The Urban Farmer: 17,500lbs of Vegetables Produced on One-Third of An Acre – A Closer Look at What Was Produced on the Farm this Year (FSFS37)

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A Recap of 2015 Farm Production at Green City Acres

  • Curtis farmed 5 different plots giving him a total of 15,000sq.ft (1/3 Acre) to farm on.
  • He produced 17,500lbs of total product.
  • He produced 23 different products (individual products and mixes included).
  • Biggest Crops by Sales Dollars:
    • 1. Spring Mix – $22,000
    • 2. Tomatoes – $11,000
    • 3. Arugala
    • 4. Salad Turnips
    • 5. Radishes
    • Those crops made up over half of the farm production in dollars.
  • Biggest Crops by Weight:
    • 1. Tomatoes – 3000lbs.
    • 2. Radishes – 2600lbs.
    • 3. Spring Mix – 2500lbs.
    • 4. Salad Turnips – 2000lbs.
    • 5. Carrots – 1000lbs.

 Lessons learned in the 2015 farm season

  • Make sure that you find reliable and trustworthy seed sources.
  • The top 5 crops make up over half of the farm’s production in terms of sales.  Focus on what works.
  • The smaller your farm is the higher your output per square foot goes.
  • For a lot of crops it’s not what you have, it’s when you have it.  Prices fluctuate during the seeason based on supply.
  • Curtis focuses on what works and moves the needle.
  • On the farm look at the Total Gross Sales of a Product divided by the Total Beds of that Product.  That gives you the output per bed.  It standardizes the numbers across all crops give you something to compare with. 
    • Look at that list, sort it, and ask yourself if you can do more of what works and eliminate what doesn’t.
    • For the winners if there is more demand, increase production.
    • For the crops that did OK.  Look at where you can improve.  Was there an issues or issues that can be fixed?

Learn More from Curtis Stone:

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