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Tuesday, February 6, 2018

February 6, 2018 Kim’s Weekly Garden Blog

Hi Gardeners
Dahlia
It was a sunny cold day here, even with a temperature that only made it to 21 you could feel the sun is getting stronger.  The cats and chickens lined up on the deck in the sun to bask in its warmth.  We have more snow on the way, it’s coming every other day or so.  But I see a warming trend coming next week.  The groundhog did not see his shadow here, maybe there will be less than 6 weeks before winter is over.
 I’m getting more eggs from the chickens and some of my houseplants are beginning to grow again.  I have a Hawaiian hibiscus that has grown a foot in the last couple weeks.  On the porch I see some tuberose have popped up in one of the pots I brought inside.  I am going to try and find a spot for them in the warmer part of the house tomorrow. All of these are signs that even if its snowy spring is nearer.
Have you checked any stored bulbs lately?  If you find mushy ones throw them out.  If the bulbs or tubers look a little shriveled, they need some moisture.  Get some wood shavings or sawdust barely wet and put them in them.  It’s a fine line between too much moisture and not enough.  

February Almanac

There is no full moon in February this year.  That’s why both January and March can have blue moons- two moons in one month.  The moon perigee is the 27th and the apogee is the 11th.

By the 28th there are 11 hours and 12 min of daylight as we rapidly gain on spring equinox. In January we only gained 48 minutes of light in 31 days.  In February we gain 69 minutes in 28 days. Go sun go!

February is National Adopt a Rescued Rabbit Month, American Heart Month, Marijuana Awareness Month, National Bird Feeding Month, National Cherry Month, National Grapefruit Month, and National Bake for Your Family Month.

The 2nd is Candlemas day as well as Groundhog Day.  It is the half way point through winter and also the beginning of housecleaning for spring. The 5th is National Pancake Day. The 12th is Lincolns Birthday, Darwin Day and Plum Pudding day.  The 14th is Valentine’s Day as well as National Condom day, and for those who don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, it’s also National Library Day. The 15th is Susan B. Anthony’s Birthday. Chinese New Year is the 16th  and Presidents Day is the 19th.  Tortilla Chip day is the 24th, National Pistachio day is the 27th.  National Public Sleeping Day is the 28th, have fun with that.

The February birth flower is the violet, which symbolizes faithfulness, humility and chastity.  African violets are being featured in many stores in February and make a good gift for a gardener.  The February birthstone is the Amethyst.

The hype about non-GMO seeds

Seed catalogs are arriving daily and if there’s one thing that aggravates me is when the catalog cover screams out “no GMO seeds!”  That’s scaremongering at its best.  It’s like saying that jelly beans are fat free- meaningless.

The term genetically modified- GMO- is usually applied to plants or animals whose genes are altered in some way that can’t happen naturally such as when we use a virus to put animal genes into plants or genes from plant species that can’t cross naturally into each other.  These genes will then carry into future generations if similar plants are bred together and could be carried to other similar plants in a natural cross.

There are many field crops on the market that have been genetically modified, wheat, corn, soybeans and such.  But very, very few garden plants have been altered in this manner.  Your hybrid sweet corn, cabbage, marigolds and almost all other garden plants generally are the result of good old-fashioned plant sex, even if aided by man.  The very few genetically modified garden crops are expensive and generally available only to large commercial growers.  

GMO seeds are usually not organic, however because a seed variety is not listed as organic doesn’t mean its GMO.  Organic is an entirely different category. “Treated” seeds are not usually GMO either. Seed treatments vary from fungicides to prevent seed rotting to naturally occurring soil bacteria to get some seeds growing well. If seeds are treated the catalog will mention it.

The vast majority of garden seeds are not GMO, as people generally define the term.  If they were GMO seeds the catalog would mention it.  Don’t worry about getting GMO seeds even if the catalog cover doesn’t mention their absence.


Growing Pomegranates 

The pomegranate is a lovely small tree or bush that too few gardeners grow.  It features a beautiful flower and luscious fruit with many health benefits.  There are pomegranates hardy to zone 7, (zone hardiness is 7-12) but if you live in a lower zone don’t despair.  Pomegranates will grow indoors and there are cultivars that don’t get very large that are perfect for pots.  I have had a plant for several years as a potted plant that goes outside in summer and back inside for winter.


