A few people have started threads about side income to help fund their hobby. Instead of addressing each with the one idea, I thought I would share one more specific way in its own thread. The bad news is super hots do not tend to do well at farmers markets. If you are the first to sell them there, ghost pepper and Carolina reaper will good at first. But it is kind of a dare thing and most of the farmers market folk are repeat customers. They burn their faces off, bring their friends to burn their faces off, laugh and then dont buy again.
What does sell very well is tomato, bell pepper, and some of the traditional hot peppers (not super hots). The same is true of putting a self serve table in your front yard. On season, in the middle of no where, depending mostly on neighbors who see it on their way to work, we take about $100.00 a week out of a coffee can with a sign that reads "Take what you need. Leave what you can." In fact, per produce sold it makes more money than the farmers market ever has. People really are generous.
Now to promote that front yard stand, we are very generous. One lane road, passing neighbors, I often hand out water melons. It really does work.
Here in KY, there is almost no licensing for these type of things. We have huge exemptions for farmers markets and selling off your own property, part of the cottage industry laws. But I can not imagine any state caring about a front yard honor stand. Sure, there are stories but those are just free publicity.
The trick, I think, is to have something the general public wants. Then you can use those sales to fuel your own obsession with growing super hots.
Anyway, if you are in Kentucky and want information on the cottage industry exemptions I can point you to the web sites that explain it and tell you my experiences. If you are in any other state or do not want to trust web site information, find your county extension office.
Not saying you can get rich with road side stands or farmers markets, but there is definitely some money in it and it doesnt take all that much time to set them up. We are now working on our own on site farmers market, figuring out where people can park, how to cover food. Kids will man it after hours, selling ice tea and lemonade or something like that.
What does sell very well is tomato, bell pepper, and some of the traditional hot peppers (not super hots). The same is true of putting a self serve table in your front yard. On season, in the middle of no where, depending mostly on neighbors who see it on their way to work, we take about $100.00 a week out of a coffee can with a sign that reads "Take what you need. Leave what you can." In fact, per produce sold it makes more money than the farmers market ever has. People really are generous.
Now to promote that front yard stand, we are very generous. One lane road, passing neighbors, I often hand out water melons. It really does work.
Here in KY, there is almost no licensing for these type of things. We have huge exemptions for farmers markets and selling off your own property, part of the cottage industry laws. But I can not imagine any state caring about a front yard honor stand. Sure, there are stories but those are just free publicity.
The trick, I think, is to have something the general public wants. Then you can use those sales to fuel your own obsession with growing super hots.
Anyway, if you are in Kentucky and want information on the cottage industry exemptions I can point you to the web sites that explain it and tell you my experiences. If you are in any other state or do not want to trust web site information, find your county extension office.
Not saying you can get rich with road side stands or farmers markets, but there is definitely some money in it and it doesnt take all that much time to set them up. We are now working on our own on site farmers market, figuring out where people can park, how to cover food. Kids will man it after hours, selling ice tea and lemonade or something like that.
