Profitable plants

[Darklight]

Plants will break your heart if you are just after the cash. Actually they will break your heart anyhow

Try growing wasabi as a leaf crop, it's a winter leafy green and a salad ingredient. Not sure if it has market value locally. It's peppery and yummy, a bit coarse, but could be a good niche if you are in the right climate.

May be possibly hydroponically. Anyone here in .au wanna give it a go as a hydro crop for winter? PM me.

Wasabi likes temps 13-19C, so up in NNSW is out without heavy climate control. Aside from that it's pretty tough

Growing actual wasabi root is hard. You need to not only get the weight, but the right root shape as well to get top $$

[Yeti101]

I always thought that if the climate was right Turmeric, Ginger and Galangal would be great - especially if you were selling at a (preferably trendy) farmers market to maximise profit.

[waterboy 2.0]

Do the restaurants normally go for the flat leaf Parsley in preference to the curly stuff WB ?

Depends on the style of restaurant....curled is about 80% roughly, with the rest flat leaf. Probably could change that with some crafty "marketing" and a few more ciggies with the cooks/chefs.

Also attempted growing parsley root as a vegetable due to an enquiry , but found that to be too much for the cost/return due to a different culture technique. I do tend to a few plants just for roots now, but its just for home use.

Parsley should cost sweet FA to grow and return a small dollar, get some good regulars and it all adds up. I also only targetted potential buyers within an area that is generally within my general movements. If I went outside that "zone" there'd be no profit.

But as a crop if I cut it down throw it away/compost, allow it regrow then sell a few bundles ...lol I am still not out of pocket

He WB how do you think garlic would do in Brisbane?

To be honest dunno, may be more prone to fungi and not as pungent??. That elephant stuff just ain't garlic....lol. I grow a small purple crookneck variety, pungent as all hell...will "burn" on the tongue (the shit is definately medicinal - Italian community sourced).

As far a garlic goes I fetch a premium on that one. My original marketing was "do you really want to using that fckn bleached Chinese shit or this (hands over head of garlic, walks away comes back in a week)"....lol....that approach may have cost a few punters that can't deal with that approach - but those that want it will take whatever I have. Whatever ever I have left over I WILL have someone wanting to buy it.

If I scale it up again the work/cost to profit ratio gets skewed. I am not a farmer, just a bloke that eats those things and can get a good product up and out with no real dramas.

For anyone considering a bit of hobby pocket money projects (or preseason before trying gung ho) the best advise I can put out there is how you develop a relationship with your potential punters.

I've tried other things but they just didn't work out, have a few ideas left though. Lol...I am a slave to enough plants these days though.

Another idea that worked was pick a large office block (was close to my work) and have a chat with the admin staff....they put the word out with staff, and a do a coupla day/weekly drop off depending on product. Have made small change out of tomatoes that way....

[Stillman]

Yeah I think garlic up here may be just too much of a fight with nature. Might stick with my Yams.

[bullit]

oi waterboi there r saffron farms down ya way yeah?? i say saffron!

[waterboy 2.0]

^got to scale it up big to get a return I reckon, plus its a labour sink picking the stigmas. If you can find the magic balance it would probably return a good bit of coin though. I have enough issues picking enough for myself for the time it takes and then you need to process to get a good long lasting spice...lol.

Need to put out more kids for that to work...lol...(WB doesn't condone child labour BTW).

[Stillman]

Child labours the best! I used to get kids to pick the chillis that always ended badly.

[bullit]

lol

[bullit]

i know loads of koreans that will b happy to pick anything

[waterboy 2.0]

^ can they handle the cold and rednecks...lol

[bullit]

they work with me hahah and yes the winter over there is fuken cold! hahaha sum of them have worked [picking] for 16 weeks straight 9 hour days 400 to 550 kgs a day [per person]!!!!!!!!

Edited October 17, 2013 by bullit

[shonman]

Big red, could you elaborate on this?

I know! Morning glory sprouts, in with the micro veggies......yum!

A very colorful salad mixture, for sure!

[shonman]

Suggestions of plants, and ideas are very much appreciated, too...

Following all the rules of our all seeing, all knowing, infallible overlords, of course!

Edited October 19, 2013 by shonman

[bullit]

if i worked for the government i say poppies!

[Torsten]

Thanks, all!

Torsten....climate is what you make it, in a controlled environment........indoor greenhouse.

I am looking into micro propagating Ginseng and Goldenseal starts! and ethno plants...

Climate outside here.....USDA zone 6a.

6 a −23.3 °C (−10 °F) −20.6 °C (−5 °F)

Not true. You specifically asked about profitability, which is directly impacted by climate. For example, I would like to grow Lagochilus and Pituri commercially, but despite structures my plants fail when the subtropical wet season sets in. So I am now growing the Lago in an airconditioned sunroom. Yes, it will grow, but it can't be profitable - ever.

You still have not edited your climate field despite reminder. You've had time to argue about it despite that argument being wrong, but you've not had the decency to edit your profile. Just because you do not see the pint of providing that data doesn't mean it is irrelevant [as I have demonstrated].

As per my other post requiring climate data in all profiles I will be deleting your account if you have not made the change by the next time I log in.

[Sallubrious]

I think he's serious Shonman, he's got that look in his eyes

[shonman]

I apologize .....delete my profile if you like...I have contributed nothing of any significance to this forum

Edited October 19, 2013 by shonman

[GoOnThen]

Mate all you need to do is put a climate zone in your profile.

Cant you see how difficult it is to answer you question especially the sort of questions you are asking if we know nothing about your climate and where and how you intend to grow.

You know even the size of you grow area whether it is indoors or out is important if you want to know what plants can be profitable.

Cheers

Got

[bullit]

oi t , an old friend of mine worked on a duboisia farm out near kingaroy. the farm was fuken huge .. so yeap this plant would turn sum coin!!!!!!!!!!

[planthelper]

oi t , an old friend of mine worked on a duboisia farm out near kingaroy. the farm was fuken huge .. so yeap this plant would turn sum coin!!!!!!!!!!

keep talking, we need to know more.

I want a pituri farm as well, on top of my hoodia farm.

had to give up my sceletium farm, as bigger guns took over my share, such is life, hehehe.

plenty of fish in the sea!

[indigo264nm]

I used to always want to take a couple hundred Frangipani clones and grow em for 10 years after I saw how much established trees sold for.

[theuserformallyknownasd00d]

PH, I think he means poison corkwood, it's farmed in large areas up that way

[Torsten]

oi t , an old friend of mine worked on a duboisia farm out near kingaroy. the farm was fuken huge .. so yeap this plant would turn sum coin!!!!!!!!!!

The sale of the product is heavily regulated by the TGA. Basically, unless you are in the kingaroy growers syndicate you've got buckleys.

[shonman]

Plants have been a huge source of culture, power, and wealth, since prehistoric times.....

Still, I am not sure pituri would catch on in the USA......

but, I wouldn't have expected tobacco to catch on anywhere, either....

http://prehistoricdrugs.wordpress.com/category/individual-drugs/pituri/

[bullit]

yo waterboi i just saw oz organic purple garlic for $ 60 a fuken kilo!!