Potted pomegranates may sometimes produce fruit, but the pretty flowers and attractive foliage make them a nice house plant even without fruit. If you live in the south, zone 8 and higher, you can probably produce a decent fruit crop from plants planted in the ground.

The pomegranate is native to the mid-east, around what is now Iran north to the foothills of the Himalayan mountains.  However, they are one of the earliest domesticated fruits and were grown in gardens in China and many other places in the world for thousands of years.  Because of increased interest in the pomegranate fruits nutritional qualities the US production of pomegranates is steadily increasing.  Most are grown in the San Joaquin Valley area of California, but others are grown in Georgia and Florida.

Pomegranates are deciduous trees when planted in the colder areas of their range but those kept as houseplants may never lose all their leaves at once.  My own pomegranate loses many leaves when brought inside in the fall but quickly replaces them and never looks totally bare.  There is a general period of slow growth or dormancy in winter.  They don’t need a winter chill period to set fruit.

The pomegranate has narrow, blade shaped glossy green leaves that thickly cover the angular, thorny stems.  In fall the leaves turn a bright gold in the garden.  Most pomegranates form a multi-trunk bush shape but can be pruned to form a small tree.  If you are growing them in the colder portions of their zone the multi-trunk form is best and that’s the form most used for commercial fruit production.  Trunk bark color is reddish brown in younger trees, maturing to gray.

Pomegranates grow quickly and will be ready to bloom in the third year, sometimes before.  Plants begin blooming in late spring and may continue to bloom all summer.  My pomegranate generally begins blooming in May and blooms sporadically through the summer.

The flowers are of two types, self-fertile flowers containing male and female organs and smaller male flowers.  Some cultivars have more of one type than the other. The self-fertile flowers are bell shaped and normally a flaming orange-red color.  The petals appear slightly crumbled, like a rumpled silky ball gown, and there is a large thick calyx on the back where the fruit develops.  Male flowers are narrower, less showy and cannot make fruit. Some plants don’t have these.

While most pomegranate flowers are orange, there are plants which sometimes have white or variegated flowers.  In nature pomegranates can be pollinated by hummingbirds and insects as well as pollinating themselves.  Cross pollination between plants produces more fruit.  If you are able to grow them in the ground plant several for better fruit production.

When the pomegranate flower is pollinated it may form a fruit.  These are the size and shape of an apple, with a hard, leathery rind enclosing many seeds each surrounded by a little sack of juicy pigments.  The color of the pomegranate rind is variable from red to yellow or purple.  The seed with it’s covering of juicy pigments is called an aril.  While most people are familiar with deep red arils the color of the aril can vary from pink to yellow or even white.

Some pomegranate cultivars now have soft seeds, which means you don’t need to spit out seeds as you savor the sweet-tart juice. The seeds are safe to digest.  Pomegranate fruit generally ripens in early fall.  The fruits must be picked when fully ripe, as they don’t ripen off the tree. They will keep several months.

Growing your own pomegranate
You could go to the grocery and buy a pomegranate and extract seeds to plant. The juicy part of the seed covering is rubbed off before planting.  However, like apples pomegranates don’t come true from seed.  If you are looking for a houseplant or are just curious and not looking for superior fruit qualities, you can grow them from seed.  Sow seed anytime indoors.

Most gardeners will want to start with a small plant.  Pomegranates are easily started from cuttings in late winter and early spring and most nursery plants are started this way, so you know what you are getting.  Plants are inexpensive and grow quickly. If planting outside space plants about 18 feet apart.  The favorite variety for fruit production is ‘Wonderful’ but there are many cultivars.  Other varieties/cultivars include;Granada’, ‘Foothill’, ‘Parfianka’, ‘Kashmir Blend’, ‘Pink Satin’, ‘Sharp Velvet’, ‘Ambrosia’, and ‘Angel Red’. Read the cultivar description to see the fruit color, hardiness, size and other traits.

If you intend to grow the plant indoors I suggest one of the smaller cultivars such as ‘Purple Sunset’.  Start small plants in small pots, move the size up each year until you are eventually in about a 5 gallon pot for a mature indoor plant.  You can prune the plant in the winter months to keep it well shaped and in bounds.
 
