Looking for a commercial viable "crop" on 4 acres

My thoughts would be that where GG is, Avo's would struggle - my guess that climate wouldn't be much warmer than Hobart (correct me if I am wrong GG but you'll have pretty heavy frosts in winter yes?).

Any fruit tree will take 3-6 years to get to production, but stonefruits would do well in the area.

Other ideas:
Wine grapes
Blueberries
Strawberries

If you want low maintenance, could try
Jerusalem Artichokes (this is growing like a weed in my yard)
Yacon (trying them for first time this year)

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
My thoughts would be that where GG is, Avo's would struggle - my guess that climate wouldn't be much warmer than Hobart (correct me if I am wrong GG but you'll have pretty heavy frosts in winter yes?).

Any fruit tree will take 3-6 years to get to production, but stonefruits would do well in the area.

Other ideas:
Wine grapes
Blueberries
Strawberries

If you want low maintenance, could try
Jerusalem Artichokes (this is growing like a weed in my yard)
Yacon (trying them for first time this year)

Cheers,

The Y-man

Yes, Y-man, "Avo's" would struggle here because of the frost and my property is on quiet a slope, that is why lavender would do well :)

GG
 
Hi GG,

Firstly,

have a very good water supply all year round.

You might have, but to irrigate a commercial crop you will need the appropriate permit from your local water authority, this will cost you plenty. Just having the water only gives you rights for stock and domestic, not irrigation of commercial product.

To make real money off 4 acres, you need to have some type of intensive crop that there is a good market for. If you are on/near a main road then some type of pick your own business maybe appropriate. A combination of berries/cherries seems ideal for the dandenong ranges, both climate wise and soil type wise.

However nothing is quick and easy to set up overnight. You need to plan, buy the irrigation rights, find what council requirements are, build appropriate shedding (pickers lunchroom, packing shed, cool room etc), finance it appropriately, plant and tend crops for periods of time without income etc.( strawberries plant April, commercial crop November, blueberries plant August commercial crop 3 years time, cherry trees plant winter commercial crop 4-6 years time, etc)

Forget any of the suggestions of tropical fruits, your climate is too cold for avo's, mangoes etc.

Garlic maybe expensive now, but does that mean everyone is growing it this year to reap the high prices??

My real suggestion is to start growing something on a small non commercial scale, say an area of 20 metres by 20 metres, to see if you are up to looking after them and get them producing.

bye

PS I grow blueberries commercially, they are a very good crop for the pick your own market, near population centres. Mine are not PYO.
 
I thought of cherries because there was a house for sale out here last year that was on a similar sized lot and had a small orchard of stone fruits on it, mostly cherries. But we're in very good cherry growing climate here :)

Strawberries/raspberries are in the rosae family (like roses, funnily enough) and are EXTREMELY hardy, both of frost and drought. Stone fruits all tolerate frost very well too, as do grapes. Stone fruits grow on the roadside here on the highway and are virtually bulletproof, but I doubt they have good fruit in the dry years. People here collect the fruit from the roadside trees to make jam.
 
Hi All,

I live on 6 acres of very fertile soil and have a very good water supply all year round.

I'm looking for a "crop" that i could make some extra cash.

Some ideas are:

Chrismas trees
Olives
Lavender
Vegetables (just a summer one and a winter one)

Yes, then I need to find the right market place to sell these.

Any ideas?

GG
I have looked into a few mushroom farms,i don't think the set-up would be too hard to copy,,mushrooms,,imho willair..
 
Mushrooms.
You'd have to compete against Canberra. They seem to have the mushroom market cornered. That is the crop you keep in the dark and feed on bull**** isn't it?
 
Mushrooms.
You'd have to compete against Canberra. They seem to have the mushroom market cornered. That is the crop you keep in the dark and feed on bull**** isn't it?
That was 15 years ago,i never went ahead with that one, the house was next to the mushroom sheds and the smell:rolleyes: sort of hung around eveywhere,but the person who bought that one out the back of garden city ,ended up turning it into 40 resi land blocks..willair
 
There is an Avo farm in the Yarra Valley, they sell their avo's at the Healsville Market, and I think I've also seen them at the Yering farmers market. It's a different variety to the standard 2 varieties you find in Coles and Woolies, but they were very nice and tasty (and HUGE in size). I saw them 2 weeks ago at Healsville and they were selling them for $2 a pop they were selling quite quickly. I doubt they were hot housed, so their must be a variety that can tolerate frost and/or colder climates.

