Preparing for Uncertainty and Self Reliance

[Speaker to Animals]

This man is meta if that term is to mean a damned thing. He's growing tropical fruits in fucking Nebraska.

I think nurseries are the future for the small grower. You can make a fair income if you can identify a good niche market in your area. Also be able to grow quite a lot of food.

$0.80 per day in energy costs for that entire greenhouse.

His profit margin is more than ten times what a Florida orange grower gets.

That is damned cool...

I might do something like this. But probably specialized in one or two ornamentals that are not easily obtained here.

[SuburbanFarmer]

This man is meta if that term is to mean a damned thing. He's growing tropical fruits in fucking Nebraska.

I think nurseries are the future for the small grower. You can make a fair income if you can identify a good niche market in your area. Also be able to grow quite a lot of food.

$0.80 per day in energy costs for that entire greenhouse.

His profit margin is more than ten times what a Florida orange grower gets.

That is damned cool...

I might do something like this. But probably specialized in one or two ornamentals that are not easily obtained here.

I'll look into it when I get my homestead. I could definitely pull off something like that, with some planning.

[Speaker to Animals]

That is damned cool...

I might do something like this. But probably specialized in one or two ornamentals that are not easily obtained here.

I'll look into it when I get my homestead. I could definitely pull off something like that, with some planning.

My idea is to just get about two acres somewhere with a well or access to city water and build a nursery on it. Sell online, at farmer's market, flea markets, and at local fairs.

It's a high growth area, so developers are always looking for landscaping plants, etc. I need to do some research on what niche markets could work. No way to compete with the big nurseries on common plants, but who knows.

Just producing things that don't grow in your area like this guy did seems genius. He's making good money because he is selling fresh oranges in Nebraska without any of the distribution costs.

Anybody can run a nursery in their spare time. That's actually a good business if you are smart about it and figure out what to grow and how to properly market it.

[SuburbanFarmer]

I might do something like this. But probably specialized in one or two ornamentals that are not easily obtained here.

I'll look into it when I get my homestead. I could definitely pull off something like that, with some planning.

My idea is to just get about two acres somewhere with a well or access to city water and build a nursery on it. Sell online, at farmer's market, flea markets, and at local fairs.

It's a high growth area, so developers are always looking for landscaping plants, etc. I need to do some research on what niche markets could work. No way to compete with the big nurseries on common plants, but who knows.

Just producing things that don't grow in your area like this guy did seems genius. He's making good money because he is selling fresh oranges in Nebraska without any of the distribution costs.

Anybody can run a nursery in their spare time. That's actually a good business if you are smart about it and figure out what to grow and how to properly market it.

Funny you mention that. There are some gigantic greenhouses springing up in Northern OH lately, growing orchids and other rare plants. People are catching on.

Personally, I think they're just positioning for pot legalization, but it seems to be a solid business model anyway.

[Speaker to Animals]

There is no fucking way you can compete with the really big nurseries. They are way too efficient and they can compete on an economy of scale you cannot reach.

But if you grow plants that are rare and not available in your area, you have something.

Like fresh oranges in Nebraska. Oranges have to be transported to Nebraska from Florida or California. Californian oranges are fucking dry and nasty, so pretty much everybody wants Florida oranges. This guy figured out how to grow oranges in a greenhouse that cost less than a dollar a day for energy, and whatever are his water costs. If he has a well, then that would explain his profit margin.

These guys are grossing $350,000 on 1.5 acres:



Think about how those guys managed to cut their costs and increase efficiency. You have to think like that as well as properly figure out what to grow to maximize your market share and sales in your area.

[Speaker to Animals]

My thought is this: people might say some area is a terrible climate to grow certain things, so grow other things; but to me that just means if you can figure out how to grow those things efficiently in that region, then you have a niche market and can do well for yourself.

[brewster]

I love the idea of "produce local", but the orange thing seems dubious to me. At least for now transport costs are marginal for any item of value that can keep any length of time so it doesn't need to be air shipped, like flowers. I had a long chat with the beer manager at our local huge booze store that has a million microbrews. I was asking how it is that the local stuff can't undercut stuff from the west coast, never mind what comes from Europe, and he said the shipping just isn't significant enough to make a difference in the retail cost. I still tend to buy local brews, at least in state or nearby. Also weird is how the farmer's market produce is at least as expensive as the supermarket, with no middlemen or distant transport. Even "pick your own" apples are as expensive as the market with no picking or transport cost. No "wins" wherever you turn.

[TheReal_ND]

There is a lot more worth in the local economy than establishing efficient means of production imo. Establishing a parallel economy now, may not have huge monetary benefits for anyone involved. In the future tho. Quite possibly.

[brewster]

There is a lot more worth in the local economy than establishing efficient means of production imo. Establishing a parallel economy now, may not have huge monetary benefits for anyone involved. In the future tho. Quite possibly.

Sounds good, but it's a little like selling a stock short. If the fall never happens you look like an idiot and/or end up broke.

EDIT: Shit! I just watched the 1st few seconds of the vid, I know that area well! The Neversink is a great whitewater river in the catskills. Several cool runnable waterfalls. I've commented on this before, there's just so much ex-farmland in New England that just couldn't compete with dumping Federal water on cheap desert land with 330 days of sunshine.

[TheReal_ND]

Good.

That will give you more experience so you can create a robust product that works in this economy or the next.