Pomegranate flower
Pomegranates prefer hot, dry conditions and hot humid summers may not see them grow as well. While they like well drained soils, or a fast draining potting mix and to dry out between watering, they must have regular watering to produce good flowering and fruit. When plants get dry, give them a good soaking, then let them dry out again.

Pomegranates need full sun, indoors you may need to have supplemental grow lights if you don’t have a good southern window for them.  They may bloom in partial shade outdoors but rarely set fruit under less than full sun.

Pomegranates prefer a slightly acidic to neutral soil pH. Have your soil tested. If your soil is on the alkaline side, you may want to add some acidic fertilizer. You can use a citrus fertilizer or other fertilizer for acid loving fruiting plants like blueberries.  Indoors the occasional use of some acidic fertilizer can keep the plant growing well.  Pomegranates do not need heavy fertilization indoors or out.  Fertilization is best done in spring as the plants are flowering and setting fruit and avoided during fall and winter.

Most home-grown pomegranates do not have much trouble with pest or disease problems.  Larger orchards may have some insect pets, depending on the location and if you are near them you too may have problems.  Contact your local Extension office if you live in an area where pomegranates are grown commercially to get an idea of what pests to look for.  Deer will eat pomegranate trees so protect them, especially when young.

Indoors pomegranates may experience the same problems as other house plants.  Dry conditions may bring spider mites.  Scale sometimes occurs but rarely does much damage.  Aphids become a problem in some places.  Treat the pomegranates for these pests just as you would other houseplants.  If you do have fruit on the plant make sure any pesticides you use are for food bearing plants and follow label directions.

Pomegranates may begin blooming in the third year.  They may not set fruit that year or if they do, the fruit may fall off before maturing. The following year will give better fruit set.  Indoors you will rarely get good fruit outside of a greenhouse situation.  But the flowers are still pretty and the plant attractive.
Fruits get larger, firmer and change color as they ripen and are generally ripe in early fall. Pomegranates need long growing seasons with temperatures above 80 degrees for 120 days for best fruiting.  Like many fruits it can be a challenge to know when the pomegranate fruit is ripe, but they will not ripen after picking.  Leaving the fruit on the tree too long may result in it splitting.  They may also split after a heavy rain or too much water from irrigation.

Fruits should be clipped rather than pulled from the tree.  They will store in a cool place for a couple months.  To harvest the juicy seeds inside without getting juice everywhere, (and it stains), try this.  Score the outside of the fruit in several places.  Then fill a pail or large pan with clean water and holding the pomegranate underwater, pull off the outer skin and dislodge the seeds with your fingers.  They will fall to the bottom and the debris will float.  Skim off the debris and then pour the water through a sieve or colander to harvest the seeds.

Culinary and medicinal uses of pomegranate.

Since this is a well-known health food I won’t go into too much detail here.  Pomegranate can be eaten raw, by sucking the fleshy juicy part off the seeds and spitting them out.  If the fruit has softer seeds they can be swallowed without problems.  Pomegranate seeds are often added to salads.  You can juice the seeds; pomegranate juice is sold in most stores now and its good for you in moderate quantities, but not a miracle worker.

The rich red pomegranate juice is full of good antioxidants.  They are said to be beneficial in arthritis relief, heart disease prevention, cancer prevention, for digestive problems, and prevention of dementia. They are a tasty source of vitamin C.  Some of the medical claims have some research backed evidence they work others do not.  The juice does lower blood cholesterol, blood pressure and reduce inflammation and has some heart healthy benefits. 
Pomegranate was once used to treat diabetes but there isn’t any research that proves that it improves insulin sensitivity. Dried pomegranate flowers were once used for bronchitis, no research proves this works. The dried powdered seeds were once used to treat syphilis, again no proof.

In fact, most herbal remedies suggested for pomegranate, and there are many, have no research-based proof of effectiveness.  But there is little harm in consuming the fruit or juice other than getting a good case of diarrhea from over indulging, except for these cautions.  The juice does lower the blood pressure in many people and if you have low blood pressure or are taking medicine to lower it, you should avoid pomegranate.  For this reason, everyone should avoid pomegranate for a few days before any surgery.  Some people may also be allergic to pomegranate.  Also talk to your doctor if you take medications that are broken down by the liver such as Rosuvastatin (Crestor).  There is some indication pomegranate may interfere with these medications.


