Say Hello to @Grow-Pro & Let's Grow Tomatoes
My language loving friends will grant me alliteration points for that title.
Let's Grow!
I just recently came to SteemIt, thanks to @finnian for the invite, to share knowledge, learn, and grow something. My intentions here are simple - have fun, learn something new, share my knowledge and experience.
Am I Here To Get Paid?
No. If getting paid were the objective, for me, I'd be spending this time differently (and not on SteemIt). I came here with what I believe is the realistic expectation that when I depart from this platform I will leave with nothing more than the knowledge I entered with, some new knowledge, a few new acquaintances, and a 'lesser hatred' for markdown language 😆.
I'm not here to make money; money is the byproduct. A lovely, lovely byproduct, but it is not my motivation to be a part of SteemIt. I am here almost solely because of a friend that invited me here. It sounded like fun to be a part of something that could revolutionize social media. I'm not on Facebook and haven't been since George W. was in office. SteemIt is one of the few social media outlets that I use. I enjoy it. That's rewarding.
Sure, I could certainly use the extra money - no doubt. BUT... When I need to get paid, I work. This is my free time and it's free to me, so it's free to you. In between my 2 full-time jobs and gardening habit, of course. If SteemIt becomes what it has the potential to become and I am somehow able to generate any sort of real income - I would be happy! I'm just honestly not expecting to make any money, but that's my 2¢. I welcome whatever comes of this journey and just want to enjoy myself.
Appreciate The Hustle
Seriously, I am a Stay At Home Dad of two toddlers. One of the hardest, non-paying jobs in the universe if you ask me. Doesn't pay squat, but I do it every day. I also utilize my skills and have worked for myself for over a decade doing many different types of work. I farm tomatoes in summer and I sold huge tomato plants locally in the spring. I crush box stores and nursery tomato plants around here.
Oh, it's my first year in the tomato business! Last year I pulled 500 lbs of tomatoes from 17 plants. People said that I could start a business growing like that. So I did exactly that. My first year - some have offered partnership in submission already. No bullshit. Lowe's was selling a 2 ft. tall Tomato plant in a 3 gallon pot for $53.99 this year, right near my location. I was selling healthier, larger plants in smaller pots for $12. I made smiles for miles! Proof? My pleasure!
This was a 5 week old plant in a #1/ 1 trade gal. pot with my son showing the scale. By the time we got to week 7, the plant sale, we had people reserving them! They sold themselves. I frequently heard how people could not find good, healthy, vigorous tomato plants many places. I have a list that have reserved plants for 2018 already. Our produce is reserved already for local consumers and we have 2 local markets that want to buy from us.
We need to scale up next year and we look forward to it. I do not need upvotes to satiate my ego, nor pad my pockets - I have established a great customer base and network of gardeners that admire my work for what it is - work done with passion and great determination.
If you can appreciate that and want to chat about growing - we're already on the same page. If you share a photo of your garden, I won't tell you I love it and it looks great if that's not what I think. I'm not here to gain social approval or pennies for my commentary. I do not require society to pat me on the back, I was blessed with two perfectly functional arms to do that myself. So allow me..😂
If you are a gardener and interested in taking your skill set to market - I can help. I will gladly give my input on how to go about starting a produce business with limited capital and your spare time. We have lots to talk about. Let's Grow!
Let's Network
If you enjoy growing tomato plants, let's talk! I love to network with fellow gardeners. Help someone new to gardening find success and together we can grow! [pun intended]
THANK YOU FOR READING
@grow-pro
READ MORE RECENT POSTS FROM ME HERE
• Heirloom Tomatoes - What We've Got Growin’
• Are You Spanking Yours? Spank Your Tomato Plant To Increase Yield!
This post was well written and well formatted. It was an easy and pleasurable read too!
I think I need to add the "Read more recent posts from me" section too perhaps. You're using a template also now, right? I also need to do that...
It is still a bit crazy how much money can be made growing food. People have forgotten so much old knowledge that something that was once thought to be a fairly simple task (having a home garden) is now a much needed service/product.
I don't have your green thumb, but I know my wife does. I will be sharing all of these posts with her. She has it in her genes since her father was a florist. I keep nudging her towards botany, herbalism, etc. too.
Thanks for the great post! I've resteemed it. :)
The money to be made is not often in farming itself. Farmers typically get the 'short end' of the trade-off. It's crazy that the store selling the produce is making sometimes 200-450% markup on produce while the farmer gets a fraction of the return. Farmers that handle their own retail make exponentially more.
We are all-in-one, so the potential for profit is very real. 1 acre of tomatoes can easily produce well over a half million dollars per acre. That's good money to me. The average US tomato farm functions on 5 acres or less. Now we all finally know why... A grower with extensive knowledge, great techniques, a solid plan, and the right equipment can produce and sell a half million dollars in produce each year with a small group of people and an acre of ground.
Many try to skimp on one of the above essentials and that's what allows people like me to slide into the market and dominate. It isn't hard to produce better results when your goal is not money, but to produce better quality products. The money is always the byproduct, never the motive.
