Pumpkins

[GLyford]

Look out for these guys...we sometimes get a few volunteer pumpkins or winter squash out of the compost pile, but have had no luck at all with zucchini because of them.

Squash Vine Borer: How to Identify and Get Rid of Garden Pests | The Old Farmer's Almanac

 

[mark02tj]

yes, but I'd be paying income tax on that too....so while I might be able to do some creative accounting ledger entries to generate however much income I wanted, I'd be on the hook for fed & state taxes on that income. Definitely not worth not paying state sales tax on some stuff here & there.

But that is a good point for someone doing subsistence farming....might be worth assigning value for the crops/critters to feed your family to get to the $10k number....

You're only going to pay tax on the NET INCOME - not the gross. So, if you generate $10,000 in sales/revenue, but it costs you $9,999 to do that (seeds, fertilizer, equipment depreciation, fuel, insurance, farm market booth rental, etc., etc., etc.) you are going to pay tax on $1.00.

KEEP GOOD RECORDS on what you earn and what you spend. You're going to need it for the state and you're also going to need it for your Federal tax return (as well as your state return). For your "farm income" you're going to have to fill out a "Schedule F" to show the income and expenses. The net income then flows to a line on page 1 of your 1040.

Find a good accountant/tax preparer in your area - one with experience with farms. There's a lot of nuances for farm accounting so you want someone who knows the rules off the top of their head. I'm a CPA (don't practice any more) and if I started farming I would probably consult with someone myself.

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And, back to the pumpkin idea - I live about a mile from a 3rd generation apple orchard. They are only open once the apple harvest starts. They also sell some produce and also pumpkins. They advertise as "real locally grown produce", but they actually buy pretty much everything from somewhere else. They sell their pumpkins for $.75/pound so it's not unusual to go in there and drop $30 for a few pumpkins.

Also, consider getting some bees. You might want to contact your extension agent to get a list of beekeepers in your area that might be interested in putting some hives around your pumpkins. They might charge you a fee or "rent you the hives. Regardless, work a deal where you get part of the honey harvest. The orchard is selling their honey for $17/qt.

If you go the pumpkin route, you might want to consider selling "wholesale" to some small, local boutique/gift shops. Some pumpkins would make good impulse items for their customers. Also consider the little "mini pumpkins" in addition to Jack-O-Lantern size pumpkins. The mini's sell for $1 or $2 each.

Good Luck!

 

[countrybumpkin]

Pumpkins are heavy feeders, they like good soil.

 

[MossRoad]

Pumpkins are heavy feeders, they like good soil.

That's what I've always been told. He's going to need a lot of fertilizer and soil amendment and water.

 

[MossRoad]

You could always divide your property into little 30x30 plots, rent them out to yuppies and millennials for $200 per year to grow their own gardens. 50 of those plots and there's your $10,000.

 

[sixdogs]

We used to grow 100 tons on I think 8 acres. It's easy to do if you have a Cole planter and a way to put down fertilizer and keep weeds under control. There is a learning curve and diseases to deal with that can wipe you out. If you do it, plant something like the Howden from Harris Seeds. People love the stem. I may have posted how we did it in other threads so maybe search for more or ask.

 

[CMV]

You could always divide your property into little 30x30 plots, rent them out to yuppies and millennials for $200 per year to grow their own gardens. 50 of those plots and there's your $10,000.

Considering the primary function of the land is a shooting range would be too hard to resist the temptation....

 

[MossRoad]

Considering the primary function of the land is a shooting range would be too hard to resist the temptation....

Oh, geeze... yuppies, millennials and a shooting range... not a good combo. On the other hand, I'd probably be tempted to shoot all the pumpkins and watch them explode. Hey, there's an idea.... pumpkin patch shooting range. :laughing:

 

[EddieWalker]

Before committing to trying to sell that many pumpkins, I would work up a business plan first and really do some research on what it takes to sell that many pumpkins. Where are you going to sell them? How will you get them to where you will sell them? Who is going to actually do the selling, loading , unloading and making sure they are not stolen at night?

My parents belong to the Elks Lodge here in Tyler and two years ago somebody got the great idea of selling pumpkins as a fund raiser. They received the pumpkins for free from a local farmer. He brought them there and unloaded them in front of the Lodge where people could see them easily from the highway in front of the Lodge. The agreement was that the farmer got $2 for every pumpkin sold and they could charge whatever they wanted, and keep whatever they could make over $2.

Everyone took turns volunteering to be there and sell the pumpkins. I forget how long they where there, but when it was over, they only made a couple hundred bucks and where left with hundreds of pumpkins to get rid of. I took dozens and fed them to my pig, but he just created a mess with them, so I stopped taking any more. The guy who thought the whole idea up ended up resigning his position in the Lodge and quite going there for about a year and a half. It was considered a total disaster and waste of time.