Things you might learn in a Master Gardener class-lesson 2

Last week I wrote about scientific names of plants, which is something you might learn in one of your first Master Gardener classes, where you learn basic plant biology.  For those who can’t afford a Master Gardener class I am going to give some quick lessons every week on some of the basic things that are taught in those classes.  Here are some things you would be taught in a plant science chapter of the Master Gardener program.
 How is a plant different from an animal?  The common definition of a plant is that it’s a living thing, whose cells contain chlorophyll, and which can make its own food.  Fungi are the exception to this rule.  They are classified as plants but do not manufacture their own food. (Every rule has an exception should be a rule.) Fungi are parasites which get their nourishment from other plants or occasionally animals.
 Plants differ from animals in that they have a rigid cell wall. The cell wall is made of cellulose and a few other chemical compounds, and is what forms the plants structure, the stems, roots, and branches.  Most plant cells also contain a large central vacuole, a bag like structure that is filled with water. If you were looking at plant and animal cells under a microscope this is one way to identify a plant cell.  When the vacuole is filled with water it keeps the plant cell walls from collapsing.  If a plant doesn’t get enough water those vacuoles aren’t filled, and the plant begins to get limp or wilt.
 Most plant cells also have one or more small “plastids”.  Plastids are like little sacks. Some of these “plastids” contain chlorophyll, a green pigment, that plants use in the process of photosynthesis to make food.  If the plastids contain chlorophyll they are called chloroplasts.  There are sometimes other plastids in plant cells that have other pigments like red or blue.  These pigments are part of other chemical processes plants perform and may also play a part in food production.  They are called chromoplasts.
 Some plant cells may not have visible chloroplasts but when that portion of a plant is exposed to light, it may develop the green pigment in rudimentary plastids.  Think of a potato tuber that is underground.  When it’s brought to the surface and exposed to light you can soon see the “skin” turn green.  Some plant cells that have specialized functions may not contain plastids which can produce chlorophyll.
 And plants have the ability to grow continuously throughout their lifetimes.  Some do this better than others, think of the grass that’s mowed and grows back within a week. If a plant is healthy and has its needs met it will keep putting out new leaves, stems and roots until it’s normal lifespan is reached, or something destroys it. (Plan lifespans vary.  Some plants live just a few weeks.  Others can live for hundreds, even thousands of years.)  Plants also have the ability to form new plants from parts of parent plants.  Animals cannot grow a new animal from a foot that’s cut off for example, but in many cases a part of a plant can be used to grow a new plant.
 Dividing up the plant kingdom
Let’s talk about how the kingdom of plants is divided.  First, we have plants that are non-vascular.  These include algae, fungi, mosses and liverworts.  Then there are vascular plants, plants that have a system of vessels or “veins” that carry food and water throughout the plant.  Vascular plants include horsetails, ferns, cycads, conifers, dicotyledons and monocotyledons.
Next the vascular plants, which includes almost all garden plants, are divided into gymnosperms and angiosperms. Conifers and cycads are gymnosperms or “naked seed” plants.  Their seeds are not surrounded by a fruit, husk, pod or shell.  Angiosperms are familiar flowering plants that enclose their seeds in a fruit- which includes husks, pods, shells and other variations.
 Dicotyledons and monocotyledons
Angiosperms are further divided into monocotyledons and dicotyledons.  I know many of you are shaking your heads, saying why do I need to know these things?  There are good reasons to know if a plant is a monocot or dicot (the terms are generally shortened).  Monocots and dicots respond differently to many pesticides.  Dicots can often be grafted; monocots cannot be grafted. And sorting a plant into monocot or dicot can help with the identification of species you don’t recognize.  Our gardens are filled with both types of plants.
Dicotyledon sprout
 The terms monocotyledons and dicotyledons refer to the seed leaves, the very first leaves a seed produces are called cotyledons.  A monocot has one cotyledon, think of the corn kernel germinating, one rolled leaf peeking through the soil.  Dicots have two cotyledons, think of a bean seed germinating, two little leaves unfold.  Cotyledons often look different than the leaves that will come later on a plant.
 The vessels (“veins”), that carry food through the plant are called phloem, the ones that carry water are called xylem.  In a monocot the phloem and xylem are in pairs, scattered throughout the stem of the plant.  In dicots the vessels occur in rings around the stem of the plant, with the phloem on the outer ring and the xylem on the inner one.  These rings are just under the bark or thickened “skin” of the stem. This is called the cambium layer.  The center of the stem is filled with pith, cells that are there for support. 
 If you remove a ring of plant tissue around the stem of a dicot- or girdle it, the part above the ring is cut off from water and nutrients and will die.  In monocots damage to the outer “skin” usually doesn’t kill the plant. When we mow off the grass blades, the grass plant quickly repairs the damage. When someone cuts down an oak tree, no new growth pops up above the cut area.  Below the cut area the tree may put out new branches or suckers from the root system and some of these may grow upwards but no new growth will appear above the cut.
In grafting the veins of both plant parts must be matched up for the graft to work.  This is impossible to do with a monocot since the vein bundles are scattered through the stem but it’s fairly easy to align the cambium layers of two plants from the same species of dicots.

