How to Make Money Gardening
Buy or make a suitable table., Check with local governmental offices to make sure operating a roadside stand on your property is legal., Decide how you want to price your produce., Prepare a cash box for making change., Make large signs to advertise...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Buy or make a suitable table.
If you don’t have a table, you can place a piece of plywood over 2 sawhorses. -
Step 2: Check with local governmental offices to make sure operating a roadside stand on your property is legal.
You may be required to obtain a vendor's license. , If you don’t have a scale, you will have to determine a price per item.
You can also offer multiple pieces for a different price, such as “Zucchini $1.00 each or 3 for $2.50.” , You can also leave an “honor” box on the table in case you have to leave your display for short periods of time.
Just be sure to have all your prices displayed so that customers understand how much they owe. , Keep your target audience in mind and word your signs to entice potential customers.
Try, “Homegrown Veggies for Sale,” or “Homegrown Fresh Produce Ahead,” or something similar.
You will get more business if you place a large sign at least 1 mile (1.6 km) down the road in each direction; the letters on your signs should be big enough for a driver to read the sign from 15’ away.
This gives drivers a chance to slow down in time to stop and buy from your roadside stand.
If you grow organic produce, be sure your signs advertise that fact.
Many people cannot resist “Homegrown Organic Veggies for Sale.” , Place the best and/or ripest side of the vegetables on top of each display.
Pick your produce early in the morning and only pick enough that will be likely to sell the day you pick it.
Extremely hot weather can wilt fresh, unrefrigerated vegetables fast, so pick only what you think you’ll need. , You can pair different colored items to make a colorful, full display.
For example, fill a basket with red, yellow and green peppers.
Display carrots and potatoes together in one container or mix and match other combinations.
Yellow summer squash and zucchinis make an appealing display. , You should walk your garden every day and pick anything that is ripened. , Brush off excess dirt and rinse your produce before putting it in your display containers. , You should also keep an ice-filled cooler near your stand so that you can rotate produce on extremely hot days; otherwise your wares will look wilted and unappetizing. , You can use your saved bags for your customer’s purchases.
You can also wrap the veggies or fruits in a few layers of newspaper and place them in a paper bag. , Set up a lawn chair and a shade umbrella at your table.
Ideally, the umbrella will shade your produce as well, which will help prevent the vegetables from wilting. -
Step 3: Decide how you want to price your produce.
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Step 4: Prepare a cash box for making change.
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Step 5: Make large signs to advertise your wares.
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Step 6: Use baskets
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Step 7: plastic bins or planting pots to display your vegetables.
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Step 8: Mix and match vegetables and fruits so that each container is full.
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Step 9: Pick vegetables and fruits from your garden regularly.
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Step 10: Make your produce presentable.
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Step 11: Refrigerate any unsold produce.
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Step 12: Save plastic and paper bags from your grocery store.
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Step 13: Stay comfortable.
Detailed Guide
If you don’t have a table, you can place a piece of plywood over 2 sawhorses.
You may be required to obtain a vendor's license. , If you don’t have a scale, you will have to determine a price per item.
You can also offer multiple pieces for a different price, such as “Zucchini $1.00 each or 3 for $2.50.” , You can also leave an “honor” box on the table in case you have to leave your display for short periods of time.
Just be sure to have all your prices displayed so that customers understand how much they owe. , Keep your target audience in mind and word your signs to entice potential customers.
Try, “Homegrown Veggies for Sale,” or “Homegrown Fresh Produce Ahead,” or something similar.
You will get more business if you place a large sign at least 1 mile (1.6 km) down the road in each direction; the letters on your signs should be big enough for a driver to read the sign from 15’ away.
This gives drivers a chance to slow down in time to stop and buy from your roadside stand.
If you grow organic produce, be sure your signs advertise that fact.
Many people cannot resist “Homegrown Organic Veggies for Sale.” , Place the best and/or ripest side of the vegetables on top of each display.
Pick your produce early in the morning and only pick enough that will be likely to sell the day you pick it.
Extremely hot weather can wilt fresh, unrefrigerated vegetables fast, so pick only what you think you’ll need. , You can pair different colored items to make a colorful, full display.
For example, fill a basket with red, yellow and green peppers.
Display carrots and potatoes together in one container or mix and match other combinations.
Yellow summer squash and zucchinis make an appealing display. , You should walk your garden every day and pick anything that is ripened. , Brush off excess dirt and rinse your produce before putting it in your display containers. , You should also keep an ice-filled cooler near your stand so that you can rotate produce on extremely hot days; otherwise your wares will look wilted and unappetizing. , You can use your saved bags for your customer’s purchases.
You can also wrap the veggies or fruits in a few layers of newspaper and place them in a paper bag. , Set up a lawn chair and a shade umbrella at your table.
Ideally, the umbrella will shade your produce as well, which will help prevent the vegetables from wilting.
About the Author
Cynthia Ramirez
Writer and educator with a focus on practical pet care knowledge.
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