Backyard Market Gardening: The Entrepeneur's Guide to Selling What You Grow
By Andy Lee and Patricia Foreman
I begin this review by prefacing it with a valuable concept gleaned from another book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki. Many people consider their house to be their biggest investment. An investment is something, however, that is supposed to ultimately earn you income. If you buy rental income property and become a landlord, then it makes sense to call the house an investment. However, if your home is not drawing an income of its own, but is instead consuming your funds through utilities, taxes, repairs, and a mortgage, then it is more of a money pit than a sound investment.
Don't ever let anyone sell you on the lie that buying a house is an investment unless they can demonstrate that the property has a clear potential of drawing an income. Considering that any appreciation of property value over time will be completely overshadowed by the amount of interest paid on the mortgage, how many people can really say that their house is working for them? An interesting side note: the roots of the word mortgage mean "death grip". That sounds about right.
And now, back to the book review at hand!
If you have ever wondered how to make your house (or, in this case, your yard) work for you, instead of the other way around, you need to get this book! While this book will not teach you how to grow a garden, it teaches you the most effective ways to sell what you grow.
The authors present several business models that work for a wide variety of individual growers ranging from those who have a couple of acres to less than one eigth of an acre. The how-to's of farmers' markets, membership and subscriber gardens, road-side stands, as well as home deliveries are explained in detail. Also presented are sample budgets, and oodles of marketing ideas that you can mix and match to meet your own unique circumstances. The book is very readable, providing solid information without being dry or tedious.
Once upon a time, being a land owner was supposed to free you by being a source of both sustenance and income. Owning property was not supposed to chain you to a job, fearful of whether or not you can make the mortgage payments. Why not reclaim that old sense of being a property owner by making your land, however small, work for you?
This is a gem of a book.
Live better, a little every day.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Happy Holiday Stress
I had to sit back, take some deep breaths, and remember not to take other people's holiday-stress-induced reactions personally today. No easy feat, considering that I'm pregnant, hormonal, and ready to cry over just about anything these days. After being the target of a telephone rant from a relative-gone-crazed from holiday stress, I turned the phone ringer off and made myself a nice hot cup of spearmint tea with milk and honey.
I just can't relate to all the holiday insanity this year. I watch friends and family, as well as the hoards of strangers, rush around to feed the commercial frenzy that has become synonomous with "celebrating the holidays". I wonder how many of them will go home and call some unsuspecting loved one and take it out on them? How many of them will argue with their spouse over how much was charged to the credit card? How many of them will get into fender benders racing to grab the next available parking space, even though it is a mile away from the entrance and the parking lot looks more like an ice rink? How many of them will exacerbate health problems, like high blood pressure, trying to live up to some image created by corporate marketing strategists that guilt people into debt to show how much they "care"?
Having had a Massage Therapy practice for several years, I can attest to how damaging stress is to the body. Stress can lead to insomnia, neck and back pain, muscle pain, mood swings, high blood pressure, digestive discomforts, tension headaches, premature aging, and impaired immune function. With all of the rushing around, pushing through crowded stores, road rage, winter weather conditions, and added financial burden, I find it incredible that, as a culture, we willingly subject ourselves to this stress-fest each and every year.
This stress doesn't just end after the holiday parties do. For the next two months, we scramble to pay those large credit card bills. January and February were always my slowest months of the year. The majority of clients that I would see were those redeeming gift certificates, while many of my regular clients would fade away to pay off some of those holiday bills.
Better doesn't mean always mean bigger, more expensive, or more elaborate. A major part of "living better" for our household is cultivating peace of mind. This Yuletide season, I'll have that peace of mind as I sit with my husband, proudly donning his new handknit cabled fisherman's sweater, sipping homemade hot chocolate with real whipped cream, in our candlelit living room, watching our toddler devour his holiday cookies, and knowing that we are but one, small, monthly payment away from eliminating all credit card debt.
No matter how "cheap" others may feel we are being this holiday season, we feel rather rich, and especially relaxed. Now that seems like something worth celebrating to me.
Live better, a little every day.