Vein pattern of a dicot
When you look at the leaves of a monocot you will see that the leaf veins all start at the leaf stem and run to the end of the leaf in parallel rows.  In a dicot the leaf veins form a branched pattern, with smaller veins branching off several main ones.  They usually have a larger vein running down the center of the leaf.  A hosta leaf or a spider plant leaf represent what the vein pattern of monocot leaves looks like and if you turn a maple leaf over and look at the veins you’ll get a good picture of what the branched vein pattern of a dicot plant looks like.
The leaves of monocots are generally slender and longer than wide.  They often wrap around the stem at the base to give it more support.  Most monocot leaves have a smooth margin, no teeth or serrations and are not lobed.  Dicot leaves can have lobes, or segments, often have leaf stems, and leaf edges can be toothed or serrated.  There are dicot leaves that are long and narrow but the vein system will determine they are dicots.
 Most monocots are soft, herbaceous plants without woody stems.  However, palms and bamboo are monocots and do develop stems which can appear woody, especially after cutting and drying.  If you grow bamboo in the garden you know that while the plants are growing the stems are green and softer, but after you cut a stem or it is killed by cold it turns hard and woody.

Hosta are monocots
The root system of monocots is fibrous, without a central taproot.  Dicots tend to have taproots although some dicots do have fibrous root systems.  Like the leaf system vein structure dicot roots tend to branch off main roots.
Finally, the flowers of monocots have parts in multiples of 3, 3 petals, 3 sepals, 3 anthers or 6 or 9 and so on.  The pistil or female part, may look like one entity but usually has 3 lobes on top and an ovary with 3 segments.  Dicot flowers have flower parts in multiples of 4, or 5.
There are about 5 times as many dicot species of plants as monocots. Most grain plants are monocots, onions are monocots, but most other edible plants are dicots. Succulent plants include both monocots and dicots but cacti are dicots.
As homework examine the plants in your home and yard and determine whether they are dicots or monocots.