As a teenager, there were at least 4 or 5 Mushroom farms in Yarrambat, but as the land became more valuable they became acerage housing developments, so I guess the weather is fine for them too.

Cheers
Buddybee
 
Hi, garlic, garlic & garlic if you can grow it easily. Quick return, small land usage. Low start up trial costs.

I pay $19.99 /kg even though the Chinese imports costs $1 a bag. AND I am Chinese. So do my sister & my niece.

And shallots. Though it grows well mostly in hot weather. I used to pay $16.99/kg for shallots [the big spring onion leaves are not the same] but now the Vietnamese shop has them at $6.99 sometimes $8.99

And if anyone wants to picket against the crap that the Chinese are sending us, I'll volunteer a few people to stand in the front line.

My niece went to Hainan & the relis told them not to eat the pineapple because they bury some chemical int the roots so that the fruit is sweet.

Good luck,
KY
 
What about Lucerne Hay.
It is only planted once every three years or so and is cut every three months or so.
This is continuously providing a cash income several times a year.
The only downside is it takes a lot of water which you say you have heaps of.
You can also stockpile it if the market is not right.:D
I have been talking to some lucerne farmers of late and they are all positive about it.
 
What about Lucerne Hay.
It is only planted once every three years or so and is cut every three months or so.
This is continuously providing a cash income several times a year.
The only downside is it takes a lot of water which you say you have heaps of.
You can also stockpile it if the market is not right.:D
I have been talking to some lucerne farmers of late and they are all positive about it.


Lucerne hay is a broadacre crop. It's grown by farmers on big blocks, sometimes hundreds of hectares in size. These farmers might be making $1000 a hectare profit, maybe much more, sometimes less. They'd probably own their own hay making gear, or get in contractors at economic rates. Making hay requires a lot of different machinery. All expensive and complicated.

It would never ever be economically viable on 4 acres in a country like Australia without farm subsidies. Japan or Europe, yes, but not here.


See ya's.
 
Hi GG,

Have you entertained the idea, that in addition to any crop that you decide to go with, that you can also run some chooks and supply free range eggs to passing traffic as well as running a few beehives and providing honey to passing traffic?

wombat
 
Hi GG,

Firstly,



You might have, but to irrigate a commercial crop you will need the appropriate permit from your local water authority, this will cost you plenty. Just having the water only gives you rights for stock and domestic, not irrigation of commercial product.
.

Not even if it is my spring fed dam, which i pump into my tanks.?

GG
 
There are many crops which people grow- many of which are new to the market.

A friend investigated truffles. That didn't quite work so he's now on maple syrup. A long term crop but he's done it for quite a few years. Payout should be son (on a very larg property).

Maybe ginger, or even turmeric. 90% of turmeric comes from India- and it's almost always in powdered form- and supposedly good in cholesterol reduction.

Any fruit you have ever seen in a shop? Depending on climate. Plums? They drop off the trees in Canberra unwanted but still sell at a reasonable price.

Blackberries? Fresh olives? Blackberries?

Herbs? Sage? Rosemary? Parsley?

Chillies? Some local markets grow them and create products.

It doesn't even have to be vegetable.

Yabbies are common around Australia and taste great. But they need good marketing. Perhaps that's an option.

Just a few thoughts.
 
Hi GG,

From the Southern Rural Water web site....

Who needs a Surface Water Licence?
Any person who is using or intending to use surface water for irrigation, commercial or intensive uses including dairies, feed lots, piggeries or poultry sheds must have a licence to take & use that water.

If the water had been use for irrigation for many years it would have been already registered.

Check with your local water authority about if you can use the water for irrigation, or what you have to do (pay) to get it legally. A couple of phone calls will get you the info. SRW 1300 139 510

They will probably get a field officer to visit you, don't worry they are usually a friendly and helpful bunch, especially when you do things legally.

bye
 
Go share farming with famer with the nouse and gear and go 50/50%. No risk, for 50% return. X mas tree are good idea.

Olives and lavender oversupplied.

A mate put trout in his pond to cut down mozziea and now grown he has been offered $100 each live to restaurants.

Peter
 
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