Need Some Inspiration...

[Moorf]

Ok folks, I want to start up a "new" crop - something that is unusual, perhaps even ethnic, that I can grow for money. Gourmet would be good, and something (like wasabi or ginger) that demands a good price / kg.

I live in a climate not too far removed from northern UK except it gets warmer in the summer, has a lot less rain and cold in winter - ok, not much like northern UK at all but I can't think which country to compare it with!!

Any ideas out there? So far we've thought of wasabi (too difficult), ginger (not tropical enough), olives (not enough room), artichokes (potential), .....

Moorf

[Tigerhair]

All I could suggest would be to add value to whatever you do - like Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has done to sell things at market. It depends also on where you are selling - Hugh sold a load of stuff with hot chillis in in London - trendy stuff... and got a bit more down to earth at the local town market. Pesto is always a good seller - but would you have to buy the nuts in....? So soup if you can serve something hot... jazz up tomatos in a sauce or something and sell that. Have tasters on the stall.... the list is endless.

[Muddypause]

Saffron. Very labour intensive to harvest (and I don't know much about the conditions it needs), but weight for weight, more valuable than gold.

[Andy Hamilton]

How about white asparagus, take a little time untill you have a crop but worth it.

[Wombat]

Two words for you mate.......................essential oils! (what were you thinking?)

If you grow herbs etc on a somewhat larger scale than a garden, then steam distill them to get the essential oil. The end product is low bulk and high value. I would also bet that most essential oils would be imported into NZ & Aus - so start up a home grown industry!

Nev

[gunners71uk]

Restaurants go for rocket, basil , parsley ,easy to grow but good financial turn over.
when i look in supermarkets and a bunch of herbs is a quid think,how much do restaurants use?.

[hedgewitch]

Chamomile!!
Abundant grower, little care needed, ideal for your climate, self seeds yada yada yada.
Bag it up and sell your own loose Chamomile tea.

[ina]

Your climate is probably more like France than Northern UK - they grow a lot of lavender; so I would agree with the above suggestions of herbs. Whether you process them yourself or not would depend on the market.

Another possibility, and definitely niche market, flower or herb seeds. I knew somebody in Germany who grew just a tenth of a hectare and got more income from that than from the rest of the farm! They harvested them with a modified hoover...

[Tigerhair]

Jeez, you guys have so many ideas that are great!!!! I would never have thought of them!

[Moorf]

Great ideas there folks, thanks!

The white asparagus is interesting - normal asparagus is grown locally and is very popular so the white version could be an interesting spin.

Essential oils - lavendar is now being grown on a commercial scale here in Canterbury and Banks Peninsula. We almost bought a lavander farm. But the returns weren't great so we backed out.

Saffron - again, 2 saffron producers have recently sprung up in this area. Yes, very very labour intensive (perhaps they ought to borrow Ina's friends hoover!)

The only thing I worry about when looking at making products for farmers markets or to sell from home etc is whether I need a seperate kitchen / area to prepare said foodstuffs.....

Thanks again guys!

Moorf

[Magpie]

My BIL used to work for a veg distributer, (in Otago) - he always said parsley was the go - easy to grow, biennial, and a good market for it.

[gunners71uk]

there you go morph a sea of parsley and maybe a bit of basil.
BASIL !errr wrong basil thats john cleese. make some cash quick crop i still think rocket is a good move but i aint up on your climate.