When you start making that much money, let me know. I'll come help! ha ha
It's more than possible.. My neighbors granted me usage of 3-4 more acres and they know I'll take good care of them. I'd rather buy the land, but my nickname is "let's make a deal"..😆 If I start making that kind of money, I'll hire you to head up my security department and we can move into a wider spectrum of gardening. I'd sleep well and we'd be searching for water front property! I would secure your services immediately, rest assured. I'd love to see more people realizing that they can do it.
You're the man @finnian. I need to use a template tool because I'm doing it all manually now..lol I'm so slow at posting I take sleep breaks. My grandfather was very into plants and botany in his later years. My wife's grandfather is still alive, actually he just visited us yesterday, and he is an avid gardener. He was also a farmer in his earlier years. Raised by a farmer to boot. He is a great motivation for me because he gives me high praise for my work - something that he doesn't often dish out like Halloween candy.
It is something that I enjoy doing and I do not see it for what many others see it as; work. I see it as something I'm supposed to be doing because it it one of the few things that I truly enjoy doing that involves tremendous labor. I've done it for nothing and I've done it for money. Honestly, it feels the same to me. I've gotta find some tools for this platform to help me figure out more efficient ways to create quality content.
Many thanks for the resteem 😎🙏🏼
I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiment about markdown. Love your posts. They are entertaining and informative. I think you have a good shot at realizing some income on here. Who ever knows how much. That isn't what I came here for either. I was getting sick of how other social media made me feel. Too much politics and general anger.
Keep it up, I know you don't need a pat on the back, but, I have a free hand so pat pat lol.
Haha thanks @matthewtiii! I really enjoy SteemIt so far, but I'm not very savvy with the markdown stuff and I've done a bunch of web work and always disliked coding. My creative side kicked the engineering sides ass, so it's like learning jibberish to me. 😂
I would welcome monetary gain from any direction at this point, but if I were doing this right now as an occupation - my hourly wage would make a third world laborer feel like a hedge fund manager.
I'm having fun and it is always great to meet cool people. The Internet has no shortage of 'uncool' people, so congrats for being one of the few Matt. 😎🤘🏻
Those are some beautiful tomato plants. I aspire to be able to grow vegetables like that. I start with seeds, but my seedlings die. Any tips on nurturing seedlings?
We can fix that @mombliss, stick with me!
I'll give you a run down of some essentials for seedlings:
• start with an appropriate sized cell for what your growing - is it recommended to transplant or direct-sow what seeds you are growing? I find 2"w X 2"h is great for starting tomatoes, peppers, And other nightshades. Larger containers for starting seed can pose a problem - they are harder to control moisture consistency.
• watering is key - keep the soil moist to the touch, but not soaked. Water seedlings from the bottom, via drain holes in the botto of the container and a saucer to fill with water. It encourages roots to direct growth downward, seeking water. Tomato plants like to dry out a bit, so tomato seedlings should appear dry on the soil surface before watering. If possible, wait until you observe them slightly wilt if posible. I recommended this only if you can watch the closely (e.g. In a windowsill or high trafficked area).
• Chamomile tea! Using a tablespoon or two of chamomile tea per gallon of water won't hurt! I use this mild chamomile solution to water seedlings and it prevents damping-off disease (a soil borne fungus). It is virtually impossible to reverse, but it is entirely preventable. It is a fungal disease caused mostly by overwatering.
• wet the planting medium thouroughly before planting and do not water again until the tomato seedling sprouts the two cotyledons (round leaves) and plant medium appears dry to the touch.
• soak your seeds - float test - take a small cup of water, drop tomato seeds in it over night, tap all floating seeds - the ones that sink after 24 hours are generally viable seed and the ones that do not are usually not. I never count them out, but your odds are decreased.
• I germinate this way and it works! PAPER TOWEL folded into quarters. Soak it in warm or even hot water if your hands can stand it. Squeeze water out until the towel is damp. Place seeds 1" apart or more - they appreciate space. Fold the moist paper towel over seeds and place into a plastic sealable bag. Place this in a warm place - somewhere you will remember to check frequently after 24 hours. Near an appliance that radiates heat is perfect and is out of direct sunlight. Check them 24-48 hours after closing. Once a "tail" or taproot has formed, it is time to plant! At this point, it will look like a seed with a tail. It is important to handle the seedling with tweezers, by the shell. Be careful not to touch the root with your fingers. You'll want to plant that tail facing downwards and cover with soil - slightly depressing the soil is all you need, no need to firm the soil or tamp it. Make sure soil medium is not dry - wait for sprout! The sprout is simply two cotyledons (the round looking leaves) followed by the first set of 'true leaves' which look more like tomato leaf of whichever variety you've chosen.
• Let there be light! The right kind of light is important. To grow seedlings, you need a light source and the right color temperature bulb. Look for 6500kelvin color temp. I like to use cheap brooder lamps with a 6500k CFL bulb. If you've got a lot of seedlings, you can use a shop light, T5,T8 will do. You want to give them enough light and the right kind. Plants growing vegetatively will prefer a more bluish light, so keep in mind that 4000k is neutral (white) and anything from 5k and up is going to contain more blue. Feel free to ask any questions that you might have!
If you have any problems at all, please feel free to toss questions at me! We can get you growing like a pro in no time, believe me! No question is a stupid question because I've already asked them all 😋.
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