I would say yes, ksgrower, as far as output would go, especially having 10 asian pears. But, you also have to calculate in your time and labor expenses. That's worth something, and needs to be figured into the profit equation. The easiest place to sell your produce would be at your local Farmer's Market, or, if you've got a local farmer that would be willing to take in your produce to sell at their truck stand, that's another option. Do the math. Figure out about how many boxes of fruit you think you can harvest. Identify the going price for your fruits by going to the truck stands or Farmer's Market, then subtract your time that it takes to pick, package and possibly sit and sell the stuff. It's just a math equation, so you really need to run through those numbers to know. You're husband is wise - small home orchard farming is very labor-intensive, and I think we tend to not include our time and labor into the calculation, which may make this effort not worth the time investment you'll have to make. If you can stay organic, and truly claim organic, you'll be able to ask a higher price, but even at that, it may be a negative calculation for you :-)

Patty S.

Thank you, Patty. Most of my plants are 1 - 3 years old. They have not matured enough for me to know their potential. It would be nice to know how much weight a dwarf asian pear produce.
With small kids at home, how to spend my time is truely important to me. I have a vegetable garden too. I am thinking to cut back on the vegetable garden and grow just enough for four people, but not more. It is an addiction and hard not to over planting every spring.

ksgrower

You can't claim your fruit to be "organic" unless it has been certified. You could sell/market it as "pesticide free" but otherwise you have to pay for "organic" certification and it would not be worth it for your home orchard. As far as calculating the time you put into picking/packing/selling it's worth noting the opportunity cost. If you are a lawyer and giving up billable hours to do this it would not be a wise monetary decision. If you are homemaker who does this as a hobby and has the time it is a wise decision monetarily. Also, you can make money off these fruits by selling them dried or making preserves and jams. Processing the fruit will get your more money and then it's quite easy to store where as fresh fruit has to go and can't sit around for weeks.

I don't know. It is too hard work to sell for me. I just grow for me. I really don't like growing, but have to as the food supply if crap.

You might run up against the city health inspector if you are selling jams at farmer's market. Check it out for your area before getting too carried away making large quantities of jam in the hopes of selling it.
Northwoodswis

I have no intention to claim my fruits and vegetables "organic". Yes, I can only say "pesticide free", if I don't spray.
I have a full time job. Gardenining is a passion of mine for 15 years now. I always give away a lot of produces every year. Now, I wonder if I over do it. From seeding, planting, watering, weeding and harvesting, it all takes time.
I will scale back on gardening and plant 3 more fruit trees. I will be done with landscape. If we have more blackberries than we can eat, I will turn them into blackberry juice for kids. Actually, a store is willing to buy produces from me, I just don't have enough to sell and cover for the gas.

ksgrower

In Kansas, you don't have to have any special license to sell jams and jellies at a farmers market. Jams and jellies have practically zero risk for botulism, so they are fairly unregulated at Kansas markets.

That said, I can't imagine why any small grower would sell jam or jelly (although there are plenty who do). The problem is you take a very high value fresh crop (i.e. blackberries) condense it down to a much smaller amount of juice, put a ton of work into canning it, buy the sugar, pectin, jars, lids, heat up the house, etc., and then sell it for 5 bucks a pint. Any small grower doing that is making less than minimum wage, much less.

On the flip side the same person could just sell a couple pounds of fresh blackberries for more than a jar of jam.

In terms of having enough product to sell, that is a great question. Some farmer's markets require business liability insurance (the Overland Park market does) which is about $500 per year. They also charge $16 per day to rent the space, so their market is tailored to larger growers. On the other hand, a smaller market (like the Spring Hill farmer's market) charges only $35 for the whole season and they don't require insurance.

You can always sell your extra fruit out your back door. People are recognizing the value of home grown fruit and it's not hard to sell once people figure out you have it. You just have to make sure it's top quality.

Although most people growing fruit for their own use don't mind ugly scarred fruit, don't try to sell it. To sell fruit, it has to look and taste good.

Thank you, olpea. I really appreciate your inputs. I always wonder what regulations our area has. It is also a concern of mine what if people get sick from eating my produce. A business liablity insurance is needed, but $500 per year is too much for a backyard grower to pay.
Do I still need an insurance if a store sell produce for me? Where can I go to find more information?

ksgrower

Olpea-

I noticed down in Miami (Florida) a lot of people were selling mangoes, litchis, etc off of Craigslist. Could be a good option.

I also notice people are selling produce off of Craigslist here in Kansas City.

