The Rural Voice, 1995-05, Page 54Book Review
A guide on how to make good money from a small land base
REVIEWED BY KEITH
ROULSTON
So, in this modern global
economy you think farmers should
be more efficient, eh? How about a
net return of $2.25 income per square
foot?
That's the goal of Dan Haakenson
and his family, operator of The
Gourmet Garden in Bismarck,
North Dakota and author of The
Small Commercial Garden,
subtitled "How to Make
$10,000 a year in Your
Backyard".
The book is a step-
by-step guide on how
to maximize profits
from a small,
intensive, market
gardening
operation. For
someone looking for a
way to make extra income
from their farm, the book gives
specifics about how the Haakenson
family has managed to do it off only
one-quarter acre area.
For someone thinking about
setting up a garden to sell through a
farmers' market, The Small
Commercial Garden is an excellent
book. Haakenson, as did Eric Gibson,
author of Sell What You Sow,
reviewed last month, puts a heavy
emphasis on marketing, advising a
market analysis before you even
begin and putting some show
business into your market
display. He promotes
advertising, advising
budgeting 15 per
cent of sales to
promote your product
through everything from
radio spots to recipe
giveaway sheets.
Haakenson's marketing plan
is to be first on the market with
the best selling products. He uses
a small greenhouse to grow larger
than normal transplants of crops like
tomatoes, peppers, cabbages, onions,
even cucumbers so his crop will be
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50 THE RURAL VOICE
the first to come to the market each
season. He uses raised beds, plastic
mulch, cloches and plastic -wrapped
tomato cages to give his plants a
head start once they're in the garden.
He uses trellises and drip irrigation to
get the greatest production from his
small 9,246 square foot garden
which, with pathways and service
areas, still counts for less than a half
acre and which he expects to
generate $18,500 in sales in 1995. He
gives complete details on how others
can build a model garden which
would produce $2.25 per square foot.
But it all comes with hard work.
The Haakensons attend three
farmers' markets a week (while
Bismarck has only 46,000 people it
remains to be seen if the kind of sales
they record would be generated in an
area where the largest cities —
Stratford and Owen Sound — are
only half that size). All this is done
from a large suburban backyard
while he holds down a full-time job.
Total capital investment for his
model ranges from $9,450 to $15,100
(all figures for investment and
income are in U.S. funds so it's hard
to know how they would compare
here).
This may be small, but it's a very
business -like operation. Haakenson
emphasizes meticulous record
keeping and even suggests computer
programs to use. He promotes
endlessly, even choosing colours for
his display stand, vegetable boxes
and the family's T-shirts and aprons,
that best show off the product.
Even for the hobby gardener just
looking for the best early tomatoes,
the book is a gold mine of tips on
getting the most from garden space
and promoting early ripening.
Like most niche markets, there is
room for only so many Dan
Haakensons in a given area but this
book will open your eyes to the
possibilities in your backyard.0
The Small Commercial Garden, by
Dan Ilaakenson. Available from
Clark Chorney Executive Services,
75 Bayshore Rd., RR4, Brighton, ON
KOK 1H0 $29.95 including book,
taxes and shipping.