SPIN farmers work with Nature, rather than against her. Sometimes she returns the favor, and sometimes she doesn’t. That is what makes farming so thrilling. In essence, you’re working with a business partner that always keeps you guessing. For me, this spring has been a real nail biter.
What I can do in most years, and what my plan this year was based on, is to begin planting the first week of April. In go my crops for early season cash flow – scallion, green garlic and spinach. Then it turned rainy and cool right through last week and I did not get those crops in.
But thanks to my grow rooms and my strategy of always expanding my product line, I’m still on track to hit SPIN’s early spring sales benchmark of $1k per week, selling 3 days at the Saskatoon Farmers Market. In spite of not having outside early spring production, here’s what my stand looks like this week.
Below is what I am offering – all grown by me. It’s represents full-out grow room production (four grow rooms, one in the basement, one in the heating room, and two in the garage; 300 sq. ft. of growing space total), and my storage crops from last fall, which are still paying dividends.
Crops:
- Storage potatoes
- Storage carrots
- pea greens
- Pea green/micro salad mix
Live plants:
- Garlic
- Beets
- Cat grass
- Onions
- Sugar peas
Bedding plants:
- Heirloom tomatoes ( 15 types)
- Hot peppers ( 10 types )
- Basil
- Parsley
- Rhubarb
- Tomatilloes
Today is a glory day for a farmer here, sunny and in the 60’s.
We’re getting our peri-urban plot ready for the planting of two onion varieties. But you can’t base a business on being a fair weather farmer. When Nature does not co-operate, start the season without her.
