Hey Buehler445,
Just a thought: I was thinking about you're not being thrilled you had no fresh farmer's markets near you for fresh produce. Since, you're a farmer, have you thought of starting a small vegetable garden? I'm thinking of doing that. I can freeze any excess, give away or if I lived in an appropriate area sell excess on the side of the road, the way I see in some rural communities.

bep
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I have. We had a good sized garden until my daughter was born then we haven't gotten back into it. The problem is I can help get it going, but maintinence falls all on the wife since I'm busy as hell during the season. She's wanting to put some raised beds in town so it's a little easier but we haven't gotten it done yet.

We have some irrigation on a field that isn't enough for field application but should work well enough for a green house or something on a larger scale.

The problem being that vegetable crops are labor intensive and we are trying shooting for efficiency with machinery/labor. It's just me and a hired laborer and my dad, who is slowing down some, and we have to cover 7,000 acres. Labor intensive picking on much more than a garden plot sized really goes against our strategic position. We would either have to break into it on a large enough scale to make it pay a guys salary that I'd have to hire or it would probably take back burner to other field operations. Maybe when my daughter is older, but right now it probably isn't going to happen.

Go for it though. There is a lot of that type of stuff on the market. And given your population density, it could work if you can manage the production. I have no idea what price points would be worth your time. Biggest hurdle I see is if you retail it, you obtain liability. I don't know what the state rules are, but I think in Kansas if you retail it you need to have prepared it in a kitchen that meets commercial standards. You also assume liability if someone would get sick. That's a lot of liability to incur if you're going to gross a couple thousand on the extras.

It's a great theory, but naturally lawyers got involved and took all the efficiency out of the system. If you get something going, I'd be interested to go through some numbers. I think running a decent sized greenhouse out here would be a viable business opportunity but I don't know enough about the industry to make an informed decision.
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Cool. You could just do a small one for the family, if a greenhouse is too much work. I am thinking of doing that...but I have a black thumb. :-)

I also forgot I have something growing and forge to water my Earth Boxes. :-)

I need an alarm system to remind me. Any suggestions for how to install a small watering system where I just push a button from inside my home?

Guess I should ask in the gardening thread.
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Oh yeah, and a baby does that to your life.
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Fresh to frozen beans are definitely a cut above canned

I do like veggies

The chinese lady that runs my local take out said I was the first person to praise her heavy use of veggies

Fat, lazy Americans :-)
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There are irrigation systems you can build on a timer. Where you don't need nearly the volume of water a drip emitter would probably work fine. I'll see if I can dig up some products to automate your system.

How many plants and beds do you have?
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I rigged mine up to my drip emitter system and installed a shutoff valve before my garden that is directly into the poly pipe. That way it can be on a timer like the rest of the shrubs/yard, or I can continue watering the rest of the yard and shut the valve off since the garden requires less water. The emitters are super easy to install and I can even regulate them to have some of them turned off and some kept on if something is harvested and no longer needs to be watered in a certain area.

This also allows use to leave for a week at a time and not need someone to come water out plants.

I too am a black thumb and not a handyman, so if I can do it, so can you.
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Right now just three Earth Boxes but one is empty. That was my tomatoes which always seemed to pick up a fungus. So I finally had to clean it all out with bleach and never did anything more with it, eventhough I did manage to get some delicious tomatoes from it at one time. Can't grow them in the summer here. Can only do the small ones like grape or plum.

My other two I just replaced with herbs but I did have lettuces, spinach and arugula. It's more that I want to plant more. I have the seeds. I am thinking of just digging into the ground now. Guess I learn through screwing up.

I want to add root veggies and be able to go all year adjusting for the seasons. My biggest problem is forgetting to water. Cuz if they're out of my sight, they're out of my mind.
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Oh that sounds like something I'll have to get a guy to do for me. I am not the most mechanical person but it's mainly due to lack of interest and don't like to bother with such things. My sprinkler system is automatic but I haven't a clue how it works—mainly cuz I have never bothered with it.
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Anyone have any tips for growing basil or dill. I have the most problems with those two herbs....but more so the dill. Holes always show, then I get the aphids....every single time.

Dill grows fine until it gets too big and I have to transplant it —then it always dies.

No problems with any other herbs like mint, oregano, parsley, cilantro, thyme or rosemary. I think its where I live. Florida is buggy. But I saw a massive gorgeous basil plant growing like crazy in a pot outside a restaurant near the beach. It was darn healthy too. They told me it grows like a weed.
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I'll see if I can find something that will work when I get home?
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Transplant earlier? The more roots you cut the more stress it will be.
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I don't cut the roots. I take the whole plant out of the pot with the base intact and all the dirt...then put in the ground. One time where I bought my first Earth Box the gardener put a plug in and that one didn't even last. I thought maybe I had it with herbs it didn't care to be next too. So then I did another and put it in the ground.
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Oh, and I did read, somewhere but can't recall where, that dill was finicky when it got transplanted. Perhaps I should just start from seed and leave it in one spot by itself?
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Probably something to do with the soil you're putting it into. The roots won't expand into the new dirt. Out "here" we have to use a mountain of water. I doubt you guys would have to use as much as we do but make sure it is nice and wet and not to hard - no smearing or packing. If that doesn't work, buy a big bag of top soil or peat moss or something and work that in at a pretty high percentage rate as a soil amendment. That will keep any clay or anything from sealing off.

I'd still do it sooner. As soon as it's big enough to support itself is move it. Of the root mass is contained by the planter it will be hard for them to grow into the new soil as it will have to turn corners and whatnot.
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