I just can't relate to all the holiday insanity this year. I watch friends and family, as well as the hoards of strangers, rush around to feed the commercial frenzy that has become synonomous with "celebrating the holidays". I wonder how many of them will go home and call some unsuspecting loved one and take it out on them? How many of them will argue with their spouse over how much was charged to the credit card? How many of them will get into fender benders racing to grab the next available parking space, even though it is a mile away from the entrance and the parking lot looks more like an ice rink? How many of them will exacerbate health problems, like high blood pressure, trying to live up to some image created by corporate marketing strategists that guilt people into debt to show how much they "care"?
Having had a Massage Therapy practice for several years, I can attest to how damaging stress is to the body. Stress can lead to insomnia, neck and back pain, muscle pain, mood swings, high blood pressure, digestive discomforts, tension headaches, premature aging, and impaired immune function. With all of the rushing around, pushing through crowded stores, road rage, winter weather conditions, and added financial burden, I find it incredible that, as a culture, we willingly subject ourselves to this stress-fest each and every year.
This stress doesn't just end after the holiday parties do. For the next two months, we scramble to pay those large credit card bills. January and February were always my slowest months of the year. The majority of clients that I would see were those redeeming gift certificates, while many of my regular clients would fade away to pay off some of those holiday bills.
Better doesn't mean always mean bigger, more expensive, or more elaborate. A major part of "living better" for our household is cultivating peace of mind. This Yuletide season, I'll have that peace of mind as I sit with my husband, proudly donning his new handknit cabled fisherman's sweater, sipping homemade hot chocolate with real whipped cream, in our candlelit living room, watching our toddler devour his holiday cookies, and knowing that we are but one, small, monthly payment away from eliminating all credit card debt.
No matter how "cheap" others may feel we are being this holiday season, we feel rather rich, and especially relaxed. Now that seems like something worth celebrating to me.
Live better, a little every day.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Handmade Holiday Part 2
Today's project was knitting a bath mitten. It took about 3.5 hours to knit, and certainly wasn't difficult. But, I was a bit distracted today (just didn't get enough sleep last night) and made a little "boo-boo". After weaving in the ends after knitting the thumb, being so careful to weave them in on what was supposed to be the wrong side of the mitten, I ended up sewing the darn thing inside out. It looks fine, except for a distinctive line going across the middle of the palm. I now have to decide if it would be better to rip out the sewing, or just knit a new one.
I've had it with bath mittens for one day. Even if I end up knitting a brand new one, it won't take me long to do it, so I'm tabling that project for Monday. Now, it's on to knitting wool caps with earflaps.
Well, first, it's on to enjoying a hot cup of homemade hot chocolate with cinammon and real whipped cream, then on to the caps. How did we ever get to the point where whipped cream-like oil from a can with added chemical propellant became acceptable?
Live better, a little every day.
I've had it with bath mittens for one day. Even if I end up knitting a brand new one, it won't take me long to do it, so I'm tabling that project for Monday. Now, it's on to knitting wool caps with earflaps.
Well, first, it's on to enjoying a hot cup of homemade hot chocolate with cinammon and real whipped cream, then on to the caps. How did we ever get to the point where whipped cream-like oil from a can with added chemical propellant became acceptable?
Live better, a little every day.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Handmade Holiday
Somewhere along the way, celebrating the holidays became synonomous with buying expensive gifts for friends and family as the primary method of demonstrating that we "care". It has almost become a holiday tradition to go into debt that is barely paid off throughout the year (if it's paid off at all), only to do it all again once the holidays role back around.
The point of celebrating the holidays is the company, not the loot. For the past few years, we have chosen to opt out of spending rediculous amounts of cash to tell our loved ones that we appreciate them. This year is no different. We will be giving gifts, but ours will be be of hand-knitted items, baked goods, homemade candles, and some of our honey crop from this autumn. We are also cleaning out our closests and storage unit. This is partly to make room for the new baby, but also to look for items that others may find useful to give as gifts, or to sell on Craig's List or eBay for last minute shoppers. We have made an exception for a gift for our son, and are purchasing a set of wooden alphabet blocks that are made in the USA of non-toxic materials.
We've set a limit of $150 to cover everyone on our list, children included, and it's a long list. So far, the biggest expense has been the yarn, coming in at around $70. Most of the yarn was made in the USA, but the choices were limited. I was unable to get the colors that I originally planned, and had to substitute yarns from different manufacturers. But I have what I need to make some thoughtful, handmade gifts.
