Introduction: A small niche has been discovered in Newark Delaware, making it possible to profitably raise vegetable crops. Due to the few produce stands and the large population, most of which don't have their own gardens, locals are willing to pay a premium for home grown vegetables.
This production system is for a one acre garden where tomatoes, sweet corn, potatoes, pumpkins, and peppers are grown. This is an economical and efficient way to raising vegetables while maximizing profits. A roadside stand will be set up come late July in order to market the produce. The stand will be open from 10:30-6:30.
Soil Preparation: Two weeks before Easter the soil should have a soil test done in order to make sure the soil has adequate nutrients, soil pH, and organic matter content to properly sustain a garden. In this particular production system our pH was 6.6, which is optimum for raising most vegetables.
1 and a half russet potato with sprouts. Sliced (l...
European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis Photo by K...
Sweet corn that has not been husked yet, headed to...The soil test suggested that we add 1 lb of 0-46-0 per 100 square feet and .5 lbs of urea per 100 square feet. This was done with a hand push spreader, which was first calculated for the proper application rate. The soil was tilled to a depth of 6 inches via a 5ft rototiller tractor attachment. A 26 hp John Deere 870 diesel tractor was used to pull this attachment. The speed that was used for rottotilling the acre plot was 4 mph. The estimated time for this particular operation is 2 hours. Due to the fact that there will not be any herbicides and pesticides utilized in this production system all unhealthy leaves, and fruit must be removed from the crop daily. Any weeds should also be hoed out daily. This will call for an estimated 3 man-hours each day during the growing season.