My 10 Top New Year's Gardening Resolutions for 2009

My gardening New Year's Resolutions involve getting into the growing and selling end of my passion, herbs. East San Diego County has only one nursery outlet where you can buy medicinal herb plants. They don't always carry the herbs I want either. There is a growing interest in medicinal herb gardens and I hope our new business will fill part of that need.

We moved onto this new property this past May. The neglected, rugged steep hillside involved too much work having just moved in, so we planted in tubs.The vegetables did not grow well in the tubs at all. There is a lot of growing area on this property but all required a lot of ground work. The land had been neglected by the previous owners. Now that we have lived here for half a year, we are ready to start on our new gardening plans.Growing and selling medicinal herbs has been a dream for many years and living here is making it possible to realize this dream in 2010

#1. Start a vegetable and medicinal herb garden planted into the ground this spring. Now that I know more about the problems here, it will be easier. I will hire help in spring to dig out several areas to plant in, then line the growing areas with wire, and finally add soil amendments. I am going to do some of the work this winter myself as well. Each week I will work on one area or another as I have time. The gophers are a serious problem so have begun to start removing them with traps. They have killed several trees on the property.

#2. Design the yard now for planting my medicinal herb garden. I am plotting the yard out on paper and experimenting with different designs. I want to get the best use out of each area. I am also looking at some gardening books to get ideas as well. The design needs to be decided on by the end of this month so I can get started with the preparation of the beds. Whatever is left by spring, I will hire help to finish.

#3. Buy more medicinal herbs in spring to enlarge the selection of Medicinal plants grown. I have almost 20 herbs now that were recently purchased and will be big enough in spring to plant. These will be moved under our covered porch when the temperature gets down to freezing. I have them in big tubs now. I have already researched the different herbs I will buy in February, where to buy them to get both quality and good prices.

#4. Plant my Moringa tree seedlings into the ground in spring. I have 20 seedlings started in one gallon pots in the corner of my kitchen where they can receive the most sunlight. Since they need 8 hours of sunlight and temperatures above 70 degrees to keep them from going dormant, I have them under a grow light as well.

In spring I will plant 50 seedlings each month to sell. Moringa trees grow rapidly, growing several feet a month in warm weather. In January I will get the process started by planting herb seedlings in the house for sale in spring. We hope to build a greenhouse by the middle of next year.

#5. Finish my new website on which I will sell my Moringa seedlings, Moringa dried powder and herb plants. I have the website half finished and have set a schedule to work on it a few hours every week. It needs to be finished by the end of this month.

#6. Secure my license to sell Moringa and other agriculture produce. My license is at their office waiting for review and approval.

#7. Send in the application to sell at the Farmers Markets here. Until we can legally sell our own herbs and Moringa tree seedlings, we are required to obtain what is called a Market Enforcement License. This license gives us legal rights to resell plants we buy from a certified California grower. We must also have a business license and 100,000 general liability business insurance coverage. The insurance coverage that is required is different for each farmers market setup. Contact each farmers market to determine their legal requirements. The fines from the city and agriculture department can be as high as $25,000. They do frequently check the merchants at the markets to make sure they are operating legally. We are waiting on our business license and insurance.

#8. Purchase the rest of the tools we need to set up a booth at the Farmers Markets including a tent, folding table, and other supplies. Most of the Farmers Markets are slow or on hold during December so we have time to get organized.

#9. Visit all the different Farmers Markets in the areas near our home to check out our competition, what they sell, buyer stats, and get to know each market area. We will then have to pick the best two or three markets to sell at. You must submit a separate application to each farmers market. If they already have a merchant selling your product, you may not get approved.

#10 Send in our nursery application so we will legally be able to sell our own Moringa seedlings and herb plants grown on our property here. Since we do not have enough room to grow a lot of plants, I am partnering with a grower to provide us with Moringa seedlings as needed. Again the fine for selling your own herbs or produce without the proper license is very expensive and is a felony. It is a big mistake to do it any way but legally. We are going to fill out the paperwork in January for the nursery license which in our case is only $125.00. If you have extensive land and greenhouse space, the price of the license goes up considerably. Research the rules and regulations that apply to your area so you get all of it done in time. You must first have plants growing to get a license. A physical inspection of your property and plants is the final requirement for approval. This is why it is the last of the legal paperwork to be turned in.

I am excited about the New Year and look forward to each and every chapter of achieving my gardening New Year's Resolutions for 2009.