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what's a fair price to pay someone to grow peppers for me?

salsalady

salsalady

eXtreme Business
I have some seeds on the way and I want to ask a local farmer to grow some of the superhots for me. They grow TONS of veggies and peppers every year and sell at the farmers market, so I know they know how to grow peppers. I usually buy 50-100#'s of jalapenos from them in the fall.

Basically, I give them the seeds, they grow the peppers, I buy all that they can produce.

Are the superhots more difficult to grow than jalapeno, serrano or ancho peppers? I read on one seed site that bhuts don't pollinate as easily, so to help them along, "dust" them with a paint brush. That kind of extra work would warrant more $ per #.

I think I paid $1.50/# for jalapenos last time. What do you think would be fair price to offer the farmer per pound to grow for me? Same? More? How much volume will superhot plants produce per plant compared to a typical jalapeno plant?

I think I'm getting bhuts, some habs, fatali, I dunno what else......

Thanks-
 
Jalapenos are massive producers that take significantly less time to produce ripe fruit. Triple the price per pound and you might have a good starting figure. I don't usually see Orange Habaneros cheaper than $4.99/# and I've seen as high as $10. Bhuts should be more expensive than Habs, but you're buying direct so I'd say $5 is a very good deal for you.
 
I look at it like this...it takes longer to grow the chinense than it does the jalapeno/annuums...maybe twice as long...after you take into consideration your materials (fertilize and such) you would be looking at a product that is twice as costly to grow...if you get the japs for $1.50/lb, then you could give them $3.00/lb and all in all they are making the same money they would growing jalapenos...

Seed cost for jalapenos is dang near nothing....OK, 2 cents...the superhot seeds on the other hand are costly...but that shouldn't matter to the farmer that will be growing for you...it will just take longer to raise which goes back to my first paragraph...

If you wanted to get down right scientific about it, you have the baseline already set...ask him how long from seed to fruit for his jalapenos...in days if possible...50-60?...you got to figure the chinense is going to take you at least 120 days to production, maybe more...

I may look at things too simply sometimes...and sorry to ramble...

:got the package, ty:
 
I'm sorry man....

:giggling uncontrollably:
 
ZanderSpice said:
I don't usually see Orange Habaneros cheaper than $4.99/# and I've seen as high as $10.
Click to expand...

Last season, I was buying a bushel of red or orange habs at a time from a local grower at a farmer's market, and only paying $20 each time. So, I think it really depends on the area, the farmer, and how busy they are.
 
Uh, why not grow them yourself? If you pay premium prices for the containers and mix, you are probably looking at maybe $3 per plant, and again, that's buying everything. Japs are good producers, and while I have never weighted them, I would guess a decent plant would produce about three pounds of ripe peppers over the year, so two plants equals six pounds. Do the math then decide what it is worth.

Mike
 
yeah,

id say just grow them yourself. its really not hard, or costly...i mean it can be if you make it. but in general id say i spend maybe 100 bucks for dirt, compost, pots(this year will be bags) jiffy pellets, ect...ect...

this year ive calculated ive spent right at 115 usd(with tax) and thats already figuring in dirt, plant bags, seeds, lights..and so forth. i will be growing some 95 plants so thats about $1.20 per plant.

like i said just grow them yourself. it doesnt have to be a big grow op, and nothing is more rewarding than eating the fruits of your labor.
 
I believe that salsalady is looking at scale issues, as she's starting to sell some of her product. I think this is one of the critical areas that can affect someone transitioning from hobby to professional. If you've grown your own, and made a great product from it, how do you scale production up in the beginning stages of the business before you can do it full time? Obviously, quality is paramount, so I can see where salsalady might want to work with a farmer that she might already have a good relationship with.
 
Hi gang,
just got back in from watching our local girls HS basketball team stomp the opponents 65-24. The girls will probably go to state again. We took the little guy up to watch how it's "supposed to be done".

Back on peppers......

Thanks for the posts on prices and growing.

It is a quantity issue. I can grow a few plants, but I also figured out a long time ago that when I'm selling salsa at the FM, I can pretty much trade salsa for any produce I want. That pretty much got us out of the growing mode.

We might be looking at 40-50 pepper plants and I'm not set up for that at all. I'd like to play around with the different varieties of fresh peppers, green & ripe, and then be ready to have them grow quantities of certain ones the next year if I come up with some killer recipes.



TY aj & wfc
 
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