Country Enterprise - Grow vegetables for self sufficiency; selling or disposing of the surplus

<P> A vast number of people grow vegetables. </P><P> In country areas it has always been the rule rather than the exception and with the increase in enthusiasm for self-sufficiency in recent years, many more urban areas have followed suit. It is much cheaper to grow your own vegetables and they always taste far better than those bought in the shop. </P><P> The trouble starts when your production outstrips demand. Even with a freezer there are times when you have to dispose of surplus crops. When the surplus has not been planned it is usually a case of passing out bunches of beans to friends and neighbours. Not many shops are interested in a spasmodic supply and the bulk does not justify the kind of packaging necessary to send the vegetables to market. </P><P> If you are green-fingered and have put some planning into your enterprise then it can be profitable. You have to decide at the start how you intend to make your enterprise work. You can either decide to produce a wide range of vegetables — as you would normally to feed your family, only on a larger scale. Or you can decide to produce large quantities of a few specific crops. </P><P> If you feel your market is among people living locally who will come to you to buy their weekly vegetables, you should practise the former. If you do not wish or feel it is impracticable in your area to carry out a farm gate enterprise, choose the latter course. Clearly the amount you can produce is limited by the amount of land you have available and by the type of land. </P><P ALIGN=RIGHT> <A HREF=veg1.htm TARGET=mainframe STYLE="text-decoration: none">self sufficiency</A></P>