Adding value to your plant based product – processing, packaging and presentation
This is the last of a series of articles on how to have a successful plant based business, whether that is carrots grown organically or houseplants you started from cuttings.  In this article I’ll talk about processing a raw product, packaging and presentation of your product.  These things can make the difference in making a good profit or barely breaking even.
 Just as the major box stores are always remodeling in hopes that you will perceive something new and different to bring you into their store, don’t be afraid to change and improve your product.  A new look may bring new customers.  Think about the customer you are trying to attract.  If you want to expand into a new market, think of packaging or adding value in a way that will attract that sector.
 If you are not a creative person and have trouble thinking outside the box, ask an artistic or eclectic thinking person to give you some ideas.  You can get help with adding value to products by researching what is on the market, asking people what they want and asking experts to help you.  Many state Extension offices have agriculture agents or agents that specialize in small business start-ups.  Specialty associations may also offer help.
 Processing – turning a raw product into a better sale
 Other than going from wholesale to retail the best way to realize additional profit from a product is to process it in some way.  Processing may be as simple as washing and labeling a product or as detailed as turning it into a vintage wine. It’s best to start with the simplest way of processing a product and evaluate from there.
 Even the simplest methods of processing food can increase its value by double or more.  But people get into trouble with processing when they don’t understand how to figure out the increased costs associated with it and increase their product price accordingly. 
 Your processed food must actually be of higher quality and taste better than mass produced products of the same type to keep sales.  It must also be healthy and visually appealing.  If you produce apple pies that are runny, with thick lumpy crusts and a little too much cinnamon, a few people may buy again, (those that remember mom’s pies that way), but most will not.  In addition, they may associate your name or logo with an inferior product or actually make negative recommendations to others.  In the age of internet reviews you do not want that.
You must have your recipe and production methods down precisely before you begin marketing and you must be willing to discard product that is not up to quality standards.  Food safety, such as keeping things at the proper temperature should never be compromised.
The time it takes to process a product is also a factor.  It takes a few minutes to sort and wash greens and package them in a simple manner.  Children could help do it.  Making beer is much more labor intensive. Children might learn to help, but it is more complex and exacting work than washing greens.  In fact, food regulations may ban small children from some processing areas. Your labor and time equals money.  Products that take more of them should be priced accordingly. 
Start with thinking of all the ways your product could be processed.  If an idea appeals to you then research the cost and time involved in the process.  What kinds of licensing would you need?  What kind of buildings, space, transportation would you need?  What kind of equipment and handling supplies would you need?  Could you and the family do it or would you have to hire help?  Do you have the experience and skills to process the product?
Outside of the states that have cottage industry regulations, processing food in any way generally requires that you have special facilities and obtain inspections and permits.  For example, if you want to produce strawberry jam you will probably have to do it in an inspected and approved kitchen, not your home kitchen.  You could re-model your kitchen or build a kitchen to specifications but that will be very expensive.
Some states will allow a certain amount of food processing to take place in the home without special licensing and expensive certified kitchens.  The food is sold by the producer and has a label that says it was produced under the cottage or home industry law. It can’t be sold outside the state, generally that includes internet and catalog sales also.
 There are ways you can work around this issue.  In many places you can rent an approved kitchen for a day or two a week to make your product.  Try contacting churches, association halls, village halls, schools and other places that serve food to the public and see if you can rent the approved facilities.  If you have problems finding a place you may want to inquire at the state department of agriculture or your health department.  In most cases you will need to contact them anyways, to get an inspection code to put on your label.
In some areas there are “incubator” or mobile food processing kitchens that small entrepreneurs can rent.  These may be offered by colleges, small business associations, trade associations or other places.  You will be allowed to rent them for specific periods of time or even in some cases, use them for free.   A good place to ask about these facilities may be your state health department or state department of Agriculture as they must approve these facilities.
Processing food may also require expensive and complicated or dangerous machinery.  Your decisions on processing food items should consider whether you have the funds to buy the machinery and skills to use it.  In some cases hiring part of the processing out makes sense and still gives you added profits.   For example, you may want to take your organically grown buckwheat to a mill to have it ground into flour.  You will then package it into small packages of pancake mix.
After you have processed food you will need a place to store it until it is sold.  Shelves may be fine for your strawberry jam, but refrigeration might be required for some things.  Transportation to the point of sale may also need to be refrigerated.  Clever people can generally find a way to work around these things, but it should all be planned out in advance.  I knew a woman who had several hundred turkeys slaughtered for a pre-sold market but she had neglected to plan for storing the birds safely until they were picked up.  It cost her most of her profit to rent cold storage for them.
When you are considering processing food you must also consider the availability and cost of additional ingredients or preservatives needed as well as your packaging costs. If you are producing organic jelly and your ingredients are fruit, sugar, salt and pectin you will probably have little problem finding the ingredients needed to go with your fruit.  But if you want to produce organic apple pies can you get organic flour, butter, and the seasonings needed?
Once again there are ways to get around these problems.  You can have a label that says made with organic apples instead of organic apple pie.  But you need to research all this and be clear about what you are doing before you start baking pies.