In hind site, they learned that almost everyone who wanted a pumpkin, bought them at Walmart when they where shopping for other stuff. Most people do not have the time, or desire to stop at a pumpkin patch on their way home from work.

If you grow them, be sure to have a solid plan on what you are going to do with them!!!

 

[nimblemotors]

Oh, geeze... yuppies, millennials and a shooting range... not a good combo. On the other hand, I'd probably be tempted to shoot all the pumpkins and watch them explode. Hey, there's an idea.... pumpkin patch shooting range. :laughing:

Pumpkin Chunkin Contest!

Will be watching to see how the pumpkin selling goes.

 

[super55]

Generating 10k in farm income is not an unreachable goal but I will say plan on putting a considerable amount into it getting things started. Right now you have the land and a tractor and probably a few attachments but there is so much more involved.

Plan on electric fence to keep deer out, soil amending since pumpkins are high N and K nutrient users, pest control of squash bugs and probably drip line irrigation and then probably 2-3 acres of land utilized for the crop.

If you are serious about making a go of this you I wouldn't even plant this year because in all likelihood your crop is going to be a bust. First thing is develop a plan. Then next is to get your dirt in working order for next year. That means tilling this year, clearing rocks, possibly subsoiling and then start working cover crops to reduce weed infestation and try and add some organic matter to the soil.

You'll spend $$ on year 1 and have no income to show for it but it will set you up much better for success in year 2 and 3.

 

[sixdogs]

Having done this for decades, 98% of the plan is how to sell the product you grow. There are a few problems with growing but easily surmounted. Selling, or marketing is the hard part. That's why the highest paid people in the world are salesman and promoters of their product. Otherwise you will have a 50 ton pile of pumpkins come late summer and no market. A wise grower will, in effect, have them sold or know where they're going before the seed goes in the ground. No one will buy your product unless you create the need for it and a reason for them to buy it. Even then, your envious neighbor will grow some the second year and sell them a little cheaper than you and skim some sales.

Explaining marketing in a forum like this is difficult because it's experience based and there are many competing ideologies and side bar directions that blur the goal and keep your eye off the prize. Pumpkins aren't bought, they're sold.

 

[MossRoad]

That's good advice. I had an acquaintance that grew sweet corn. He contracted out with a grocery store chain the year before he planted it. Knew exactly where it was going and how much he'd get for it. Did it for several years, then switched to a road-side stand. Haven't talked to him in decades, but his roadside stand is still there each summer. Maybe I'll stop by this year if I'm in the area.

 

[countrybumpkin]

That's good advice. I had an acquaintance that grew sweet corn. He contracted out with a grocery store chain the year before he planted it. Knew exactly where it was going and how much he'd get for it. Did it for several years, then switched to a road-side stand. Haven't talked to him in decades, but his roadside stand is still there each summer. Maybe I'll stop by this year if I'm in the area.

We used to do this when we raised watermelons and cantaloupe.

 

[MossRoad]

We used to do this when we raised watermelons and cantaloupe.

How did you go about setting it up with the store?

 

[countrybumpkin]

We would go into the store and start by speaking with the produce manager.

 

[MossRoad]

We would go into the store and start by speaking with the produce manager.

Well, geeze, that's simple enough! :laughing:

 

[GLyford]

There are a lot of apples grown in our area, and they are mostly heritage types. We had a regional chain that prided itself on local produce, and you'd see the local growers' names on all the apple bags. Then the chain got bought out by a global co., and now all the apples are plain boring varieties shipped in from other places.

So I guess what I am trying to get at is, the big chains might not have a lot of leeway on where they get their produce, but smaller local and regional stores might.

 

[sixdogs]

There are a lot of apples grown in our area, and they are mostly heritage types. We had a regional chain that prided itself on local produce, and you'd see the local growers' names on all the apple bags. Then the chain got bought out by a global co., and now all the apples are plain boring varieties shipped in from other places.

So I guess what I am trying to get at is, the big chains might not have a lot of leeway on where they get their produce, but smaller local and regional stores might.

We tried to sell fall squash to a local store who would have nothing to do with us. Oh, well but hold that thought.

After considerable effort, we developed a relationship with a regional grocery chain that supplied it's local and regional stores with produce, etc. To our surprise, our squash showed up at that store, and others that refused to buy from us. I understand completely because so many local producers don't understand and aren't fully committed to growing and delivering product while the regional store would deliver what they said and when they said it.

Little stores are understandable reluctant to make deals in advance and we pretty much had to show up with the goods before we made deal. The following years got easier. Our best sales were from the farm and from local advertising.

 

[sixdogs]

The good news with unsold pumpkins is that cows eat what won't sell or is damaged. It takes a while for the first bite but after that our adult Polled Herefords could eat a surprising amount.