Courtesy of Roxanne C., Philadelphia PA
It’s winter. Are you selling “Spring Mix”? What you call, and put into, your salad mix
shouldn’t always be the same. SPIN farmers change their salad ingredients to reflect the changing seasons and keep customer interest stoked.
How much variety and creativity they put into their salad mixes is dictated by how adventurous their customers are, and how big a revenue generator it is for them. Some ingredients like chard and kale can be grown all season long. Other ingredients like Bull’s blood beets, mache, orach, purslane and radicchio are relayed at different times in the season.
Edible flowers also add a wow factor. SPIN farmer Chris Kimber, owner/operator of of 3 Crows Farm, recommends adding nasturtiums to a Mesclun Mix. 
Just 2 or 3 per bag near the top will distinguish yourself from other vendors. They bloom all season long,and taste great, leaves and blooms – zippy, peppery burst. Another plus is they grow well in hanging planters so you don’t have to take up valuable plot space.
In spring, Rob Miller of Trefoil Gardens, adds violets to his mixes. He is one of Georgia’s few certified foragers and he includes wildlings to his mixes, in addition to the crops he grows. Check out his Wild Salad Mix:
Our learning program includes a guide on how to build a $30k business with specialty salad mixes as a key part of a crop repertoire. Get it here at a special discount for Garden Heroes, and remember that what distinguishes your salads from the assembly line salads in the grocery aisle are its ingredients. Make sure the name conveys the creativity and character that you put in it so your customers get the message.
LEARN FROM OTHER NONCONFORMING SALAD GROWERS LIKE CHRIS KIMBER AND ROB MILLER IN THE BACKYARD RICHES MEMBERS GROUP. GET A FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP WITH OUR LEARNING PROGRAM OR BUY MEMBERSHIP HERE.
