How to Make a Profit from Your Vegetable Garden

If you love to be outside in your garden and care about the quality of vegetables you grow then you could turn that love into a profit. You need to have at least a couple of years worth of experience in vegetable gardening before considering selling your vegetables because your buyers want quality and not quantity.

You don't need a farm or a huge piece of land to make a profit from selling what you already grow. My garden is about 40 feet by 40 feet. I planned it out carefully so that I knew how much of certain vegetables I could grow and the amount of space each plant needs. If you already garden then this won't be too hard for you.

Fresh, home-grown vegetables are highly sought after. They are typically a little more expensive than what you buy in the grocery store and sometimes, depending on the vegetable, they can be twice as much. Consumers like fresh vegetables because they are usually grown without pesticides or chemicals. You also can't get vegetables that are picked the very same day you buy them at the store.

So how do you go about making a profit from your vegetables? First you must establish your garden and have enough experience to know how to grow your produce in a healthy and effective way. Once your garden is all set up you next need to determine how you want to sell your vegetables.

There are several options you can choose from. One of the most common is to sell your produce at a farmer's market or flea market but you need to know there is a difference between the two. A farmer's market is where many different local growers gather to profit from their gardens or farms just as you want to. This means more competition but it also means that the people buying at these places are there just to buy vegetables or produce. A flea market is a mixture of several different kinds of venders and only a few are there to sell vegetables. You have less competition but less people that are there to shop for produce.

Another option is set up a vegetable stand in your yard or somewhere close buy. Customers can pull over and buy from you directly. This method is a great way to get to get repeat customers. If you have a very large garden you could consider selling your vegetables wholesale to a restaurant or local store. You will make less of a profit per vegetable but you'll get a larger sum of money all at once by using this method.

Think about which method is best for you and then start planning for your first sell. Call your local farmer's market or flea market and find out how much it is to set up a table or stand somewhere per day. If you want to have a stand in your yard or close by contact your county's government to see if you need a permit. Selling wholesale would require you going to local restaurants and stores and bringing a sample of your vegetables with you. If they like your product then they'll do business with you.

If you choose to have stand of some kind make sure you clearly advertise on the front of your table or stand how much your vegetables are. You also should indicate if they are organic which means no chemicals or pesticides were used to grow them. It's also a good idea to give out recipes to your customers using the types of vegetables you sell. You can print these out on your computer or hand-write them on index cards. It will help people remember who you are. I also recommend using a small blackboard or white board to write your prices on. This way you can make changes closer to the end of the day to reduce your prices and sell what you have left at a discounted price.

Keep at it and you'll see yourself earning a nice profit from your garden you have at home. Over time you could consider adding fruits and herbs to your stands to have a larger variety to offer to your customers.