Today, I started and finished a cowl, made from organic cotton. It is essentially a tube that you slip over the head and functions like a scarf, except that there are no long pieces that hang down and can come untied. The pattern itself was certainly a beginner level pattern. Now that I've made one according to the directions, however, it will be easy to adapt it. I've got a vision of a nice blue cowl with white snowflakes. Only this time, I'll make it out of wool so that it stays warm even when wet. We have plenty of January birthdays in our family, so I'll have time to play with the idea after the Yuletide season has passed.
The next knitted projects include a knitted cotton shower mit and some knitted lace-trimmed cotton washcloths. After they are done, it will be time to scour the internet for some good cookie recipes!
Live better, a little every day.
The point of celebrating the holidays is the company, not the loot. For the past few years, we have chosen to opt out of spending rediculous amounts of cash to tell our loved ones that we appreciate them. This year is no different. We will be giving gifts, but ours will be be of hand-knitted items, baked goods, homemade candles, and some of our honey crop from this autumn. We are also cleaning out our closests and storage unit. This is partly to make room for the new baby, but also to look for items that others may find useful to give as gifts, or to sell on Craig's List or eBay for last minute shoppers. We have made an exception for a gift for our son, and are purchasing a set of wooden alphabet blocks that are made in the USA of non-toxic materials.
We've set a limit of $150 to cover everyone on our list, children included, and it's a long list. So far, the biggest expense has been the yarn, coming in at around $70. Most of the yarn was made in the USA, but the choices were limited. I was unable to get the colors that I originally planned, and had to substitute yarns from different manufacturers. But I have what I need to make some thoughtful, handmade gifts.
Today, I started and finished a cowl, made from organic cotton. It is essentially a tube that you slip over the head and functions like a scarf, except that there are no long pieces that hang down and can come untied. The pattern itself was certainly a beginner level pattern. Now that I've made one according to the directions, however, it will be easy to adapt it. I've got a vision of a nice blue cowl with white snowflakes. Only this time, I'll make it out of wool so that it stays warm even when wet. We have plenty of January birthdays in our family, so I'll have time to play with the idea after the Yuletide season has passed.
The next knitted projects include a knitted cotton shower mit and some knitted lace-trimmed cotton washcloths. After they are done, it will be time to scour the internet for some good cookie recipes!
Live better, a little every day.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Latest News and Announcement
After six weeks, and much aggrevation, I'm finally able to log into my blogger account and post a new entry. In the middle of October, our internet service began running so irritatingly slow that it became impossible to maintain a signal long enough to actually post a new entry. In November, pages were loading so slowly that I couldn't even log into blogger. The problem is now half-solved in that we now have a strong enough signal for some internet access, but not cannot load videos, upload or download large files, etc. Given how slowly our internet provider has responded to the complaints, we are still hoping for a swift, and complete resolution. We're keeping our fingers crossed!
In the meantime, I would like to finally make the announcement that I promised back in October. I am launching a podcast dedicated to homesteading as a path to self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and independence. This will allow me to keep blog posts here short, and focus mostly on what our family is doing on a daily basis to get us a step closer every day to our self-sufficiency goals.
The podcast is a more appropriate medium for me to expound a bit more on larger issues that effect our ability to live independently and can include topics that are more political. The podcast will also allow me to cover non-political topics related to homesteading that require a more lengthy discussion than would be appropriate here on this blog.
From another location, I was fortunate to publish two episodes of the podcast in early November. I actually have a month's worth of podcasts recorded just waiting to be uploaded and published as soon as the remainder of our technical issues are resolved.
Check it out at http://betterlivingdaily.podbean.com/ and let me know what you think.
Live better, a little every day.
In the meantime, I would like to finally make the announcement that I promised back in October. I am launching a podcast dedicated to homesteading as a path to self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and independence. This will allow me to keep blog posts here short, and focus mostly on what our family is doing on a daily basis to get us a step closer every day to our self-sufficiency goals.
The podcast is a more appropriate medium for me to expound a bit more on larger issues that effect our ability to live independently and can include topics that are more political. The podcast will also allow me to cover non-political topics related to homesteading that require a more lengthy discussion than would be appropriate here on this blog.
From another location, I was fortunate to publish two episodes of the podcast in early November. I actually have a month's worth of podcasts recorded just waiting to be uploaded and published as soon as the remainder of our technical issues are resolved.
Check it out at http://betterlivingdaily.podbean.com/ and let me know what you think.
Live better, a little every day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)