Small Scale Production of Vegetable Transplants for Market

Growers Using Organic Techniques

Denise Sharp

What we do

• Produce custom grown veggie and herb transplants for market gardeners and commercial growers

• Produce custom grown veggies and herbs for community gardens and some to garden centers.

Who we are

• Sharp’s at Waterford Farm

• 2 Howard County Farms: 780 acres

• Howard County family farm for over 100 years

• The greenhouses are part of our operation of growing vegetables in the field to supply restaurants, organic markets and our pumpkin tour business.

What we do now

• Historically we were commercial veggie growers and needed the greenhouses for production of our own transplants

• Now what?

So what’s next:

We started to grow veggie transplants for others due to our

strong background and understanding in commercial

vegetable production.

What’s the Focus?

• Market gardeners and small commercial growers

• Plug production for the field

Then?

• Market gardeners and commercial growers

• Added herbs and flower gardens

• Started selling veggie and herb plants in the markets on their farm.

• Now added hi tunnels

Then we added:

• The products they wanted.

• Kept the diversity and the ability to custom grow odds and ends.

• Kept the tight order and delivery time.

• Kept detailed knowledge of their product.

Our Size?

• We’re very, very small. Nano sized.

• 2 greenhouses: 30 by 100 and 30 by 60

• With cold frames, and a hardening tunnel

• A high tunnel

• We harden all our plants before shipping on farm wagons or outside benches, average 5 to 8 wagons depending on the time of year.

Our Season

• We start germination in February with the prime shipping of cool weather veggies in early April and warm weather in mid May.

• Commercial growers plant later.

• We ship from March until the end of September.

Our Season

• Summer Season:

• We start our fall veggies in late June and continue multiple plantings

• Final shipments of fall veggies are in the end of September.

Why?

• Very effective use of a very small space.

• Continual production from February to September.

• Fits in well with the whole operation of the farm: planting of pumpkins, sweet corn, field crops and animal production.

• Mixes well with the tour business.

Plugs Sizes

• Larger sizes ready to transplant to the field

•128 to 50 cell size

•Turn around 4 weeks to 8 weeks

Sizes

• We’ve noted an increase in the plug size going to commercial growers. This is primarily due to the change in the type of grower we serve.

• More small scale growers

• More high tunnels

Media and Mixes

• Use of commercial organic mixes or

• Composted bark with peat and perlite.

• Bark has been composted 4 plus years with addition of rock phosphate and greensand and lime. Soil tested 2 years before use and adjusted. Expensive on our small scale.

Fertilizers

• Seaweed

• Fish emulsion

• And additives: Worm Castings

Germination

• Germination Trays

• Direct into plugs by hand or by vacuum seeder.

Thinning? Or not to?

• For Commercial Growers: Absolutely

Organic Challenges

• Fertilization has not been a problems. Use of EC readings and close observations. Using larger cell size plugs and quick crops helps.

• Insects and diseases are more challenging. Especially important: Sanitation, use of zero-tol. Disease control, fans and ventilation plus actinovate, regalia and rootshield. Insects, a total release program.

Hardening Plants

• Knowing when, how and not too much

• Commercial and Market Garden Plants

• An Absolute Must before they take delivery.

• Very time consuming

Marketing I0I for Us

• We’re small so word of mouth works.

• Develop a list of plants we can grow.

• 4 lists: herbs, veggies, cutting garden and cool weather veggies.

Marketing 101 for Us

• Post our plant list on our website

• www.Sharpfarm.com

• Contact all our customers by email and let them know it’s up on the web.

• Follow up phone calls

Commercial Growers

• Most commercial growers now have high tunnels. These are generated due to the

• funding through NRCS programs.

• The high tunnels provide a new marketing opportunity for greenhouse growers.

Market Gardeners

• Smaller scale• Have added high tunnels to

their production.

•Not planned for the entire season

Community Gardens

• Often have new “volunteers” each year.

• Need the most support in ordering and in the planning of their sales and orders.

• Generally use small pot sizes and place orders in March. Late for our purposes.

What these changes mean!Longer shipping season for veggies.

More cool weather veggies in the production cycle.

Smaller growers wanting unique odd varieties.

More grafted tomatoes

What new varieties to add to your production.

• For commercial growers ~ we prefer they provide the seed.

• For market growers and community gardeners ~ we provide the seed and often direct the mix of what they will plant.

Tomatoes

• Iron Lady ~ Hi Mowing has organic seed

• Defiant from Johnny ~organic seed available

• Late blight resistance

• Sungolds and Sunsugars~ for flavor and has the best quality in hi tunnels

• Brandyboy ~ heirloom flavor, works well in tunnels

More on the tomatoes

• Grafted tomatoes ~ ship in 50 cells to commercial growers

• Ship in 4” pots to community gardens

• I expect the demand to remain strong for hi tunnels but to reduce for field production.

Still more on Tomatoes

• Heirlooms: Challenges and misconceptions

• Commercial tomatoes in the home garden

• Primo Red, Scarlet Red and Crista

• BHN-871 orange determinate

• BHN-968 cherry Mariana roma

Peppers

• Johnny lunchbox or Yolo Wonder

• Small snacking peppers

Peppers Really Hot!

Lettuces

• The Salanovas from Johnny.

• Primed seed. Excellent!

•

More Salanova!

Tatsoi and Kales

• Winterbor, Starbor and Ripbor

Napa and Pak Choy

• Increased Market for Asian Greens

• Pak Choy and Napa the largest increase

• Mizuna sales are rising.

• Kitazawaseeds.com ~ our best source

Declining Greens

• Collards

• Mustard Greens

• Still strong but Brussels sprouts sales dropped

• Swiss Chard just holding its own

Herbs

• Basil ~ Genovese and Sweet Italian

• Parsley ~ increase in flat leaf

• Rosemary ~ hardy types with Hill Hardy

• Cilantro but price concerns (Rani or Calypso)

• Chives, Thyme, Oregano

• Newer Basils: Richter Herbs

• Thai 2nd best seller

Just because you need something different

• Nasturtiums ~ restaurants, small market gardeners.

• Sweet potato plants

• Container plants

• Leeks, and onions in pots

More of something different

• Beets, carrots in market packs

• Hot and spicy oregano

• Goldie Husk Cherry

• Tomatillo

• Beira Kale ~ specific for Portuguese kale soup

• Padron Peppers ~ Tapas

Who is the New Market?

• August 2013 article in Produce Grower

• “The time is right to consider getting in on the home gardening transplant trend”

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Reality of the Market

• National Gardening Statistics

• Average homeowner food garden 70 sq. feet.

• Average homeowner considering themselves a food production garden 600 square feet.

• Average purchase $70.00 annually.

Order Sizes

• Small Market Gardener: Average order

• Spring ~ $200 to $500

• Summer ~ $200

• Our Average U-Pick Farm Orders

• Continual shipments usually 10 per season

• $1000 or so per shipment

The Excess

•Tours

•Our fields

•Donations

Questions Before Breaking New Ground?

•Denise Sharp

• farmquestions@Sharpfarm.com

• www.Sharpfarm.com

•410-489-2572