I'm putting this up for fun. I'll keep it going if there is interest.
Background:
This is a "mini-farm", many of you would probably consider it a large garden. I have 2 acres of clear land and about half is dedicated to the plants. I specialize in hot peppers - originally a good variety, but after some learning I've decided to go with the super-hots (ghost, reaper, etc.) because there's a much bigger profit margin there.
I started a couple years ago and got hit with really bad luck, and a good bit of learning. First year I planted 12 different types of peppers. Around June a freak hailstorm destroyed more than half the crops. What survived did ok, but didn't produce enough to be worth selling. The average yield per plant made it clear that producing too many varieties would make it difficult to get enough to sell for a viable profit.
Second year I went with mostly super-hots, ghosts, scorpions, and reapers. Dried and sold at specialty shops, these can bring in a good price, so it seemed like a good idea. We got so much rain and had so much overcast, everything drowned. I realized that I'm going to need to make the hills and furrows run in a different direction so they shed water better under such circumstances.
So now onto 2021. I'm more than doubling the planting, at least partially with the idea of "If I throw enough at it, maybe something will stick".
I haven't lost enough money to be a problem, and I've enjoyed the journey, so I'm going to keep trying.
Background:
This is a "mini-farm", many of you would probably consider it a large garden. I have 2 acres of clear land and about half is dedicated to the plants. I specialize in hot peppers - originally a good variety, but after some learning I've decided to go with the super-hots (ghost, reaper, etc.) because there's a much bigger profit margin there.
I started a couple years ago and got hit with really bad luck, and a good bit of learning. First year I planted 12 different types of peppers. Around June a freak hailstorm destroyed more than half the crops. What survived did ok, but didn't produce enough to be worth selling. The average yield per plant made it clear that producing too many varieties would make it difficult to get enough to sell for a viable profit.
Second year I went with mostly super-hots, ghosts, scorpions, and reapers. Dried and sold at specialty shops, these can bring in a good price, so it seemed like a good idea. We got so much rain and had so much overcast, everything drowned. I realized that I'm going to need to make the hills and furrows run in a different direction so they shed water better under such circumstances.
So now onto 2021. I'm more than doubling the planting, at least partially with the idea of "If I throw enough at it, maybe something will stick".
I haven't lost enough money to be a problem, and I've enjoyed the journey, so I'm going to keep trying.