Proper packaging
Packaging a product is one of the easier ways to add additional value in most cases.  The package gives you a place to promote your name and the good things about the product as well.  You must use packaging that is approved for that type of food or for transporting live plants if that is your goal. Proper packaging may just be packing apples into sturdy paper bags with handles instead of dumping them into re-cycled plastic bags or it can mean putting your lovely succulents into protective plastic forms so they don’t get crushed.
If you ever bought plants through the mail you know that you want them to arrive fresh and undamaged.  Plant sellers who go the extra mile to protect plants often get repeat sales.  When you are selling plants across state lines they may need to be opened for inspection at some point along the way.  Make sure the packaging can withstand this.  Thoroughly research the rules and regulations on shipping plants before you begin the process.
“Convenience” packaging can make the product easier to sell.  If you are selling homemade fudge at a farmer’s market include a small plastic knife for the buyer to cut the fudge into bite size pieces.  If you are selling juicy peaches in packages of two, why not include some rosy colored napkins under each peach?  This encourages customers to consume the food on site and the sight of someone eating a juicy peach may prompt others to ask them where they got it.
There are many places that sell food packaging from bushel baskets to plastic deli containers.  Carefully consider the type of packaging and the cost it will add to a product.  Since many niche farmers will be selling to customers who already have some preference for buying environmentally friendly products, consider how your packaging will affect that perception.
Don’t plan on using re-cycled containers from other businesses if you want to look professional and increase your products value.  In some cases, re-cycled packages for food may be prohibited by law. There may also be regulations about what type of packaging a product needs for food safety reasons.  Consider this factor even if it’s not required.  If you are selling jellies and jams, for example, you want to have a container that makes it obvious if someone has opened it to smell or sample the contents, since opened products may spoil.
Since today’s family sizes are smaller, and market surveys say that people who are most likely to buy niche food products may be single or two-person households, don’t make your package size too large.  This is where you need to know your market though.  In some areas with a high immigrant population, families tend to be larger and the people more accustomed to buying fresh produce and using it up efficiently. In these markets larger packages will sell well.  There are some areas where people still want to do canning and freezing at home and they want larger quantities also.
The costs for packaging decrease with the volume you buy, but don’t overbuy one type of packaging at first.  You may need to change the package size, type or label after a short period of sales.  You may also want to try several forms of packaging first to see what appeals to your market.  Once you have established what your market likes you can buy packaging in larger quantities to get a lower price.
Gift packaging
Taking some lovely pears and apples that are blemish free, cleaned and polished, and then nestling them in a pretty wooden box with tissue paper nests will increase the value of that product considerably.  There will be of course, additional costs, but the perception you create of a quality product will help overcome the resistance to a higher price.  Gift packaging works well around holidays and for catalog and internet sales.  
Gift packaging may take some ordinary products and turn them into hot sellers.  Instead of selling jam in plain glass jars with a label, put them in a fancy wine glass that can be reused, with a ribbon around the top. Attach the label on a gift card to the ribbon. Put your artisan cheese on a handcrafted wood cutting board. Several types of specialty rice could be packed in a decorative metal container.
Gift packaging must also meet any food safety standards so before you pack the jelly into that wine goblet make sure that the goblet isn’t painted with lead.  You may want to discuss any unusual methods of packaging food with your regulatory agency before going ahead with the packaging.  
Test any unusual packaging and let it sit for the expected storage time of your product. Some things like foil or metal may darken or change the color of food. Some printed papers may bleed colors onto food. 
If you are going to throw extras like a recipe card, coupon or the story of your farm into the package make sure that those also comply with food safety regulations.
Gift packaging can also take several ingredients that you produce and package them so that the buyer completes the product. This can be bean soup, with your dried beans and seasonings in a package with directions on how to prepare the soup, or bread mix, or many other combinations.  This allows you to skip costly equipment and time needed to produce the final product.  You may realize more profit this way than by preparing and selling the same product. 
Once again you must discuss this type of packaging, the labeling it will need and other considerations with your regulatory agency. Gift packaging goes well with complementary products, which I will discuss later.     
Labels
Today’s computers and printers make it easy to design and print labels for your products at home.  This works well for small to medium sized quantities of labels.  However, when you start making labels in the thousands having them made by a commercial printing company may cost you less per label.  For shipping products you’ll need a computer program that will print shipping labels.  For selling live plants you will want some sort of plant name labels or tags.
Your product label can be a chance to promote your business and increase sales.  It should be eye catching, but use simple, easy to understand language.  Colors or small images can be used on some labels to catch the eye.  If you intend to sell in an area with a large Hispanic population having a label in Spanish and English may give you an edge.  Make sure you know how or can get someone who does know how, to translate correctly.
Your label should have a way to contact you, if you do direct sales, even if it’s not required to sell that product.  People don’t always remember where they got a product and that label with contact information can mean a repeat sale.
Besides food safety regulations federal and state laws also tell you what must be put on any food product as a label. If you are going to sell a food product in more than one state your label must satisfy the requirements for all the states involved.  All food, even fresh produce, must have a label telling what country it was grown in and if it was processed in another country that must also be listed.  Some complex foods like baked goods may be exempted.
Other things that may be required on processed food labels are the name, address and other contact information of the producer, the processing date and the expiration date, and a complete list of ingredients, (with some minor exceptions). Nutrition information is required if you do more than $50,000 worth of business in a year. Allergy warnings may be required.  Other things may also be required depending on the product and local regulations.
To get nutrition information you will have to pay a laboratory to analyze your product and give you the information.  Sometimes colleges will perform this service in their labs for a smaller fee than public labs.
For more information on labeling laws and getting nutritional content analyzed contact the Food and Drug Administration 1-888-463-6332 or http://www.fda.gov