I'm not sure about $1,000 from just asian pears and blackberries...asian pears do command a premium, but with 10 dwarf trees you'd need to get at least 30 pounds of fruit per tree to be in the neighborhood--maximum yields for dwarf asian pears top out at 40-50 pounds based on a medium level of tree management. Blackberries always produce and sell well for us, it just depends on the market (and where you are in KS) how much you can sell them for. In rural SE Kansas, we got $2.50 per half pint this year, but blackberries were thin in this region due to late frosts and an unusually cold February.

Also, it depends on the area you're in as far as selling--if you're in an area that has a low-cost farmer's market, it might be worth your while.

I would recommend perhaps growing vegetables to hedge your bets if you are planning on doing farmer's markets or roadside stands. Certain crops (cherry tomatoes for us) are decently low-maintenance and could help to bridge your gap between when blackberries and asian pears are coming ripe. If you are just selling on Craigslist or through some similar method, this would not be necessary, although you might have a harder time commanding a good price on what you are selling. Selling to retail stores, I was told by the state, is harder to do because you have to have state-approved holding areas for the produce before you take it to the store.

Finally, jams and jellies are a great option, simply because you can use any excess fruit that does not sell and it cuts down on your shrink. Anything that diversifies your offerings is a benefit. As someone else mentioned, there are no regulations in KS regarding jams & jellies (as long as you are selling direct to the customer), but I would definitely look into insurance if you are selling any value-added product. Although our market does not require it, I have insurance for this very reason (costs $360 for one year--six month terms are also available through our insurer). However, I think with only 60 feet of blackberry plants, you might have to pick one or the other--selling fresh berries or in jams. We have 300 feet of cultivated berries and tons of wild blackberries, and had nowhere near enough to satisfy market demand.

Shoot me a message if you have further questions! I hope I can be of help since we're apparently both in the same state...

-TK

Sell blackberries fresh are frozen. 2.50 a lb. fresh are 20.00 per gallon frozen in freezer bags out back door they keep frozen long time even sell next year. Young kids need Blackberries so there veins stay round in adult life blueberries do same.

A sign by busy road and word of mouth works better than paper add are given phone number customers countenance change.

"Do I still need an insurance if a store sell produce for me? Where can I go to find more information?"

It's generally harder to sell to stores. The problem is they generally want a more stable supply. A few years ago I heard a presentation from a buyer for whole foods. He claimed they would buy from small local growers, but I think even they have limits. The example the rep. gave of a small local grower was supplying produce on a consistent basis.

The Kansas Fruit Growers association used to be a place to get answers, but it's membership has been shrinking although it never was very big. It's my understanding Kansas State hired a new fruit specialist for it's fruit research farm near Olathe. The last specialist was pretty good and could help with both production and marketing questions, so you might check with the new one.

Like others, I've also used Craigslist. Last year I sold 20 gal of strawberries almost all from Craigslist. I haven't needed to use Craigslist this season.

Again I would encourage you not go the jam/jelly route. Even if you have excess production vs. sales, by the time you pick the blackberries, wash them, separate the pulp, cook, bottle, label, buy the other ingredients, jars, and lids, you'll find you're working very cheap.

olpea, I am with you. I can't imagine to have all the ingredients, jars, and lids laying all over my counters. I already have a hard time as it is to keep up with my daily dishes.

I like fruit trees. They are edible and give shade to the lawn that help to conserve water and keep grass green. I always think my orchard could be used for part of my kids' college fund in the future. I also like my kids to spend time with me outside instead of watching TV or playing computer games. If I can't sell fruits, I would be stuck with too much fruits and don't know what to do with them.

I really appreciate people here have given me some good advise. I also like people to know I would trade for the produce which I don't grow in the future.

ksgrower

There is a market garden forum right here on Garden Web. I suggest that you go there and read and ask questions. Those are the people who are actually growing produce to sell.

I raise fruit because I will eat a lot of fruit if I can get my hands on it. Fruit in the market is expensive and usually very poor quality. So I save a whole bunch of money on my grocery bill by growing a lot of fruit for myself.

What extra I produce has, so far, gone to the food bank. As my trees mature and I get more fruit, I intend to go to the Farmer's Market to sell.

I've got a lot of young trees, because I keep hearing about varieties that I want to try.

I keep an eye open for varieties that are rare, or exceptionally delicious, or very expensive in the markets. Specifically because I hope to be selling some day and I would rather be selling $5 a pound blueberries than 25 cent a pound apples. As long as I have to sit there all day, I'd prefer to sell something that brings a good price.