing health condition like asthma, diabetes, or cancer. They cannot limit benefits for that condition anymore either. Once you have insurance, they can't refuse to cover treatment for your pre-existing condition. The alternative of paying extra in taxes, but being guaranteed dental care, and health care is a small price to pay for the safety and security and comfort of knowing that even in the worst of circumstances I will have healthcare, no matter how bad it gets. I would rather have cancer in a country where I will be able to get treatment for it, than die from it in the U.S. knowing I could have lived. This happens all the time. They found after Obamacare went into effect that U.S. citizens were a lot sicker than the Department of Health realized. The republicans hopefully will adjust "Obamacare" to be even better than the first plan. I hope they improve upon it. Health insurance should be a right, not a privilege. Republicans would prefer to remove Obamacare and go back to the old system because it makes their investments money. But with the pressure on them to do the right thing, they have been slow to repeal it. We need health insurance for all. Not for the few.
Urban Farmer Curtis Stone Some growers seem skeptical about fresh markets. They are nervous that someone may start asking questions about their growing methods.
Ps I want to start an urban farm as I started to get a green thumb last year and started some herbs and now this year determinate tomatoes,hot peppers and cucumbers... now I want some microgreens
your videos are getting very boring. stop talking about your book, yay great u wrote a book. on with the show. heck you spends 3/4 of the time talking about the book and not about the actual topic.