Complementary products
Complementary can mean something that is given free, or perceived by the buyer as free, this is a marketing tactic. Or it can mean two products that complement each other and increase sales or that you package together to be able to increase your profit.
Let’s go back to the cucumbers. If a customer comes to your stand to buy cucumbers to make pickles you could give them a stalk of your organic dill to use in the pickles.  Or you could have bundles of your organic dill nearby that they can purchase.  Or you could package cucumbers in half bushel containers with a few stalks of dill on top.
Complementary products have all sorts of possibilities.  You are doing what big stores do and are prompting impulse sales.  And you may be picking up profit on a product you would have a hard time selling alone, such as the dill mentioned above.  The complementary product can be something you produce or something you buy from another producer.  For niche market sales it makes more sense to use products that are produced by other niche farmers.  
If you are selling tiny plants buy some cute tiny clay pots to put them in and paint them in bold colors.  Add small packets of starter fertilizer to each sale of a potted perennial.  If you grow herbs dry them and make seasoning packets for turkey, then add some pasture raised turkeys for customers to buy.  Baskets and unusual vases are good to display near dried flowers and gourds for added sales.
If you make artisan cheeses and grow organic apples, display the two together. You could then add a wonderful wine produced by a local winery and some homemade bread.  When you are considering combining value added food products, always think of foods or other items you could produce yourself that would increase sales and profits.
Presentation 
You can have the most beautiful packaging, or healthiest plants but if you just drive up to the market in a dirty pick-up truck and let down the tailgate to sell your products you won’t have as many sales as someone who has taken a little time and money to present their wares in a better way.


Always keep your selling area neat and clean.  The seller should be neat and clean too, wear an apron if you will get dirty unloading produce or products and remove it before selling begins.  Folding tables, tablecloths and canopies can help farm market sales. Add decorative touches, pretty colors, nice smells, neat legible signing to your sales booth.  Engage in conversations but don’t get so caught up in one conversation that you ignore other customers. Your booth or farm stand should look inviting and clean.
If you are selling from a greenhouse or nursery the rows should be clear and easy to navigate and no dead or diseased plants should be in sight. There should be no aggressive dogs, mud puddles to jump over or rusting equipment lying around. Your own landscaping and gardens in view should be neat and well cared for.
If your selling area is an on-line page or website, make sure it’s professional looking and easy to navigate.  Make sure everything is spelled correctly.  Use scientific names for plants as well as common ones.  Hire someone to put together a webpage for you if you don’t have skills in that area.
Decide in advance what you will guarantee and keep your word.  Price things clearly.  Don’t add extra fees unless they have been explained on your site, things like shipping costs should be laid out clearly.
Reputation is everything today with social media quickly getting praise or criticism out to the public.  Keep your reputation spotless, address and try to resolve every complaint, don’t make promises you can’t keep, don’t price switch, don’t misrepresent products.  A good reputation is the best advertising you can have.
Starting your own business, which involves plants or food products you produced yourself, involves lots of research and planning, some trial and error learning, patience and perseverance.  But many people have found these small businesses to be satisfying and profitable.  If you are dreaming it start planning it, and then just do it.  And good luck

 Sorry no recipe this week.  I’ll post one next week.  Have a paczki instead.
Kim Willis
 “He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero

© Kim Willis - no parts of this newsletter may be used without permission.

And So On….

Find Michigan garden events/classes here:
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An interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook

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