Your Tool Shed

Here are some facts about lettuce that may surprise you: It is the most valuable vegetable crop in the United States, with sales of $2.2 billion in 2010. (Fresh tomatoes were a distant second at $1.4 billion.) Lettuce alone accounts for 19% of all fresh vegetable sales in the U.S. Iceberg lettuce is still the dominant type, accounting for 53% of total lettuce value, but its popularity has been dropping, while head and romaine lettuces have been increasing steadily and salad mixes have been skyrocketing in popularity.

As farmers markets extend their seasons and the demand for local food goes year-round, many growers are creating value-added products to take advantage of the new marketing opportunities. The term “value-added products” encompasses a wide array of farm products, from specialty foods to non-food items such as straw bales and wreaths. In this issue of the JSS Advantage, we’ll focus on creating value-added food products as a way of diversifying your farm’s offerings, extending your selling season, and improving your bottom line.
First, identify potential products. They should be food items that you know and love, because your enthusiasm will be crucial to your marketing success in the future.

July is a good time to start planning for season extension, whether that means buying a new hoophouse or replacing worn-out row cover and frost fabric. Here are some ideas that can help you make fall and winter as profitable and productive as summer.

In most of the United States, mid-summer is the time to schedule fall crops, including those you will harvest this fall and winter and those you will plant in fall for early spring harvest.

Whether growing vegetables for market or your own table, succession planting is an important part of planning. You want to avoid a feast-or-famine situation where the entire crop comes in at once and then is done. It's much better to have a steady supply ready for harvest over the longest possible period. Plus, you reduce the risk of crop failure by having multiple successions in the queue.

In cities and suburbs all over North America, urban lots and small backyards are being transformed into productive mini-farms. Urban agriculture is fast becoming the biggest trend in market gardening this decade and for good reason. The benefits of urban farming are numerous, ranging from greater food security to nutrition education to community building. The challenges are plentiful, too, and in this issue of the JSS Advantage, we'll tell you about resources to help with the development of an urban farm.

February is the month when the days get long enough for plants to start or resume growth. It may still be bitter cold, and there may be snow on the ground, but the market farmer starts feeling the irresistible pull of a new growing season. If you have a greenhouse or hoophouse, you know it's time to get your hands dirty.

February is the month when the days get long enough for plants to start or resume growth. It may still be bitter cold, and there may be snow on the ground, but the market farmer starts feeling the irresistible pull of a new growing season. If you have a greenhouse or hoophouse, you know it's time to get your hands dirty.

There’s both art and science to displaying produce at a market. A beautiful display catches the eye of customers and brings them to your stand. Then the science of selling takes over and makes it easy for customers to purchase your products. Here are some of the rules of farmers market display that will help you sell more:

In this season of gift-giving, you'll find the stores are stocked with food baskets, herbal gifts and other products from the garden. If you're like most gardeners, you'll think, "I could have made that!" And you know your friends and family would much rather have homegrown, homemade gifts than something mass-produced in a factory far away.

Planning your field or garden layout is one of the most challenging aspects of vegetable production because multiple goals must be accommodated in the plan. Rotations, planting dates, time to maturity, duration of harvest, and microclimates are have to be considered. You also need to know recommended crop spacing so you can calculate how many plants will fit. It's a complicated exercise, especially considering that it should change every year, so you need to design your next planting plan with an eye to the future.

Ideally, tools should be cleaned, sharpened, oiled, and put away in the fall. But if you didn't get to it, there's no time like the present. You do not want to start a new season with rough, splintery handles or dull blades. Johnny's has the supplies you need to maintain and revitalize your hand tools.

If you've grown or thought about growing pumpkins, winter squashes, and gourds, you have likely noticed the large number of varieties that are available. Johnny's offers a diverse selection of cucurbits, some strictly ornamental, some strictly edible, and many that serve both purposes -- in all, more than 60 varieties. With so many to select from, you may be wondering how best to make your choice.

Across most of North America, December is down time for market farmers. Days will keep getting shorter until the winter solstice on Dec. 21 and, in most places, it’s too cold for much of anything to grow. Greenhouse growers, though, are gearing up this month. It’s time to start tomato, lettuce, and pepper seeds for transplanting into a heated greenhouse, followed shortly after by transplant production for the unheated greenhouse. If working in the greenhouse sounds like therapy for the mid-winter blues — not to mention a way to make some cash earlier next year — then read on to learn more about how greenhouse growing might fit into your business plan.

Winter growing is one of the biggest trends in market farming. Farmers markets are staying open longer, many are going year-round, and winter CSA shares are growing in popularity. Even supermarkets are learning that “locally grown” programs aren’t limited to summer months.